The invention relates to the field of probe card assembly systems. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in photolithography-patterned spring contacts and enhanced probe card assemblies having photolithography-patterned spring contacts for use in the testing or burn-in of integrated circuits.
In conventional integrated circuit (IC) wafer probe cards, electrical contacts between the probe card and an integrated circuit wafer are typically provided by tungsten needle probes. However, advanced semiconductor technologies often require higher pin counts, smaller pad pitches, and higher clock frequencies, which are not possible with tungsten needle probes.
While emerging technologies have provided spring probes for different probing applications, most probes have inherent limitations, such as limited pitch, limited pin count, varying levels of flexibility, limited probe tip geometries, limitations of materials, and high costs of fabrication.
K. Banerji, A. Suppelsa, and W. Mullen III, Selectively Releasing Conductive Runner and Substrate Assembly Having Non-Planar Areas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,774 (24 Nov. 1992) disclose a runner and substrate assembly which comprises “a plurality of conductive runners adhered to a substrate, a portion of at least some of the conductive runners have non-planar areas with the substrate for selectively releasing the conductive runner from the substrate when subjected to a predetermined stress”.
A. Suppelsa, W. Mullen III and G. Urbish, Selectively Releasing Conductive Runner and Substrate Assembly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,139 (18 Jan. 1994) disclose a runner and substrate assembly which comprises “a plurality of conductive runners adhered to a substrate, a portion of at least some of the conductive runners have a lower adhesion to the substrate for selectively releasing the conductive runner from the substrate when subjected to a predetermined stress”.
D. Pedder, Bare Die Testing, U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,701 (28 Jul. 1998) disclose a testing apparatus for testing integrated circuits (ICs) at the bare die stage, which includes “a testing station at which microbumps of conductive material are located on interconnection trace terminations of a multilayer interconnection structure, these terminations being distributed in a pattern corresponding to the pattern of contact pads on the die to be tested. To facilitate testing of the die before separation from a wafer using the microbumps, the other connections provided to and from the interconnection structure have a low profile”.
D. Grabbe, I. Korsunsky and R. Ringler, Surface Mount Electrical Connector, U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,695 (6 Oct. 1992) disclose a connector for electrically connecting a circuit between electronic devices, in which “the connector includes a platform with cantilevered spring arms extending obliquely outwardly therefrom. The spring arms include raised contact surfaces and in one embodiment, the geometry of the arms provide compound wipe during deflection”.
H. Iwasaki, H. Matsunaga, and T. Ohkubo, Partly Replaceable Device for Testing a Multi-Contact Integrated Circuit Chip Package, U.S. Pat. No. 5,847,572 (8 Dec. 1998) disclose “a test device for testing an integrated circuit (IC) chip having side edge portions each provided with a set of lead pins. The test device comprises a socket base, contact units each including a contact support member and socket contact numbers, and anisotropic conductive sheet assemblies each including an elastic insulation sheet and conductive members. The anisotropic conductive sheet assemblies are arranged to hold each conductive member in contact with one of the socket contact members of the contact units. The test device further comprises a contact retainer detachably mounted on the socket base to bring the socket contact members into contact with the anisotropic sheet assemblies to establish electrical communication between the socket contact members and the conductive members of the anisotropic conductive sheet assemblies. Each of the contact units can be replaced by a new contact unit if the socket contact members partly become fatigued, thereby making it possible to facilitate the maintenance of the test device. Furthermore, the lead pins of the IC chip can be electrically connected to a test circuit board with the shortest paths formed by part of the socket contact members and the conductive members of the anisotropic conductive sheet assemblies”.
W. Berg, Method of Mounting a Substrate Structure to a Circuit Board, U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,9278 (19 Jul. 1988) discloses “a substrate structure having contact pads is mounted to a circuit board which has pads of conductive material exposed at one main face of the board and has registration features which are in predetermined positions relative to the contact pads of the circuit board. The substrate structure is provided with leads which are electrically connected to the contact pads of the substrate structure and project from the substrate structure in cantilever fashion. A registration element has a plate portion and also has registration features which are distributed about the plate portion and are engageable with the registration features of the circuit board, and when so engaged, maintain the registration element against movement parallel to the general plane of the circuit board. The substrate structure is attached to the plate portion of the registration element so that the leads are in predetermined position relative to the registration features of the circuit board, and in this position of the registration element the leads of the substrate structure overlie the contact pads of the circuit board. A clamp member maintains the leads in electrically conductive pressure contact with the contact pads of the circuit board.”
D. SRAM, P. Palanisamy, J. Hearn and D. Schwarz, Controlled Adhesion Conductor, U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,298 (9 Jun. 1992) disclose “Compositions useful for printing controllable adhesion conductive patterns on a printed circuit board include finely divided copper powder, a screening agent and a binder. The binder is designed to provide controllable adhesion of the copper layer formed after sintering to the substrate, so that the layer can lift off the substrate in response to thermal stress. Additionally, the binder serves to promote good cohesion between the copper particles to provide good mechanical strength to the copper layer so that it can tolerate lift off without fracture”.
R. Mueller, Thin-Film Electrothermal Device, U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,401 (27 Dec. 1983) discloses “A thin film multilayer technology is used to build micro-miniature electromechanical switches having low resistance metal-to-metal contacts and distinct on-off characteristics. The switches, which are electrothermally activated, are fabricated on conventional hybrid circuit substrates using processes compatible with those employed to produce thin-film circuits. In a preferred form, such a switch includes a cantilever actuator member comprising a resiliently bendable strip of a hard insulating material (e.g. silicon nitride) to which a metal (e.g. nickel) heating element is bonded. The free end of the cantilever member carries a metal contact, which is moved onto (or out of) engagement with an underlying fixed contact by controlled bending of the member via electrical current applied to the heating element”.
S. Ibrahim and J. Elsner, Multi-Layer Ceramic Package, U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,438 (16 Mar. 1982) disclose “In a multi-layer package, a plurality of ceramic lamina each has a conductive pattern, and there is an internal cavity of the package within which is bonded a chip or a plurality of chips interconnected to form a chip array. The chip or chip array is connected through short wire bonds at varying lamina levels to metallized conductive patterns thereon, each lamina level having a particular conductive pattern. The conductive patterns on the respective lamina layers are interconnected either by tunneled through openings filled with metallized material, or by edge formed metallizations so that the conductive patterns ultimately connect to a number of pads at the undersurface of the ceramic package mounted onto a metalized board. There is achieved a high component density; but because connecting leads are “staggered” or connected at alternating points with wholly different package levels, it is possible to maintain a 10 mil spacing and 10 mil size of the wire bond lands. As a result, there is even greater component density but without interference of wire bonds one with the other, this factor of interference being the previous limiting factor in achieving high component density networks in a multi-layer ceramic package”.
F. McQuade, and J. Lander, Probe Assembly for Testing Integrated Circuits, U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,429 (16 May 1995) disclose a probe assembly for testing an integrated circuit, which “includes a probe card of insulating material with a central opening, a rectangular frame with a smaller opening attached to the probe card, four separate probe wings each comprising a flexible laminated member having a conductive ground plane sheet, an adhesive dielectric film adhered to the ground plane, and probe wing traces of spring alloy copper on the dielectric film. Each probe wing has a cantilevered leaf spring portion extending into the central opening and terminates in a group of aligned individual probe fingers provided by respective terminating ends of said probe wing traces. The probe fingers have tips disposed substantially along a straight line and are spaced to correspond to the spacing of respective contact pads along the edge of an IC being tested. Four spring clamps each have a cantilevered portion which contact the leaf spring portion of a respective probe wing, so as to provide an adjustable restraint for one of the leaf spring portions. There are four separate spring clamp adjusting means for separately adjusting the pressure restraints exercised by each of the spring clamps on its respective probe wing. The separate spring clamp adjusting means comprise spring biased platforms each attached to the frame member by three screws and spring washers so that the spring clamps may be moved and oriented in any desired direction to achieve alignment of the position of the probe finger tips on each probe wing”.
D. Pedder, Structure for Testing Bare Integrated Circuit Devices, European Patent Application No. EP 0 731 369 A2 (Filed 14 Feb. 1996), U.S. Pat. No. 5,764,070 (9 Jun. 1998) discloses a test probe structure for making connections to a bare IC or a wafer to be tested, which comprises “a multilayer printed circuit probe arm which carries at its tip an MCM-D type substrate having a row of microbumps on its underside to make the required connections. The probe arm is supported at a shallow angle to the surface of the device or wafer, and the MCM-D type substrate is formed with the necessary passive components to interface with the device under test. Four such probe arms may be provided, one on each side of the device under test.”
B. Eldridge, G. Grube, I. Khandros, and G. Mathieu, Method of Mounting Resilient Contact Structure to Semiconductor Devices, U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,128 (3 Nov. 1998), Method of Making Temporary Connections Between Electronic Components, U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,601 (10 Nov. 1998), Method of Making Contact Tip Structures, U.S. Pat. No. 5,864,946 (2 Feb. 1999), Mounting Spring Elements on Semiconductor Devices, U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,398 (23 Mar. 1999), Method of Burning-In Semiconductor Devices, U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,486 (9 Mar. 1999), and Method of Exercising Semiconductor Devices, U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,326 (27 Apr. 1999), disclose “Resilient contact structures are mounted directly to bond pads on semiconductor dies, prior to the dies being singulated (separated) from a semiconductor wafer. This enables the semiconductor dies to be exercised (e.g. tested and/or burned-in) by connecting to the semiconductor dies with a circuit board or the like having a plurality of terminals disposed on a surface thereof. Subsequently, the semiconductor dies may be singulated from the semiconductor wafer, whereupon the same resilient contact structures can be used to effect interconnections between the semiconductor dies and other electronic components (such a wiring substrates, semiconductor packages, etc.). Using the all-metallic composite interconnection elements of the present invention as the resilient contact structures, burn-in can be performed at temperatures of at least 150° C., and can be completed in less than 60 minutes”. While the contact tip structures disclosed by B. Eldridge et al. provide resilient contact structures, the structures are each individually mounted onto bond pads on semiconductor dies, requiring complex and costly fabrication. As well, the contact tip structures are fabricated from wire, which often limits the resulting geometry for the tips of the contacts. Furthermore, such contact tip structures have not been able to meet the needs of small pitch applications (e.g. typically on the order of 50 μm spacing for a peripheral probe card, or on the order of 75 μm spacing for an area array).
T. Dozier II, B. Eldridge, G. Grube, I. Khandros, and G. Mathieu, Sockets for Electronic Components and Methods of Connecting to Electronic Components, U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,451 (30 Jun. 1998) disclose “Surface-mount, solder-down sockets permit electronic components such as semiconductor packages to be releasably mounted to a circuit board. Resilient contact structures extend from a top surface of a support substrate, and solder-ball (or other suitable) contact structures are disposed on a bottom surface of the support substrate. Composite interconnection elements are used as the resilient contact structures disposed atop the support substrate. In any suitable manner, selected ones of the resilient contact structures atop the support substrate are connected, via the support substrate, to corresponding ones of the contact structures on the bottom surface of the support substrate. In an embodiment intended to receive an LGA-type semiconductor package, pressure contact is made between the resilient contact structures and external connection points of the semiconductor package with a contact force which is generally normal to the top surface of the support substrate. In an embodiment intended to receive a BGA-type semiconductor package, pressure contact is made between the resilient contact structures and external connection points of the semiconductor package with a contact force which is generally parallel to the top surface of the support substrate”.
Other emerging technologies have disclosed probe tips on springs which are fabricated in batch mode processes, such as by thin-film or micro electronic mechanical system (MEMS) processes.
D. Smith and S. Alimonda, Photolithographically Patterned Spring Contact, U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,861 (25 Mar. 1997), U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,685 (15 Dec. 1998), and International Patent Application No. PCT/US 96/08018 (Filed 30 May 1996), disclose a photolithography patterned spring contact, which is “formed on a substrate and electrically connects contact pads on two devices. The spring contact also compensates for thermal and mechanical variations and other environmental factors. An inherent stress gradient in the spring contact causes a free portion of the spring to bend up and away from the substrate. An anchor portion remains fixed to the substrate and is electrically connected to a first contact pad on the substrate. The spring contact is made of an elastic material and the free portion compliantly contacts a second contact pad, thereby contacting the two contact pads”. While the photolithography patterned springs, as disclosed by Smith et al., are capable of satisfying many IC probing needs, the springs are small, and provide little vertical compliance to handle the planarity compliance needed in the reliable operation of many current IC prober systems. Vertical compliance for many probing systems is typically on the order of 0.004″-0.010″, which often requires the use of tungsten needle probes.
Furthermore, no one has taught a way to interconnect such a probe containing up to several thousand pins to a tester, while effectively dealing with planarity requirements. As advanced integrated circuit devices become more complex while decreasing in size, it would be advantageous to provide a probe card assembly which can be used to reliably interconnect to such devices.
To accommodate for planarity differences between an array of probe tips and the surface pads on a wafer under test, it may be advantageous to provide a probe substrate which can pivot freely by a small amount about its center. For such a system, however, an accurately controlled force must still be provided to engage the contacts, while holding the substrate positionally stable in the X, Y, and theta directions. Furthermore, for applications in which the substrate includes a large number (e.g. thousands) of wires or signals exiting its backside, wherein supports are located at the periphery of the substrate, these supports must not hinder the fan-out exit pathways. As well, the signal wires must not hinder the pivoting of the substrate, nor should they hinder the controlled force provided to engage the springs against a device under test (DUT).
It would be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus for improved flexible probe springs, which are capable of high pin counts, small pitches, cost-effective fabrication, and customizable spring tips. It would also be advantageous to provide probe card assemblies using such flexible probe springs, which provide planarity compliance to semiconductor devices under testing and/or burn-in, while providing accurate axial and theta positioning.
Several embodiments of integrated circuit probe card assemblies are disclosed, which extend the mechanical compliance of both MEMS and thin-film fabricated probes, such that these types of spring probe structures can be used to test one or more integrated circuits on a semiconductor wafer. Several embodiments of probe card assemblies are disclosed, which provide tight signal pad pitch and compliance, preferably enabling the parallel testing or burn-in of multiple ICs, using commercial wafer probing equipment. In some preferred embodiments, the probe card assembly structures include separable standard electrical connector components, which reduces assembly manufacturing cost and manufacturing time. These structures and assemblies enable high speed testing of IC's in wafer form, as well as high density substrates. The probes preferably include mechanical protection for both the integrated circuits and the MEMS or thin film fabricated spring tips. Interleaved spring probe tip designs are defined which allow multiple probe contacts on very small integrated circuit pads. The shapes of probe tips are preferably defined to control the depth of probe tip penetration between a probe spring and a pad or trace on an integrated circuit device. Improved protective coating techniques for spring probes are also disclosed, offering increased quality and extended useful service lives for probe card assemblies.
a and 47b show partial cross-sectional views of reference plane layered spring probe substrates.
Patterned probe springs 14 are capable of very small spring to spring pitch 20, which allows multiple probe springs 14 to be used to contact power or ground pads on an integrated circuit device 44 (
As well, for a probe card assembly having an array 12 of probe springs 14, multiple probe springs 14 may be used to probe I/O pads on an integrated circuit device 44 under test (DUT), thus allowing every contact 14 to be verified for continuity after engagement of the spring contacts 14 to the wafer 92 under test, thereby ensuring complete electrical contact between a probe card assembly and a device 44, before testing procedures begin.
Improved Structures for Miniature Springs.
The interleaved photolithographic springs 34a, 34b each have a plurality of spring contact points 24. When spring contacts are used for connection to power or ground traces 46 or pads 47 of an integrated circuit device 44, the greatest electrical resistance occurs at the point of contact. Therefore, an interleaved spring contact 34, having a plurality of contact points 24, inherently lowers the resistance between the spring contact 34 and a trace 46 or pad 47. As described above, multiple interleaved probe springs 34 may be used for many applications, such as for high quality electrical connections for an integrated circuit device 44, or for a probe card assembly 60 (
Shoulder-point photolithographic springs 50 therefore include one or more extending points 52, as well as a shoulder 54, wherein the points 52 provide desired penetration to provide good electrical contact to traces 46, while the shoulder 54 prevents the spring 50 from penetrating too deep into a device 44 or wafer 92. Since the geometry of the probe springs 50 are highly controllable by photolithographic screening and etching processes, the detailed geometry of the shoulder-point photolithographic spring 50 is readily achieved.
Improved Probe Card Assemblies.
The substrate 16 is typically a solid plate, and is preferably a material having a low thermal coefficient of expansion (TCE), such as ceramic, ceramic glass, glass, or silicon. The electrically conductive spring probe tips 61a-61n establish electrical contact between the probe card assembly 60 and a semiconductor wafer 92, when the probe card assembly 60a and the semiconductor wafer 92 are positioned together.
The spring probe tips 61a-61n may have a variety of tip geometries, such as single point springs 14, interleaved springs 34, or shoulder point springs 50, and are fabricated on the substrate 16, typically using thin-film or MEMS processing methods, to achieve low manufacturing cost, well controlled uniformity, very fine pad pitches 20, and large pin counts.
The probe tips 61a-61n are electrically connected to flexible electric connections 64a-64n, preferably through metalized vias 66a-66n within the substrate 16. Each of the plurality of flexible electric connections 64a-64n are then electrically connected to a printed wiring board probe card 68, which is then typically held in place by a metal ring or frame support structure 70. The preferred metallized via electrical connections 66a-66n (e.g. such as produced by Micro Substrate Corporation, of Tempe, Ariz.), are typically formed by first creating holes in the substrate 16, using laser or other drilling methods. The holes are then filled or plated with conductive material, such as by plating or by extrusion. After the conductive vias 66a-66n are formed, they are typically polished back, to provide a flat and smooth surface.
The conductive pads 77a-77n on the underside of the printed wiring board probe card 68 are typically arranged with a pad pitch 85, such that the conductive pads 77a-77n are aligned with the electrically conductive connections 64a-64n located on the upper connector surface 62b of the substrate 16. The conductive pads 77a-77n are then preferably fanned out to conductive paths 78a-78n, which are typically arranged with a probe card pitch 87. The electrically conductive connections 72a-72n, which are located on the upper surface of the printed wiring board probe card 68 and are connected to the conductive paths 78a-78n, are typically arranged with a probe card connection pitch 89, which may be aligned with the probe card pitch 87, or may preferably be fanned out further on the upper surface of the printed wiring board probe card 68. The probe card connection pitch 89 is preferably chosen such that the electrically conductive connections 72a-72n are aligned with the test head connectors 74a-74n located on the test head 76, which are typically arranged with a test head pitch 91.
The flexible electric connections 64a-64n are typically fabricated using a longer spring length 28 than the probe tips 61a-61n, to provide a compliance of approximately 4-10 mils. In some embodiments, the flexible connections 64a-64n are typically built in compliance to photolithographic springs, such as described above, or as disclosed in either U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,685 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,861, which are incorporated herein by reference.
The flexible connections 64a-64n are connected to the printed wiring board (PWB) probe card 68, either permanently (e.g. such as by solder or conductive epoxy) or non-permanently (e.g. such as by corresponding metal pads which mate to the tips 24 of flexible connection springs 64a-64n). The printed wiring board probe card 68 then fans out the signals to pads 72a-72n, on a pad pitch 89 suitable for standard pogo pin contactors 74a-74n typically arranged with a test head pitch 91 on a test head 76.
The flexible connections 64a-64n are preferably arranged within an area array, having an array pitch 83 such as 1.00 mm or 1.27 mm, which provides a reasonable density (i.e. probe card pitch 87) for plated through-holes (PTH) 78 on the printed wiring board probe card 68, and allows signal fan-out on multiple layers within the printed wiring board probe card 68, without resorting to advanced printed wiring board probe cards 68 containing blind conductive vias 78a-78n.
The flexible conductive connections 64a-64n, which contact conductive pads 77a-77n on the underside of the printed wiring board probe card 68, maintain electrical connection between the printed wiring board probe card 68 and the substrate 16, while the substrate 16 is allowed to move up and down slightly along the Z-axis 84, as well as tilt about its center. The flexible connections 64a64n also provide lateral compliance between a substrate 16 and a printed wiring board probe card 68 having different thermal coefficients of expansion (e.g. such as for a low TCE substrate 16 and a relatively high TCE printed wiring board probe card 68).
Alternately, the substrate 16 may be an assembly, such as a membrane probe card, which connects to the printed wiring board probe card 68 through membrane bump contacts 64a-64n. In alternate embodiments of the probe card assembly, connections 64a-64n are provided by a separable connector 132 (
As the size and design of integrated circuit devices 44 becomes increasingly small and complex, the fine pitch 20 (
The probe card assembly 60a provides electrical interconnections to a substrate 16, which may contain thousands of spring probe tips 61a-61n, while providing adequate mechanical support for the probe card assembly 60a, to work effectively in a typical integrated circuit test probing environment. The probe card assembly 60a is readily used for applications requiring very high pin counts, for tight pitches, or for high frequencies. As well, the probe card assembly 60a is easily adapted to provide electrical contact for all traces 46 (
As shown in
However, it is increasingly important to allow probe card assemblies to provide contact with a planar semiconductor wafer 92, wherein the semiconductor wafer 92 and the probe card assembly are slightly non-planar to each other, such as by a slight variation in X-axis rotation 86 and/or Y-axis rotation 88.
In the probe card assembly 60a shown in
The signal traces from the probe tips 61a-61n, typically having a small pitch 20, are preferably fanned out to the flexible connections 64a-64n, typically having a larger pitch, using routing traces on one or both surfaces 62a,62b of the substrate 16.
The flexible connections 64a-64n are preferably laid out on a standardized layout pattern, which can match standardized power and ground pad patterns (i.e. assignments) on the printed wiring board probe card 68, thus allowing the same printed wiring board probe card 68 to be used for substrates 16 laid out to mate to different integrated circuit devices 44. As a printed wiring board probe card 68 may be adapted to specialized substrates 16, for the testing of a variety of different devices 44, the operating cost for a printed wiring board probe card 68 is reduced.
To aid in high frequency power decoupling, capacitors 172 (
A look up and look down camera is typically used to align the wafer chuck to the substrate 16, whereby the probe tips 24 are aligned to the contact pads 47 or traces 46 on a device under test 44 located on a semiconductor wafer 92. Alignment is typically achieved, either by looking at spring tips 24, or at alignment marks 185 (
For prober setups without such a camera, the substrate 16 is preferably comprised of translucent or transparent material (e.g. such as glass ceramic or glass), thereby allowing view-through-the-top alignment methods to be performed by a test operator. A window 165 (
For applications where access to the surface of the semiconductor wafer 92 is required while probe contact is maintained (e.g. such as for voltage contrast electron beam probing during development of the integrated circuit device 44), a window 123 (
Defined openings (i.e. windows 123) within the substrate 16 are also preferably used for in-situ e-beam repair of devices such as DRAMs, in which the probe card assembly 60 may remain in place. Testing, repair and retesting may thus be performed at the same station, without moving the wafer 92.
The structure of the probe card assembly 60a provides very short electrical distances between the probe tips 61a-61n and the controlled impedance environment in the printed wiring board probe card 68, which allows the probe card assembly 60a to be used for high frequency applications. For embodiments wherein the traces on one or both surfaces 62a,62b of the substrate 16 are required to be impedance controlled, one or more conductive reference planes may be added within the substrate 16, either on top of the traces, below the traces, or both above and below the traces. For ultra high-frequency applications, the substrate 16 may contain alternating ground reference traces, which are connected to the one or more reference planes 312a, 312b,312c,312d (
High Compliance Probe Assemblies. As described above, a probe card assembly structure 60 (e.g. such as 60b in
While the flexible spring probes 61a-61n, as well as flexible connections 64a-64n, provide some planarity compliance between a probe card assembly 60 and a semiconductor wafer 92 or device 44, other preferred embodiments of the probe card assembly 60 provide enhanced planarity compliance.
Since probe springs 61a-61n are often required to be very small, to provide high density connections and a fine pitch 20, in some probe card applications which require substantial planarity compliance, the compliance provided by the probe springs 61a-61n alone may not be sufficient. Therefore, in some preferred embodiments of the probe card assembly 60, the probe card assembly 60 allows the substrate 16 to pivot about its center (i.e. vary in X-axis rotation 86 and/or Y-axis rotation 88), to provide increased planarity compliance to a semiconductor wafer 92 under test. In such applications, the probe card assembly 60 must still exert a controlled downward force in the Z direction 84, for engaging the probe spring contacts 61a-61n located on the bottom surface 62a of the substrate 16 against a semiconductor wafer 92.
For many embodiments of the probe card assembly 60, the central region 119 (
A ball joint fulcrum structure may be located within the central region of a probe card assembly on the back side of the substrate support structure, to allow the substrate 16 to pivot about the center, and to provide force to engage the probe tips 61a-61n. However, such a structure would typically impede wire leads or other electrical connections, which often need to exit over the central region of the probe card assembly. Moreover, such a movable joint does not typically restrict theta rotation 90 of the substrate 16 reliably.
A leaf spring 98 connects to the substrate 16 through a bridge structure 100. The leaf spring 98 and bridge structure 100 provide pivoting freedom for the substrate 16 (i.e. slight X-axis rotation 86 and Y-axis rotation), with controlled movement in the Z direction 84, X direction 80, Y direction 82 and Z-Axis rotation (theta) 90 directions. In preferred embodiments, a preload assembly 121 (
As shown in
The leaf spring 98 is typically fabricated from a sheet of stainless steel or spring steel, and is typically patterned using chemical etching methods. The downward force is a function of the stiffness of the spring, the diameter of the spring spacers 104 and 106, as well as the size of the leaf spring 98.
While the leaf spring 98 shown in
Also, the outside edge of the leaf spring 98 may be connected into a ring, to provide further stability of the leaf spring 98.
The bridge 100 and the spacers 104 and 106 are preferably comprised of light and strong metals, such as aluminum or titanium, to minimize the mass of the moveable structure 60b.
The substrate 16 is typically attached to the legs 102 of the bridge 100, using an adhesive 112, such as an epoxy, or solder. Where substrate replaceability is needed, detachable connections 130 such as shown in
On the bottom side 62a of the substrate 16, lower standoffs 114 are preferably used, which prevent the substrate 16 from touching a wafer under test 92. The lower standoffs 114 are preferably made of a relatively soft material, such as polyimide, to avoid damage to the semiconductor wafer under test 92. In addition, to further avoid damage to active circuits 44 in the semiconductor wafer 92, the standoffs 114 are preferably placed, such that when the probe card assembly 60 is aligned with a device 44 on a semiconductor wafer 92, the standoffs are aligned with the saw streets 94 (
On the upper surface 62b of the substrate 16, upper standoffs 116 are also preferably used, to prevent damage to the topside flexible electrical connections 64a-64n. The upper standoffs 116 are preferably made of a moderately hard insulative material, such as LEXAN™, silicone, or plastic.
In the preferred embodiment shown in
Since printed wiring board probe cards 68b are typically made of relatively soft materials (e.g. such as glass epoxy), crash pads 120 are preferably placed on the probe card 68b, under the adjusting screws 118, to prevent the tip of the adjusting screws 118 from sinking into the printed wiring board probe card 68b over repeated contact cycles. Fastener shims 122 are also preferably used with the adjusting screws 118, such that the initial distance and planarity between the substrate 16 and the printed wiring board probe card 68b may be accurately set.
The preload shims 110 are preferably used to control the initial pre-load of the downward force exerted by the leaf spring 98 onto the bridge 100. The set preload prevents vibration of the substrate 16, and improves contact characteristics between the substrate 16 and the to the semiconductor wafer under test 92.
A separable connector 132 is preferably used, which allows replacement of the substrate 16. Substrate attachment fasteners 130 (e.g. such as but not limited to screws) preferably extend through bridge legs 128, and allow the bridge 100 to be removeably connected to substrate posts 128, which are mounted on the upper surface 62b of the substrate 16.
In one embodiment of the probe card assembly 60, the preferred separable connector 132 is a MEG-Array™ connector, manufactured by FCI Electronics, of Etters, Pa. One side of the separable connector 132 is typically soldered to the printed wiring board probe card 68, while the mating side is typically soldered to the daughter card 134, whereby the daughter card 134 may be removeably connected from the printed wiring board probe card 68b, while providing a large number of reliable electrical connections. The daughter card 134 preferably provides further fanout of the electrical connections, from a typical pitch of about 1 mm for the flexible connections 64a-64n, to a common pitch of about 1.27 mm for a separable connector 132.
Upper substrate standoffs 116 are preferably used, to limit the maximum Z travel of the substrate 16, relative to the daughter card 134, thereby providing protection for the flexible connections 64a-64n. The upper standoffs 116 are also preferably adjustable, such that there is a slight pre-load on the flexible connections 64a-64n, forcing the substrate 16 away from the daughter card 134, thereby reducing vibrations and chatter of the substrate 16 during operation. A damping material 145 (e.g. such as a gel) may also preferably be placed at one or more locations between the substrate 16 and the daughter card 14, to prevent vibration, oscillation or chatter of the substrate 16.
The separable connector 132 (e.g. such as an FCI connector 132) preferably has forgiving mating coplanarity requirements, thereby providing fine planarity compliance between the daughter card 134 and the printed wiring board probe card 68. A mechanical adjustment mechanism 149 (e.g. such as but not limited to fasteners 166, spacers 164, nuts 168, and shims 170 (
Small Test Area Probe Assemblies.
While many of the probe card assemblies 60 described above provide large planarity compliance for a probe spring substrate 16, some probe card assemblies are used for applications in which the device under test comprises a relatively small surface area. For example, for applications in which a small number (e.g. one to four) of integrated circuits 44 are to be tested at a time, the size of a mating substrate 16 can also be relatively small (e.g. such as less than 2 cm square).
In such embodiments, therefore, the planarity of the substrate 16 to the wafer under test 92 may become less critical than for large surface areas, and the compliance provided by the probe springs 61a-61n alone is often sufficient to compensate for the testing environment. While the compliance provided by the probe springs 61a-61n may be relatively small, as compared to conventional needle springs, such applications are well suited for a probe card assembly 60 having photolithographically formed or MEMS formed spring probes 61a-61n.
The probe card assembly 60h is therefore inherently less complex, and typically more affordable, than multi-layer probe card assembly designs. The small size of the substrate 16 reduces the cost of the probe card assembly 60h, since the cost of a substrate 16 is strongly related to the surface area of the substrate 16.
The probe springs 61a-61n are fabricated on the lower surface 62a of a hard substrate 16, using either thin-film or MEMS processing methods, as described above. Signals from the probe springs 61a-61n are fanned out to an array of metal pads 182,184,186 (
The small test area probe card assembly 60h preferably includes a means for providing a mechanical connection 149 between the printed wiring board probe card substrate 68 and the daughter card 134. In the probe card assembly 60h embodiment shown in
Lower substrate standoffs 114, which are typically taller than other features on the substrate 16 (except for the spring tips 61a-61n), are preferably placed on the lower surface 62a of the substrate 16, preferably to coincide with the saw streets 94 on a semiconductor wafer 92 under test, thereby preventing the wafer under test 92 from crashing into the substrate 16, and preventing damage to active regions on the semiconductor wafer 92.
As shown in
Standoffs 114 are preferably placed in locations matching inactive regions on the wafer 92, such as on the scribe lane 94, to prevent damage to active devices 44 on the device under test 44. One or more alignment marks 185 are also preferably located on the substrate wafer 174. The production cost and turnaround time for a probe card assembly 60 can be significantly improved, by standardizing the footprints of the micro BGA pad array 180, the daughter card 134, and the printed wiring board probe card 68. Standardization of the micro-BGA pad array 180, as well power/ground pad assignments for the pads located on the substrate 16b allows a standardized pattern of vias 66a-66n (as seen in
Standardization of other componentry for probe card assemblies 60 often allows printed wiring board probe cards 68 (and in some embodiments daughter cards 134), to be used for different substrates 16 and integrated circuit devices 44, wherein only the routing of the substrate 16 is customized.
The use of a starting substrate 174 (
Alternate Applications for Probe Springs. Photolithographic or MEMS spring probes 61, 14, 34, 50 may alternately be used for bare die burn-in sockets, such as for DieMate™ burn-in sockets, manufactured by Texas Instruments Inc., of Mansfield Mass., or for Die™Pak burn-in sockets, available through Aehr Test, Inc. of Fremont Calif. For bare die burn-in sockets which contact the substrate 16 around the edges, the probe springs 61 springs and fanout metalization are needed only on one surface (e.g. probe surface 62a) of the substrate 16. The required fanout is used to determine the size of the substrate 16, based on the number of the I/O signals needed to be routed to pads on the edge of the substrate 16. Alternately, vias 66 in the substrate 16, as described above, can be used to route the I/O signals to an array of pads on the opposite surface 62b of the substrate 16, allowing the substrate to be smaller, and thereby reducing the cost of fabrication.
Tiled Probe Assemblies.
Probe strip tiles 192 may alternately be laid out and used for applications in which each single probe strip tile 192 provides contact with a single integrated circuit device site 44 (e.g. thereby providing one or more “one to one” connections), or for applications in which a plurality of probe strip tiles 192 provide contact for an integrated circuit device site 44 (e.g. thereby providing one or more “many to one” connections).
As well, the probe strip tiles 192, having spring probes 61a-61n, typically include electrical vias 66a-66n (e.g. such as metalized vias) and an array of electrical connections 64a-64n (
The substrate 204 preferably has a low thermal coefficient of expansion (TCE), and is preferably matched to silicon. As well, the substrate 204 typically fans out a large number of signal traces 46, to connectors on the opposite surface 209b of the substrate 204. In one embodiment, the substrate 204 is a silicon wafer, which includes vias 205a-205n (e.g. such as arranged on a 0.056 inch pitch) and thin film routing 46 on one or both substrate surfaces 209a, 209b.
In the tiled probe head 202 shown in
In alternate embodiments of the tiled probe head assembly 202, all pads 47 for an integrated circuit device site 44 may be contacted by probes from a single probe strip tile 192.
Burn-In Structures.
Board vacuum ports 218 are preferably defined in the burn-in board 212, while contactor chip vacuum ports 220 are preferably defined in the NSCC substrate 214, wherein the board vacuum ports 218 are generally aligned to the contactor chip vacuum ports 220 (e.g. such that an applied vacuum through the board vacuum ports 218 is also applied to the generally aligned contactor chip vacuum ports 220). An air seal 222 (e.g. such as an epoxy), is preferably dispensed around the periphery of each nano-spring contactor chip 214, to prevent the loss of applied vacuum through the micro BGA ball array 216.
As integrated circuit devices 44 are initially placed on nano-spring contactor chips 214 (e.g. such as by a “pick and place” machine), an applied vacuum to the board vacuum ports 218 on the burn-in board 212 and generally aligned contactor chip vacuum ports 220 on the nano-spring contactor chips 214 prevents the placed integrated circuit devices 44 from shifting from their placed positions.
When all of the integrated circuit devices 44 are placed onto the corresponding contactor chips 214, a clamp plate 224 is preferably placed in contact with the integrated circuit devices 44, to retain the integrated circuit devices 44 in place during burn-in operation. Individual spring pads 226 may also be used, to push on the integrated circuit devices 44 under test, to allow for planarity tolerances of the clamp plate 224 and the burn-in board 212. The burn-in structure 210 preferably includes means 217 for retaining the clamp plate 224, such that once the clamp plate 224 is placed in contact with the integrated circuit devices 44, the clamp plate 224 is attached to the burn-in board 212, and the applied vacuum may be switched off.
Protective Coating Processes for Improved Spring Probes. As described above, since spring probes 61 provide advantages of high pitch, high pin count, and flexibility, they may be used for a wide variety of applications. However, when these typically small spring probes 61 are used to contact pads 47 on integrated circuit devices 44, such as on semiconductive wafers 92, wherein the pads 47 often contain an oxide layer, the spring probes 61 are often required to break through oxide layers and establish adequate electrical contact with metal traces or conductive pads. As the spring probes 61 are often used many times, the small, unprotected spring probe tips 24 may become worn. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an electrically conductive wear coating on the contact tips 24 of the probe springs 61. However, such a protective coating is required to cover both the top surface and the side wall surfaces of the spring tip 24.
As described above, the probe springs 61 may be formed by a sputter deposition and photolithographic process, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,685 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,861, wherein successive layers of conductive material are applied to a substrate, and wherein non-planar springs are subsequently formed. In such processes, however, a protective coating applied during the deposition process would not inherently provide a continuous coating on all surfaces of the formed non-planar probe springs.
The probe springs 61, after their release, are not planar to the substrate surface. Therefore, a protective coating may be applied after the springs 61 have been released from the release layer 18.
When the protective coating 233 is applied 232 to the substrate 16 and probes 61, the protective coating 233 covers both the planar and non-planar regions on the exposed surface 62 of the substrate 16. While the spring probes 16 are covered with the protective coating 233 during the coating step 230, all the traces on the substrate structure are electrically shorted together, from the applied conductive coating 233. The conductive coating 233 is therefore required to be patterned, or partially removed, to restore electrical isolation between different probe springs 61 and their respective traces. While conventional photo-masking processes are typically used in the majority of integrated circuit processing, to selectively etch away conductive coatings, such as titanium nitride coatings, such photo-masking processes are used for planar structures.
The non-planar probe spring coating process therefore provides a protective coating 233 to the tips 24 of the probe springs 61, while etching the unwanted protective coating in the substrate surface 16 and portions of the spring probes 61 which are not coated with coating layers 248.
Alternate Coating Techniques.
As shown in
Alternate Spring Probe Assembly Coating Processes.
The protective coating 233 is preferably a hard electrically conductive material 286, such as comprising titanium nitride, palladium, rhodium, tungsten, or nickel, and is typically applied 232 by sputter coating or other deposition methods. The applied electrically conductive protective coating 233 is also preferably an hard, non-oxidizing and non-galling material, thereby providing lubricative characteristics (i.e. a low coefficient of friction) for the probe tips 24 on the spring probes 61, thus minimizing wear to both devices under test and to the spring probes 61.
As described above, when the protective coating 233 is applied 232 to the substrate 16 and probes 61, the protective coating 233 covers both the planar and non-planar regions on the exposed surface 62 of the substrate 16. While the spring probes 16 are covered with the protective coating 233 during the coating step 280, all the traces on the substrate structure are electrically shorted together, from the applied conductive coating 233. The conductive coating 233 is therefore required to be patterned, or partially removed, to restore electrical isolation between different probe springs 61 and their respective traces. While conventional photo-masking processes are typically used in the majority of integrated circuit processing, to selectively etch away conductive coatings, such as titanium nitride coatings, such photo-masking processes are used for planar structures.
The alternate non-planar probe spring coating process therefore provides a protective coating 233 to the tips 24 of the probe springs, while etching the unwanted applied protective coating 233 in the substrate surface 16 and portions of the spring probes 61 which are not coated with coating layer 294.
Spring Probe Substrates for Ultra High Frequency Applications. As described above, the structure of the probe card assemblies 60 provides very short electrical distances between the probe tips 61a-61n and the controlled impedance environment in the printed wiring board probe card 68, which allows the probe card assemblies 60 to be used for high frequency applications. As well, the spring probe substrate 16 may preferably be modified for ultra high frequency applications.
a shows a partial cross-sectional view 1260 of an ultra high frequency spring probe substrate 16. For embodiments wherein the traces on one or both surfaces 62a,62b of the substrate 16 are required to be impedance controlled, one or more conductive reference planes 1262a,1262b may be added within the substrate 16, either on top of the traces 1270, below the traces 1270, or both above and below the traces 1270. The substrate 16 may also contain alternating ground reference traces 1266a,1266b, which are connected to the one or two reference planes 1262a,1262b, to effectively provide a shielded coaxial transmission line environment 1268. While the spring probe substrate 16 is typically a ceramic material, the layer 1264 between reference planes is typically a dielectric material.
b shows a partial cross-sectional view 310 of an ultra high frequency spring probe substrate 16. For embodiments wherein a spring probe 61 and related electrical conductors 320, 78, 322 on and through the substrate 16 are required to be impedance matched, one or more conductive reference surfaces 312a,312b,312c,312d and vias 316a,316b,316c may preferably be added, either within or on the substrate 16. As well, the impedance control surfaces 312a,312b,312c,312d are not limited to the planar surfaces shown in
A conductive layer 312d may be deposited on top of the insulating layer 317, to provide a coaxial, controlled low impedance connection. Alternate layers of conductive materials 312 and dielectric materials 314 can preferably be integrated within the substrate 16, such as for embodiments which require decoupling capacitors in close proximity to a probe spring 61. For a substrate 16 which is a conductive material, such as silicon, a thin oxide layer 318 may preferably be deposited between the substrate 16 and a conductive reference plane 312c, thereby forming a high capacitance structure 319 between the spring probe 61 and the ground planes 312a and 312b. As well, one or more assembled components 315, such as passive components 315 (e.g. typically capacitors, resistors, and/or inductors), or active component devices 315, may be incorporated on either surface 62a,62b of the substrate 16.
The fixed portions 15 of the spring probes 61 typically extend a relatively short distance across the substrate 16. Traces 60 located on the surface of the substrate 16 are electrically connected to the fixed portions 15 of the spring probes 61, and electrically connect the probe springs 61 to the vias 78. The traces may be comprised of a different material than the spring probes 61, and are preferably comprised of metals having high electrical conductivity (e.g. such as copper or gold).
Although the disclosed probe card assembly systems and improved non-planar spring probes and methods for production are described herein in connection with integrated circuit test probes, and probe cards, the system and techniques can be implemented with other devices, such as interconnections between integrated circuits and substrates within electronic components or devices, burn-in devices and MEMS devices, or any combination thereof, as desired.
Accordingly, although the invention has been described in detail with reference to a particular preferred embodiment, persons possessing ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains will appreciate that various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims that follow.
This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/951,314 filed Sep. 27, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,126,358, which claims priority to U.S. Ser. No. 10/094,370 filed Mar. 8, 2002, and U.S. Ser. No. 09/980,040 filed Nov. 27, 2001, and claims priority to International Patent Application No. PCT/US00/21012, filed 28 Jul. 2000, and U.S. Provisional Application 60/146,241, filed 28 Jul. 1999, all of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference thereto.
This invention was made with United State Government support under Cooperative Agreement 70NANB8H4008 awarded by NIST. The United States Government has certain rights in this invention.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Child | 11552110 | US |