High density interconnect system having rapid fabrication cycle
First Claim
1. A probe card interface assembly for establishing connections to one or more bonding pads on at least one integrated circuit device located on a semiconductor wafer, comprising:
- a motherboard having an upper surface, a lower planar mounting surface opposite the upper surface and parallel to the semiconductor wafer, and a plurality of electrical connections extending between the lower planar mounting surface opposite the upper surface;
a reference plane defined by at least three points located between the lower planar mounting surface of the motherboard and the semiconductor wafer;
a probe chip assembly mounting system comprising at least one component having an upper mounting surface and a probe chip assembly mounting surface opposite the upper mounting surface; and
a mechanism for adjusting the planarity of the reference plane with respect to the semiconductor wafer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved interconnection system and method is described, such as for connectors, socket assemblies and/or probe card systems. An exemplary system comprises a probe card interface assembly (PCIA) for establishing electrical connections to a semiconductor wafer mounted in a prober. The PCIA comprises a motherboard parallel to the semiconductor wafer having an upper surface and an opposing lower planar mounting surface, a reference plane defined by a least three points located between the lower surface of the motherboard and the wafer, at least one component located below the motherboard mounting surface, and a mechanism for adjusting the planarity of the reference plane with respect to the wafer. A probe chip having a plurality of spring probes extending there from is mountable and demountable from the PCIA, without the need for further planarity adjustment. The interconnection structures and methods preferably provide improved fabrication cycles.
45 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A probe card interface assembly for establishing connections to one or more bonding pads on at least one integrated circuit device located on a semiconductor wafer, comprising:
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a motherboard having an upper surface, a lower planar mounting surface opposite the upper surface and parallel to the semiconductor wafer, and a plurality of electrical connections extending between the lower planar mounting surface opposite the upper surface;
a reference plane defined by at least three points located between the lower planar mounting surface of the motherboard and the semiconductor wafer;
a probe chip assembly mounting system comprising at least one component having an upper mounting surface and a probe chip assembly mounting surface opposite the upper mounting surface; and
a mechanism for adjusting the planarity of the reference plane with respect to the semiconductor wafer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A process for establishing connections to bonding pads on at least one integrated circuit device located on a semiconductor wafer, comprising the steps of:
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providing a motherboard comprising a substrate having an upper surface, a lower planar mounting surface opposite the upper surface and parallel to the semiconductor wafer, and a plurality of electrical connections extending between the lower planar mounting surface opposite the upper surface;
defining a reference plane by at least three points located between the lower surface of the motherboard and the semiconductor wafer;
providing a probe chip assembly mounting system comprising at least one component having an upper mounting surface and a probe assembly mounting surface opposite the upper mounting surface; and
adjusting the planarity of the reference plane with respect to the semiconductor wafer. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method of production of a rapid cycle time customizable probe card for testing semiconductor wafers comprising:
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providing customizable components with rapid design and fabrication process cycle times, providing standard components where the design and fabrication process cycle time of at least one of the standard components is longer than the rapid cycle time for the customizable components; and
assembling and testing probe card from the customizable components and the standard components, wherein the time to assemble and test the probe card is equal to that of the longest of the customizable components. - View Dependent Claims (34)
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35. A method for fabrication an interconnection assembly comprising a stacked plurality of structures, comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of structures; and
improving the planarity of the interconnection assembly by any of improving the planarity of at least one of the structures before assembly, and compensating for non-planarity in the structures during assembly by varying the spacing of one or more connections between at least two of the structures. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37)
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38. A process, comprising the steps of:
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providing a probe chip comprising a probe chip substrate having a probing surface and a mounting surface opposite the probing surface, a plurality of spring probes on the probing surface and extending from the probing surface to define a plurality of probe tips, a corresponding plurality of electrical contacts located on the mounting surface, and electrical connections extending from each of the spring probes to each of the corresponding plurality of electrical contacts;
confining the probe tips in a fixture that is parallel to any of the probing surface and the bonding surface of the probe chip substrate, and applying heat to the probe chip, such that the probe tips conform to the fixture. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40)
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Specification