Contact carriers (tiles) for populating larger substrates with spring contacts

• US 5,806,181 A
• Filed: 01/24/1997
• Issued: 09/15/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: FormFactor Incorporated
• Original Assignee: FormFactor Incorporated
• Inventors: Smith, William D., Mathieu, Gaetan L., Eldridge, Benjamin N., Khandros, Igor Y., Dozier, Thomas H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Arbes, Carl J.
• Application Number:
  US08/789,147
• Time in Patent Office: 599 Days
• Field of Search: 29/874, 29/882, 29/884, 29/825, 29/840, 29/843, 439/59, 439/591, 439/66, 228/180.5, 228/179, 437/209, 437/8, 324/756
• US Class Current: 29/874
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/06711 Probe needles; Cantilever beams; "Bump" contacts; Replaceable probe pins
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/06727 Cantilever beams
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/07307 with individual probe elements, e.g. needles, cantilever beams or bump contacts, fixed in relation to each other, e.g. bed of nails fixture or probe card
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/07314 the body of the probe being perpendicular to test object, e.g. bed of nails or probe with bump contacts on a rigid support on an elastic support, e.g. a film, G01R1/0735
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/07342 the body of the probe being at an angle other than perpendicular to test object, e.g. probe card
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/07378 using an intermediate adapter, e.g. space transformers G01R1/07371 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 3/00 Apparatus or processes specially adapted for the manufacture or maintenance of measuring instruments , e.g. of probe tips
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2886 Features relating to contacting the IC under test, e.g. probe heads; chucks G01R31/2865 takes precedence, test connections, e.g. test sockets, or probes per se, G01R1/04 or G01R1/06
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2889 Interfaces, e.g. between probe and tester G01R31/31905 and G01R1/07364 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 43/16 for manufacturing contact members, e.g. by punching and by bending
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/11 Printed elements for providing electric connections to or between printed circuits
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49144 by metal fusion
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49204 Contact or terminal manufacturing

Abstract

The invention relates to making temporary, pressure connections between electronic components and, more particularly, to techniques for performing test and burn-in procedures on semiconductor devices prior to their packaging, preferably prior to the individual semiconductor devices being singulated from a semiconductor wafer.

Claims

1. Method of probing an electronic component by contacting the electronic component with a plurality of spring contact elements, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a relatively large substrate which is as large as a testable area of the electronic component desired to be probed, said large substrate having a front surface; and

mounting and connecting a plurality of at least two tile substrates to the front surface of the large substrate, each tile substrate having a plurality of spring contact elements extending from a surface thereof; and

urging the large substrate and the electronic component towards one another so that the spring contact elements make contact with the electronic component.

2. Method, according to claim 1, wherein

the electronic component is a semiconductor wafer.

3. Method, according to claim 2, wherein

the testable area is a plurality of die sites on the semiconductor wafer;

and

the spring contacts make contact with the plurality of die sites all at once.

4. Method, according to claim 1, wherein

the testable area of the electronic component is at least half of an overall surface area of the electronic component.

5. Method, according to claim 1, wherein

the electronic component is a printed circuit board.

6. Method, according to claim 1, wherein

the electronic component is a liquid crystal display panel.

7. Method, according to claim 1, wherein

the spring contact elements are probe elements.

8. Method, according to claim 1, wherein

the spring contact elements are composite interconnection elements.

9. Method, according to claim 1, wherein

the spring contact elements are contact bumps disposed on a membrane.

10. Method, according to claim 1, wherein

solder connections between the tile substrates and the large substrate.

11. Method, according to claim 1, wherein

the relatively large substrate is a space transformer of a probe card assembly.

12. Method, according to claim 1, wherein:

the electronic component is a semiconductor wafer; and

the spring contact elements of each tile substrate contact individual semiconductor dies on the semiconductor wafer on a one-to-one basis.

13. Method, according to claim 1, wherein:

the electronic component is a semiconductor wafer; and

the spring contact elements of each tile substrate contact at least two semiconductor dies on the semiconductor wafer.

14. Method, according to claim 1, wherein

the tile substrates are aligned to the large substrate by solder joints.

15. Method, according to claim 1, wherein

the large substrate with tile substrates mounted thereto is mounted to a probe card.

16. Method, according to claim 1, wherein

the large substrate with tile substrates mounted thereto is mounted to a probe card and is connected to the probe card by an interposer.

17. Probe card assembly comprising:

a probe card;

a plurality of probe elements;

a space transformer substrate having a top surface, a bottom surface, a first plurality of terminals disposed on the top surface, and a second plurality of terminals disposed on the bottom surface;

at least two tile substrates, each having a top surface, a bottom surface;

means for effecting electrical connections between the tile substrates and the space transformer substrate; and

a plurality of probe elements disposed on the tip surface of the tile substrates.

18. Probe card assembly, according to claim 17, characterized in that:

the probe elements are free-standing spring contacts.

19. Probe card assembly, according to claim 18, characterized by:

tip structures mounted to ends of the plurality of free-standing spring contacts.

20. Probe card assembly, according to claim 18, characterized in that:

the free-standing spring contacts are composite interconnection elements.

21. A tile, adapted in use to be mounted as one of a plurality of tiles to a larger substrate, comprising:

a tile substrate having two opposite surfaces;

spring contacts extending from a one of the two surfaces;

solderable terminals on an other of the two opposite surfaces; and

means, within the tile substrate, for connecting the solderable terminals to the spring contacts.