JPH0572231A - Circuit board inspection electrode device and inspection method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] With respect to the electrodes to be inspected on the high-density circuit board, electrical connection to the tester can be easily achieved with high efficiency, and the circuit board can be inspected with high reliability. An object is to provide an inspection electrode device and an inspection method. The inspection electrode device includes an inspection electrode element in which an inspection electrode is formed at a standard lattice point position on one surface of an insulating substrate, and a plurality of functional regions in the inspection electrode element having the same inspection electrode arrangement. And a connecting member that electrically connects mutually corresponding test electrodes to each other to form a common electrode. Then, on the one surface on which the inspection electrode of the inspection electrode device is formed, through the connector,
An inspected circuit board having an inspected electrode area having a shape larger than each functional area of the inspected electrode element is arranged, and each inspected electrode is individually electrically connected to the common electrode, and the inspected circuit board is formed by the common electrode. Is inspected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inspection electrode device and an inspection method for a circuit board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, for a circuit board on which an integrated circuit or the like is mounted, its electrical characteristics are checked before mounting the integrated circuit or the like in order to confirm that the wiring pattern of the circuit board has desired performance. It is necessary to inspect.
Conventionally, as a method of executing the inspection of this circuit board, basically, there is an inspection electrode arranged according to the arrangement pattern of the inspected electrode of the inspected circuit board, and this inspection electrode is connected to the tester of the tester by wire wiring. A method of using an individually-corresponding inspection electrode device electrically connected to an inspection circuit and an inspection electrode device in which inspection electrodes are formed at standard grid point positions arranged vertically and horizontally, called a universal type, are inspected. There is known a method of using in combination with a connector for connecting an electrode to be inspected on a circuit board and an inspection electrode of this inspection electrode device.

At present, in the field of circuit boards, there is a tendency to further increase the degree of integration of elements and the densification of patterns, and accordingly, the densification of inspection electrodes is also required in inspection devices. There is. However, in the individually-corresponding inspection electrode device, since the inspection electrodes having a pattern corresponding to the electrodes to be inspected of the circuit board to be inspected are required, the inspection circuit can be efficiently used as compared with the universal type. On the other hand, there is an advantage, but in the end, it is necessary to form a high-density test electrode like a test electrode by using a spring probe, etc. Therefore, it is difficult to manufacture the test electrode device, and the cost is very high. There is a problem that becomes high.

Further, in the universal type inspection electrode device, the distance between the adjacent inspection electrodes forming a pair with the inspection circuit of the tester is constant, and the inspection electrode having the densified inspection electrodes is inspected. For inspecting the circuit board, for example, a connector 20 as shown in FIG. 7 or 8 is used, and some of the electrodes to be inspected are electrically connected to the inspected electrode at the closest position in the inspected electrode device. A good connection. However, for some other electrodes to be inspected, it is often necessary to electrically connect them to the inspection electrodes at positions that are considerably separated from each other in the inspection electrode device. This is because the density of the electrodes to be inspected is considerably higher than the density of the inspection electrodes. As a result, it is necessary to increase the wiring density in the connector, but there is a limit to increasing the density. Further, in practice, there are many test electrodes that cannot be effectively used, and there is a problem that there is much waste in terms of efficiency and the device.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional inspection electrode apparatus, it is difficult to sufficiently cope with the desired high density of the electrodes to be inspected. As a result,
The configuration of the inspection electrode device itself becomes complicated, and it is difficult to sufficiently achieve high density of the wiring pattern in the connector for achieving electrical connection, and reliable inspection cannot be performed.

An object of the present invention is to easily and highly efficiently achieve an electrical connection to a test circuit of a tester for confirming the electrical conduction state of an inspected electrode of a densified circuit board. It is an object of the present invention to provide a circuit board inspection electrode device and an inspection method capable of performing the necessary circuit board inspection with sufficiently high reliability.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An inspection electrode device for a circuit board according to the present invention comprises an inspection electrode element having inspection electrodes formed at standard lattice point positions arranged vertically and horizontally on one surface of an insulating substrate, and this inspection electrode. And a connecting member which electrically connects test electrodes arranged at corresponding positions in each of a plurality of functional regions having the same test electrode arrangement in the element to each other to form a common electrode. And

A method of inspecting a circuit board according to the present invention uses the above-described circuit board inspection electrode device and has a shape larger than each functional region of the inspection electrode element on one surface on which the inspection electrode is formed via a connector. An inspected circuit board having an inspected electrode area is arranged, and each inspected electrode of this inspected circuit board is electrically connected individually to the common electrode of the inspected electrode element by the connector, and the inspection is performed in this state. The circuit board to be inspected is inspected by the common electrode of the electrode element.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below, and FIG. 1 shows an inspection electrode element 11 in an example of the inspection electrode device according to the present invention. The inspection electrode element 11 is formed by forming inspection electrodes p at standard grid point positions arranged vertically and horizontally on one surface of a rectangular plate-shaped insulating substrate in accordance with a so-called universal arrangement. The inspection electrode element 11 has a total of four functional areas A, B, C, and D each having a rectangular shape in which one surface area is divided into two parts in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction as shown by a chain line.
(In the order of upper left, upper right, lower left and lower right in FIG. 1) are formed, and in each of the functional areas A to D, inspection electrodes p are arranged vertically and horizontally in the same arrangement.

Now, in each of the functional areas A to D, the vertical m
In order to specify the inspection electrodes p arranged in rows and n columns in the horizontal direction, the inspection electrodes p in the position of the m-th row and the n-th column are specified.
In the case where the address display of (m, n) is specified and further up to the functional area is specified, symbols A to D indicating the functional area are added to the head of the address display. For example, the inspection electrode in the first row, first column in the functional area A is A (1,
It is represented by 1).

Functional areas A to D of the inspection electrode element 11
The inspection electrodes p at the corresponding positions in each of the above are electrically connected to each other by a connecting member. That is, there are a total of four test electrodes p having the same address display (m, n) in each of the functional areas A to D, but the four test electrodes p having the same address display are electrically connected to each other. To make a physical connection. The inspection electrodes electrically connected to each other are referred to as "common electrodes" in this specification,
It is represented by P (m, n). Therefore, a certain common electrode P (m, n) is a test electrode A (m, n), B (m, n) as four branched terminals that are electrically connected.
n), C (m, n) and D (m, n).

The electrical connection of the inspection electrodes having the same address designation (m, n) as described above may be achieved by an appropriate connecting member, and the specific configuration or means thereof is not limited. .. For example, a multilayer wiring circuit can be formed on the insulating base of the inspection electrode element 11 and used as a connecting member, or the connecting member can be constituted by an appropriate lead wire.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inspected circuit board 30 is inspected by using the inspecting electrode device including the inspecting electrode element 11 and the connecting member as described above. That is, the circuit board 30 to be inspected is arranged on the inspection electrode element 11 via the connector 20. Here, the connector 20 has, for example, a shape that covers the entire one surface of the inspected electrode element 11, and the inspected circuit board 30 is on the one surface (upper surface in FIG. 2) with which the inspected circuit board 30 is in contact. No. 1 has a first connection terminal of a pattern corresponding to the electrode to be inspected, and has a second connection terminal individually connected to the common electrode of the inspection electrode element 11 on the other surface side. It has a connection part for electrically connecting the connection electrode and the second connection terminal to each other. Such a connector 20 is used for the circuit board 30 to be inspected and the inspection electrode element 11
By arranging between them, the electrodes to be inspected of the circuit board 30 to be inspected are individually connected to the common electrodes of the inspection electrode element 11, and one electrode to be inspected is commonly connected to the same common electrode. A perfect state is achieved.

More specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the connector 20 has a conductive pin holding plate 21 having a shape that covers the entire one surface of the inspection electrode element 11.
And a large number of conductive pins 22 held by the conductive pin holding plate 21. The conductive pin holding plate 21 has an upper plate 21A and a lower plate 21C facing the upper plate 21A via a spacer 21B. The upper plate 21A has a position corresponding to the electrode 31 to be inspected of the circuit board 30 to be inspected. The inspection electrode element 1 is formed on the lower plate 21C while the through hole is formed.
A through hole is formed at a position corresponding to the inspection electrode p which is one common electrode. The conductive pin 22 is elastically expandable and contractible by a spring incorporated therein,
A spring 23 disposed in the space between the upper plate 21A and the lower plate 21C so as to project upward and downward through the through holes of the upper plate 21A and the lower plate 21C of the conductive pin holding plate 21 and be provided in an inclined state, for example. Due to the spring 2
It is held so as to be movable in the vertical direction against the elastic force of 3.

According to the connector 20 having such a structure,
Since the lower end of the conductive pin 22 elastically contacts the inspection electrode p and the upper end elastically contacts the inspected electrode 31, the inspected electrode having a unique pattern of the inspected circuit board 30 is achieved. Electrical connection between 31 and the inspection electrode p arranged at the standard grid point on the inspection electrode element 11 is achieved. That is, in this connector 20, the upper end and the lower end of each conductive pin 22 serve as a first connection terminal and a second connection terminal, respectively.

FIG. 8 shows another example. In this example, the connector 20 includes a pitch conversion board 25 having a shape that covers the entire surface of the inspection electrode element 11, and a first anisotropic conductive member interposed between the pitch conversion board 25 and the circuit board 30 to be inspected. Elastic elastomer sheet 26,
Second anisotropic conductive elastomer sheet 27 inserted between the pitch conversion port 25 and the inspection electrode element 11
It is composed of and.

The pitch conversion port 25 has an upper electrode 25A arranged on the upper surface thereof in the same pattern as the electrodes 31 to be inspected of the circuit board 30 to be inspected, and a standard grid similar to the inspection electrodes p of the inspection electrode element 11 on the lower surface. It has a lower electrode 25B arranged at a dot position and an in-layer wiring portion 25C for electrically connecting the upper electrode 25A and the lower electrode 25B. In addition, the first anisotropic conductive elastomer sheet 2
6 and the second anisotropic conductive elastomer sheet 27,
Each has a conductive path forming portion in the thickness direction of the elastomer sheet.

According to such a connector 20, the connector 20 is pinched between the inspection electrode element 11 and the circuit board 30 to be inspected, so that the first anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet 26 is used to intervene. The inspected electrode 31 of the circuit board 30 is the upper electrode 25A of the pitch conversion board 25.
, And at the same time, the inspection electrode p of the inspection electrode element 11 is electrically connected to the lower electrode 25B of the pitch conversion port 25 through the second anisotropic conductive elastomer sheet 27, and as a result, the inspection target Electrode 31 and inspection electrode p
An electrical connection with is achieved. That is, in this connector 20, the upper electrode 2 of the pitch conversion port 25 is
5A and the lower electrode 25B serve as a first connection terminal and a second connection terminal, respectively.

In the above state, the tester inspects the circuit board 30 to be inspected through the common electrode of the inspection electrode element 11. Then, as will be described below, the outstanding effect of the present invention is obtained when the area of the inspected circuit board 30 where the inspected electrode exists is larger than the shape of each functional area of the inspected electrode element 11. It is demonstrated as a practical thing.

For the sake of explanation, as shown in FIG. 3, when the shape of the electrode area to be inspected of the circuit board 30 to be inspected is the same as that of each functional area, that is, the dimensions of the electrode area to be inspected are vertical and horizontal. It is assumed that both are 1/2 of the inspection electrode element 11 and the shape is reduced to 1/4.
When the circuit board 30 to be inspected is arranged at the center of the inspection electrode element 11, the electrode area to be inspected of the circuit board 30 to be inspected is a boundary line (dashed-dotted line) between the functional areas A to D, as is clear from FIG. ), It is divided into two in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction to form four area portions. The four area portions are called inspection area portions, and are a, b, c and d in the order of upper left, upper right, lower left and lower right. That is, the upper left inspection area portion is represented as "inspection area portion a".

Also for each of the functional areas A to D,
Assuming a state in which four area portions are formed by being divided into two in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction (the dividing line is shown by a broken line), the four area portions are called functional area portions, and the upper left corner,
LU, RU, LD and R in the order of upper right, lower left and lower right
In addition, when identifying up to the functional area, the symbols A to D indicating the functional area are added at the beginning. For example, the upper left portion of the functional area A is “functional area A
LU "and the lower right portion of the functional area D are represented by" functional area portion DRD ".

Referring to FIG. 3 under the above conditions, in this state, the inspection area portion a is the functional area portion A.
The inspection area portion b is located on the RD and the inspection area portion b is the functional area portion BL.
The inspection area part c is located on D and the inspection area part c is the functional area part CRU.
Located above, the inspection area portion d is located on the functional area portion DLU. However, since the corresponding inspection electrodes p are electrically connected to each other in the functional areas A to D, the functional area parts LU of all the functional areas A to D, that is, the four functional area parts ALU, BLU, and CLU. And DLU are equivalent to each other. Similarly, functional area portions RU, LD and RD for all functional areas A-D
Are equivalent to each other.

In this state, assuming that the average inspection electrode density of the inspected electrode region of the inspected circuit board 30 is α, the average inspection electrode density also takes into consideration the electrical connection state of the entire inspection electrode element 11. This is a state where the size is 1α, which is the same size. FIG. 4 shows the state of this average inspection electrode density.
The number of each area portion indicates how many times α becomes. As understood from FIG. 4, in this state, the average inspection electrode density is 1α in all the areas, and the inspection electrode area of the inspection target circuit board 30 is set to the inspection electrode element 11
Is exactly the same as when the connection is made to correspond to only one of the functional areas, and in this case, the advantages of the present invention do not appear as a practical effect.

However, as shown in FIG. 5, when the shape of the inspected electrode region of the inspected circuit board 30 is larger than each functional region, it belongs to the functional regions A to D and is located on the center side of the whole. Positioned around a basic area 40 (area surrounded by a thick broken line, which is equal to an inspected electrode area of the inspected circuit board 30 of FIG. 3) occupied by four functional area portions ARD, BLD, CRU and DLU. The electrode area to be inspected is also located on the functional area portion to be operated.

The state of the average inspection electrode density in this case is shown in FIG. 6 with a central portion 51 surrounded by a solid line and having an average inspection electrode density of 1α and a halftone dot. An intermediate frame-shaped portion 52 having an average inspection electrode density of 2α or 4α and an outer peripheral portion 53 having an average inspection electrode density of 1α or 2α outside the intermediate frame-shaped portion 52 are formed. Here, the central portion 51 has a shape smaller than the basic region 40.

The average inspection electrode density will be described in detail. In FIG. 6, each of the functional areas A to D is in a state of being divided into three in both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.
Here, in common with each of the functional areas A to D, the vertical divisional areas are referred to as “upper”, “middle” and “lower” in order from the top,
When each of the laterally divided areas is defined as “left side”, “center”, and “right side” in order from the left, the electrode area to be inspected is directly positioned in a total of four upper left areas in each of the functional areas A to D. Only the functional area D is shown. Therefore,
The average inspection electrode densities of the four upper left areas are “1α” in each of the functional areas A to D. Similarly, in a total of four upper right areas, the functional area C,
In the four areas on the lower left side in total, the tested electrode areas are located only in the functional area A in the areas on the right side in the four lower areas in total, and therefore, the average inspection electrode densities of these areas are both " 1α ”.

In each of the four functional areas A to D, it is functional areas C and D that the electrode areas to be inspected are located directly in the central areas of the four upper areas. The average inspection electrode density is “2α” in each of the functional areas A to D. Similarly, the functional areas A and B in the four central areas in total, the functional areas B and C in the four areas in the left side of the middle area, and the functional areas A and C in the area in the total right area of the four middle areas are similarly covered. Since the inspection electrode regions are directly located, the average inspection electrode density in these areas is “2α”.

On the other hand, in the four central areas in total, the electrode areas to be inspected are directly located in all of them, so that the average inspection electrode densities in these central areas are all "4α". In this way, the distribution state of the average inspection electrode density in each of the functional areas A to D is the same.

The above-described state of the average inspection electrode density in the inspection electrode element 11 is accompanied by an increase in the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the inspected electrode region of the inspected circuit board 30.
The width of the outer peripheral portion 53 becomes smaller in the vertical and horizontal directions, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the central portion 51 become smaller, and the intermediate frame-shaped portion 52
The width of both becomes large vertically and horizontally. At this time, the intermediate frame-shaped portion 5
2, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the four middle-stage central areas having an average inspection electrode density of 4α are increased, and the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the inspected electrode region of the inspected circuit board 30 are the same as those of the inspected electrode element 11. When this happens, the central area of each of the functional areas A to D occupies the entire functional area, and as a result, the average inspection electrode density becomes 4α in all areas.

As described above, when the inspected electrode area of the inspected circuit board 30 is smaller than the entire inspected electrode element 11 but exceeds the size of each functional area, the inspected electrode element 11 is , The central portion 51 having a low average inspection electrode density and the outer peripheral portion 53 having a relatively low average inspection electrode density
Are formed through the intermediate frame-shaped portion 52 having a relatively high average inspection electrode density. Therefore, by utilizing the inspection electrodes in the central portion 51 and the outer peripheral portion 53 having a low average inspection electrode density, each of the electrodes to be inspected can be easily used as the common electrode of the inspection electrode element 11 with a large degree of freedom. It can be electrically connected individually. That is, since the inspected electrode area of the inspected circuit board is arranged so as to have a portion that simultaneously overlaps each of the four functional areas A to D, it is a state in which the inspected electrode area is arranged so as to be at the same time. It suffices to select a common electrode that is located in the vicinity and is easy to connect and electrically connect to it. In particular, the common electrode P (m, n) is the inspection electrode A (m, n), B having the function of its equivalent terminal.
Since it is composed of (m, n), C (m, n) and D (m, n), any of the inspection electrodes may be used for electrical connection, so that an extremely large degree of freedom can be obtained. Be done. In this way, the utilization efficiency of the inspection electrodes p of the entire inspection electrode element 11 is increased, so that the useless inspection electrodes are significantly reduced, and the inspection can be performed with extremely high efficiency.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above in the case of the inspection electrode device using the inspection electrode elements having the four functional regions adjacent to each other in the vertical and horizontal directions. However, the number of the functional regions is limited in the present invention. It is not a thing and it can be arbitrary plural. However, it can be said that it is ideal that the number of functional regions is 4 to the n-th power (n is an integer of 1 or more) as in the above embodiment. This is because the circuit board is usually rectangular, and as the number of functional areas increases, the structure of the connecting member for electrically connecting the corresponding test electrodes in each functional area becomes complicated. However, the same effect can be obtained even if the inspection electrode element has two functional regions arranged vertically or horizontally or has three functional regions vertically and horizontally. Further, when the circuit board to be inspected has electrodes to be inspected on both sides, the inspection electrode device of the present invention can be applied to both sides of the circuit board to be inspected, and these double sided inspection electrode elements are also commonly used. It can also be treated as an electrode.

[0032]

According to the present invention, a circuit board to be inspected having an electrode area to be inspected having a shape larger than a plurality of functional areas of the inspection electrode element is basically inspected although it is a universally arranged inspection electrode device. In doing so, it is possible to effectively use the inspection electrodes located outside the inspected electrode region in the inspection electrode element, and waste is reduced, and the inspection electrode density for the inspection electrodes is averaged, Therefore, since the inspection electrode density is higher than that of the normal universal type, various effects that the wiring in the connector is easy and reliable can be obtained, and in the end, the density of the circuit board to be inspected is increased. The electrical connection between the electrodes and the tester for inspection can be reliably achieved, and the circuit board can be inspected with high reliability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory sectional view showing a structure of a test electrode element in an embodiment of a test electrode device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an inspection method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a case where an electrode area to be inspected has the same shape as a functional area according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an explanatory diagram showing an average inspection electrode density of inspection electrode elements in the case of FIG. 3. FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a case where an electrode area to be inspected has a shape larger than a functional area according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an average inspection electrode density of inspection electrode elements in the case of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory sectional view showing a specific configuration of a connector that can be used in the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing another configuration of a connector that can be used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

p inspection electrode 11 inspection electrode element A, B, C, D functional area 20 connector 21 conductive pin holding plate 21A
Upper plate 21B Spacer 21C
Lower plate 22 Conductive pin 23 Spring 25 Pitch conversion port 25A
Lower electrode 25B Upper electrode 25C
In-layer wiring portion 26 First anisotropic conductive elastomer sheet 27 Second anisotropic conductive elastomer sheet 30 Inspected circuit board 31 Inspected electrodes a, b,
c, d inspection area portion LU, RU, LD, RD functional area portion 40 basic area 51 central portion 52 intermediate frame portion 53 outer peripheral portion

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An inspection electrode element in which inspection electrodes are formed at standard lattice point positions arranged vertically and horizontally on one surface of an insulating substrate, and a plurality of functional regions in the inspection electrode element having the same inspection electrode arrangement. 2. A test electrode device for a circuit board, comprising: a connecting member that electrically connects test electrodes arranged at corresponding positions in each of the above to each other to form a common electrode. 2. Using the inspection electrode device according to claim 1,
On the one surface where the inspection electrode is formed, through the connector,
An inspected circuit board having an inspected electrode area having a shape larger than each functional area of the inspected electrode element is arranged, and each inspected electrode of this inspected circuit board is individually connected to a common electrode of the inspected electrode element by the connector. And a circuit board inspecting the circuit board to be inspected in this state by using a common electrode of the inspection electrode element.