JPH0749355A - Probe device for inspection/test, and structure for installing probe device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To meet miniaturization of a probe device by the improvement of probe density of the device. CONSTITUTION:In a probe device A comprising probes 4 the end parts of which are bent in an L-form and the bent ends 4a of which are pointed in a tapering form, and a probe installing block 1 holding a plurality of probes 4, in above the same direction and trueing the tips of the bent ends, respective probes 4 are arranged, successively so that probes 4 the lengths H, h... of the bent ends 4a of which are different, are adjacent each other, so that the installing position, to the probe installing block 1, of the probe 42 the length (h) of the bent end of which is short, is located more downward than the installing position, to the probe installing block 1, of the probe 41 the length H of the bent end of which is long, and so that the installing positions become a plurality of layers.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to electrical inspection of flat panel displays and the like (hereinafter referred to as circuit boards).
The present invention relates to a probe device for testing and a probe device mounting structure which can be effectively used not only on the upper surface of a circuit board but also on electrode portions formed in each direction on both upper and lower surfaces.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a circuit board probe, for example, there is one that conducts a circuit check by simultaneously contacting all electrodes formed only on the upper surface of the circuit board.

Now, the above-mentioned probe device which has been conventionally used is intended to perform a circuit check by simultaneously making contact with all electrodes formed only on the upper surface of the circuit board as described above. The circuit board, especially the electrode part of the flat panel display, may be formed on both upper and lower surfaces depending on the display method, the element, and the form of the circuit. In this case, the probe is adapted to correspond to the electrode part only on the upper surface. There is a problem that the device and its mounting structure cannot handle it.

Further, since the number of each electrode of the circuit board exceeds 1000 per item, it takes time to adjust the position of the probe needle and to attach / detach the probe device to / from the mounting plate. It was desired to shorten the period. In addition, due to advances in circuit technology, the spacing between each electrode tends to become narrower, and due to electrical obstacles and installation areas, there is a demand for progressive miniaturization of the main body of the device (= prober) to which the probe is attached. Is increasing.

[0005]

The present invention has been made in view of the drawbacks of the conventional example, and the first problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve the probe needle density of the probe device to reduce the size thereof. The second is to enable double-sided inspection and testing of circuit boards.

[0006]

An inspection / test probe device according to the present invention as set forth in claim 1 has a probe needle whose tip is bent in an L-shape and whose bent end (4a) is tapered. (4) and a probe mounting block (1) constituted by a plurality of probe needles (4) and a probe mounting block (1) that holds the bending tips (4b) in the same direction and with the bent tips (4b) aligned, end
(4a) probe needles (4) having different lengths (H) (h) ... are arranged in sequence so as to be adjacent to each other, and a probe mounting block (of a probe needle (42) having a short bent end length (h) (42) The mounting position to 1) is located below the mounting position to the probe mounting block (1) of the probe needle (41) with a long bent end length (H), and the mounting position is a plurality of layers. It is arranged as follows.

As a result, the probe needle (41) having a long bending end (4a) (H) is arranged between the probe needles (42) having a short bending end (4a) (h). It will be. As a result, between the short probe needles (42) of the bent end (4a), the bent end (4a) of the probe needle (41) that has a long length but gradually becomes narrower is located, and only the thinned part The distance between the probe needles (4) can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to sufficiently deal with the circuit board (B) in which the arrangement of the electrode parts (10) is increased in density by increasing the screen size. Further, the body portion (4c) of the probe needle (4) connected to the bent end (4a),
There is a margin between adjacent probe needles (4) arranged in multiple layers, and even if the distance between the probe needles (41) and (42) is narrowed, the main body portion (4c) of the adjacent probe needles (41) (42) ) There is no danger of mutual contact.

The inspection / test probe device mounting structure according to the second aspect of the present invention is such that "a mounting plate (C1 to 4) surrounds a circuit board (B) having electrode portions (10) formed on both front and back surfaces thereof. The plurality of probe devices (A) according to claim 1 are arranged in a downward direction or an upward direction and the mounting plates (C1 to
4) attached to each of the above
Attach the mounting plate (C) so that the probe needle (4) of (A) contacts the electrode parts (10) formed on both sides of the front and back of the circuit board (B).
1 to 4) are adapted to move independently of each other. ”

As a result, it is possible to easily deal with the circuit board (B) having the electrode portions (10) formed on both front and back surfaces, which cannot be conventionally dealt with.

[0010]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the probe device (A) according to the present invention.
Shown in. In this embodiment, a probe device used for a prober for inspecting a circuit board (for example, a liquid crystal flat panel display) will be described as a typical example, but of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and a case for inspecting a semiconductor substrate is started, Everything used in similar tests is inclusive. The probe needle (4) is made of, for example, a needle-shaped body of, for example, tungsten or beryllium copper, which has excellent conductivity and extremely high hardness, and is used as a material for the probe needle (4). (4a) has a sharp point. There are two types of probe needles (4) used in this embodiment, one having a long bent end (4a) length (H) and one having a short bent end (4a) length (h). . In the present embodiment, the case where two types of probe needles (41) and (42) of long and short types are used is mentioned as a representative example, but it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this and includes the case of three or more types. Yes.

The probe mounting block (1) comprises a needle holding block body (3) in which the central portion of the block body (1a) and the probe needle (4) are embedded, and a mounting for fixing the needle holding block body (3). It is composed of a block body (2). In FIG. 1, the upper surface of the block body (1a) is a mounting surface, the front surface has a stepped portion (1c) for mounting a mounting block body, and the lower surface has a connection board (5) mounted thereon. ing. On the mounting surface of the block body (1a), screw holes (7) are provided at two locations in the front and rear (of course, two or more locations may be provided, or one location may be provided). Also, the step
Two points on the front surface of (1c) (of course, two or more points may be used.)
The screw hole (7) is screwed.

On the connection board (5), a thin conductive strip-shaped signal transmission path (5a) is formed according to the number and intervals of the probe needles (4) by a fine etching process utilizing precision photoengraving technology. Has been formed. This connection board (5) is formed by a parallel plate such as ceramics or glass, and the elasticity of the probe needle (4) is provided on the lower surface of the block body (1a) so that the signal transmission path (5a) is exposed. It is fixed by pressure.

The mounting block body (2) has an L-shaped cross section (of course,
The sectional shape is not limited to the above, and a rectangular shape or other appropriate sectional shape can be adopted. ), The mounting hole (2a) is drilled in accordance with the screw hole (7) formed in the front surface of the block body (1a).

In the present embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the needle holding block body (3) is a parallelogram-shaped cross section (of course, the cross-sectional shape is not limited to the above-mentioned cross-sectional shape, but a rectangular shape or any other suitable cross-sectional shape can be adopted). The plurality of probe needles (4) are arranged in the same direction and embedded and held. As shown in FIG. 2, the probe needle (4) is embedded by the length (H) of the bent end (4a).
The long end and the short end (4a) of the bent end (4a) are alternately arranged to embed and hold the central portion of the probe needle (4). (If there are three or more types of probe needles (4), the length of the bent end (4a) of the adjacent probe needles (4)
Those with different (H) (h) ... will be arranged. )

Positioning of the probe needle (4) and formation of the needle holding block body (3) are performed by a jig, and the probe needle (4
(1) After fixing so that the tips (4b) of (42) are located on a straight line, the resin is filled and solidified in the cavity of the jig. Therefore, the height (H) or (h) from the straight line connecting the apex (4b) to the embedded part is set according to the length of the bent end (4a), and the mounting block body (2) is moved forward. From the perspective, there are two layers (three or more types, three or more layers). By doing so, the probe needle (41) having a long bending end (4a) is arranged between the probe needles (42) having a short bending end (4a), but the long bending end (4a) is arranged. Probe needle (4
In the case of 1), the tapering end (4a) is gradually arranged between the bending ends (4a) of the adjacent probe needles (42), and the probe is as much as the bending end (4a) is thin. The distance between the needles (41) and (42) can be narrowed.

Further, a probe needle connected to the bent end (4a)
The main body portion (4c) of (4) is arranged in two layers and a margin is generated between the adjacent probe needles (41) and (42).
There is no risk that the main body portions (4c) of the adjacent probe needles (41) and (42) will come into contact with each other even if the distance between them is narrowed. still,
The embedding angle of the probe needle (4) is equal to the mounting angle of the needle holding block body (3) in this case.

The parts thus prepared are assembled as shown in FIG. 2 to form a probe device (A). That is, the needle holding block body (3) is bonded to the tip of the mounting block body (2), and then this mounting block body (2) is fitted into the mounting step portion (1c) of the block body (1a), and the bolt (6) is attached. Fix at. Then, attach the rear end of the probe needle (4) to the signal transmission line (5
Contact a) and fix it electrically by a method such as soldering or conductive adhesive. (5b) is the connection between the two.

Next, referring to FIG. 1, a method of using the probe apparatus (A) according to the present invention will be described. In the figure, (C1) ~
(C4) is a prober mounting plate, which is arranged around the object to be measured (B). The object to be measured (B) is a circuit board such as a liquid crystal flat panel display in the present embodiment, innumerable pixels are formed in order in the display portion, and an electrode portion (around it) connected to the pixel ( 10) are densely and regularly formed at regular intervals. The electrode parts (10) are provided on both surfaces of the circuit board (B).

The embodiment shown in the drawing is an example in which the electrode portion (10) is provided on the back side on the long side and the electrode portion (10) is formed on the front side on the short side. On the long side, as shown in Fig. 4, place the probe device (A) on its back and attach the mounting plate (C
1) Place it on the upper surface of (C3) and set it in place with bolts (8). On the other hand, on the short side, the probe device (A) is arranged on the lower surface of the mounting plates (C2) (C4) as shown in FIG. 5, and fixed by the bolt (8) as described above. In this way, the tips (4b) of the probe needles (4) are arranged on the electrode portions (10) provided on the front and back of the circuit board (B) so as to be aligned on a straight line.

The mounting plates (C1 to C4) are independently driven in the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions. After that, the mounting plates (C1) to (C4) to which the plurality of probe devices (A) are fixed and the object to be measured (B) are moved in the vertical direction to move the tip (4b) of the probe needle (4) to the electrode part ( Ten)
Then, each mounting plate (C1 to C4) is independently electrically contacted and energized to check the total number of pixels. Electrodes on the front and back
When the (10) is provided, the probe tip (4) is moved up and down to bring the tips (4b) of the probe needles (4) into contact with the electrode portions (10), respectively, for measurement. When the measurement is completed, the object to be measured (B) is replaced with a new one, and the measurement is continued by the same operation as described above.

At the time of measurement, a constant measuring pressure is applied to the probe needle (4), but a measuring pressure is applied to the bending end (4a) in the axial direction of the bending end (4a). Even if it is thin, it will not buckle or break. Also, the measuring pressure is applied to the main body portion (4c) of the probe needle (4) in a cantilever type, but the thickness of the main body portion (4c) of the probe needle (4) used in the present invention Is the same as the conventional one, and there is no possibility that a predetermined measurement pressure cannot be applied to the electrode portion due to bending.

The rear end of the probe needle (4) has a signal transmission line (5
Since it is directly connected to a), disturbance noise is
Accurate measurement can be carried out because it rarely rides on (4).

[0023]

In the probe measurement of the present invention, since the probe needles having a long bent end and the probe needles having a short bent end are alternately arranged, a probe having a short bent end is used. The needle and the probe needle having a long bent end are arranged adjacent to each other. As a result, between the probe needles with short bending ends, the bending ends of the probe needles that have a long length but gradually become thinner are located, and the interval between the probe needles can be narrowed by the amount of the thinning. It will be possible to sufficiently cope with a circuit board in which the arrangement of the electrode parts is more precise according to the screen. In addition, since the main body of the probe needle connected to the bent end is arranged in two layers and a margin is generated between the probe needle and the adjacent probe needle, the thickness of the main body is set to the conventional thickness, and the distance between the probe needles is set to the electrode. There is no risk that the body parts of adjacent probe needles will come into contact with each other even if it is narrowed to match the part, and therefore, it will not be able to apply a predetermined contact pressure to the electrode part due to the large deflection due to the measurement pressure. There is no such thing.

Further, in the prober device mounting structure, the mounting plates are arranged around the circuit board having the electrode portions formed on both front and back surfaces, and a plurality of probe devices are respectively mounted on the mounting plate in a downward or upward direction. Since the mounting plate or the circuit board is moved so that the probe needles of the probe device independently contact the electrode portions formed on both sides of the front and back surfaces of the circuit board, the electrodes on both sides are moved. It is possible to easily test and inspect the circuit board on which the parts are formed once.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of a probe device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the probe device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view when the probe device of the present invention is mounted on a mounting plate.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the probe device of the present invention when measuring the back electrode portion of the object to be measured.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the probe device of the present invention when measuring a surface electrode portion of an object to be measured.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (A) ... Probe device (1) ... Probe mounting block (1a) ... Block body (2) ... Mounting block body (3) ... Needle holding block body (4) ... Probe needle (41) ... Probe needle with long bend (42)… Probe needle with a short bend (4a)… Bend (4b)… Probe needle tip (4c)… Probe needle body

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A probe mounting block for holding a probe needle whose tip is bent in an L shape and whose bent end is pointed in a taper shape, and said plurality of probe needles are held in substantially the same direction and with their bent end tips aligned. In the probe device configured by, the probe needles having different bending end lengths are sequentially arranged adjacent to each other, and the attachment position of the probe needles with short bending end lengths to the probe mounting block is An inspection / test probe device characterized in that the probe needles having a long length are arranged below the attachment position of the probe attachment block to the probe attachment block so that the attachment positions are in multiple layers. 2. The mounting plate is arranged around a circuit board having electrode portions formed on both front and back surfaces, and the plurality of probe devices according to claim 1 are mounted on the mounting plate in a downward or upward direction, respectively. The mounting plate is independently moved so that the probe needles of the probe device come into contact with the electrode portions formed on both sides of the front and back surfaces of the circuit board. -Test probe device mounting structure.