Design and fabrication of a highly manufacturable MEMS probe card for high speed testing

Abstract

We have designed and fabricated a micro-electro mechanical system (MEMS) probe card, which is suitable for a manufactured product, to achieve a deflection of 50 µm at a force of 1.5 gram (g) and a probe structure height of 720 µm. The cantilever structure consists of a tip and beam of Ni-Co, a bump of Ni and AuSn solder between them. In order to make the probe card compliant, all moving structures such as the tip, beam and bumps were electroplated with nickel, nickel-cobalt and gold solutions. The fabricated MEMS probe card can endure more than 150 µm overdrive and prevent tip damage from particles owing mainly to its high bump height and enhanced high frequency test, putting capacitors between the driving voltage and ground. Based on our experimental results, the average contact force was approximately 1.41 gram force (gf) at 50 µm of deflection and the total path resistance was less than 5 for all pins, while the leakage current was less than 5 nA.

MEMS-based Ni–B probe with enhanced mechanical properties for fine pitch testing

“…This trend requires narrower microprobes, which in turn reduces the stiffness of the microprobes. Micro-probes must exhibit high stiffness (or high elastic modulus if the geometry of the micro-probe is known) to be able to break the oxidation layer on aluminum I/O pads [4,5]. In order to extend the service time, the mechanical properties of micro-probes should exhibit a high yield strength so that they do not undergo permanent deformation, high hardness to minimize the abrasion caused by a number of touchdowns, and high thermal stability so that they can maintain their mechanical performance in a high-temperature environment such as from localized Joule heating [5].…”

“…Under these conditions, Ni alloys, especially Ni-Co, are conventionally used for micro-probes because of their suitable properties and affordable fabrication processes, such as electroplating [2,[5][6][7][8][9][10]. However, since integration has increased continuously over the years, there is a growing need to find another material to meet the stringent requirements.…”

Fabrication of a guide block for measuring a device with fine pitch area-arrayed solder bumps

“…Recently, the pad area and pitch of the devices have been decreasing as memory devices are highly integrated (Hauck et al 2010;Lin et al 2010;Mair and Armendariz 2011;Marinissen et al 2011). MEMS probe cards applying micromachining technologies and electrolytic plating techniques have the advantages of mass production and lower manufacturing costs (Wang et al 2008;Kim and Kim 2008;Marinissen et al 2011). As the MEMS probe card is emerging as the most efficient method in testing at the wafer level, many companies and research institutions are proceeding with its development and production (Park et al 2002;Kim and Kim 2008).…”

A MEMS guide plate for a high temperature testing of a wafer level packaged die wafer

“…Probe cards are widely classified into cantilever needle type (Tada et al 1990), vertical needle type (Sasho and Sakata 1996;Boehm 2006) and microelectro-mechanical system (MEMS) type (Petersen et al 2004;Kim et al 2005;Wang et al 2008;Kim and Kim 2008), depending on shape and manufacturing method of probes. Needle type probe card is the most common type, and its design and fabrication are easier than MEMS probe card.…”