Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080246501 | Probe Card With Stacked Substrate - A probe card is provided including a first substrate, a second substrate, and a plurality of conductive wires extending between the first substrate and the second substrate. The conductive wires are fixed (a) at a first end to a contact of the first substrate, and (b) at a second end to a contact of the second substrate. | 10-09-2008 |
20080308536 | Approach for assembling and repairing probe assemblies using laser welding - An approach for assembling and repairing probe assemblies using laser welding includes aligning a beam element to a post element on a probe substrate. The beam element is positioned in contact with the post element on the probe substrate. The beam element is then attached to the post element on the probe substrate by laser welding the beam element to the post element on the probe substrate. The approach may include the use of a vacuum capillary pickup tool to align and position the beam element. The vacuum capillary pickup tool may also operate in conjunction with a laser beam delivery system for guiding the laser beam to the correct location for welding and also to assist in removing gases and debris attributable to the laser welding process. The approach allows probe elements to be connected directly to a probe substrate without requiring an intermediate layer. | 12-18-2008 |
20090174423 | Bond Reinforcement Layer for Probe Test Cards - A probe card assembly includes a substrate and a plurality of probes bonded to a surface of the substrate. The probe card assembly also includes a reinforcing layer provided on the surface of the substrate. The reinforcing layer is in contact with a lower portion of each of the probes, where a remaining portion of each of the probes is free from the reinforcing layer. The reinforcing layer may be a composite reinforcing layer that includes multiple layers of material to achieve a particular result. According to one embodiment of the invention, the reinforcing layer includes a powder layer disposed on the substrate and an adhesive layer formed on the powder layer. The composite reinforcing layer may be compliant to allow the probes to flex and move as intended, without limiting deflection capability. The composite reinforcing layer may be removable to allow access to probes for repair. | 07-09-2009 |
20090184725 | PROBE CARD ASSEMBLY WITH INTERPOSER PROBES - A probe test card assembly for testing a device under test includes interposer probes to connect a printed circuit board to a substrate. The probe test card assembly includes a printed circuit board, a substrate and a substrate holder. A plurality of test probes is connected to the substrate for making electrical contact with the device under test. A plurality of interposer probes is attached to the substrate for providing electrical connections between the substrate and the printed circuit board. The substrate holder holds the substrate in position with respect to the printed circuit board so that the interposer probes contact the printed circuit board. The interposer probes may be arranged in interposer probe groups to facilitate maintenance and replacement of the interposer probes. Hardstop elements may also be used to protect the interposer probes. | 07-23-2009 |
20090261849 | Low Force Interconnects For Probe Cards - A probe test card assembly for testing of a device under test includes a printed circuit board, a substrate and a substrate support structure. The substrate support structure holds the substrate in position with respect to the printed circuit board. The substrate support structure may include one or more alignment members, one or more hard stop members and/or a support plate attached to the printed circuit board for positioning the substrate with respect to the printed circuit board. The one or more alignment members may extend through the printed circuit board and be connected to the one or more printed circuit board stiffener members. The probe test card assembly may also employ a proximity detection feature to indicate when the substrate is in a particular position with respect to the printed circuit board. | 10-22-2009 |
20100176831 | Probe Test Card with Flexible Interconnect Structure - A probe test card assembly for testing of a device under test includes a printed circuit board (PCB), a space transformer, a probe head structure and a flexible interconnect structure. The space transformer has a first plurality of electrical contacts disposed thereon for providing electrical connections with a plurality of contacts disposed on the PCB and a second plurality of electrical contacts disposed thereon for making contact with a plurality of test probes. Each test probe from the plurality of test probes has a first end for making electrical contact with a device under test and a second end for making electrical contact with one of the electrical contacts from the second plurality of electrical contacts on the space transformer. The flexible interconnect structure provides electrical connections between the first plurality of electrical contacts on the space transformer and the plurality of electrical contacts on the PCB. | 07-15-2010 |
20110032063 | Modular Space Transformer For Fine Pitch Vertical Probing Applications - In an embodiment, a modular space transformer for use in a probe card assembly includes a bottom plate, a guide plate, and a top plate. The guide plate is configured for mounting in a cut-out of the bottom plate. The guide plate has a first surface and a second surface and additionally has a first plurality of spaced electrical connections disposed in a plurality of apertures formed through the guide plate for providing electrical connections between a plurality of test probe contacts and a plurality of guide plate contacts. The top plate has a plurality of spaced electrical contacts disposed through the top plate with at least one of the plurality of guide plate contacts electrically connected to at least one of the plurality of spaced electrical contacts. | 02-10-2011 |
20110148449 | CANTILEVER PROBE STRUCTURE FOR A PROBE CARD ASSEMBLY - A probe for a probe card assembly includes a beam and a fulcrum element. The fulcrum element is positioned between a base end portion of the beam and a tip end portion of the beam and is adapted for contact with the beam such that the beam is cantilevered by the fulcrum. | 06-23-2011 |