KR102861545B1 - Semiconductor test probe pin - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a semiconductor test probe pin, and more particularly, to a semiconductor test probe pin including a top plunger that electrically contacts a terminal of a semiconductor chip, which is an object to be tested, wherein a coating agent is coated on the contact portion of the top plunger, and the coating agent composition comprises nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate, potassium gold cyanide, and purified water. When the coating agent composition for a semiconductor test probe pin comprising the above components is coated, the phenomenon of a tin component in the semiconductor being transferred to the top plunger portion of the test probe pin due to heat generated when current flows through the contact portion during the process of testing the semiconductor is suppressed, thereby extending the service life of the probe pin.

Description

Semiconductor Test Probe Pin {SEMICONDUCTOR TEST PROBE PIN}

The present invention relates to a probe pin for semiconductor testing, and more particularly, to a probe pin for semiconductor testing that can extend the service life of the probe pin by suppressing the phenomenon of a tin component in a semiconductor being transferred to a top plunger portion of the probe pin due to heat generated when current flows through a contact portion with the semiconductor during the process of testing the semiconductor.

delete

In order to test the electrical characteristics of semiconductor devices, there must be a smooth electrical connection between the semiconductor devices and the tester that determines whether the semiconductor devices are good or bad.

Typically, a test device for connecting a semiconductor device and a tester uses a socket board, and a probe pin, a type of socket pin, is installed inside the socket board.

One end of a conventional semiconductor inspection probe pin is equipped with multiple probes to make contact with the terminals of a semiconductor element, and the other end has a plunger inserted into it, the lower end of which has a cone shape and makes contact with the substrate pad of a circuit board of a tester. These plungers are electrically connected by making contact with the terminals of the semiconductor element and the substrate pad of the circuit board of the tester, respectively, to inspect the semiconductor element.

Since these probe pins are made of metals such as beryllium copper, carbon steel, and palladium, there is a problem that when testing a semiconductor, current flows to the top plunger, which is the part that comes into contact with the semiconductor, and heat is generated, and this causes the tin component in the semiconductor to be transferred to the top plunger part of the probe pin, which drastically reduces the lifespan of the probe pin.

delete

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1116225 (February 7, 2012) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1843472 (March 23, 2018)

The technical problem and purpose of the present invention is to provide a probe pin for semiconductor testing that can extend the service life of the probe pin by suppressing the phenomenon of tin components in the semiconductor being transferred to the top plunger portion of the probe pin due to heat generated when current flows through the contact portion with the semiconductor during the process of testing the semiconductor.

delete

The object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor test probe pin including a top plunger that electrically contacts a terminal of a semiconductor chip as a test object, wherein a coating agent is coated on the contact portion of the top plunger, and the coating agent composition is composed of nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate, potassium cyanide, and purified water.

According to a preferred feature of the present invention, the coating composition comprises 100 to 140 g/l of nickel sulfate, 5 to 30 g/l of cobalt sulfate, 3 to 6 g/l of potassium cyanide, and the remainder of purified water.

According to a more preferred feature of the present invention, the coating composition is composed of 120 g/l of nickel sulfate, 17.5 g/l of cobalt sulfate, 4.5 g/l of potassium cyanide, and the remainder of purified water.

Additionally, this can also be achieved by providing a probe pin coated with the coating composition on the surface of the top plunger to a thickness of 50 to 700 nanometers.

According to a preferred feature of the present invention, a plating solution is coated on the surface of the top plunger before the coating composition is coated, and the plating solution is composed of nickel-phosphorus or gold-cobalt.

According to a more preferred feature of the present invention, the plating solution is coated to a thickness of 2 to 3 micrometers.

The semiconductor testing probe pin according to the present invention can suppress the phenomenon of tin components within the semiconductor being transferred to the top plunger portion of the probe pin due to heat generated when current flows through the contact portion with the semiconductor during the semiconductor testing process. Therefore, the service life (lifespan) of the probe pin can be extended.

delete

Figure 1 is a drawing for explaining a probe pin for general semiconductor testing.
Figure 2 is a flowchart showing a coating method for a probe pin for semiconductor testing according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a flowchart showing a coating method of a probe pin for semiconductor testing according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a graph showing the measured service life of probe pins manufactured through Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 of the present invention.
Figure 5 is a graph showing the amount of tin transferred to the probe pin manufactured through Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention and the properties of each component will be described in detail. However, this is intended to be a detailed description to enable a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains to easily carry out the invention, and does not mean that the technical idea and scope of the present invention are limited thereby.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the probe pin (100) includes a top plunger (110) that contacts a semiconductor terminal, which is an object to be inspected, to transmit an electrical signal and detect an output signal output from the object to be inspected, and a bottom plunger (150) that transmits an electrical signal received from an inspection device to the top plunger (110) and transmits a detection signal detected by the top plunger (110) to the inspection device.

At this time, there is a double pin type in which both the top plunger (110) and the bottom plunger (150) slide relative to the barrel (130), and a single pin type in which only one plunger slides relative to the barrel (130). In addition, various types of probe pins are proposed, but the present invention is not limited to a specific type of probe pin.

The semiconductor test probe pin (100) according to the present invention is coated with a coating agent on the contact portion of the top plunger (110) with the test object, and the coating agent composition is composed of nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate, potassium gold cyanide, and purified water, and preferably contains 100 to 140 g/l of nickel sulfate, 5 to 30 g/l of cobalt sulfate, 3 to 6 g/l of potassium gold cyanide, and the remainder is purified water.

A coating composition comprising the above components and contents exhibits an effect of suppressing the phenomenon of tin components in a semiconductor being transferred to the top plunger portion of a test probe pin due to heat generated when current flows through a contact portion during a semiconductor testing process.

At this time, it is preferable that the coating composition be coated with a thickness of 50 to 700 micrometers. If the coating thickness of the coating composition is less than 50 micrometers, the coating layer is easily damaged by heat, so the effect cannot be maintained for a long time. If the coating thickness of the coating composition exceeds 700 micrometers, the effect is not significantly improved, but the thickness of the coating layer made of the coating agent increases excessively, which is also undesirable in terms of manufacturing cost.

Generally, the widely used sulfide bath uses only nickel sulfate as a component, but in this case, there are problems such as difficulty in pH control and relatively low mechanical properties of the coating layer, but when cobalt sulfate and potassium cyanide are contained as described above, a coating layer exhibiting excellent mechanical properties is formed, so that a coating layer can be formed in a thin thickness range as described above.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the coating method for a semiconductor test probe pin according to the present invention comprises a probe pin preparation step (S101) of preparing a semiconductor test probe pin, and a coating agent coating step (S103) of coating the surface of the probe pin prepared through the probe pin preparation step (S101) with the coating agent composition for the semiconductor test probe pin.

The above probe pin preparation step (S101) is a step for removing foreign substances from the top plunger portion, which is the coating portion of the probe pin, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the coating process can proceed smoothly.

The above coating agent coating step (S103) is a step of coating the coating agent composition on the top plunger surface of the probe pin prepared through the probe pin preparation step (S101) with a thickness of 0.3 to 0.5 micrometers. At this time, the method of coating the coating agent composition may be a CVD method (chemical vapor deposition method) or a sputtering method, but is not particularly limited thereto.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 3, between the probe pin preparation step (S101) and the coating agent coating step (S103), a plating solution coating step (S102) may be further performed to coat the top plunger surface of the probe pin prepared through the probe pin preparation step (S101) with a plating solution. The plating solution is preferably composed of nickel-phosphorus or gold-cobalt.

The top plunger portion of the above probe pin is generally made of metal such as beryllium copper, carbon steel, and palladium. In the case of palladium, the plating process described above may be omitted.

Here, in the case of a top plunger made of beryllium copper or carbon steel, it is preferable to perform a plating process for coating a plating solution on the surface before coating the coating composition. That is, performing a plating process for coating the plating solution helps the coating composition adhere more stably to the top plunger portion of the probe pin, thereby enhancing the adhesion of the coating layer.

At this time, if the top plunger of the probe pin is formed of beryllium copper, it is preferable to use a nickel-phosphorus plating solution, and if the top plunger of the probe pin is formed of carbon steel, it is preferable to use a gold-cobalt plating solution.

In addition, it is preferable that the plating solution be coated on the surface of the top plunger of the probe pin with a thickness of 2 to 3 micrometers. If the coating thickness of the plating solution is less than 2 micrometers, the effect is minimal, and if the coating thickness of the plating solution exceeds 3 micrometers, the effect is not significantly improved, and the coating thickness of the plating solution increases excessively, which is not preferable.

<Manufacturing Example 1> Manufacturing of a probe pin coating composition for semiconductor testing

A probe pin coating composition for semiconductor testing was prepared using 120 g/l of nickel sulfate, 17.5 g/l of cobalt sulfate, 4.5 g/l of potassium cyanide, and the remainder of purified water.

<Example 1>

After plating a gold-cobalt plating solution to a thickness of 2.5 micrometers on the top plunger portion of a probe pin (beryllium copper) for semiconductor testing, a coating composition manufactured through the above Manufacturing Example 1 was coated to a thickness of 150 nanometers to manufacture a probe pin for semiconductor testing.

<Example 2>

A probe pin for semiconductor testing (palladium) was manufactured by coating the coating composition manufactured through the above Manufacturing Example 1 to a thickness of 150 nanometers on the top plunger portion of the probe pin for semiconductor testing.

<Comparative Example 1>

Probe pins (beryllium copper) for semiconductor testing.

<Comparative Example 2>

Probe pins (palladium) for semiconductor testing.

The service life of the probe pins manufactured through the above Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 was measured and shown in Figure 4 below.

{However, the lifespan of the probe pin was measured using a life test device, and a method was used to repeatedly perform a cycle test by bringing a pad made of tin (Sn) into contact with the top plunger and applying a current of 1.0 A for approximately 30 seconds after contact/off time of 3 seconds.}

As shown in Fig. 4, it can be seen that the probe pin manufactured through Examples 1 and 2 of the present invention has a significantly improved service life compared to the probe pin of Comparative Examples 1 and 2.

In addition, the amount of tin (Sn) transferred to the probe pin manufactured through Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 was measured and shown in Figure 5 below.

{However, the amount of tin transferred to the probe pin was measured by repeatedly performing a cycle test in which a pad made of tin (Sn) is brought into contact with the top plunger, and a current of 1.0 A is applied for approximately 30 seconds after contact/off time of 3 seconds. The amount of tin (Sn) transferred to the top plunger was measured using an EDX device after the test every 30k.}

As shown in Fig. 5, it can be seen that the probe pins manufactured through Examples 1 and 2 of the present invention have a significantly reduced amount of tin transferred compared to the probe pins of Comparative Examples 1 and 2.

Therefore, the probe pin coating composition for semiconductor testing according to the present invention and the coating method using the composition can extend the service life by suppressing the phenomenon of tin components in the semiconductor being transferred to the top plunger portion of the probe pin due to heat generated when current flows through the contact portion with the semiconductor during the process of testing the semiconductor.

100: Probe pin 110: Top plunger
130: Barrel 150: Bottom plunger
S101; Probe pin preparation stage
S102; Plating solution coating step
S103; Coating agent coating step

Claims (6)

In a semiconductor test probe pin including a top plunger that makes electrical contact with a terminal of a semiconductor chip, which is a subject of inspection,
The above top plunger is made of beryllium copper or carbon steel,
A plating layer is formed by coating a plating solution composed of gold and cobalt on the surface of the top plunger to a thickness of 2 to 3 micrometers,
A semiconductor test probe pin characterized in that a coating layer is formed by coating a coating composition comprising 100 to 140 g/l of nickel sulfate, 5 to 30 g/l of cobalt sulfate, 3 to 6 g/l of potassium cyanide, and the remainder of purified water on the surface of the plating layer to a thickness of 50 to 700 nanometers.
delete In claim 1,
A probe pin for semiconductor testing, characterized in that the coating composition comprises 120 g/l of nickel sulfate, 17.5 g/l of cobalt sulfate, 4.5 g/l of potassium cyanide, and the remainder of purified water.
delete delete delete