JPH0569188B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention relates to a prober equipped with a three-dimensional moving table, and particularly to one with improved grounding.

Prior Art For example, in the manufacturing process of thermal print heads, etc., when various characteristics of the thermal print head are measured using a prober, the tips of multiple probe pins are connected to the corresponding bonding pads of the driver side leads of the thermal print head. At the same time, a probe pin different from the plurality of probe pins is brought into contact with the bonding pad of the common line, and then a scanner having a built-in measurement circuit applies a predetermined signal to each of the probe pins. .

However, in a thermal print head in which a plurality of driver integrated circuits are mounted, the distance between the bonding pad portion of the driver side lead on which the driver integrated circuit is mounted and the bonding pad portion of the common line are different. Therefore, the positions of the probe pins of the prober did not correspond to all the positions, making it impossible to perform measurements. Therefore,
Conventionally, multiple measurement windows are opened in the protective film coated on the surface of the thermal print head board, especially the protective film above the common line, and bonding is performed between the window openings and each of the driver side leads. A plurality of probe pins arranged correspondingly were brought into contact with the pad portion.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention This conventional system has the drawback that special processing such as opening a window in the protective film must be performed in order to establish a ground as described above. Furthermore,
There is a drawback in that the above-mentioned prober cannot be applied to a thermal print head in which a common line is formed on the back side of the surface on which resistors and the like are formed.

This invention was devised in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide a prober that can securely establish a ground connection even if the back side is common without applying any processing to establish a ground connection to the object to be measured. It is an object.

Means for Solving the Problems Therefore, in the present invention, a contactor is provided for connecting the common terminal of the object to be measured and the measuring stage, and the ground terminal of the measuring circuit is electrically connected to the measuring stage.

Function: That is, the common terminal of the object to be measured is electrically connected to the measurement stage via the contact. Since the measurement stage is connected to the ground terminal of the measurement circuit, the common terminal of the object to be measured is eventually electrically connected to the ground terminal of the measurement circuit.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a prober for explaining one embodiment of the present invention.

The illustrated prober 10 has an X table 11 and a Y table 11.
It includes a table 12, a Z table 14, a probe card 15, and a scanner (not shown).

To explain each component of this prober 10 in detail, the X table 11 is made of a substantially rectangular metal plate, and a through hole 11 with a circular cross section extends in the longitudinal direction.
1,112 are drilled. This through hole 11
Slide shafts 20, 20 are inserted through 1, 112. This slide shaft 20,20
A feed screw rod 30 is screwed into the X table 11 between the two, and the rotational movement of the feed screw rod 30 causes the X table 11 to move between the slide shafts 20 and 2.
0 while moving in the horizontal direction (in the direction of arrow A in the figure).

The Y table 12 is made of a substantially square metal plate and is supported on the upper surface of the X table 11. This Y table 12 is the X table 1
It has the same structure as the feeding mechanism of the X-table 11 in order to move in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the X-table 11. That is, slide shafts 21, 21 perpendicular to the slide shafts 20, 20 are supported on the X table 11, and through holes 121, 1 through which the slide shafts 21, 21 are inserted are supported.
22 is provided on the Y table 12. The Y-table 12 is also moved along the slide shafts 21, 21 in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the X-table 11, as shown by arrow B, due to the rotational movement of the feed screw rod 31. The Y table 12 has a measurement table 13 used as a measurement stage.

The measurement table 13 is made of a substantially rectangular metal plate, and is fixed on the Y table 12 so that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the X table 11. This measurement table 13 is equipped with an air chuck mechanism (not shown), and the object to be measured 40 is attracted and held on the upper surface of the measurement table by this air chuck mechanism.

Furthermore, a contact 50 that can electrically contact the common terminal 42 of the object to be measured 40 is provided at one upper corner of the measurement table 13. The terminal portion with which the contactor 50 comes into contact is a portion without a protective film for crimping the flexible cable, and is spaced apart from the probe pin. An enlarged view of this contactor 50 is shown in FIG. The illustrated contact 50 is made of curved phosphor bronze, for example, and has an elastic force similar to that of a leaf spring.

The Z table 14 has a top plate 141 and a side wall portion 142.
It is a structure formed in a substantially L-shape consisting of
The measuring table 13 is disposed above and parallel to the measuring table 13, and the side wall portions 142 are located on the sides of the measuring table 13. A through hole 14 having a circular cross section is provided in the longitudinal direction of the side wall portion 142 of the Z table 14.
3,144 is bored, and this through hole 14
3 and 144, the slide shafts 22 and 22 are inserted through them. This Z table 14 can be moved to the slide shafts 22, 2 by a drive mechanism (not shown) such as an air cylinder or a rack and pinion.
2 in the vertical direction (direction of arrow C in the figure).

The probe card 15 is supported parallel to the lower surface of the upper plate 141 of the Z table 14 with a predetermined interval. There is a substantially square opening 151 near the center of the probe card 15.
A required number of probe pins (not shown) made of tungsten are arranged around the inner periphery of the probe 51 . A connector 60 (see Fig. 1) corresponding to each measurement terminal of a scanner (not shown) that provides an activation signal to the probe card 15 is arranged on one side of the probe card 15. The scanner and probe pins are electrically connected via the connector 60 through wiring.
On the other hand, the ground terminal of the scanner is connected to an appropriate location on the X table 11 or the Y table 12, and is connected to a measurement table 13. For example, the ground terminal of a scanner is connected to threaded rods 30, 31, and the threaded rods 30, 31 and female threaded holes (not shown) are used like movable contacts.
It is conceivable to make the measurement table 13 conductive. Thereby, the contact 50 provided on the measurement table 13 becomes the ground of the scanner. In addition,
It is also possible to connect the ground terminal of the scanner directly to the common terminal 42 of the object to be measured 40, but in this case, the ground terminal of the scanner becomes relatively long, which may restrict the movement of each table during measurement. Therefore, careful consideration must be given to the ground arrangement of the scanner.

The operating procedure of the prober 10 will be briefly explained below. First, X table 11 and Y table 1
2 as indicated by arrows A and B, the position of the measurement table 13 on which the object to be measured 40 is air chucked is designated. Next, Z table 14
By appropriately lowering the probe card 15 as shown by arrow C, the probe pins of the probe card 15 are brought into contact with the bonding pad portions of the driver side leads 41 of the object to be measured 40.

Using these steps, each probe pin of the probe card 15 is brought into contact with each terminal of the object to be measured 40, and an operating signal is sent using a scanner (not shown) to measure various characteristics of the object to be measured 40, the resistance value of the leads, etc. do.

Note that, although the present invention has remarkable effects when applied to a thermal print head as the object to be measured 40, it is also applicable to other objects.

Effects of the Invention As detailed above, according to the present invention, operation and Work becomes easier. Furthermore, even with thermal print heads in which common terminals are formed on the back side of the board, which conventionally cannot be measured using a normal prober, the thermal print head can be easily measured by simply fixing the thermal print head to a measurement table. Since the common terminal is electrically connected to the ground of the scanner, there is also the effect that the measurement work becomes easier.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a prober for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a contact 5.
0 is an enlarged side view of FIG. 10...Prober, 11...X table, 12
... Y table, 13 ... Measurement table, 14
...Z table, 15 ...probe card, 40
...Object to be measured, 42...Common terminal, 50...Contact, 60...Connector.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A three-dimensional movable table consisting of X, Y, and Z tables, a probe card fixedly arranged on the Z table, and a measurement circuit connected to the probe card via a connector. In a prober that uses a measurement squeegee to suction and hold an object to be measured and makes electrical measurements by bringing the probe pins of the probe card into contact with the terminals of the object to be measured, the ground terminal of the measurement circuit is connected to the Y table, and the ground terminal of the measurement circuit is connected to the Y table. A prober characterized in that the Y table is provided with a contact that provides electrical continuity between the common terminal of the object and the Y table.