# US 12,111,336 B2 · Modular vertical probe card

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- Number: US 12,111,336 B2
- Document ID: US12111336B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/981,238
- Filed: 2022-11-04
- Published: 2023-10-05
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2022-03-31
- Assignees: Chunghwa Precision Test Tech. Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Chunghwa Precision Test Tech. Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Wei-Jhih Su; Chao-Hui Tseng; Hao-Yen Cheng; Mei-Hui Chen
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12111336B2

## CPC

- G01R 1/07314: {the body of the probe being perpendicular to test object, e.g. bed of nails or probe with bump contacts on a rigid support (on an elastic support, e.g. a film, G01R1/0735)}
- G01R 1/07342: {the body of the probe being at an angle other than perpendicular to test object, e.g. probe card}
- G01R 1/07357: {with flexible bodies, e.g. buckling beams}
- G01R 1/07371: {using an intermediate card or back card with apertures through which the probes pass}
- G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12)

## Abstract

A modular vertical probe card having different probes is provided, and includes a first guiding board unit, a second guiding board unit, and a plurality of conductive probes that pass through the first and the second guiding board units. The conductive probes have a same probe length. Each of the conductive probes includes a stroke segment located between the first guiding board unit and the second guiding board unit, a connection segment, and a testing segment, the latter two of which are respectively connected to two ends of the stroke segment. The stroke segments of the conductive probes have N number of shapes different from each other to allow the conductive probes to have a same contact force and to be configured to meet N number of electrical transmission requirements different from each other, in which N is a positive integer greater than one.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A modular vertical probe card having different probes, comprising:
a first guiding board unit and a second guiding board unit that is spaced apart from the first guiding board unit; and
a plurality of conductive probes passing through the first guiding board unit and the second guiding board unit, wherein the conductive probes have a same probe length, and each of the conductive probes has an elongated shape defining a longitudinal direction and includes:
a stroke segment located between the first guiding board unit and the second guiding board unit; and
a connection segment and a testing segment that are respectively connected to two ends of the stroke segment and that respectively pass through the first guiding board unit and the second guiding board unit;
wherein the stroke segments of the conductive probes have N number of shapes different from each other to be configured to meet N number of electrical transmission requirements different from each other while allowing the conductive probes to have a same contact force, and wherein N is a positive integer greater than one;
wherein the conductive probes include:
a rectangular probe not having any thru-hole formed in the stroke segment thereof; and
a first probe having a first penetrating slot formed in the stroke segment thereof along the longitudinal direction, wherein the stroke segment of the first probe has two first arms respectively arranged at two opposite sides of the first penetrating slot;
wherein along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, a cross-sectional area of the stroke segment of the rectangular probe is equal to a sum of smallest cross-sectional areas of the two first arms of the first probe.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The modular vertical probe card according to claim 1, wherein the N number of the electrical transmission requirements include at least two different signal transmission requirements, and the stroke segments of at least two of the conductive probes are formed in different shapes according to the at least two different signal transmission requirements for impedance matching.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The modular vertical probe card according to claim 2, wherein the N number of the electrical transmission requirements include at least two different current transmission requirements, and the stroke segments of at least two of the conductive probes are formed in different shapes according to the at least two different current transmission requirements, such as to have load current values respectively corresponding to the at least two different current transmission requirements.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The modular vertical probe card according to claim 3, wherein the stroke segments of any two of the conductive probes having the shapes different from each other have different external surface areas and have a same smallest cross-sectional area perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The modular vertical probe card according to claim 4, wherein each of the conductive probes includes a ceramic layer directly formed on an outer surface of the stroke segment thereof, and wherein cross-cut test results of the ceramic layer of each of the conductive probes is at least class 3B under the ASTM standard.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The modular vertical probe card according to claim 1, wherein the conductive probes include:
a second probe having a second penetrating slot formed in the stroke segment thereof along the longitudinal direction, wherein the stroke segment of the second probe has two second arms respectively arranged at two opposite sides of the second penetrating slot;
wherein the two first arms of the first probe are spaced apart from each other by a first adjustment distance, and the two second arms of the second probe are spaced apart from each other by a second adjustment distance that is different from the first adjustment distance.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The modular vertical probe card according to claim 6, wherein along the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, a sum of smallest cross-sectional areas of the two second arms of the second probe is equal to the sum of the smallest cross-sectional areas of the two first arms of the first probe.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The modular vertical probe card according to claim 6, wherein external surface areas of the stroke segments of the first probe, the second probe, and the rectangular probe are different from each other.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The modular vertical probe card according to claim 1, wherein, in the rectangular probe, the stroke segment includes two curved portions facing toward two opposite directions, and wherein along the width direction, the connection segment is spaced apart from an apex of one of the two curved portions adjacent thereto by a transverse distance that is within a range from 10 μm to 150 μm.