Probe card pad geometry in automated test equipment
US11340260B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 24, 2019 |
| Grant date | May 24, 2022 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 28, 2040 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R31/2834
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A probe card in an automated test equipment (ATE) and methods for operating the same for testing electronic devices. The probe card may be a portion of a vertical-type probe card assembly in which pads on a circuit board are contacted by probe pins. The probe card has a pad geometry that compensates for misalignment with corresponding probe pins due to manufacturing error or a mismatch of coefficient of thermal expansion, enabling reliable operation of the ATE over a wide range of test temperatures. The pad array may have a plurality of elongated pads, each of uniquely designed size, tilt angle, and/or center location, with the characteristics of each pad being dependent on a distance between each pad and a centroid of the pad array, such that a probe pin to pad location errors can be mitigated.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.