A contact probe for a testing head for testing electronic devices includes a rod-like body made of a first conductive material and extending along a longitudinal axis, and a contact tip supported by the body at an end portion thereof. The contact tip is made of a second conductive material that is different from the first conductive material. The contact tip includes a contact zone configured to perform mechanical and electrical contact with contact pads of a device under test. The body and the contact tip include respective contact surfaces in contact with each other. The contact surfaces are complementary to each other and include respective connection elements engaging each other. The connection elements include a protruding element projecting from the contact surface of one among the body and the contact tip, and a recess made in the other among the body and the contact tip.

A probe for direct nano- and micro-scale electrical characterization of materials and semi conductor wafers. The probe (10) comprises a probe body (12), a first cantilever (20a) extending from the probe body. The first cantilever defining a first loop with respect to said probe body. The probe further comprises a first contact probe being supported by said first cantilever, and a second contact probe being electrically insulated from the first contact probe. The second contact probe being supported by the first cantilever or by a second cantilever (20b) extending from the probe body.

Pin probes and pin probe arrays are provided that allow electric contact to be made with selected electronic circuit components. Some embodiments include one or more compliant pin elements located within a sheath. Some embodiments include pin probes that include locking or latching elements that may be used to fix pin portions of probes into sheaths. Some embodiments provide for fabrication of probes using multi-layer electrochemical fabrication methods.

The present invention relates primarily to a method of fabrication of one or more free-standing micromachined parts. The method includes performing reactive ion etching of photoresist and tungsten-based layers supported on a carrier substrate to thereby define one or more micromachined parts, followed by separating the resulting one or more micromachined parts from the carrier substrate such that the parts are free-standing. The invention also relates to tungsten-based microprobe obtainable by such a method, wherein the microprobe has a substantially square or rectangular cross-section in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the microprobe, and to probe cards comprising a plurality of such microprobes.

Embodiments are directed to the formation of buckling beam probe arrays having MEMS probes that are engaged with guide plates during formation or after formation of the probes while the probes are held in the array configuration in which they were formed. In other embodiments, probes may be formed in, or laterally aligned with, guide plate through holes. Guide plate engagement may occur by longitudinally locating guide plates on probes that are partially formed or fully formed with exposed ends, by forming probes within guide plate through holes, by forming guide plates around probes, or forming guide plates in lateral alignment with arrayed probes and then longitudinally engaging the probes and the through holes of the guide plates. Final arrays may include probes and a substrate to which the probes are bonded along with one or more guide plates while in other embodiments final arrays may include probes held by a plurality of guide plates (e.g. 2, 3, 4 or even more guide plates) with aligned or laterally shifted hole patterns.

A probe card device includes a probe head including a plurality of pins, wherein each of the pins includes a body, a first metal layer formed on the body, and a second metal layer covering the first metal layer; a multi-layered flexible board electrically connected to the pins; a support plate, the multi-layered flexible board disposed on a first surface of the support plate; and a circuit board electrically connected to the multi-layered flexible board.

A detection device includes: a metal body having a plurality of main vias, a plurality of main through holes with insulators formed on the hole walls of the main vias, and a plurality of connecting elements disposed in the main through holes. Therefore, when testing a chip with I/O pins of high density with the detection device, the connecting elements contact the insulator only, without contacting the hole walls of the main vias, and the problem of short circuits can be avoided. A method of forming a detection device is also provided.

A semiconductor probe includes multiple metal layers. An oxide layer is disposed between each adjacent pair of the metal layer. A via for connecting at least one pair of the metal layers. At least one protection layer 150 is disposed at an external side of the metal layer.

Probes are connected to the space transformer via multiple carrier plates. Electrical contacts from the probes to the space transformer are by way of spring tail features on the probes that connect to the space transformer and not to the carrier plates. In other words, the carrier plates are purely mechanical in function. This configuration can significantly reduce probe array fabrication time relative to sequential placement of individual probes on the space transformer. Multiple probe carrier plates can be populated with probes in parallel, and the final sequential assembly of carrier plates onto the space transformer has a greatly reduced operation count. Deviations of the space transformer from flatness can be compensated for.

Probes for testing electrical circuits having decoupled electrical and mechanical design are provided. For example, a mechanically resilient core can be surrounded by an electrically conductive shell. In this way, electrical parameters of the probes are determined by the shells and mechanical parameters of the probes are determined by the cores. An important application of this approach is to provide impedance matched transmission line probes.