Silicon Micro-probe Card Using Porous Silicon Micromachining Technology

Abstract

We present a new type of silicon micro-probe card using a three-dimensional probe beam of the cantilever type. It was fabricated using KOH and dry etching, a porous silicon micromachining technique, and an Au electroplating process. The cantilever-type probe beam had a thickness of 5 μm, a width of 50 µm, and a length of 800 μm. The probe beam for pad contact was formed by the thermal expansion coefficient difference between the films. The maximum height of the curled probe beam was 170 µm, and an annealing process was performed for 20 min at 500°C. The contact resistance of the newly fabricated probe card was less than 2 Ω, and its lifetime was more than 20,000 turns.