Fritting Contact Using SnAu probe

Abstract

We report on the contact process utilizing fritting phenomena between Al electrode and probes made of tin or tin gold alloy. The contact method with low contact force on Al electrodes is required for test probing of LSI for the next generation. The test probes made of tungsten or nickel are suitable for making contact with mechanical breaking of aluminum oxide. However, when these hard probes are used for fritting contact process, aluminum debris adheres to the probes and the contact failure occurs after several hundred contacts. In order to solve this problem, the low-force contact properties of soft probes are investigated in this paper. It was found that the mixture or alloy of tin and aluminum is generated in the contact area and remains on both the probe and the aluminum electrode after breaking the contact. Moreover, the probe made of tin-gold alloy is found to accumulate less aluminum debris and the contact resistance remains lower than 10 Omega after 1,000 contacts.