Characteristics of fritting contact process utilized for MEMS probe cards

Abstract

The fritting of thin oxide on metal surface is indispensable to realize MEMS probe cards, because each microprobe cannot endure the force required to break the oxide on the surface of IC pads mechanically. In order to clarify the force required for fritting-contact make, the relationship between contact forces and the fritting has been investigated using a newly developed measurement system which can detect the contact force precisely. As a result, we found that the fritting process makes it possible to realize the low-resistance contact to Al pad, even when the contact force is 10 μN.