Spring interconnect structures
View Patent ↗An interconnection element of a spring (body) including a first resilient element with a first contact region and a second contact region and a first securing region and a second resilient element, with a third contact region and a second securing region. The second resilient element is coupled to the first resilient element through respective securing regions and positioned such that upon sufficient displacement of the first contact region toward the second resilient element, the second contact region will contact the third contact region. The interconnection, in one aspect, is of a size suitable for directly contacting a semiconductor device. A large substrate with a plurality of such interconnection elements can be used as a wafer-level contactor. The interconnection element, in another aspect, is of a size suitable for contacting a packaged semiconductor device, such as in an LGA package.
1. An interconnection element comprising:
a post coupled at a first end to a surface of a substrate, the post extending away from the substrate to a second end of the post;
a beam structure comprising:
a body coupled to the second end of the post, and
a plurality of leaf portions extending from the body to distal ends of the leaf portions, each of the leaf portions being generally parallel to the surface of the substrate, there being a space between all adjacent leaf portions from the body to the distal ends of the adjacent leaf portions such that the distal ends of the adjacent leaf portions are separated by the space; and
a contact tip coupled to a free end of the beam structure opposite the body of the beam structure.
2. The interconnection element of claim 1 , wherein the beam structure is generally parallel with a surface of the substrate to which the first end of the post is coupled.
3. The interconnection element of claim 2 , wherein the surface of the substrate comprises a terminal, and the first end of the post is coupled to the terminal.
4. The interconnection element of claim 2 , wherein each of the leaf portions is generally parallel to the surface of the substrate.
5. The interconnection element of claim 1 , wherein the distal end of each of the leaf portions is free to move toward the substrate.
6. The interconnection element of claim 5 , wherein:
a first leaf portion of the plurality of leaf portions comprises a first resilient element with a first contact region; and
a second leaf portion of the plurality of leaf portions comprises a second resilient element with a second contact region, wherein upon sufficient displacement of the first contact region toward the second resilient element in response to a force applied to the contact tip, the first contact region contacts the second contact region,
wherein the interconnection element is of a size suitable for connecting the substrate to an electronic device.
7. The interconnection element of claim 5 , wherein:
the leaf portions are disposed in a stack, and
the contact tip is disposed adjacent the distal end of a top leaf portion in the stack.
8. The interconnection element of claim 7 , wherein, in response to a force applied to the contact tip, the distal end of each of the leaf portions except a bottom leaf portion in the stack is movable toward the substrate to physically contact an adjacent one of the leaf portions.
9. The interconnection element of claim 7 , wherein in response to a force applied to the contact tip, the distal end of each of the leaf portions in the stack except a bottom leaf portion in the stack is movable toward the substrate to physically contact an immediately-below leaf portion in the stack.
10. The interconnection element of claim 7 , wherein for each leaf portion in the stack except the top leaf portion, a thickness of the leaf portion in a direction perpendicular to the stack is less than a thickness of an immediately-above leaf portion in the stack.
11. The interconnection element of claim 7 , wherein for each leaf portion in the stack except the top leaf portion, a length of the leaf portion from the body to the distal end of the leaf portion is less than a length of an immediately-above leaf portion in the stack.
12. The interconnection element of claim 11 , wherein for each leaf portion in the stack except the top leaf portion, a thickness of the leaf portion is less than a thickness of an immediately-above leaf portion in the stack.
13. The interconnection element of claim 1 , wherein each of the leaf portions comprises a cantilevered beam extending from the body to the distal end of the beam.
14. The interconnection element of claim 13 , wherein each of the distal ends of the leaf portions is independently free to move toward and away from the substrate.
15. The interconnection element of claim 13 , wherein the cantilevered beams are generally parallel one with another.
16. The interconnection element of claim 13 , wherein each of the cantilevered beams has a different thickness in a direction that is generally parallel to a length of the post from the first end to the second end of the post.
17. The interconnection element of claim 13 , wherein each of the cantilevered beams is a different length from the body to the distal end of the leaf portion.
18. The interconnection element of claim 17 , wherein each of the cantilevered beams has a different thickness in a direction that is generally parallel to a length of the post from the first end to the second end of the post.