Design and fabrication of a mems test socket with an attached tip for a ball-grid-array integrated circuit package

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) test sockets with attached tips were developed for a ball-grid-array integrated circuit (BGA IC) package, using MEMS fabrication technology in conjunction with Ni-Co electroplating and XeF₂ isotropic silicon etching. The electroplating process was used to create metal tips and thick metal cantilevers, which increased the contact reliability and conductivity. XeF₂ isotropic silicon etching was used to release the cantilever array, which reduced the process cost and increased the mechanical stability. A finite element analysis (FEA) simulation was conducted to verify the force-deflection relationships of five types of cantilevers with attached tips. With an input deflection of 40 μm, the measured forces ranged from 12.55 to 26.14 mN, and matched the FEA results. The path resistance between a tip and the appropriate electrode pad was less than 3.49 Ω for all cantilevers when the tips were connected to the corresponding positions with more than 5 mN of contact force. The cantilever design with a length of 430 um and a tip height of 60 um (L430D60) showed the best performance in terms of the force-deflection relationship, a well as resistance. Therefore, the fabricated MEMS test sockets with tips are potentially applicable to actual BGA IC package tests.