A robust, fine pitch probe card.

A new type of probe card is described which consists of inclined nickel cantilevers formed on top of a three dimensional PDMS layer. A prototype card has been built with an in-line pitch of 23 μm. The presence of a PDMS layer beneath the cantilevers creates mechanically robust probes. The probes can apply up to 100 mN contact force and be deflected up to 40 μm without damage. Typical contact resistances of less than 5 Ω against gold and 15 Ω against copper are reported. The leakage current between adjacent probes is less than 1 nA measured at 100 V