Contact probe arrangement

US6356089B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Thomas Bayer · Igersheim, DE
• Johann Greschner · Neckartenzlingen, DE
• Klaus Meissner · Herrenberg, DE
• Werner Steiner · Schrobenhausen, DE
• Roland Stoehr · Nufringen, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 8, 1997
• Grant date: Mar 12, 2002
• Expiry date: Oct 8, 2017

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01R1/07314
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

The invention relates to a contact probe arrangement for electrically connecting a test system with contact pads of a device to be tested. The contact probes are located in guide grooves. The guide grooves as well as areas are provided in a plane parallel to the surface of a guide plate and are covered by a protective plate. The contact probes may bend out laterally into the respective areas. This assures a very dense contact probe array. Contact probe arrays of this type may be used, for example, for detecting opens and shorts in integrated circuits or semiconductor chips. The invention overcomes the problem of adjusting for height differences in the contact pads caused by an uneven surface of the device to be tested.