Microcircuit tester with slideable electrically conductive pins

摘要

The terminals of a device under test are temporarily electrically connected to corresponding contact pads on a load board by a series of electrically conductive pin pairs. The pin pairs are held in place by an interposer membrane that includes a top contact plate facing the device under test, a bottom contact plate facing the load board, and a vertically resilient, non-conductive member between the top and bottom contact plates. Each pin pair includes a top and bottom pin, which extend beyond the top and bottom contact plates, respectively, toward the device under test and the load board, respectively. The top and bottom pins contact each other at an interface that is inclined with respect to the membrane surface normal. When compressed longitudinally, the pins translate toward each other by sliding along the interface. The sliding is largely longitudinal, with a small and desirable lateral component determined by the inclination of the interface.

主权项

1. A longitudinally compressible unit which forms a plurality of temporary mechanical and electrical connections for use between a device under test having a plurality of terminals and a load board having a plurality of contact pads, each contact pad being laterally arranged to correspond to exactly said terminals, comprising:
an electrically insulating top contact plate longitudinally adjacent to the terminals on the device under test; an electrically insulating bottom contact plate longitudinally adjacent to the contact pads on the load board; a longitudinally resilient, electrically insulating interposer between the top and bottom contact plates; said interposer including a resilient grid matrix of interconnected cells formed of an elastomeric material, each cell including longitudinal holes therethrough; a plurality of longitudinally compressible, electrically conductive pin pairs extending through longitudinal holes in the top contact plate, the interposer and the bottom contact plate, each pin pair in the plurality being laterally arranged to correspond to said terminal on the device under test; wherein when a particular pin pair is longitudinally compressed, the pins in the pair slide past each other along a virtual interface surface that is inclined with respect to a surface normal of the interposer and wherein said cells have a predetermined cross sectional extent, wherein the pin pairs together generally fill the entire cross sectional extent at all times when sliding past each other, so that the pin pairs remain substantially vertical when sliding by each other and wherein the virtual interface surface is generally planar.