US4520314A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Probe head arrangement for conductor line testing with at least one probe head comprising a plurality of resilient contacts
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1982-10-08
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Granted: 1985-05-28
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Expires: 2002-10-08
Abstract
Abstract A probe head arrangement for contacting a plurality of closely adjacent conductor lines 2 comprises a minimum of one probe head 3, where a plurality of fingers 4 together with a back 5 are made in one piece of monocrystalline silicon in semiconductor technique. A plurality of such probe heads 3 are composed to form a tester. At the beginning of each test it is determined which fingers 4 are to be, and are not to be placed onto the individual conductor lines 2 of a card 1 to be tested. Subsequently, the short and interruption tests can be implemented after the correlation of finger and probe head addresses with the conductor line addresses.
Inventors
- 👤 Karl Asch
- 👤 Johann Greschner
- 👤 Michael Kallmeyer
- 👤 Werner Kulcke
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 07:17
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01R; G01R1/00; G01R1/02; G01R1/06; G01R1/067; G01R1/073; G01R1/07307; G01R1/07357
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
135 words
Apparatus for contacting and testing a plurality of exposed closely spaced electrically conductive members of very small dimensions comprising: a monolithic comb-shaped structure consisting of a spine with a plurality of elongated teeth depending therefrom so as to provide a plurality of miniature resilient cantilever beams; the said spine and said teeth being fabricated of silicon and the said teeth having been selectively processed so as to have a resistance substantially lower than that of similarly configured teeth of pure silicon. solid state integrated circuitry fabricated integral with the said spine portion and connected to each of said teeth and adapted to apply, receive, and test the relativity of potentials on said teeth; whereby when the said teeth are applied to said conductors in resilient contact therewith the integrity of the conductors may be determined.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
135 words
Apparatus for contacting and testing a plurality of exposed closely spaced electrically conductive members of very small dimensions comprising: a monolithic comb-shaped structure consisting of a spine with a plurality of elongated teeth depending therefrom so as to provide a plurality of miniature resilient cantilever beams; the said spine and said teeth being fabricated of silicon and the said teeth having been selectively processed so as to have a resistance substantially lower than that of similarly configured teeth of pure silicon. solid state integrated circuitry fabricated integral with the said spine portion and connected to each of said teeth and adapted to apply, receive, and test the relativity of potentials on said teeth; whereby when the said teeth are applied to said conductors in resilient contact therewith the integrity of the conductors may be determined.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said teeth are doped with a material chosen from those dopants which substantially reduce the resistivity of silicon.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
10 words
The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the dopant is boron.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said teeth are coated with an electrical conductive material having a low resistivity.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said monolithic structure is fabricated of mono-crystalline silicon.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
125 words
In a test apparatus for contacting and testing a plurality of exposed closely spaced electrically conductive members of very small dimensions, the subcombination of a probe head adapted to provide electrical contact with said electrical conductive members, comprising a monolithic monocrystalline silicon comb-shaped structure having a spine portion and plurality of elongated teeth depending therefrom to provide a plurality of miniature resilient cantilever beams, the said teeth having been selectively processed so as to have a substantially lower resistance than similarly configured teeth of pure silicon, and individual electrical connections to each of said teeth for performing electrical testing of any of the electrical conducting members contacted by the said teeth when the probe head is deployed in physical contact with the electrical conductor assembly.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
125 words
In a test apparatus for contacting and testing a plurality of exposed closely spaced electrically conductive members of very small dimensions, the subcombination of a probe head adapted to provide electrical contact with said electrical conductive members, comprising a monolithic monocrystalline silicon comb-shaped structure having a spine portion and plurality of elongated teeth depending therefrom to provide a plurality of miniature resilient cantilever beams, the said teeth having been selectively processed so as to have a substantially lower resistance than similarly configured teeth of pure silicon, and individual electrical connections to each of said teeth for performing electrical testing of any of the electrical conducting members contacted by the said teeth when the probe head is deployed in physical contact with the electrical conductor assembly.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
The subcombination of claim 6 wherein the said teeth are doped with a material chosen from those dopants which substantially reduce the resistivity of silicon.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
13 words
The subcombination as defined in claim 7 wherein the dopant material is boron.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
The subcombination of claim 7 wherein the said teeth are coated with an electrical conductive material having a low resistivity.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
14 words
The subcombination of claim 6 wherein the said teeth have a uniform rectangular cross-section.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
23 words
The subcombination of claim 6 wherein the said teeth have a rectangular cross-section decreasing in size from the spine to the ends thereof.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1988-05-27 | 1988-11-26 | 1989-05-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1992-05-27 | 1992-11-26 | 1993-05-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1996-05-27 | 1996-11-26 | 1997-05-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |