Impedance-matched interconnection device for connecting a vertical-pin integrated circuit probing device to integrated circuit test equipment

Claim 1

An improved impedance-matched interconnection device for repetitively connecting a vertical-pin integrated circuit probing device to integrated circuit test equipment, said probing device being of the type having a plurality of conductive metal vertical-pin probes with exposed heads on the upper side of the probing device defining a first small inner connection pattern, the interconnection device comprising: a printed circuit test board defining an aperture and having a plurality of PCB traces adapted to be connected in test circuit relationship to the integrated circuit test equipment, said PCB traces being arranged around the aperture to define a large outer connection pattern, a mounting plate attached to the printed circuit test board and having a pressure plate portion with a flat lower surface extending into the aperture, and a laminated impedance-matched space transformer comprising a conductive ground plane layer disposed in contact with said flat surface of the pressure plate portion, a dielectric layer adhered to said ground plane layer, and a conductive trace layer adhered to the dielectric layer, said trace layer comprising a plurality of space transformer traces, selected space transformer traces having contact terminals arranged in a second small inner connection pattern adapted to make temporary contact on one side of said traces with respective exposed heads of the vertical-pin probes in said first small inner connection pattern and having respective ends extending beyond the edge of the ground plane layer and electrically connected on the other side of said traces to respective PCB traces of said large outer connection pattern.