Vertical probe array having a tiled membrane space transformer

摘要

Vertical probe heads having a space transformer laterally tiled into several sections are provided. This change relative to conventional approaches improves manufacturing yield. These probe heads can include metal ground planes, and in embodiments where the ground planes are provided as separate metal plates parallel to the guide plates, the metal plates can also be laterally tiled into several sections. Such tiling of metal plates improves manufacturing yield and alleviates thermal mismatch issues. Probes are not mechanically connected to the space transformer, which facilitates replacement of individual probes of an array.