Wentworth Laboratories Limited

William H Fulton

Alexander Brandorff

Robert L Rogers

William F Thiessen

Pasquale Nifo Sarrapochiello

Methods and systems for inserting and replacing swaged probe pins in a lower die portion of a head having an array of micro-holes for receiving the probe pins are disclosed. The methods and systems include the following: swaged probe pins including substantially cylindrical ends and a swaged center portion; and an assembly aid film including an array of slotted holes, each of the slotted holes including a substantially round portion for receiving the substantially cylindrical ends of the swaged probe pins and slot portions for receiving the swaged center portion of the swaged probe pins. The array of slotted holes is configured to properly align the swaged probe pins with the array of micro-holes.

Die design with integrated assembly aid

An improved device for cleaning probe pins of a probe head assembly is presented. The device includes a first holding plate, a second holding plate and a cleaning cartridge. The first holding plate secures the probe head assembly. The second holding plate secures the cleaning cartridge in proximity to the first holding plate. The cleaning cartridge has a chamber. The chamber includes a cleaning solution and an absorbent pad located therein. The absorbent pad is saturated with the cleaning solution and prevents leakage of the cleaning solution out of the chamber. During cleaning operations, the first holding plate is positioned about the second holding plate such that the probe pins of a probe head extend into and contact the absorbent pad in the chamber. Once contact is established, the cleaning solution acts upon the probe pin tips to remove unwanted debris. A depth of penetration of the pins into the pad is controlled by a surface of the cartridge.

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Newtown, CT, United States of America

William H Fulton