The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 14, 2025
Filed:
Feb. 08, 2023
Formfactor, Inc., Livermore, CA (US);
January Kister, Portola Valley, CA (US);
Kevin John Hughes, Jurupa Valley, CA (US);
FormFactor, Inc., Livermore, CA (US);
Abstract
A probe array having decoupled electrical and mechanical design constraints on the probes is provided. Each probe is a two-part structure with the two parts able to stay in electrical contact with each other as the parts slide up and down with respect to each other. The probes are disposed in through holes of an elastic matrix, each probe having its corresponding hole. The probes engage with the elastic matrix such that a restoring force in response to vertical probe compression is provided by the elastic matrix. With this approach, electrical and mechanical design are much more decoupled than in conventional spring probe design. The elastic matrix provides the mechanical compliance and restoring force, while the parts of the probe determine its current carrying capacity and electrical bandwidth.