Electrical Contact with Arc-Shaped Front End for Shaving Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrical connecting apparatuses for semiconductor devices face issues with accumulation of shavings at the contact's front end face and neighborhood, leading to high contact resistance and inaccurate electrical tests due to the small upward projecting dimension of the contact's front end portion and excessive radius of curvature.
Innovation Solution
The contact design includes a front end portion extended upward or diagonally by the contact's thickness dimension or more, with an arc-shaped front end face having a radius of curvature equal to or less than the contact's thickness, and a rear end portion with an inclined face to prevent shavings accumulation and reduce contact resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the front end portion of the contact has a small upward projecting dimension and a large radius of curvature, then the contact can be manufactured with simpler geometry, but shavings accumulate at the front end face leading to high contact resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the contact's front end portion by extending the upward projecting dimension to at least the contact thickness and reducing the radius of curvature of the arc-shaped front end face to at most the contact thickness. This parameter modification prevents shaving accumulation while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through standardized contact thickness dimensions.
2Reliability
If the front end portion is extended upward by at least the contact thickness with a reduced radius of curvature, then shavings accumulation is prevented and contact resistance is reduced, but the contact geometry becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the complexity issue by defining the extended front end portion using the contact's own thickness dimension as a reference parameter. The arc-shaped front end face uses the contact thickness as the maximum radius of curvature, creating a geometry that is more effective than conventional designs but can be manufactured using the same thickness specification already defined for the contact body.
3Device complexity
If shavings accumulate at the front end face of the contact, then the contact structure remains simple, but electrical test accuracy deteriorates due to high contact resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the disposable principle by designing the front end portion of the contact to be replaceable. The contact body with its extended front end geometry can be manufactured as a standardized component that maintains reliable electrical connection throughout its service life, and can be replaced when worn, ensuring continuous test accuracy without requiring complex shaving removal mechanisms.
4Ease of manufacture
If the contact front end face has a large radius of curvature, then manufacturing is easier, but the contact cannot effectively scrape oxide film from the electrode
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the radius of curvature parameter of the arc-shaped front end face to be at most equal to the contact thickness, creating a sharper curvature that enables effective oxide film scraping while maintaining manufacturing capability through standardized thickness-based dimensional control.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design effectively reduces shavings accumulation and contact resistance, enabling accurate electrical tests by ensuring shavings fall out from the contact's front end face and neighborhood, and minimizes wear on the conductive portions.
Implementation Method 1
each contact, while compressing the needle retainer to elastically deform, angularly rolls over the upside of its conductive portion
Implementation Method 2
each contact scrapes away a part of an oxide film of the electrode of the device under test
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connecting apparatus uses a plurality of contacts each of which includes: a principal portion having an outer face curved and directed to a conductive portion of a base plate and received in a recess and a slit of a housing; a front end portion continuous to the front end side of the principal portion and projected upward from the slit so as to be relatively pressed against an electrode of a device under test; and a rear end portion continuous to the rear end side of the principal portion and located in the recess. The front end portion of each contact is projected upward from the slit by the dimension of the thickness of the front end portion or more than that and has an arc-shaped front end face extend in the longitudinal direction of the slit.