Contactor with angled depressible probes in shifted bores

A slanted probe contactor for providing electrical contact between an array of contacts of an IC device under test (DUT) and a test board, the contactor comprising:

• a body portion having substantially parallel top and bottom faces defining a contactor interface wall which lies in an x-y plane and which has a perpendicular z-axis, the top face of said contactor interface wall being configured to receive a DUT which is placed contacts down on the top face, wherein the body portion includes a main block having a plurality of main close fitting slanted probe cavities, each main slanted probe cavity having a main bore axis being angled relative to the z-axis of the interface wall, and wherein the body portion also includes an upper block having a corresponding plurality of upper slanted probe body cavities and a corresponding plurality of close fitting slanted probe pin cavities;
• a plurality of depressible probes extending through said contactor interface wall, the plurality of depressible probes having probe pin tips and being angled relative to the z-axis of the interface wall such that the probe pin tips emerge from the top and bottom faces thereof, and wherein the plurality of depressible probes are arranged in different arrays of depressible probes, the depressible probes of one array of depressible probes being angled oppositely from the depressible probes of another array of depressible probes;
• and
• wherein an upper probe pin bore axis of at least one of the upper slanted probe pin cavities for housing a probe pin of one of the plurality of depressible probes is laterally shifted by a small β (beta) relative to the main bore axis of a corresponding one of the main close fitting slanted probe cavities, thereby mechanically and angularly tilting the probe pin by a small δ (delta) relative to the upper probe pin bore axis and clenching the corresponding one of the plurality of depressible probes at an interface between the main block and the upper block, the interface acting as a pivot point for generating a twisting load along a reactive force path at a point where the one of the plurality of depressible probes is in closest contact with the corresponding one of the plurality of main close fitting slanted probe cavities to secure the one of the plurality of depressible probes in the corresponding one of the main slanted probe cavities while allowing unimpeded motion of the probe pin within the at least one of the upper close fitting slanted probe pin cavities and without bending the probe pin.