Chip carrier socket having improved contact terminals

A chip carrier socket for an integrated circuit chip carrier, the chip carrier comprising a chip carrier body having oppositely facing major surfaces and outwardly facing chip carrier side surfaces which extend normally of the major surfaces, and spaced-apart contact pads on the chip carrier side surfaces, the socket comprising a socket body having oppositely facing first and second major surfaces and outwardly facing socket body side surface portions, a recess in the first major surface for reception of the chip carrier, the recess having recess side surfaces which extend inwardly from the first major surface, contact receiving cavities in the socket body in surrounding relationship to the recess, each cavity having opposed sidewalls extending inwardly from the adjacent recess side surface and an inner end surface which is remote from the recess side surface, a contact terminal in each of the cavities, each terminal having a chip carrier contacting portion for contacting a contact pad on a chip carrier and having a substrate contacting portion for contacting a conductor on a substrate when the chip carrier socket is mounted on one surface of the substrate, the substrate contacting portion being adjacent to the second major surface, the chip carrier socket being characterized in that:

• each contact terminal has a web portion and first and second arms extending from the web portion, the web portion being proximate to the substrate contacting portion, the arms being spaced apart and extending towards the first major surface, the arms having free ends which are proximate to the first major surface, the first arm being adjacent to the recess, the second arm being adjacent to the inner end surface of its associated cavity, the chip carrier contacting portion being on the first arm adjacent to the free end thereof,
• the second arm having an intermediate portion which is spaced from the inner end surface of its associated cavity and having a supported zone adjacent to its free end, the supported zone being against, and freely supported by, the inner end surface,
• the web being connected to the substrate contacting portion by a connecting neck,
• each of the contact termianls being a flat complanate member having oppositely facing major surfaces and edge surfaces extending between the major surfaces, the chip contacting portion and the supported zone of each terminal being on the edge surfaces thereof, the contact terminals being in side-by-side relationship with the major surfaces in parallel planes which are opposed to, and substantially parallel to, the cavity sidewalls, whereby,
• upon placement of a chip carrier in the recess, the chip carrier contacting portion of the terminals contact the contact pads and the first and second arms are stressed and deflected relatively towards each other thereby developing contact forces in each terminal, the supported zone of the second arm of each terminal being moved along the inner end surface and the intermediate portion beind deflected towards the inner end surface of its associated cavity.