IC chip to PC board connector system

Apparatus for connecting an integrated circuit having a plurality of rows of contact pads thereon, to a circuit board having an upper surface with a plurality of rows of conductive traces thereon and a lower surface, which includes a socket which can mount to said circuit board and which has a cavity that can receive said integrated circuit and a plurality of horizontally elongated vertical through slots which lie under said rows of contact pads when said integrated circuit lies in said cavity, including an elongated compressible interface device in each of said slots and a holdown which can pres down an integrated circuit lying in said socket so the integrated circuit contact pads are connected to said board traces through said interface devices, comprising:

• a probe for connection to said circuit board conductive traces, including a probe board which has upper and lower surfaces and a plurality of rows of conductive probe traces on said lower surface at locations corresponding to said contact pads of said integrated circuit, said probe also including a cable with a plurality of probe conductors each connected to one of said probe traces;
• said probe is constructed to fit into said socket cavity in place of said integrated circuit, with each of said rows of probe traces pressing down against one of said compressible interface devices.

A combination of a largely rectangular integrated circuit which has four sides and a plurality of rows of conductive pads each extending along one of said sides, a circuit board which has a upper surface holding a plurality of rows of conductive traces corresponding to said rows of pads, a socket mounted on said circuit board, said socket having four sides forming a largely rectangular cavity which closely receives said integrated circuit and said socket having a bottom portion with a plurality of elongated through slots each extending parallel to one of said sides, and a plurality of interface devices each lying in one of said slots and connecting said conductive pads on said integrated circuit to said traces on said circuit board, comprising:

• an electrically conductive grounding plate lying at the bottom of said cavity and having a plurality of edges each lying adjacent to one of said interface devices.

An interface device for connecting a row of conductive pads to a row of conductive traces, where one of a said rows lies above the other, comprising:

• a flexible circuit board having a first surface and having a plurality of parallel conductive trace parts on said first surface, said flexible circuit board being bent in a loop having first and second loop sides, so first portions of said trace parts on a first side of said loop face upwardly to engage said pads and second portions of said trace parts on a second side of said loop face downwardly to engage said traces;
• said interface device also including an elastomeric member between said loop sides to resiliently resist compression of said loop.