High Density Connectors

If you have a high-density application, IDI probe technology fits right in. For over 20 years, IDI has been evolving probe technology to micro-miniature sizes. Originally used to populate board test fixtures and test sockets, today our micro technology has become the choice for many product designers looking for high density interconnect solutions.  

Milestones in the development of our micro-miniature capability include:

• 1984, the Quad 0 probe was the smallest diameter coil-spring type probe available. It is designed to test on .020” (0,50) centers with a probe density of 2500 probes per square inch.
• In 1990, the Penta 0 probe, with a diameter of just .0075” (0,19) replaced the Quad 0 as the smallest diameter probe available. The Penta 0 probe mounts on .010” (0,25) centers for a probe density of 10,000 per square inch.

• In 1994, the Quad 00 probe was introduced. The Quad 00 probe filled the gap between the Penta 0 and Quad 0 probes by providing a replaceable with a receptacle that mounts on .020 (0,51) centers.

Since 1994, our continued leadership in fine pitch probes was driven by our work in the semiconductor field. IDI Semiconductor Probes designed initially for test sockets are considerably shorter and include double-ended compliance on some designs.

Recently, IDI engineers have taken our revolutionary three-piece probe design and scaled it down to the 0.4 mm level. While the design is small enough to work in 0.4 mm applications, it is robust enough to withstand thousands of mating cycles. Electrically speaking, this probe performs well above the 10 GHz level at -1 dB, meeting the high speeds that many interconnect systems require.