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`Feinmetall Exhibit 2010
`FormFactor, Inc. v. Feinmetall, GmbH
`IPR2019-00082
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`Page 1 of 22
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`lead to a reduced current carrying capacity together with reduced contact force. The
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`smaller cross-sections can result in burning through if the test currents are required to be
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`at a particular level. This bum-out mostly occurs at a distance from the guide apertures in
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`which, for example, the buckling beams are guided. This is because the mechanical
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`contact of the buckling beams with the walls of the guide apertures leads,
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`in the
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`immediate vicinity thereof, to conducting away of heat, which however is not the case
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`further away from the guide region.
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`OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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`It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an electrical contact element of the
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`aforementioned type which, given a smaller but adequate contact force, provides a large
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`cross-section and thus a large current-carrying capacity.
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`It is a further object to provide
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`an electrical contact element
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`that
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`is usable,
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`in particular, with very small contact
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`distances.
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`These objects are achieved, according to one formulation of the invention, in that the
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`intermediate region of the electrical contact element has an at
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`rectangular cross-section and is configured lamellar along its longitudinal extent. This
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`configuration provides a large cross-section determined by the number of lamellae, so
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`that even large test currents can be transferred without overheating. The lamellar
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`structure also ensures a contact force which is sufficiently small, but adequate for good
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`contacting, since, due to the lamellae, good elasticity is achieved with the electrically
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`conductive material used. With the elongate contact elements according to the invention,
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`“vertical contacting” is achieved, which means that a contact element is provided which
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`is oriented approximately perpendicularly to the contact plane, which, on contacting is
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`able to buckle laterally. The rectangular cross-section permits a very compact pattern for
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`a contact element arrangement together with a high current—carrying capacity, while the
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`lamellar intermediate region enables easy buckling, which nevertheless provides an
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`adequate contact force. The form of the contact element according to the invention
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`enables the contacting of components under test, in particular wafers with a mean contact
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`Page 2 of 22
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`Page 2 of 22
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`separation of 40 um and less. The rectangular cross—section of the intermediate region
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`means that the outer cross-section contour has this form, which means that the structure
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`of internally positioned lamellae is not taken into account. Where a rectangular cross-
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`section is mentioned in this application, regardless of which part of the contact element
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`this cross-section belongs to, a square cross-section is always included.
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`In one embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the lamellar intermediate region
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`comprises at least two lamellae extending in the longitudinal direction of the intermediate
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`region. Preferably, more than two lamellae are provided, extending in the longitudinal
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`direction of the elongate contact element. In particular, the lamellae extend essentially
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`parallel to one another, regardless of whether they have a straight or a curved course.
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`Preferably, adjacent lamellae have at least one longitudinal slot between them, which
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`means that they are separated or spaced apart from one another by said at least one
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`longitudinal slot.
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`If, during contacting of a component under test, bending, that is,
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`buckling of the contact element takes place, it is conceivable that adjacent lamellae could
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`touch one another at least partially due to a reduction in the distance formed by the
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`longitudinal slot, so that there is no longer any distance, but still a separation, between
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`them.
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`Another embodiment of the invention provides that the contact element has a one-piece
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`contact body. Accordingly, the two end regions and the intermediate region comprising
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`the lamellae are configured in one piece.
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`Alternatively, it is also possible that the contact element has a multi-component contact
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`body, with a contact insert in the region of at least one contacting zone. The contact insert
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`provides for electrical contact and can be made, for example, from material with
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`particularly good electrical conducting properties, while a different material is used for
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`the remainder of the contact body region.
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`In particular, it is provided that the contact element has a length L, a width B and a
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`thickness D. The arrangement is preferably structured such that the length L of the
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`contact element is greater than its width B. It can preferably be provided that the Width B
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`Page 3 of 22
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`Page 3 of 22
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`of the contact element is greater than its thickness D. Preferably, the contact element is
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`therefore constructed essentially strip shaped, specifically as a contact strip.
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`Another embodiment of the invention provides that the lamellae each have a length l, a
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`width b and a depth t. The length l of a lamella is preferably greater than the width b
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`thereof. In particular, it can also be provided that the width b of a lamella is greater than
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`its depth t.
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`It was mentioned above that the cross-section of the intermediate region is essentially
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`rectangular. It can be provided, in particular, that the whole contact element has an
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`essentially rectangular cross-section, so that the two end regions are also constructed with
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`a rectangular cross-section, although it is not necessary for the rectangular cross-sections
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`of one end region, the intermediate region, and the other end region to be of equal size or
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`to have the same form.
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`Particularly preferably, it is provided that the cross—section of at least one of the lamellae
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`is configured essentially rectangular. All the lamellae preferably have a rectangular cross-
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`The arrangement can be designed so that
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`the thickness D of the contact element
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`corresponds to the Width b of at least one of the lamellae, and preferably the width b of
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`all the lamellae, so that the width b of the lamella or lamellae is determined by the
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`thickness D of the contact element.
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`The contact element preferably consists of an elastic material. This enables the bending
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`(buckling) to be achieved particularly well during contacting. It is also always ensured
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`that the contact element returns to its original form after contacting,
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`that is,
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`According to one embodiment of the invention, it is preferably provided that, in their
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`relaxed, non-contacting condition and/or in their tensioned, contacting form, the lamellae
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`have an arched form comprising at least one are. As a consequence, the contact element
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`can be “pre-bent” so that the lamellae have an arched form in the unloaded state, which
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`becomes more strongly arched when making contact. Alternatively,
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`it can also be
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`Page 4 of 22
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`Page 4 of 22
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`provided that no pre-bending exists, but that the lamellae bend on loading and only then
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`assume an arched form.
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`Particularly preferably, it is provided that the at least one are of the arched form lies in a
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`plane defined by the length L and the width B of the contact element. This has the
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`advantage that all the lamellae bend or are bent similarly, that is, in the same direction.
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`This applies also to adjacent contact elements, so that mutual contacting of adjacent
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`contact elements and consequent electrical short-circuit is prevented. According to the
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`above definition, the individual lamellae are bent about their smallest dimension, that is,
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`their depth t, which means that the whole intermediate region is bent about its width B,
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`which is configured greater than the thickness D of the contact element.
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`According to another embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that the cross-
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`sectional area and/or cross-sectional form of a lamella varies over its longitudinal extent.
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`In addition, or alternatively, it is also possible that the cross-sectional areas and/or cross-
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`sectional forms of the individual lamellae are different from one another.
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`According to another embodiment of the invention, it is provided that one end region,
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`particularly on the component—under—test side, has a first contacting zone which is off-
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`center relative to the width B of the contact element. In particular, the whole of an end
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`region, or a large portion thereof, can lie off-center relative to the width B of the contact
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`element. This off-center position initiates buckling in a defined direction, so that the
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`buckling direction is thereby pre—determined.
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`The other end region can—according to a further exemplary embodiment—have a second
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`contacting zone which is centrally placed. This involves, in particular, the end region
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`facing away from the component under test.
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`It is advantageous if the first and/or second contacting zone has or each have a contact tip
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`which tapers from two sides. This leads, particularly during contacting, to a linear contact
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`or to an essentially rectangular contact surface.
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`According to a further development of the invention, it is provided that the contact
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`element has two longitudinal sides of which one has an elbowed contour, to produce a
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`Page 5 of 22
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`Page 5 of 22
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`lateral offset of one end region. This results, in particular, in the above described off-
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`center position of the first contacting zone.
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`The elbowed contour of one longitudinal side results, in particular, in a retaining step.
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`This serves to hold the contact element in a contact element holder so that it cannot slide
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`out therefrom.
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`The contact element preferably comprises one section that is provided with an electrically
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`insulating coating and/or a contacting coating. The contacting coating can be brought into
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`material engagement with the contact element, for example, by melting on.
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`It is also advantageous if at least one of the end regions has a curvature and/or an
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`inclination which is directed opposed to the arc of the arched form. As a result, when the
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`contact element is placed on the component under test, during the elastic bending in the
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`longitudinal extent of the contact element in the course of the contacting, said end region
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`performs a tilting motion which, in relation to the contacting site, manifests itself as a
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`scratching motion, so that a particularly good electrical contact can be achieved, even if
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`the contact surfaces are soiled and/or have oxide layers.
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`It is also advantageous if at least one of the end regions, in particular, the off-center end
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`region, has an essentially rectangular cross-section. This cross-section preferably
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`cooperates with a guide hole/guide aperture which also has a rectangular cross-section.
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`This will be considered in greater detail below.
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`The invention also relates to an electrical contacting apparatus having at least one contact
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`element, as described above, and a contact element holder having at least two guides for
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`the contact element arranged at a distance from one another, of which one has at least one
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`guide aperture which is penetrated by the contact element. The two guides can be
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`cOnfigured, in particular, as guide plates wherein the contact element is held by the
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`guides at both its end regions in that both, or at least one, end region penetrates a
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`corresponding guide aperture.
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`As mentioned above, it is preferably provided that at least one of the guide apertures has
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`an essentially rectangular cross-section. The arrangement
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`is designed such that the
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`Page 6 of 22
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`Page 6 of 22
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`rectangular end region lies in the rectangular guide aperture with only very little play, so
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`that it is possible to insert the contact element in the guide aperture and also that
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`movement is possible when contacting and when breaking the contacting.
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`The guide aperture having a rectangular cross-section preferably has four guide aperture
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`walls of which a first guide aperture wall lies opposing a second guide aperture wall.
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`It is provided, in particular, that in the relaxed, non—contacting condition, the contact
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`element is held in the guide aperture such that one of the longitudinal sides of the contact
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`element lies against a first site of the first guide aperture wall and the other longitudinal
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`side of the contact element lies against a second site of the second guide aperture wall,
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`wherein the two sites are spaced apart from one another axially. The word “axially”
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`should be understood as relating to the longitudinal extent of the contact element. When a
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`component under test is contacted with the contact element, said contact element is
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`tensioned and is consequently brought into the contacting condition, and is guided in the
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`guide aperture such that the longitudinal side which, in the relaxed condition, previously
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`lay against the first site of the first guide aperture wall now lies against a third site of the
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`first guide aperture wall and that the longitudinal side of the contact element which
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`previously lay against the second site of the second guide aperture wall now lies against a
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`fourth site of the second guide aperture wall. From this, it is clear that during contacting,
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`a tilting motion of the contact element takes place in the region of the guide aperture,
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`with the result
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`that
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`the aforementioned scratching motion takes place, so that
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`the
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`contacting zone scratches along a contact surface of the component under test and
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`thereby creates a very low resistance electrical connection path. In the relaxed, non-
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`contacting condition the contact element assumes a defined position due to the
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`aforementioned lying against the guide aperture walls and in the tensioned, contacting
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`condition, a defined end position is again assumed, so that the tilting motion which
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`occurs is reproducibly restricted. With regard to the contacting process, this tilting motion
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`involves an “edge change” in that the contacting zone serving to provide the electrical
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`contact tilts about the contact edge, which leads to particularly good contacting results. It
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`is noteworthy that, due to the very small dimensions of the components involved and due
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`to the extremely small contact separations in the component under test, the scratching
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`Page 7 of 22
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`Page 7 of 22
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`motion is only microscopically small, although this is entirely adequate for a good
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`electrical result.
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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`The invention will now be described in greater detail by reference to an exemplary
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`embodiment. In the drawings:
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`Fig. 1 shows a plan View of a contact element,
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`Fig. 2 shows an end region of the contact element of Fig.
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`1 which can be applied to a
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`component under test,
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`Fig. 3 shows the contact element of Fig. l in the relaxed, non-contacting state and in the
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`tensioned, contacting state, and
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`Fig. 4 shows the process of inserting a contact element into a contacting apparatus in
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`three steps.
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`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT
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`Fig. 1 shows an elongate electrical contact element 1, which serves to make contact with
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`electrical components under test. The contact element 1 has two end regions 2 and 3 and
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`an elongate intermediate region 4 lying therebetween. The two end regions 2 and 3 are
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`also configured elongate. Therefore, overall the contact element has a longitudinal extent
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`that is indicated with a double-headed arrow 5.
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`The contact element 1
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`is configured in one piece. It comprises a single-piece contact
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`body 6. The contact element 1 has two longitudinal sides 7, 8, a front side 9 and a rear
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`side 10 opposing the front side. It has a length L, a width B and a thickness D (Fig. 2).
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`Due to its elongate form, the contact element 1 is essentially configured as a contact strip
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`Page 8 of 22
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`Page 8 of 22
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`11. This circumstance results, in particular, therefrom that the length L is configured
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`greater than the width B and said width B is greater than the thickness D.
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`As shown in the drawings, the intermediate region 4 is configured lamellar, which means
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`it has lamellae 12 which extend in the longitudinal direction (double-headed
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`arrow 5). The lamellae 12 preferably run mutually parallel (despite the fact that they have
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`an arched form, which will be considered in greater detail below). Adjacent lamellae 12
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`are each separated from one another by a longitudinal slot 13. The arrangement is
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`preferably designed such that the lamellae 12 have a length 1 (Fig. 1), a width b and a
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`depth t. The length l is greater than the width b. The width b is greater than the depth t
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`(Fig. 2). It is also clear from Fig. 2 that the width b of the lamellae 12 is the same as the
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`thickness D of the contact element. In other embodiments (not shown), it can be provided
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`that the width b of the lamellae 12, or of one or more of the lamellae 12, is greater or
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`smaller than the thickness D of the contact element 1. The width b of the lamellae 12 can
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`be in the range of 10 um to 100 mm, for instance 30 um, and the depth t can be in the
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`range of 10 um to 50 pm, for instance 20 pm. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the
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`contact element
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`1 comprises four
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`lamellae 12 between which are arranged three
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`longitudinal slots 13. It is also possible to provide a different number of lamellae 12. The
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`smallest number of lamellae is two.
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`The longitudinal side 7 of the contact element 1 has an elbowed contour, which leads to a
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`lateral offset of the end region 2. The elbow is identified in Fig.
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`1 with the reference
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`sign 14. Due to the elbow 14, the end region 2 extends off-center, which means that the
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`end region 2 lies laterally offset relative to the center of the length of the front side 9. The
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`offset results in the formation of a retaining step 15. The end region 2 comprises a first
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`contacting zone 16 and the end region 3 comprises a second contacting zone 17.
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`The first and second contacting zones 16, 17 each consist of contact tips 18, 19. The
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`longitudinal ridges of the contact tips 18, 19 extend in the direction of the thickness D of
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`the contact element 1. Due to the elbow 14, the end region 2 lies largely off—center and
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`the second contact zone 17 lies centrally in relation to the width B of the contact
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`element 1.
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`Page 9 of 22
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`Page 9 of 22
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`The whole contact element 1 has a rectangular cross-section. This applies both to the end
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`region 2, to the end region 3, and to the intermediate region 4 (seen as an overall contour)
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`as well as to the individual lamellae 12. Alternatively, other cross-sectional forms, such
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`as circular forms, are also possible.
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`It is clear from Fig.
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`1 that the contact element 1 in the unloaded condition shown there
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`does not extend straight, but rather that it has an arc 20 and therefore possesses an arched
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`form 21. The individual lamellae 12 therefore extend in an are. It is also recognizable that
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`the end region 2 has an inclination, indicated by the angle 0t drawn in on Fig. 1 which is
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`directed opposed to the are 20. This means that
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`the first contact zone 16 lies
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`approximately centrally to the width B, although the connection of the end region 2 to the
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`intermediate region 4 lies—as stated—~off-center.
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`The contact element 1 comprises an elastic, electrically conductive material.
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`It is clear from Fig. 3 that the contact element 1 bends more severely under load, so that
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`the prior bend in the unloaded state (at left in Fig. 3) is increased under load (at right in
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`Fig. 3), that is, on contacting an electrical component under test (not shown). The
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`individual lamellae 12 are bent in a plane which lies parallel to the front side 9 and/or the
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`rear side 10 of the contact element 1.
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`Fig. 4 illustrates a contacting apparatus 22 which comprises at least one contact element 1
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`and a contact element holder 23. In Fig. 4, the same assembly is shown three times
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`consecutively in order to illustrate a process of inserting the contact element 1 into the
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`contact element holder 23. It is clear that the contact element holder 23 comprises a
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`guide 24 in the form of a guide plate 25. The guide 24 comprises a guide aperture 26
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`which has a rectangular cross-section, wherein this rectangular cross-section is essentially
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`adapted to the rectangular cross-section of the end region 2 of the contact element 1, so
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`that only a small degree of play exists when the end region 2 is situated in the guide
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`aperture 26. It can be provided, in particular—although this is not illustrated in Fig. 4—
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`that the other end region 3 is also guided in a guide 24.
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`Page 10 of 22
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`Page 10 of 22
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`The individual illustrations of Fig. 4 illustrate the insertion of a contact element 1 into the
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`contact element holder 23, wherein the contact element is held at its end region 3 (not
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`shown). The insertion takes place in that initially the front tip region of the end region 2
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`is inserted a little into the guide aperture 26. Since the end region 23 has an inclination
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`(angle 0t), it is necessary to bend the contact element 1 further in relation to the relaxed
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`form, as indicated by the arrow 27 (central illustration in Fig. 4), so that the longitudinal
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`sides 7 and 8 of the end region 2 extend parallel to the first and second guide aperture
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`walls 28 and 29 of the guide aperture 26. The end region 2 is now pushed into the guide
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`aperture 26 far enough such that the contact zone 16——as per the right illustration in
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`Fig. 4—extends a good way out of the guide 24 downwardly. The contact element 1 then
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`relaxes a little so that the arc reduces (arrow 30), such that a slight pre-tension is exerted
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`on the guide aperture 26. A contact element I mounted in this manner therefore lies in the
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`guide aperture 26—as per the right illustration of Fig. 4—such that the longitudinal side 8
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`lies against a site 31 of the first guide aperture wall 28 and the other longitudinal side 7 of
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`the contact element 1 lies against a site 32 of the second guide aperture wall 29, wherein
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`the two sites 31, 32 have an axial spacing a from one another.
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`If, for contacting, the contacting zone 16 is pressed (pressing force 33) for physical
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`contact against an electrical component under test (not shown), the lamellae 12 bend or
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`bend more strongly, with the consequence that the end region 2 tilts in the guide aperture
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`26 such that, in this tensioned, contacting condition, the end region 2 of the contact
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`element
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`is held in the guide aperture 26 such that the longitudinal side 8 which
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`1
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`previously lay, in the relaxed state (right illustration of Fig. 4), against the site 31 of the
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`first guide aperture wall 28, now lies against another site 34 of the first guide aperture
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`wall 28 and that the longitudinal side 7 which previously lay against the second guide
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`aperture wall 29 at the site 32, now also lies against another site 35 of the second guide
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`aperture wall 29. The two sites 34 and 35 also have an axial spacing a from one another.
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`A change of edges effectively takes place. It is apparent that, due to this change of edges,
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`the first contacting zone 16 is displaced in the direction of the arrow 36, with the
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`consequence that a scratching motion takes place on the contact site of the electrical
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`component under test (not shown). This has the result that dirt can be cleared away on
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`Page 11 of22
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`11
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`Page 11 of 22
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`contacting and possrble oxrdation Sltes removed, so that a very good electrical contact is
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`achieved.
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`According to the invention, a contact element 1 is provided which comprises a plurality
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`of arranged strips of rectangular cross-section,
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`the lamellae 12. The lamellae 12 are
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`connected to one another in such a manner that a resultant buckling motion of the contact
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`element 1 corresponds to that of the individual lamellae 12. In order to favor buckling
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`during contacting,
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`the contact element
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`is configured slightly pre-bent. Through a
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`correspondingly