Abstract:
A bar formed of a material having a known coefficient of expansion has probe holders arranged thereon with each of the probe holders being at a selected distance from each of the adjacent probe holders. The distance between adjacent probe holders is selected in accordance with the design distance between adjacent chip sites on a substrate so that the probes in each probe holder will contact the pads of a particular chip site. During processing, the overall dimensions of the substrate can shrink more or less than the design shrinkage so as to shrink the distances between the adjacent chip sites from the design distances. The support bar is heated to a selected temperature at which the probe holders are spaced the design distances. If the substrate has shrunk less than the design shrinkage, then additional heating of the support bar from its selected temperature expands the support bar. If the substrate has shrunk more than the design shrinkage, then the temperature of the support bar is reduced from its selected temperature through reducing the heat applied thereto and applying a suitable coolant.