Patent 7602203 was granted and assigned to Tokyo Electron on October, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An object of the present invention is to make it possible that a probe for testing electrical characteristics of an object to be tested is easily attached to a support member such as a contactor. A through hole is formed in the contactor. In the probe, a fitting/locking portion which can be fitted in this through hole is formed. The fitting/locking portion is formed to penetrate the through hole of the contactor and to be locked in the contactor in a state that a tip thereof is in contact with a connecting terminal of a printed wiring board. The fitting/locking portion itself is locked in the contactor by hooking a locking portion thereof to an end face on an upper side of the through hole.