ELASTIC CONTACT DEVICE FOR ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS WITH BUCKLING COLUMNS

An embodiment of an elastic contact device for electrically contacting electronic components is proposed. The contact device includes at least one basic module, which has a longitudinal axis. In turn, each basic module includes an elastic core for defining an elasticity of the basic module; the elastic core undergoes an axial elastic deformation in response to an axial compression. A first contact terminal element and a second contact terminal element are coupled with the elastic core in axially opposed positions. Moreover, one or more elongated contact elements extend axially between the first terminal element and the second terminal element. In an embodiment, each elongated element is configured to have a buckling axial critical load higher than zero (for self-sustaining in absence of external forces during a production of the basic module) and lower than a threshold compression (for buckling thereby not contributing to the elasticity of the basic module during operation thereof); the threshold compression corresponds to a threshold deformation of the elastic core with respect to a rest condition of the elastic core ranging between approximately 0.1% and 50%.