In a test system, a silicon interconnect is provided that can accommodate a packaged part, such as a Land Grid Array (LGA) package. The interconnect can be made by etching a silicon substrate to form projections therefrom; forming an insulation or passivation layer through deposition or growth; depositing a seed layer over the insulation layer; depositing a metal layer over the seed layer; and etching contact members from the seed and metal layers using a single mask step. In a preferred embodiment, the metal layer is coated with another metal layer that matches the metal of the packaged part's electrical communication nodes. In one embodiment, the contact surfaces of the silicon contact are plated in gold and are planar. Included within the scope of the current invention are at least one method of testing an LGA package and at least one method of allowing electrical communication with a packaged part.