The invention relates to a switching apparatus (1) for conducting electrical contact tests on bare and assembled printed circuit boards (12), comprising at least a flat support layer (2), a first electrode arrangement (3) and a functional layer (4), which support layer (2) is elastically restorably deformable, and the functional layer (4) is disposed on top of the first electrode arrangement (3). The functional layer (4) is made from at least one of the group comprising a layer of a photosensitive material (7), a quantum detector and a photoresistor, and at least one source for electromagnetic radiation (8) is additionally disposed above the functional layer (7), and the emitted electromagnetic radiation predominantly acts in the direction of the functional layer (4). The functional layer (4) may also be provided in the form of a transistor arrangement (9) made up of a plurality of transistors. The invention further relates to a method of producing a switching apparatus (1).