Test your BGA device with an ultra-small socket

BY MAJEED AHMAD

Ironwood Electronics has released a new test socket for BGA devices; it features a clamshell lid design for ease of chip replacement in the production environment. Besides final production test, the socket can also be used for quick device screening and device characterization at extreme temperatures.

The CBT-BGA-7041 socket uses an ultra-small footprint and comes with accompanying hardware to mount it on the target PCB without soldering. Moreover, it boasts an integrated compression plate for implementing vertical force without distorting device position. The vertical force is applied by turning the compression screw integrated into the socket lid.

So engineers can simply place the BGA device into the socket and close the lid by snapping the latch. Furthermore, the ultra-small footprint allows inductors, resistors, and decoupling capacitors to be placed very close to the device for impedance tuning.

It's a stamped spring pin socket that is designed to test 14 x 10-mm BGA devices under extreme temperatures. The contactor is comprised of a stamped spring pin with 31-gram actuation force per ball and cycle life of 125,000 insertions.

The contactor features self-inductance of 0.88 nH, insertion loss

The CBT-BGA-7041 socket can be used to test, for instance, NXP's flip-chip system-in-package (SiP) devices. The configuration of the package to be tested in the CBT-BGA-7041 socket specifies 14 x 10-mm BGA, 0.75-mm pitch, and 16 x 13 array with 208 balls.