|
|
Article: Test Socket Industry Faces Issues Scaling Below 0.4 mm Pitch.
- Article from:
- Semiconductor International
- Article date:
- October 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Sally Cole Johnson, Contributing Editor
The test socket industry is encountering electrical and mechanical issues as package pitch sizes shrink below 0.4 mm. The major challenges include increased package size, which means more I/O to test, and RF testing requirements that would introduce signal integrity issues. To scale to tighter pitches, it appears that new materials, designs and contacting technologies are necessary for test sockets.
As a point of reference, test sockets contacts are now smaller than the lead found in a mechanical pencil, which is typically 0.5 mm. Spring pins used in 0.4 mm test sockets are about half that diameter. Even more ...