For BGA, QFN, or LGA applications, GTP contact technology provides >94 GHz signal speed and can additionally be used in high cycle life applications such as ATE. These sockets support pitches from 0.2 mm to 1.27 mm.

Ironwood's GT sockets are ideal for prototyping and testing almost any BGA device application. These IC sockets provide excellent signal integrity yet remain cost effective. Innovative elastomer interconnect technology that delivers low signal loss (1dB at 94GHz) and supports BGA packages with pitches down to 0.2mm was utilized in these sockets. GT BGA sockets are mechanically mounted over a target system's BGA lands using mounting and alignment holes at proper locations (page 2 of the individual socket drawing shows recommended PCB layout information). These low-profile sockets are only 2.5 mm per side larger than actual IC packages (industry's smallest footprint).

Ironwood’s GTP sockets are ideal for prototyping and production testing almost any BGA, QFN, or LGA device application. These IC sockets provide excellent signal integrity and high mechanical endurance. Innovative elastomer interconnect technology, that delivers low signal loss (1dB at 94GHz) and supports BGA, QFN, and LGA packages with pitches down to 0.2mm. With the addition of proprietary gold crown, our GTP sockets are also able to deliver greater than 200,000 cycles, when properly configured.

They support IC devices with body sizes ranging from 70mm down to 1mm. Larger body sizes may require a backing plate. If the backside of the target PCB contains capacitors and resistors, a custom insulation plate with cavities cut for those components can be designed. This insulation plate sandwiches between the backing plate and target PCB. The sockets have a precision design, which guides the IC to the exact position for connection of each ball and uses an aluminum heat sink screw to provide compressive force. The sockets are designed to dissipate up to several watts without extra heat sinking and can handle up to 600 watts with a custom heat sink. The user simply places the IC into the socket, places the compression plate, swivels the lid, and applies torque to heat sink screw to connect the IC. If there are pre-existing holes in the PCB, a GT elastomer BGA socket can be custom designed to accommodate those holes (please call Ironwood Tech Support @1-800-404-0204). Typical GT elastomer BGA socket with lever actuated lid is shown in the figure.

GT is a new elastomer technology that has silver particles held in a conductive column like buttons which are embedded in a non-conductive polymer substrate on a proper pitch that provides high compliance and extreme temperature ranges. GT is available for BGA, PoP and other packages from 0.2mm to 1.27mm pitch. The contact resistance is <30 milliohms. The operating temperature range for the elastomer is -55C to +160C.

GTP utilizes the same great elastomer technology of GT, while adding a proprietary gold crown to deliver industry leading signal performance and high endurance.

If there is no room to put mounting holes for socket on a customer’s board, the socket can be used with alternate SMT options or with Thru hole options. Custom sockets to accommodate rectangular body shapes, odd sizes, and devices with pitches down to 0.2mm can be developed in short lead time. BGA package specifications can vary widely between manufacturers. We have found that it is most effective for us to ask customers for information about the specific device to be socketed and then provide a quote. You can fill the form with required information or call us at 1-800-404-0204.

Ironwood Electronics SBT sockets are small footprint sockets that are compatible with other product lines such as GHz elastomer sockets, Giga-Spring sockets, etc. The socket needs about 2.5mm extra space around the chip than the actual chip size utilizing only very small PCB real estate. A heat sink screw on the top provides the compression force as well as thermal relief and can be customized to dissipate more power. SBT socket uses SBT contact technology for high endurance and wide temperature applications. SBT Contact is a stamped contact with outside spring as well as inside leaf spring that provides a robust solution for Burn-in & Test applications. Solutions are available for 0.3mm to 1.27mm LGA, BGA, QFN, QFP, SOIC and other packages. Contact technology has 3 part system which includes top plunger, bottom plunger and a spring. The Beryllium Copper plungers are stamped and assembled to a stainless steel spring in an automated system to enable fast turnaround time, low cost and zero defects.

To use, drop the IC into the socket, place the floating compression plate over the IC, add the swivel lid (with key-hole slots), and apply a normal force to the IC using the compression screw. Alternately, these sockets come with easy open/close clamshell lids for quick chip replacement. SBT sockets can be used for hand test or quick turn custom burn-in applications with the most stringent requirements

Typical specifications for the SBT contact technology include:

• 4GHz – 31.7GHz bandwidth @-1dB
• Contact resistance under 15mOhm
• Self inductance 0.88 – 0.95nH
• Capacitance under 0.3pF
• Operating temperature range -55C to +180C
• Insertion/Extraction life over 500,000 cycles
• Current rating at 80C temperature rise is 4A – 8A per pin

* Detailed specifications for specific pitch are shown above in the Technical Documents table in a separate report.

There are three options available to mount these sockets. The socket can be mounted using hardware and needs holes for screws and can be positioned on the target board. If the holes cannot be drilled on the target board, epoxy mount sockets are the other option. Epoxy mount sockets use epoxy and special mechanism to mount the socket on the target board. The third option is using SMT emulator base. The SMT emulator base has balls on the bottom side that precisely matches the device array and has hardware for socket mounting.

• Package-size PCB footprint: Since the PCB footprint of Grypper is identical to or smaller than the IC package, only one PCB design is required, enabling a seamless transition from test and validation through production and reducing overall cost of test
• No lid required: The package snaps directly without a lid, enabling easy probing, scoping and troubleshooting the topside of the device
• Excellent signal performance: A short signal path achieves low inductance and low insertion loss, providing a nearly invisible electrical connection 

Connectors using elastomer, spring pin, and pin/socket interconnect technologies provide up to 94 GHz of bandwidth in the smallest possible footprint, for both prototype and production applications. These rugged interconnects utilize our laser-and-laminate processes for rapid development and short lead-times, without expensive hard tooling. They support pitches from 0.3mm to 2.54mm and heights from 0.25mm to 5mm.

Connectors using conductive elastomeric contacts provide the highest possible bandwidth. Elastomer technology utilizes conductive silver particles held in silicon column-like buttons, which are embedded in a non-conductive polymer substrate on a proper pitch, that provide compliance on both sides. Board-to-board or flex-to-board can be accomplished in custom laser cut footprints from 0.2mm to 1.27mm pitch. Elastomer buttons can also be deployed in coaxial configurations for impedance matching. Contact resistance is <30 milliohms, with an operating temperature range of -55C to +160C.

Connectors using spring pin contacts offer flexible height options. Inherently rugged, spring pins provide high endurance and are utilized in wide temperature applications. Spring pins are constructed of either stamped contacts with external springs, or precision screw machined components.  The housings are laser cut and laminated, allowing for easy customization of contact location and mounting options, without the need for hard tooling. Solutions are available for 0.3mm to 1.27mm pitch with height ranging from 1mm to 5mm. The contact resistance is <30 milliohms, with a current carrying capacity up to 8A, across an operating temperature range -55C to +180C.

Connectors using pin-clip male/female contacts provide mate/unmate options between mother and daughter board. These high-performance connectors consist of two halves, a female socket array and male pin array. The female socket array consists of machined pins mechanically encapsulated into an assembly that matches the male pin array of similar construction. The female array is soldered to the mother board using standard RoHS soldering methods, while the male array is soldered to the daughter board. The mate the arrays, they are simply plugged together. Available in both lead and lead free solder ball types, the arrays feature gold plated mating surfaces for reliable connection, requiring half the force of conventional connectors. The electrical path of the B2B connector from the top connection point on the male pin module to the solder ball on the female socket is 4.5 mm. These connectors passa environmental tests (MIL-STD) and are qualified for a various range of applications including automotive, military, communication, industrial, etc. Male/female board-to-board connectors are available in many different pin counts with 1mm & 0.8mm pitch, with customs delivered in days without hard tooling.