CONFIGURABLE HIGH INSERTION COUNT SOCKETS
The Configurable High Insertion Count (CHIC) Socket allows users of programming and automatic test equipment to accommodate a new BGA package inexpensively and minimize down time. The socket also improves electrical contact reliability compared to conventional burn-in style socket technology so that fewer chips are erroneously rejected -- an innovation that allows users to save chips normally lost due to poor signal continuity. The CHIC Socket is unique as it consists of two parts: a socket platform with an array of contact pads (which accommodate any BGA with the same contact pitch) and a personality nest that fits over the platform. The BGA package drops into the personality nest and touches the appropriate contacts. To test chips in a different BGA package, the user needs to change only the nest.
Another unique feature
of the CHIC socket is its' positive locking action on BGA contacts, which
actively pulls the chip's contacts down onto the conforming signal pins.
In a clean and maintained environment, the CHIC Socket features a 500,000-insertion-cycle
life, reducing the overall socket cost to 1 cent or less. The socket can
then be refurbished for approximately half its original cost for another
500,000 cycles of use. The socket can be rebuilt in the field or can be
sent to the factory for service and test.
Signal
Transfer Technology, Inc.
8881 Muraoka Drive #2
Gilroy, CA 95020
(408) 846-8600
fax (408) 846-4685