BGA Package Design Prevents Signal Theft In Consumer Electronics

TT Electronics subsidiary IRC Inc. now offers a high-speed digital-termination ball-grid-array (BGA) package designed to prevent signal theft in consumer electronics devices. The CHC series’ BGAs are constructed with all of the termination balls and circuitry on the bottom of the device, making probing difficult (see the figure). Eliminating vias that run from the ball terminations on the bottom of the device to the top of the device not only provides added security, the company says, but also better high-frequency performance.

The CHC series package best suits manufacturers of set-top boxes, digital TVs, personal video recorders, DVD players, and other digital consumer electronics. The arrays feature resistance ranges of 10 Ω to 10 kΩ with an absolute tolerance to ±1%. Absolute TCRs are ±100ppm/°C. The element power rating for the array is 100 mW at 70°C with package power ratings to 1.6 W at 70°C. Operating voltage is 25 V. Operating temperature ranges from 0°C to 125°C. IRC also will produce devices outside these specifications to meet customer requirements.

Pricing for the CHC series devices is $1.00 each in quantities of 10,000. Lead time is from stock to 10 weeks.

For datasheets or more information on IRC’s CHC series BGA package, visit www.irctt.com/pages/highfrequency.cfm.