Semiconductor devices housed in BGAs and µBGAs having up to 2,500 pins and running at speeds well beyond today's fastest ICs can all be tested, debugged and programmed using a series of ball-grid-array sockets designed to handle bandwidths as high as 9 GHz. Part of the company's Silver Wings family, the new 9-GHz solderless socket systems reportedly can, with just 5 models, handle every BGA lead pitch, ball count and package size currently available.
The socket system has, among other things, a conductive elastomeric contactor pad—users need only change the pad plus an adjuster plate to accommodate different package sizes. The pads also offer a simplified means of adapting the socket to packages having different ball pitches compared to sockets using metal pins. The solderless BGA sockets also have a built-in heatsink, pad life of 5,000 insertions (min.), and less than 50 milliohm contact resistance. Prices range from $2,175 for ET-SW-2000 sockets to $2,425 for ET-SW-6000 units.