RF Test Sockets Offer Low Inductance Ground

The Microstrip Ground Contact (MGC) provides a positive interface with the underside ground pad of the device-under-test. Extensive testing has demonstrated a ground inductance as low as 0.035 nH. The ground contact has multiple contact points on the device's slug/pad and can be pressed flat against the PCB ground pad to ensure excellent thermal and electrical contact. The ground contact provides better performance than electrically long signal path components such as pogo pins. Electrically, the grounding scheme is comparable to soldering the device to a board. The MGC test socket can be provided with ground contacts to accommodate quad- and dual-sided packages. The contacts are user replaceable. Price for a standard MGC RF test socket for devices with up to 48 leads is $2265 for ambient temperatures.