0321 Mw Smiths Interconnect Joule 20 Test Socket Promo 60647c89d5fc7

Drop-In Test Socket Deftly Handles Peripheral ICs

March 31, 2021

Redundant scrubbing-contact technology provides for highly reliable IC tests with reduced test times for QFN, QFP, and SOIC packages.

David Maliniak

Related To: Microwaves & RF

As the digital age progresses, demand grows for new consumer/commercial electronics such as autonomous vehicles. Integrated circuits become faster and more complex, which increases the importance of highly reliable testing and reduced test times. Smiths Interconnect’s new Joule 20 test socket deploys redundant scrubbing-contact technology, which results in solid electrical and mechanical performance in testing peripheral ICs in QFN, QFP, and SOIC packages for communications, consumer, wearables, and automotive applications.

The socket’s innovative design allows for the housing to be disassembled without removing the socket from the PCB. This enables cleaning and repair to be done without taking production equipment offline, reducing equipment downtime, and improving production throughput. Its redundant contact technology provides repeated and reliable DUT contact, whether those contacts are of matte tin or NiPdAu, without damage to the PCB. It accommodates pitches of ≥0.3 mm and applies a contact force of 40 to 45 g.

Joule 20 is a drop-in socket that matches existing PCB socket footprints. Thanks to its short signal paths, it’s capable of bandwidths up to 20 GHz. The very low contact resistance between chip and PCB contribute to higher test yields, while the high-frequency capabilities contribute to signal integrity and reliability. The socket performs over a wide temperature range of -40°C to +125°C and promises a long contact life of up to 500k insertions.

Electrical properties include contact resistance of <20 mΩ @ 500k, current carrying capacity of 8 A, insertion loss of 20 GHz @ -1 dB, return loss of 20 GHz @ -10 dB, loop inductance of 0.42 nH, capacitance of 0.17 pF, and decoupling area of 1.40 mm.

About the Author

David Maliniak | Executive Editor, Microwaves & RF

I am Executive Editor of Microwaves & RF, an all-digital publication that broadly covers all aspects of wireless communications. More particularly, we're keeping a close eye on technologies in the consumer-oriented 5G, 6G, IoT, M2M, and V2X markets, in which much of the wireless market's growth will occur in this decade and beyond. I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, developers, and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

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About me:

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy, leaving to rejoin the EOEM B2B publishing world in January 2020. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.