The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors, more particularly to surface mount connectors allowing repeated mounting and unmounting of electronic components having a plurality of densely populated, pinless terminals.
While the size of integrated circuit (IC) packages is decreasing, the number of circuits per package is increasing. Thus, the number of localized in extremely small spaces terminal leads necessary to communicate between the circuit elements and the outside system is increasing, which is why terminal leads are becoming finer, closer spaced, and more difficult to mount on PCBs.
In order to overcome the difficulty of mounting IC packages with multiple dense connections, the packaging technology has evolved from a through hole and surface mount packaging to a leadless packaging, such as ball grid array (BGA) and chip-scale packaging (CSP). As the use of BGAs and CSPs is limited to applications where high cost is a secondary consideration, a dual/quad flat no leads (DFN/QFN) packaging has emerged as a cost-efficient packaging technology. An increase in integration density as well as problems arising from cooling power IC has renewed the interest in superconductor ICs capable of operating with low energy consumption and much higher speed.
Interconnect technology is lagging behind package microminiaturization pace; therefore, connectors used to connect packages with PCBs are becoming the bulkiest, heaviest, and most expensive parts of electronic products. For example, BGA and CSP packages are placed within a mounting device designed to hold packages providing high interconnection density. The mounting device has electrical contacts the top part of which is aligned with contacts on the IC package and the bottom part is aligned with pads on the PCB where this device must be mounted. A disadvantage of interconnection technology is resistance between IC package contacts and contacts of the mounting device because of contact oxidation, especially when the IC is tested at a high temperature. BGA packages are vulnerable to stress because of flexural stress from the circuit board resulting in potential reliability issues. Surface irregularities on packages and mounting devices themselves can result in failure of certain electrical contacts. Another disadvantage of such an electrical connection is the difficulty to align package terminals with the mounting device contacts with extremely small dimensional and physical tolerance. Still another disadvantage is the cost of package materials, which makes BGA and CSP packages undesirable due to their expensive substrate cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,138 discloses a socket for removable mounting electronic parts that has a plurality of conductive terminals such as BGA packages. All contact members of the disclosed socket have a pair of arm-like contact parts capable of elastically opening or closing to hold or release IC's terminals. The elastic contact parts can perform a wiping action to remove the oxide layer from the package terminal and increase dimensional tolerance. However, due to the size and orientation of the contact parts, the disclosed socket introduces parasitic resistive, capacitive, and inductive circuit components, when it is being operated at high frequencies, thus, degrading signal propagation.
Solder reflow that is a common interconnection technology requires subjecting both the IC package and the PCB to high heat. Overheating or thermal stress can destroy or weaken ICs, resulting in higher initial and long-term failure rates. To remove and replace a defective IC, the entire PCB should be subjected to elevated temperatures, which results in additional thermal stress. To remove DFN/QFN packages, a PCB should be baked for four hours to reduce the risk of delaminating either the PCB or the IC. See, Microchip, Package Application Note for QFN and DFN Packages, AN2089 (2016). Unlike the BGA interconnection, the solder IC package and the PCB interconnection allow for decreased height of the connector and mount. However, the use of solder reflow technology requires purchase and maintenance of expensive machinery, and the use a limited number of chemical and physically compatible materials in solder reflow narrows the number of designs where solder reflow can be applied.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,249 discloses a connector containing housing, cover, and multiple beryllium copper contact elements with a pin extended to the housing and a C-shaped section with a contact surface located on the free end of the section's upper limb. The upper limb serves as a cantilever beam that provides spring force to the contact surface; and the lower limb with the pin supports contact elements in the housing. The four side walls of the housing with equally elevated steps extending along the wall's outer and inside surfaces provide the IC package-receiving compartment. Walls also have horizontal cuts that extend as grooves across the step edges and are used to load contact elements. The disclosed connector enables the installation and the replacement of IC packages to increase contact elements' dimensional and physical tolerance, improve the connection reliability due to a wiping action, and decrease high-frequency signal distortions due to the connector's low height. However, besides the decreased contact elements' height, the total connector's height includes the height of its pins, which also contributes to high frequency signal degradation. The connector's design complexity increases the cost and the difficulty of manufacturing its housing. The loading of contact elements into a housing of such type requires expensive and time-consuming manual work causing the connector's high cost. Beryllium copper does not demonstrate superconductor properties in cryogenic applications; therefore, the connector's contact elements are incapable of effectively removing heat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,530 discloses a connector having a plurality of electrically conductive metal traces on a flexible dielectric substrate and a plurality of protuberant electrical contacts, made of electrically conductive elastomer, that project from the trace ends to resiliently engage a contact site of the device to which the connector is coupled. This connector does not introduce additional signal distortions because of its low height; it is effective and reliable in operation because it does not require strict dimensional tolerance. However, it is difficult, time-consuming, and costly to manufacture.
Accordingly, drawbacks of conventional systems and methods include one or more of degraded signal propagation, soldering/unsoldering components, and excess heat retention in contact elements.
To overcome shortcomings of conventional methods, components and systems, provided herein is a multi-use mechanical integrated circuit connector for releasably securing electrical connectors without solder that provides at least one of a micro-strip, strip-line or waveguide with enhanced signal propagation, as well as the advantages described herein.
An aspect of the present invention provides a multi-use device for solderless, repeatable electrical connection with an IC package or chip, the device including a top including a first side and a second side, with the first and second sides facing substantially opposite directions; an alignment plate including a first side and a second side, with the first and second sides facing substantially opposite directions; a connector including a hole, a first side, a second side, and at least one edge, with the first and second sides facing substantially opposite directions and the at least one edge being positioned between the first and second sides and extending along the hole; and a bottom including a first side and a second side, with the first and second sides facing substantially opposite directions. The second side of the top faces the first side of the alignment plate, the second side of the alignment plate faces the first side of the connector, the second side of the connector faces the first side of the bottom, and the top moves toward the bottom to secure the IC adjacent to the at least one edge of the connector.
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a device for releasably securing an electrical device, the device including a top, an alignment plate, a connector, a bottom, and a plurality of rails that align the top and the connector. At least one post of a plurality of posts is also provided to align the alignment plate, the connector, and the bottom. The top is stacked on the alignment plate, the alignment plate is stacked on the connector, and the connector is stacked on the bottom. The top is moveable in a first direction along the plurality of rails.
Still another aspect of the present disclosure is that the connector comprises at least one layer of conductors extending from the edges of the connector.
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The following detailed description of certain embodiments references the accompanying drawings. In the description, explanation about related functions or constructions known in the art are omitted for clarity.
As shown in
The top 130 is movable toward the bottom 170 to secure the integrated circuit 500 to the connector 150. The top 130 and bottom 170 are configured to apply a force (F,
As shown in
The spring plate 120, top 130, alignment plate 140, connector 150 and bottom 170 are stacked in the first direction. As shown in
The plurality of rails 190a-d facilitate uniform movement of the top 130 towards and away from the connector 150 and the bottom 170. As shown in
The alignment plate 140 is preferably made from epoxy glass laminate with a square hole H for a close-fit clearance with edges of a chip 500 located in the hole H, when mounted in the device. Holes 140a-d are provided in respective corners of the alignment plate 140. Cut-outs 143a-d are provided on respective sides of hole H on a bottom surface, i.e., second side 144, of the alignment plate 140, with the cut-outs 143a-d forming a cross-shape.
As shown in
As shown in
Edges of the alignment steps 177 are positioned beneath rotation axes 501 (
As shown in
The connector 150 is preferably formed as a portion of a printed circuit board (PCB), e.g., a standard 1.6 mm-thick FR4 double-sided PCB. As shown in
As shown in
The connector 150 includes a plurality of circuit traces 160 (
The axes of the circuit traces 160 that are routed under the chip 500 and the axes of pads 502 (
The underside of the connector 150 includes a cross-shaped cut-off 151, preferably 1.25 to 1.30 mm deep, that surrounds the hole H of the alignment plate 140. Respective distal ends of the circuit traces 160 are provided on respective fingers 156 that extend into the hole H. Cuts 153 separate the fingers 156. Traces 111 located on wrists 157, palms 155, and fingers 156 serve as contacts rotatable around the rotation axes 501 at angle β for palms 155 and rotation axes 504 angle α for fingers 156.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Unlike a typical spring connector's contact, which can be represented as a simple cantilever beam whose one end is supported by clamping and the other end is subjected to one concentrated load by the chip, the new connector's contact can be represented as a cantilever supported by an additional load by the bottom 170. Such a cantilever is capable of providing a higher contact normal force from the stored energy than a cantilever supported by one load if these cantilevers' edges are deflected by the same distance, e.g., similar to a diving board extended over the edge of a swimming pool. As a result, the new connector allows designers to establish an acceptable contact resistance between the connector's contact and chip's pads using a lower height of the connector that will improve operation characteristics at high frequencies.
Traces 160 (
While the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to certain aspects thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof
This application is a Continuation of PCT/US2019/028257 filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Apr. 19, 2019, and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/660,036 filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Apr. 19, 2018, the entire contents of each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
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20210036446 A1 | Feb 2021 | US |
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62660036 | Apr 2018 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/US2019/028257 | Apr 2019 | US |
Child | 17073869 | US |