Smiths Interconnect announces today its new Galileo test socket for Area Array and Peripheral Package Test.
Galileo is an innovative, low-profile test socket engineered to support today’s high performance Digital and RF applications. It leverages proven interposer elastomer technology and advanced 3D printing manufacturing to provide a high-performance solution for BGA, LGA, QFP, SOIC, or QFN packaged devices with extremely short lead times.
“A good portion of customers have products with critical time-to-market (TTM) goals. When speed is what they need, Galileo test socket provides an accurate, at-speed and cost-competitive test solution. Given the efficiency it provides, we have named the product after the Italian physicist and engineer, Galileo who made a significant contribution to speed and velocity studies”, said Bruce Valentine, Vice President and General Manager of the Semiconductor Test Business Unit at Smiths Interconnect.
Using a unique “universal” elastomer contact assembly, Galileo supports almost any standard package pinout, on any pitch (or multiple pitches) at >0.35mm, in any configuration, with no extra tooling charges. A single socket can be re-used across multiple pitches and pad/ball placement. In addition, no contact alignment or registration holes are required in the PCB, enabling quick and easy board integration.
Galileo elastomeric test socket offers the following features:
- Extremely short electrical paths to deliver excellent signal integrity
- Low inductance, high bandwidth >40GHz
- High Current Carrying Capacity
- Very high thermal conductivity
- Field-replaceable contact set with minimal tooling and technical expertise required
- 3D printing technology for quick-turn socket body manufacture
- Pre-stocked elastomer sheets enabling very short lead-times
- Solder-down performance for applications where signal integrity loss is not an option