Breakout board using blind vias to eliminate stubs

Abstract

A test breakout board using blind vias to eliminate stubs. The test breakout board includes a printed circuit board (PCB), having a first set of contact pads on one side and a second set of contact pads which are directly opposite the first set of contact pads on it's other side. Each pad in the first set of contact pads is connected to a corresponding pad in the second set of contact pads through a pair of blind vias, a pair of signal traces and a through-hole via. Each of the through-hole vias is connected to a corresponding contact pin in a test connector. The test connector provides an interface to test equipment such as a logic analyzer or an oscilloscope. The test breakout board may include a test socket for holding a device-under-test (DUT), such as a microprocessor or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip. Additionally, the breakout board may also include an electrical interface adapter, which mechanically resembles the DUT. The interface adapter provides the interface between the test breakout board and a system motherboard. In a further embodiment, a test breakout board is connected to a system motherboard. The motherboard includes an additional test socket, which can hold a DUT, or in this case, the test breakout board electrical interface adapter. The electrical interface adapter provides a signal path from the system motherboard, through the breakout board, to the DUT.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.