PCB-mounted integrated circuits
AssigneeTwenty Twenty Vision Limited
InventorsPaul Rawlinson, David Hall
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus (20) for testing the mounting of an integrated circuit (16) on a printed circuit board (12) using a ball grid array comprises measuring the change in height, or drop, of the integrated circuit (16) relative to the printed circuit board (12) following soldering of the ball grid array and comparing the measured drop with a predetermined range. The integrated circuit is deemed to have been successfully mounted to the printed circuit board if the change in height falls within the predetermined range.
Claims13
A method of testing the mounting of an electronic component on a substrate, comprising:
- placing the electronic component on the substrate, at least one of the electronic component and the substrate including a ball-grid array (BGA);
- measuring a first height, relative to the substrate, of a plurality of points on the component;
- heating the BGA so as to cause reflow thereof such that the electronic component sinks towards the substrate under its own weight and/or is pulled towards the substrate by the solder of the BGA;
- measuring a second height, relative to the substrate, of each of the plurality of points on the component after reflow;
- comparing the first and second heights;
- and
- determining whether the component is correctly mounted on the substrate in dependence on the comparison.
An apparatus for testing the mounting of an electronic component on a substrate, the apparatus comprising:
- a placement unit operable to place the electronic component on the substrate, at least one of the electronic component and the substrate including a ball-grid array (BGA);
- a heater operable to heat the BGA so as to cause reflow thereof such that the electronic component sinks towards the substrate under its own weight and/or is pulled towards the substrate by the solder of the BGA;
- at least one measurement device operable to perform a measurement of a first height, relative to the substrate, of a plurality of points on the component before reflow and to perform a measurement of a second height, relative to the substrate, of said plurality of points on the component after reflow;
- and
- a processor operable to calculate a change in height from said first and second measurements and to determine whether the component is correctly mounted on the substrate in dependence on the calculation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.