Orthogonal Conductive Leads for High Pin Count Surface Mount Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lead and pin styles for connecting integrated circuit packages to circuit boards face challenges in providing high pin counts, with existing solutions being either rigid and susceptible to damage from temperature changes or not designed for surface mount applications, leading to reliability issues and insufficient solder joints.
Innovation Solution
The use of conductive leads extending orthogonally through a substrate with enhanced contact elements, such as L-shaped or disc-shaped configurations, to increase the surface area for attachment to surface mount pads, providing flexibility and improved solder joints, thereby enhancing reliability and reducing stress from temperature changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional ball grid array is used to provide high pin counts, then pin count is improved, but the package becomes rigid and susceptible to damage from temperature changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the conductive leads flexible rather than rigid. The leads are designed to bend and deform elastically in response to thermal expansion and contraction, allowing the package to accommodate temperature changes without damage. This is achieved through the material selection and geometric design of the leads that enable them to flex while maintaining electrical connectivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the conductive leads by modifying their material composition and structural geometry. The leads are designed with specific mechanical properties (flexibility, elasticity) and dimensional characteristics (length, cross-section) that allow them to withstand thermal stress. This parameter optimization enables the leads to absorb thermal expansion forces without breaking.
2Quantity of substance
If conventional pin grid array is used for surface mount applications, then pin count is improved, but insufficient solder is provided between pins and pads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dimensionality change principle by extending the conductive leads in the vertical dimension (orthogonally through the substrate) rather than only in the horizontal plane. This three-dimensional configuration allows the leads to reach the circuit board pads effectively and provides sufficient surface area for reliable solder joints. The leads protrude from the substrate surface to make contact with the pads, ensuring adequate solder attachment.
3Ease of manufacture
If standard Gull-wing or J-lead type packages are used, then manufacturing is simplified, but high pin counts (2500+ pins) cannot be provided
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional lead arrangements (Gull-wing, J-lead) to a three-dimensional configuration where conductive leads extend vertically through the substrate. This dimensional change enables high pin counts by utilizing the vertical space, allowing hundreds of leads to pass through the substrate in an organized array, thereby achieving 2500+ pins while maintaining manufacturability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the conductive leads into modular units that can be individually formed and positioned. Each lead is a separate element that can be manufactured and attached systematically, enabling the creation of high-density pin arrays. The substrate itself is segmented into regions that organize the leads, facilitating manufacturing processes.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes a unique pin configuration for mounting of circuit packages to corresponding host circuit boards. For example, an apparatus according to embodiments herein comprises a circuit, a substrate, and multiple conductive leads. The substrate has a surface on which the circuit (e.g., an integrated circuit) is mounted. The multiple conductive leads extend, in an orthogonal manner relative to the surface, through the substrate to electrically connect the circuit to a host circuit board. According to one embodiment, each respective conductive lead of the multiple conductive leads has been altered to produce a contact element (e.g., an L-shaped bend, J-shaped bend, etc.) at an axial end of the respective conductive lead opposite the substrate to solder the axial end of the respective conductive lead (i.e., contact element) to a surface mount pad of the host circuit board.