Semiconductor Socket Impedance Matching via Air Layers
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-density electrode configurations in semiconductor devices pose challenges for IC sockets, including impedance matching and the inability to easily adjust contact terminal alignment, due to limitations in materials and design flexibility, especially when dealing with high-frequency signals and increased contact terminal counts.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor socket design featuring a conductive upper housing and an insulating lower housing, with air layers around contact terminals to set impedance and collars for ground lines, allowing for impedance matching and easy adjustment of contact terminal alignment without substantial design changes, even at high electrode densities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the quantity of contact terminals is increased to accommodate high-density electrode configurations, then the socket can interface with higher-density semiconductor devices, but the complexity of impedance matching and alignment adjustment increases substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The socket is divided into an upper housing containing contact terminals and a lower housing containing recesses, allowing independent design and adjustment of each segment. This segmentation enables the contact terminals to be configured for high-density interfaces while the lower housing provides a stable base for impedance matching, reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses air layers (vacuum) as dielectric material between contact terminals and ground structures to achieve impedance matching. By controlling the dimensions of air layers and conductive collars, the impedance can be precisely adjusted without changing the material properties, simplifying the design process for high-density configurations.
2Manufacturing precision
If the contact terminals are fixed in position to maintain alignment precision, then the impedance matching can be optimized, but the ability to adjust alignment for different device configurations is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The upper housing is designed to be movable relative to the lower housing, allowing the contact terminals to be adjusted to different positions. This dynamic configuration enables alignment precision to be maintained when needed while providing adjustability for different device configurations, resolving the contradiction between fixed precision and flexible adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces vertical movement capability between the upper and lower housings, adding a degree of freedom in the vertical dimension. This allows alignment adjustment without compromising the horizontal precision of contact terminal positioning, enabling both precision and adaptability.
3Power
If conductive materials are used for the housing to improve electrical connectivity, then the current-carrying capacity increases, but the ability to provide electrical insulation for impedance control is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is designed with spatially varying electrical properties: conductive collars and ground structures provide high electrical connectivity and current-carrying capacity where needed, while air layers (vacuum) provide electrical insulation and impedance control in specific regions. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction between conductivity and insulation requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The socket employs a composite structure combining conductive materials (for housing and collars) with vacuum air layers (for insulation). This composite approach allows simultaneous achievement of high current-carrying capacity through conductive paths and precise impedance control through insulating air gaps, resolving the contradiction between power and insulation requirements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables effective impedance matching and flexible adjustment of contact terminal alignment in high-density semiconductor devices, addressing the limitations of existing technologies by maintaining high precision and current-carrying capacity while accommodating increased contact counts and design changes.
Implementation Method 1
contact terminal cells that form air layers that set the impedance at the peripheries of the contact terminals
Implementation Method 2
conductive collar members that are disposed such as to touch the inner surface, between the outer surface of the contact terminals and the inner surfaces of the contact terminals cells, of the contact terminal cells corresponding to the ground lines
Data Source
AI summary
A device, wherein, at cells 10ai of a metallic upper housing 10 corresponding to a signal line, between an end portion of an adapter 24 that has electrically insulating properties the inner surface of an upper housing 12 that has electrically insulating properties, an annular air layer Ai is formed at the peripheries of sleeves 20S of contact terminals 20ai that have the same structure as each other, and wherein, at the cells 10ai that correspond to ground lines, contact points 20CT2 of the contact terminals 20ai are inserted in through-holes 12ai of the lower housing 12, and their contact points 20CT1 are inserted into small diameter holes 22b of conductive collars 22 that touch the inner surfaces of the cells 10ai.