Leadless high density connector

Abstract

A leadless high density connector including a plurality of connector pins each having multiconductor pins electrically connected to solder balls on the back side of the connector for interconnection to a PWB. The solder balls form a ball grid array (BGA), which replaces thin gull wing leads used on connectors of prior art. The use of BGA technology as applied to high density connectors provides a plurality of benefits associated with BGA technology. The signal carrying capacity of the connector is increased since the bottom surface of the connector is available for interconnecting signal paths rather than being limited to the peripheral edges as common for leaded packages. The resulting profile of the connector is substantially reduced allowing increased component and wiring density. The resulting bond strength using BGA technology is greater than that with a leaded equivalent due to the increased bond surface area and resulting anchoring effect. Therefore, BGA technology allows significantly increased yields over connectors using leads as known in prior art. The electrical characteristics of a connector according to the present invention is substantially improved since the inductance per pin is reduced using BGA as compared to leads. In this manner, connectors according to the present invention are more suitable for high speed applications especially when combined with the ability to interleave ground and signal connections.