Abstract:
An electrical connector includes an insulator holding a plurality of contacts in an array corresponding to an array of pads on an electronic device. At least one shorting path electrically connects at least two of the contacts in the array. The insulator includes a plurality of apertures therethrough, with each aperture defining a contact location on the insulator. The insulator includes a channel formed between at least two contact locations. The channel defines a location of a shorting path and the shorting path is at least partially within the insulator.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates generally to surface mounted connectors, and more specifically, to an electrical connector having contacts arranged in a grid for mating with pads on an electrical device. 
         [0002]    The ongoing trend toward smaller, lighter, and higher performance electrical components and higher density electrical circuits has led to the development of surface mount technology in the design of printed circuit boards and electronic packages. As is well understood in the art, surface mountable packaging allows for the connection of the package to pads on the surface of the circuit board rather than by contacts or pins soldered in plated holes going through the circuit board. Surface mount technology allows for an increased component density on a circuit board, thereby saving space on the circuit board. 
         [0003]    The ball grid array (BGA) and land grid array (LGA) are two types of surface mount packages that have been developed in response to the demand created by higher density electrical circuits for increased density of electrical connections on the circuit board. The ball grid array includes an array of connections on the bottom side of the package. In the ball grid array, pins extending into the circuit board are replaced by small solder balls placed on the bottom side of the package at each contact location. The circuit board, rather than having holes, has an array of contact pads matching the solder ball placements on the package bottom. Connections are made by reflow soldering the solder balls to mechanically and electrically engage the package to the circuit beard. The land grid array is similar to the ball grid array except that, rather than the application of solder balls, a land grid array socket applies sufficient normal force on the package to mate the package on flexible contact beams in a connector. 
         [0004]    BGA and LGA technology offer the advantages of higher connection densities on the circuit board and higher manufacturing yields which lower product cost. However, they are not without disadvantages. In particular, during the development of chips, chip sockets, multi-chip modules (MCM&#39;s), and other electronic packages using BGA technology, the resolution of errors of faults requires soldering and unsoldering of the packages which, in the case of ball grid array devices, is particularly difficult. To aid in problem diagnosis, shorting bridges are sometimes used to short between solder balls. However, shorting bridges are expensive to manufacture and difficult to implement. 
         [0005]    A need exists for a connector that can be easily and economically manufactured and which enables errors or faults between contacts to be simulated to facilitate the resolution of actual faults and errors. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    In one embodiment, an electrical connector is provided. The connector includes an insulator holding a plurality of contacts in an array corresponding to an array of pads on an electronic device. At least one shorting path electrically connects at least two of the contacts in the array. 
         [0007]    Optionally, the insulator includes a plurality of apertures therethrough, with each aperture defining a contact location on the insulator. The insulator includes a channel formed between at least two contact locations. The channel defines a location of a shorting path and the shorting path is at least partially within the insulator. Each of the plurality of contacts and each shorting path are formed from a conductive polymer. 
         [0008]    In another embodiment, a socket connector is provided that includes a dielectric housing that holds an insulator. The insulator includes a plurality of contacts in an array corresponding to an array of pads on an electronic device. At least one shorting path electrically connects at least two of the contacts in the array. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of an electronic assembly including a socket connector having an interconnect member formed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of a portion of the interconnect member shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the interconnect member taken along the line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 2 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of the insulator shown in  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]      FIG. 1  illustrates an electronic assembly  100  including a socket connector  110  formed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The socket connector  110  is mounted on a circuit board  114 . An electronic package  120  is loaded onto the socket connector  110 . When loaded onto the socket connector  110 , the electronic package  120  is electrically connected to the circuit board  114 . The electronic package may be a chip or module such as, but not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), microprocessor, or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like. While the invention will be described in terms of a land grid array (LGA) package, it is to be understood the inventive concepts described herein may be applied to other types of packages such as for evaluating ball grid array (BGA) devices prior to application of solder balls. The following description is for illustrative purposes only and no limitation is intended thereby. 
         [0014]    The socket connector  110  includes a dielectric housing  116  that is configured to be mounted on the circuit board  114 . The housing  116  holds an interconnect member  124  formed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The interconnect member  124  includes a plurality of electrical contacts  126 . The electronic package  120  has a mating surface  130  that engages the interconnect member  124 . The interconnect member  124  is interposed between contact pads (not shown) on the mating surface  130  of the electronic package  120  and corresponding contact pads (not shown) on the circuit board  114  to provide electrical paths to electrically connect the electronic package  120  to the circuit board  114 . 
         [0015]      FIG. 2  illustrates an enlarged view of a portion of an inter connect member  124  formed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 3  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the interconnect member  124  taken along the line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 2 . The interconnect member  124  includes an insulator or carrier  134  on which the contacts  126  are arranged. Each contact  126  comprises a column formed from a conductive polymer and is held in the insulator  134 . In one embodiment, the conductive polymer is a metallized polymer such as a blend of a polymer and silver powder. In other embodiments, polymers mixed with other conductive materials may be employed. The insulator  134  is a substantially planar sheet of non-conductive material having a thickness T between a first side  136  and an opposite second side  138 . In one embodiment, the first and second sides  136  and  138  are substantially parallel to one another. Each contact  126  includes an elongated contact body  140  that extends along a longitudinal axis  142  between first and second opposite ends  144  and  146 . The first end  144  extends from the first side  136  of the insulator  134  and a second end  146  extends from the second side  138  of the insulator  134 . When the interconnect member  124  is interposed between the electronic package  120  and the circuit board  114 , the contacts  126  provide electrical paths between contact pads (not shown) on the electronic package  120  and corresponding contact pads (not shown) on the circuit board  114 . 
         [0016]    Paths  150  of conductive polymer material are formed in the insulator  134  and extend between two or more pre-selected contact locations in the insulator  134 . The paths  150  of conductive polymer material form shorting paths  150  between the selected contact locations. The shorting paths  150  effectively short together the contacts  126  along the shorting paths  150  thereby enabling the simulation of solder defects to facilitate the resolution of actual faults and errors as will be described. In an exemplary embodiment, the shorting paths  150  are molded in the insulator  134  and are formed of the same conductive polymer material as the contact  126 . The shorting paths  150  are molded onto the insulator  134  simultaneously with the contacts  126  and thus are unitarily formed with the contacts  126 . 
         [0017]      FIG. 4  illustrates a top plan view of the insulator  134 . The insulator  134  is formed with a plurality of contact apertures  160  therethrough that define contact locations on the insulator  134 . The apertures  160  may be formed by an etching, drilling, or die cutting process or other known methods. The contacts  126  ( FIG. 3 ) are molded onto the insulator  134  and extend through the insulator at the contact apertures  160 . Shorting channels  164  are formed in the insulator  134  that interconnect two or more pre-selected contact apertures  160 . The shorting channels  164  extend at least partially through the insulator  134  and define locations for conductive polymer material that defines the shorting paths  150  ( FIG. 2 ) in the insulator  134 . In one embodiment, the channels  164  are cut completely through the insulator  134 . In an exemplary embodiment, the insulator  134  is fabricated from a flexible polyimide material, and more specifically, the insulator  134  may be fabricated from a polyimide material that is commonly known as Kapton® which is available from E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. 
         [0018]    With reference to  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4 , the interconnect member  124  enables solder fault testing of connectors and electronic packages or chips to be economically performed. During solder fault testing, shorts at specific contact locations may be simulated and the results tracked. The simulated data can then be used to diagnose malfunctions and identify possible solder problem locations. In an exemplary embodiment, the interconnect member  124  is fabricated using a transfer molding process wherein all of the contacts  126  are molded at one time. The shorting paths  150  are formed within the insulator  134  so that separate molds are not required for each shorting scenario. 
         [0019]    The contact apertures  160  are formed in the insulator  134  in a pattern that is complementary to the contact pad patterns (not shown) on the electronic package  120  and the circuit board  114  ( FIG. 1 ). Shorting channels  164  are then cut or routed in the insulator  134  between contact apertures  160  selected for a particular shorting scenario. The contacts  126  and shorting paths  150  are then simultaneously molded on the insulator  134  to complete the fabrication of the interconnect member  124 . 
         [0020]    The embodiments thus described provide a connector that is particularly useful in solder fault testing involving tracking of solder ball shorts and their effects on an associated electronic package. The connector can be economically manufactured and provides the capability to simulate solder faults between pre-selected contact locations. Results from the simulated fault testing are tracked and used to identify and resolve actual faults and errors in the electronic package. 
         [0021]    While the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims.