Patent ID: 7901995

Claim:
A method for preparing a first device, say a Ball Grid Array (BGA) package or a chip, having a generally flat surface, and having at least a first and a second contact pads arranged along said flat surface, said contact pads of said first device being referred to as the BGA contact pads, to be subsequently attached to a second device, say a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) or a substrate, having a generally flat surface, and having at least a first and a second contact pads arranged along said flat surface, said contact pads of said second device being referred to as the PCB contact pads, said method comprising: a) providing at least a first and a second connecting elements, each one of said first and second connecting elements having a tall slender columnar shape body, having a first end portion and a second end portion, with the portion of the body between said two ends being referred to as the stem, said first end of each one of said connecting elements being referred to as the BGA end, and said second end of each one of said connecting elements being referred to as the PCB end, and b) joining the BGA end of the first connecting element to a first BGA contact pad on said first device, and joining the BGA end of the second connecting element to the BGA second contact pad of said first device, resulting in a device with columnar leads, referred to as a dead roach or simply a roach, wherein said connecting elements comprise migration prevention means to prevent any joining materials, which may be present during step (b), which could be liquid or molten, from migrating away from the joints at said BGA ends of said connecting elements towards the center of said connecting elements along the stem of said connecting elements, and/or from attaching themselves to said stems.