The technology of the Land Grid Array or LGA package consists of lands and an array of grid connections on the inner side of the package. The grid connection is used to connect over the surface of the PCB. However, you don’t have to use all columns and rows of a grid. The LGA socket or solder paste can help in creating connections. The elements of the grid come in various shapes and sizes. Some shapes may include polygonal, triangular, and circular. Moreover, they also appear in the pattern of a honeycomb. The design may also depend on the factors such as the electrical gap between the closeby contacts and contact likeliness instead of tolerances. This, however, gives ideal shapes and forms to the spring contacts of the counterpart, which includes the connectivity of outgoing electricity to a backplane Printed Circuit Board.
The packaging of LGA is directly associated with PGA and BGA packaging. Unlike PGA, LGA has a design that enables it to solder down with Surface-mounted technology or fit in a socket.
Moreover, the package of LGA does not contain any solder balls and sockets; they simply use flat connection pins which are directly placed on the PCB. Whereas the package of BGa does have soldering balls that act as connection pins between Integrated Circuits and Printed Circuit Boards. These balls are directly placed under the IC.
Why Use LGA (Land Grid Array)?
The technology of surface-mount was developed in 2010, yet it has been the gold standard of the industry since then because of the following advantages.
1. Improved conductivity
The surface finish of nickel-gold prevents the device from Corrosion during storage and soldering. However, the technology enhances the conductivity and makes the associated module work optimally.
2. Footprint Optimization
Reflow soldering may produce negative warpage. However, the unique layout of the geometric pad near the corner and middle pads removes this issue.
3. Minimal Impact On Antenna Path
LGA technology affects the path of the antenna slightly with the ground pads beneath the RF electrical components.
4. Customizable Overprinting
The size of the pad and level pitch allows customizable overprinting, which enhances the rate of yield and optimizes performance.
Installing CPU On LGA (Land Grid Array) Socket Motherboard
The surface-mount LGA packaging places the connection pins over the socket of the motherboard. It does not place them over the microprocessor. However, the design may need three steps of installation.
- Open the bracket of the motherboard with the metal lever.
- Align the microprocessor chip with the bracket accurately, along with the error margin of 2mm. Additionally, the height and max drop must remain 4mm.
- Close these brackets with the level and lock them safely and securely.
It works that simple way. Moreover, if you wish to take it out from the socket of the CPU, then lose the latch of the lock first. Then, take the chip and lift it in the middle with the help of your index finger and thumb.
LGA (Land Grid Array) Vs. PGA: Which Is Better?
Both the technology of PGA and LGA are directly related to each other as both have a reverse relationship. The technology of LGA, the chips, and IC comes in flat pads, whereas the connection puns come out from a PCB surface. Thus, this makes the PCB more sensitive to damage as the connection pins can easily break.
Whereas, in the technology of PGA, the contact pins present on the IC and the socket of the motherboard have holes that give access to the pins.
· Durability
The technology of LGA gives less long-lasting motherboards along with long-lasting CPUs. At the same time, the technology of PGA designs can create durable motherboards along with less long-lasting CPUs.
· Build Quality
The sockets of LGA are more sensitive than the sockets of PGA as they do not allow breaking the holes. At the same time, one can bend the sockets of LGA easily with little pressure, even without alignment.
· Space Efficiency
The pins of PGA come smaller than their counterparts of PGA, which allows them to fit more easily.
· Compatibility
Intel processors use the sockets of PGA, but AMD chips seem to adopt this new technology. At the same time, PGA technology is mainly compatible with the major topology of AMD chips.
· Installation
Moreover, both technologies need extra care to prevent the pins from bending. Though, the installation of PGA gets easier due to sliding the pin into the holes despite attaching to the flat bottom.
LGA (Land Grid Array) Vs. BGA: Which SMT Should You Use?
The BGA and LGA both are also related to each other as both technologies offer the same features, which include easy handling, an automatic soldering process, and the automatic capability of pick-and-place.
These technologies not only share similar features but also have some different features. The technology of BGA contains connection pins between ICs and PCBs. At the same time, the technology of LGA does not contain solder balls. However, it offers flat connection points of copper that are placed over the surface of the PCB directly.
The configuration of LGA enhances flexibility, efficiency, and cost. This makes it perfect for smart manufacturing processes and mass production. Therefore, one must use PGA instead of BGA.
· Durability
The height of the BGA ball varies by fifty percent. Thus, this directly impacts coplanarity and functionality. Hence, apply heat to the solder balls to attach them to the surface of the device. Moreover, it may require more heating which helps in fixing the soldering balls on the surface of the module during the fabrication process of the module.
Whereas the unique PGA design helps in optimizing connections and heat dissipation. Moreover, the design also reduces the PCB warpage while reflowing the soldering process. This affects the joints from the edges and in the middle. Additionally, the finish of nickel-gold over the pads of copper enhances the durability and prevents corrosion.
· Flexibility
In the BGA technology, apply heat to connect the soldering balls with the module. It also needs solder paste over the soldering balls, which helps them to connect over the surface of the module because already fixed solder poses a special temperature limit which further limits the heat range of solder paste.
Whereas with PGA technology, use blank pads of gold-nickel on the surface of the module. However, these pads provide greater flexibility on the customizable solder paste choice of customers. This flexibility gives full support to customers to choose solder paste according to their process and needs.
· Reliability
The flux residue over the surface of solder balls creates passivation as it creates a layer right above the conduction area. This layer not only affects the connectivity but also reduces the yield rate of modules and impedes efficiency.
Whereby the optimized size of the pad in LGA technology allows customizable overprinting on the customer demands, which provides greater results. The design of pas also reduces the impact over the path of RF, whereas the flat layout optimizes the use cases of customers.
Summary
LGA refers to an ideal choice for various microprocessors because of the several useful benefits it offers. Moreover, if you want LGA technology in your IC, then contact RayPCB now.
