Testing and inspection

In test fixtures connecting the tester and IC, which component uses thin spring-loaded pins to make reliable contact with terminals?

  1. ABonding wires
  2. BSolder balls
  3. CPogo pins (spring probes)
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Answer: C. Pogo pins (spring probes)

Pogo pins are thin contact pins with internal springs that press against IC terminals or board electrodes with moderate force for reliable contact. They are used in large numbers in test sockets and in connections between the test head and load board.

  • A. Bonding wires are permanent connections between chip and package.
  • B. Solder balls are terminals for joining packages to boards.
  • C. Correct. They are spring-loaded contact pins.
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More Testing and inspection questions

  1. What is the printed circuit board called that attaches to the tester's test head, carries the IC socket and peripheral components and routes signals to the IC for each product?
  2. What is the main advantage of vertical probe cards, which stand the needles perpendicular to the pads?
  3. As wafer testing continues, aluminum debris from the pads and the like accumulates on the probe tips. What is done periodically in response?
  4. What is the purpose of enabling a prober's wafer stage (chuck) to be controlled to high or low temperature?
  5. In logic testing, which pair correctly names the test that exhaustively detects structural faults (such as stuck-at faults) using scan and similar, and the test that checks function as in actual operation?