Get high-frequency, high-pin-count test sockets in a week

Specifying test sockets for high-speed, high-pin-count custom ICs can put you in a Catch-22 situation. Suppose your pc-board design requires a test socket. You need the socket footprint to complete the design, but you normally can't get the footprint until weeks after you order the socket. With DCI's (Dimension Consulting Inc's) QuickTurn sockets, you can download the footprint from the manufacturer's Web site and immediately start your layout. DCI configures the socket to your specs and sends you parts within five business days.

DCI sockets use a proprietary pogo-pin design to ensure good contact and low crosstalk for minimum errors in multigigahertz applications. QuickTurn sockets are particularly well-suited to optical communications, in which signal speeds are very high and rise times are very short. In addition, you can interface the sockets to DCI's thermal sockets to control the temperature of the device under test. The line is based on JEDEC-standard array formats for 1.27-, 1-, and 0.8-mm pitch and provides configurations as large as 40×40 pins. The product line supports all major test handlers.

To offer the line, DCI machines most of the socket ahead of time and maintains an inventory of partially completed parts. After you specify the required number of pins, DCI completes the socket, shaving weeks off the delivery time. The QuickTurn socket family is available now. Prices vary, depending on pitch and number of contact pins. For example, a unit with 1000 pins in a 40×40-position, 1-mm-pitch array costs approximately $2200 (small quantities).

Dimensions Consulting Inc, 1-408-988-6800, www.dci-us.com.