18062125. BALL GRID ARRAY CURRENT METER WITH A CURRENT SENSE WIRE simplified abstract (International Business Machines Corporation)

BALL GRID ARRAY CURRENT METER WITH A CURRENT SENSE WIRE

Organization Name

International Business Machines Corporation

Inventor(s)

Layne A. Berge of Rochester MN (US)

Matthew Doyle of Chatfield MN (US)

Kyle Schoneck of Rochester MN (US)

Thomas W. Liang of Rochester MN (US)

Matthew A. Walther of Rochester MN (US)

Jason J. Bjorgaard of Rochester MN (US)

John R. Dangler of Rochester MN (US)

BALL GRID ARRAY CURRENT METER WITH A CURRENT SENSE WIRE - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18062125 titled 'BALL GRID ARRAY CURRENT METER WITH A CURRENT SENSE WIRE

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes an apparatus for measuring electrical current flow in a ball grid array (BGA) package. The apparatus includes an integrated circuit (IC) connected to the BGA package, solder balls that connect the BGA package to a printed circuit board (PCB), and a current sense wire.

• The solder balls are arranged to create a continuous channel for the current sense wire.
• A subset of solder balls is connected to supply current from the PCB to the IC through the BGA package.
• The current sense wire is attached to the upper surface of the PCB within the channel and surrounds the subset of solder balls.
• An amplifier is connected to the ends of the current sense wire to amplify the voltage induced by the current flow into the BGA package.
• A sensing analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is connected to convert the amplified voltage into digital output signals.

Potential Applications:

• Testing and monitoring the electrical current flow in BGA packages.
• Quality control and fault detection in electronic devices using BGA packages.
• Research and development of BGA package designs.

Problems Solved:

• Accurately measuring the electrical current flow in BGA packages.
• Providing a non-invasive method for current measurement in BGA packages.
• Ensuring reliable and efficient current supply to ICs in BGA packages.

Benefits:

• Enables precise monitoring and analysis of current flow in BGA packages.
• Facilitates early detection of faults or abnormalities in BGA packages.
• Improves the overall performance and reliability of electronic devices using BGA packages.

Original Abstract Submitted

Electrical current flow in a ball grid array (BGA) package can be measured by an apparatus including an integrated circuit (IC) electrically connected to the BGA package. Solder balls connect the BGA package to a printed circuit board (PCB) and are arranged to provide a contiguous channel for a current sense wire. A subset of solder balls is electrically connected to supply current from the PCB through the BGA package to the IC. The current sense wire is attached to the upper surface of the PCB, within the contiguous channel, and surrounds the subset of solder balls. An amplifier is electrically connected to the current sense wire ends to amplify a voltage induced on the current sense wire by current flow into the BGA package. A sensing analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is electrically connected to convert a voltage at the output of the amplifier into digital output signals.