COMPONENT PACKAGES

BGA Component Package

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Date Published:	March 8, 2015
Last Modified:	March 8, 2015

Overview

Name	BGA (Ball-Grid Array)
Synonyms	n/a
Variants	CABGA CTBGA DSBGA (Die-Size BGA). Used by Texas Instruments. JEDEC standard MO-207 FBGA FCBGA (Texas Instruments, used by mmWave ICs. Plastic case.) FGG484 (Xilinx) X-DSBGA (Very thin die-size BGA). JEDEC standard MO-211-C. xDSB (Square and rectangular die-size BGA). JEDEC standard MO-207N.
Similar To	WLCSP
Mounting	SMD
Pin Count	4-1700+
Pitch	0.5mm, 0.8mm, 1.0mm
Solderability	BGA usually requires reflow oven or infrared heater. Expert-level solderers can use the "dead-bug" prototyping method and attach super-thin wires to each ball when the package is upside down, but do not consider this a reliable or fast method!
Thermal Resistance	n/a
Dimensions	n/a
3D Models	Various Config 1mm Pitch 324pins 18x18mm 1mm Pitch
Common Uses	Microcontrollers FPGAs High-density SMD ICs CPUs GPUs Memory

Comments

The package with the densest pin density out there, BGAs are used to either make components very small or to encompass a large number of leads. Some modern FPGAs have more than 1700 leads! Requires an x-ray machine to discover if the balls have correctly soldered onto the pads.

A 3D render of the BGA-144 component package.

Ball Layout

A particular BGA package may not have a complete grid of balls. BGA packages also come in a straight or staggered ball layout.

BGA Pad Diameter

The pad diameter for a BGA footprint can be determined by one of three methods:

Maximum material condition (MMC)
Least material condition (LMC)
Percentage reduction of nominal ball diameter (e.g. 20%)

Soldermask Considerations

Example of a NSMD (non-soldermask defined) solder joint on a BGA package. Image from http://www.xilinx.com/.

Variants

DSBGA

DSBGA (Die Sized BGA) is the name given by Texas Instruments for their family of BGA packages in where the die size is the same as the package size. They are also known by the term Wafer-Level Chip Scale Package (WLCSP). As of October 2015, they are available in 0.30, 0.35, 0.40, and 0.50mm pitches.

Texas Instruments also assigns a package code to each package within the DSBGA family. Here are some example (this is in no way an exhaustive list):

TI Package Code	Description
YDC	DSBGA, 4 Leads, Pitch 0.5mm, Body 1.1x1.1mm, Height 0.4mm
YEA	DSBGA, 5 Leads, Pitch 0.5mm, Body 0.9x1.4mm, Height 0.5mm
YEB	DSBGA, 4 Leads, Pitch 0.5mm, Body 1.3x1.3mm, Height 0.625mm
YEC	DSBGA, 6 Leads, Pitch 0.5mm, Body 1.8x1.3mm, Height 0.625mm
YZP	DSBGA, 8 Leads, Pitch 0.5mm, Body 1.9x0.9mm, Height 0.5mm

Note that confusingly, the three letter Texas Instrument’s code is not unique for a particular package. For example, the code “YZP” may refer to a 5, 6, or 8 ball DSBGA package, which also may have different height, width and length dimensions.