An Off-Grid Bare Board Test Technique

The advent of surface mount technology and the desire to capitalize fully on its potential packaging advantages has created a demand for board testing technique with commensurate capability. A technique for off-grid bare board testing (BBT) using Conductive Polymer Interconnect (CPI) material as a compliant electrical interface will be described. The CPI bare board testing technique is being developed to accommodate testing advanced, high density boards with fine features. This paper will give some background on material and fabrication and concentrate on the use of CPI material for testing applications, particularly the BBT technique being developed for AT&T PWB manufacturing. The results of an off-grid BBT manufacturing trial will be presented.