Surface Mount Technology & SMT Devices

- an overview of surface mount technology, SMT, why it is used, and

surface mount devices, SMDs or SMT components

Surface Mount Technology, SMT Includes:

What is SMT SMD packages Quad flat pack, QFP Ball grid array, BGA Plastic leaded chip
carrier, PLCC

Look inside any piece of commercially made electronic equipment these days and it is filled with
minute devices. Rather than using traditional components with wire leads like those that may be
used for home construction and kits, these components are mounted onto the surface of the
boards and many are minute in size.

This technology is known as Surface Mount Technology, SMT and SMT components. Virtually all
today's equipment, manufactured commercially uses surface mount technology, SMT, because
it offers significant advantages during manufacture, and in view of the size the use of SMT
components enables far more electronics to be packed into a much smaller space.

In addition to the size, surface mount technology allows automated production and soldering to
be used, and this brings significant improvements in reliability.

Typical PCB using surface mount technology

What actually is SMT?

During the 1970s and 1980s the level of automation in the construction of electronic equipment
started to increase. The use of traditional components with leads did not prove easy. Resistors
and capacitors needed to have their leads pre-formed so that they would fit through holes, and
even integrated circuits needed to have their leads set to exactly the right pitch so that they could
be placed through the holes easily.

For printed circuit board technology there is no need for the component leads to pass through
the board. Instead it is quite adequate for components to be soldered directly to the board. As a
result, surface mount technology, SMT was born, and the use of SMT components rose very
rapidly as their advantages were seen and realised.

Concept of surface mount technology: a typical passive component

Today surface mount technology is the main technology used for electronics manufacturing. SMT
components are able to be made very small, and may types are used in their billions, particularly
capacitors and resistors.

SMT devices
Surface mount technology, SMT, components, or surface mount devices, SMDs, as they are often
called are different to their leaded counterparts. Rather than being designed to wire between
two points SMT components are designed to be set down on a board and soldered to it. Their
leads to not go through holes in the board as might be expected for a traditional leaded
component. There are different styles of package for different types of component. Broadly the
package styles can be fitted into three categories: passive components, transistors and diodes,
and integrated circuits and these three categories of SMT components are viewed below.

A selection of surface mount technology components

 Passive SMDs: There is quite a variety of different packages used for passive SMDs. However
the majority of passive SMDs are either resistors or capacitors for which the package sizes are
 reasonably well standardised. Other components including coils, crystals and others tend to
have more individual requirements and hence their own packages.
Resistors and capacitors have a variety of package sizes. These have designations that include:
1812, 1206, 0805, 0603, 0402, and 0201. The figures refer to the dimensions in hundreds of
an inch. In other words the 1206 measures 12 hundreds by 6 hundreds of an inch. The larger
sizes such as 1812 and 1206 were some of the first that were used. They are not in widespread
use now as much smaller components are generally required. However they may find use in
applications where larger power levels are needed or where other considerations require the
larger size.
The connections to the printed circuit board are made through metallised areas at either end
of the package.
 Transistors and diodes: These components are often contained in a small plastic package.
The connections are made via leads which emanate from the package and are bent so that
they touch the board. Three leads are always used for these packages. In this way it is easy to
identify which way round the device must go.
 Integrated circuits: There is a variety of packages which are used for integrated circuits. The
package used depends upon the level of interconnectivity required. Many chips like the simple
logic chips may only require 14 or 16 pins, whereas other like the VLSI processors and
associated chips can require up to 200 or more. In view of the wide variation of requirements
there is a number of different packages available.
For the smaller chips, packages such as the SOIC (Small Outline Integrated Circuit) may be
used. These are effectively the SMT version of the familiar DIL (Dual In Line) packages used for
the familiar 74 series logic chips. Additionally there are smaller versions including TSOP (Thin
Small Outline Package) and SSOP (Shrink Small Outline Package).
The VLSI chips require a different approach. Typically a package known as a quad flat pack is
used. This has a square or rectangular footprint and has pins emanating on all four sides. Pins
again are bent out of the package in what is termed a gull-wing formation so that they meet
the board. The spacing of the pins is dependent upon the number of pins required. For some
chips it may be as close as 20 thousandths of an inch. Great care is required when packaging
these chips and handling them as the pins are very easily bent.
Other packages are also available. One known as a BGA (Ball Grid Array) is used in many
applications. Instead of having the connections on the side of the package, they are
underneath. The connection pads have balls of solder that melt during the soldering process,
thereby making a good connection with the board and mechanically attaching it. As the whole
of the underside of the package can be used, the pitch of the connections is wider and it is
found to be much more reliable.
A smaller version of the BGA, known as the microBGA is also being used for some ICs. As the
name suggests it is a smaller version of the BGA.

SMT in use
SMT is used almost exclusively for the manufacture of electronic circuit boards these days. They
are smaller, often offer a better level of performance and they can be used with automated pick
and place machine that in many cases all bit eliminate the need for manual intervention in the
assembly process.

Wired components were always difficult to place automatically because the wires needed to be
pre-formed to fit the relevant hole spacing, and even then they were prone to problems with
placement.

Although many connectors and some other components still require assisted placement, printed
circuit boards are normally developed to reduce this to an absolute minimum, even to the extent
of altering the design to use components that can be placed automatically. In addition to this,
component manufacturers have developed some specialized surface mount versions of
components that enable virtually complete automated assembly for most boards.

SMT applications
Although it is possible to use some SMT components for home construction, great care is
required when soldering them. Additionally even the ICs having a wide pin spacing may be
difficult to solder. Those with fifty or more pins cannot be soldered without special equipment.
They are intended only for large scale manufacturing. Even when working on boards that have
already been built great care is needed. However these SMT components offer great cost savings
to manufacturers and this is why they have been adopted. Fortunately for the home constructor,
traditional leaded components that can be soldered manually are still widely available and offer
a much better solution for home construction. Nevertheless SMT components can be used for
some home projects where they are applicable - where the SMT component leads and
connections are not too small to manage with more traditional soldering irons and other tools.
SMT / SMD Component Packages: sizes,
dimensions, details
SMT components or SMDs have a number of standardised packages
including 1206, 0805, 0603, 0403, 0201, SOT, SOIC, QFP, BGA,
etc.
Surface mount technology, SMT components come in a variety of packages. There a several
common sizes that are used and this enables the manufacturing pick and place machines to be
set up to accommodate these sizes.

There has been a growing trend for small package sizes of most components. This has resulted
from general improvements in technology and lower supply voltages for microprocessors and
many digital ICs, again as a result of technology moving forwards.

Additionally there is a variety of different SMT packages for integrated circuits dependent upon
the level of interconnectivity required, the technology being used and a variety of other factors.

Printed circuit board with a variety of SMT packages as well as through hole mounted connectors

JEDEC SMT package standards

Industry standards are used to provide a large degree of conformity across the industry.
Accordingly the sizes of most SMT components conform to industry standards like the JEDEC
specifications. Obviously different SMT packages are used for different types of components, but
the fact that there are standards enables activities such as printed circuit board design to be
simplified as standard pad sizes and outlines can be prepared and used.

Additionally the use of standard size packages simplifies the manufacture because pick and place
machines can use standard feed for the SMT components, considerably simplifying the
manufacturing process and saving costs.
The different SMT packages can be categorised by the type of component, and there are standard
packages for each.

Passive rectangular components

Passive surface mount devices are mainly comprised of resistors and capacitors. There are
several different standard sizes which have been reduced as technology has enabled smaller
components to be manufactured and used

It will be seen that the devices size names are derived from their measurements in inches.

COMMON PASSIVE SMD PACKAGE DETAILS

SMD PACKAGE TYPE DIMENSIONS DIMENSIONS

MM INCHES

1812 4.6 x 3.0 0.18 x 0.12

1206 3.0 x 1.5 0.12 x 0.06

0805 2.0 x 1.3 0.08 x 0.05

0603 1.5 x 0.8 0.06 x 0.03

0402 1.0 x 0.5 0.04 x 0.02

0201 0.6 x 0.3 0.02 x 0.01

Of these sizes, the 1812, and 1206 sizes are now only used for specialised components or ones
requiring larger levels of power to be dissipated The 0603 and 0402 SMT sizes are the most widely
used.

Note on the Surface Mount Capacitors:

Small surface mount capacitors are used by the billion in all forms of mass produced electronic
equipment. Surface mount capacitors are nomally small rectangular cuboids the dimesnions of
which normally manufactured to conform to the industry standard sizes. SMCD capacitors may
use a variety of technologies including multilayer ceramic, tantalum, electrolytic and some other
less widely used varieties.
Note on the Surface Mount Resistors:
Surface mount technology offers significant advantages for the mass production of electronic
equipment. Small surface mount resistors are used by the billion in all forms of mass produced
electronic equipment. Resistors are typically very small cuboid devices and they are normally
manufactured to conform to the industry standard sizes

Tantalum capacitors SMD packages

As a result of the different construction and requirements for tantalum SMT capacitors, there are
some different packages that are used for them. These conform to EIA specifications.

COMMON SMD TANATALUM CAPACITOR PACKAGE DETAILS

SMD PACKAGE TYPE DIMENSIONS EIA STANDARD

MM

Size A 3.2 x 1.6 x 1.6 EIA 3216-18

Size B 3.5 x 2.8 x 1.9 EIA 3528-21

Size C 6.0 x 3.2 x 2.2 EIA 6032-28

Size D 7.3 x 4.3 x 2.4 EIA 7343-31

Size E 7.3 x 4.3 x 4.1 EIA 7343-43

Transistor & diode packages

SMD transistors and diodes often share the same types of package. While diodes only have two
electrodes a package having three enables the orientation to be correctly selected.
 SMT / SMD diodes on a printed circuit board

Although a variety of SMT transistor and diode packages are available, some of the most popular
are given in the list below.

 SOT-23 - Small Outline Transistor: The SOR23 SMT package is the most common outline for
small signal transistors. The SOT23 has three terminals for a diode of transistor, but it can
have more pins when it may be used for small integrated circuits such as an operational
amplifier, etc. It measures 3 mm x 1.75 mm x 1.3 mm.
 SOT-223 - Small Outline Transistor: The SOT223 package is used for higher power devices. It
is larger than the SOT-23 and it measures 6.7 mm x 3.7 mm x 1.8 mm. There are generally
four terminals, one of which is a large heat-transfer pad. This enables heat to be transferred
to the printed circuit board.

Integrated circuit SMD packages

There are many forms of package that are used for SMD ICs. Although there is a large variety,
each one has the areas where its use is particularly applicable.

 SOIC - Small Outline Integrated Circuit : This SMD IC package has a dual in line configuration
and gull wing leads with a pin spacing of 1.27 mm
 SOP - Small Outline Package: There are several versions of this SMD package:
 TSOP - Thin Small Outline Package: This SMD package is thinner than the SOIC and has a
smaller pin spacing of 0.5 mm
 SSOP - Shrink Small Outline Package: This package has a pin spacing of 0.635 mm
 TSSOP - Thin Shrink Small Outline Package:
 QSOP - Quarter-size Small Outline Package: It has a pin spacing of 0.635 mm
  VSOP - Very Small Outline Package: This is smaller than the QSOP and has pin spacing of
0.4, 0.5, or 0.65 mm.
 QFP- Quad flat pack: The QFP is the generic type of flat package for ICs. There are several
variants as detailed below.
 PLCC - Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier: This type of package is square and uses J-lead pins with a
spacing of 1.27 mm.
 BGA - Ball Grid Array: The ball grid array SMD package has all its contact pads underneath
the device package. Before soldering the pads appear as solder balls, giving rise to the
name.

SMB BGA package showing top and undersides

Placing the contacts underneath the device reduces the area required whilst maintaining the
number of connections available. This format also overcomes some of the problems of the
very thin leads required for the quad flat packs and makes the package physically more
robust. The ball spacing on BGAs is typically 1.27 mm.

Although there appear to be very many different SMD packages, the fact that there are standards
reduces the number and it is possible to set up printed circuit board design packages to
accommodate them, along with proven pad sizes on the boards. In this way the packages enable
high quality printed circuit board assembly and the reduction in overall number of variables
within a design.
SMD Quad Flat Pack QFP
- the quad flat pack or package, QFP provides an excellent format
for high pin count SMD integrated circuits.
The Quad Flat Package, or Quad Flat Pack, QFP, is a package used for surface mount, SMD
integrated circuits.

The QFP, Quad Flat Package is widely used because it enables SMD ICs with high numbers of
interconnections to be used within electronics circuits.

The Quad Flat Package is an industry standard package format although a number of formats
are available. These include variations on the number of pins, and also variations on other
aspects of the package as well.

SMT components on a printed circuit board

Quad Flat Package, QFP Basics

The quad flat pack consists of a rectangular package a few millimetres thick. The package may be
square with the same number of pins emanating from each edge or rectangular with different
numbers of pins on each pair of sides..

The package itself is made from a top and a bottom section which are glue together. The
connections emanate from the join on the side of the package. The pins are bent downwards
towards the printed circuit board in what is termed a gull wing format. The pins normally just
touch the printed circuit board so that they are easy to solder.

Solder arrangements for a typical Quad Flat Pack IC

Quad flat pack integrated circuits come in a variety of formats with pins varying in number. Often
the QFP may be square and pin counts may rise to figures of 256 or even more. A 256 pin QFP
would typically have 64 pins on each side. Some of the smaller quad flat packages may have pin
counts of 32 pins, i.e. 8 pins on each side, assuming the package is square.

Quad flat package variants

There are many different abbreviations for the various formats for quad flat pack ICs. Some are
detailed below:

 BQFP - Bumpered Quad Flat Pack: This form of quad flat package has extensions at the four
corners to protect the leads against mechanical damage before the unit is soldered. One of
the major problems with the QFP is the ease with which pins can be bent and damaged. Owing
to the very fine pitch, it is very difficult and normally not economically viable to repair a device
if the pins are bent.

Bumpered quad flat pack, QFP

 BQFPH - Bumpered Quad Flat Pack with Heat spreader: This form of quad flat package
utilises the pin protectors at the corners, it also has heat spreaders to enable larger levels of
power to be dissipated.
 CQFP - Ceramic Quad Flat Pack: This is a high quality version of the quad flat pack using
ceramic for the package.
 FQFP - Fine pitched Quad Flat Pack: A quad flat pack with, as the name indicates, a fine pitch
for the pins.
 HQFP - Heat sinked Quad Flat Pack: With many integrated circuits, especially those with high
pins counts which have a high level of circuitry may dissipate high levels of heat. This heat may
need to be removed. To achieve this a number of the pins, often in the centre of opposing
sides are replaced with a thicker pin which is soldered to a large pad on the PCB with a large
area of copper connected to it. This will remove a significant amount of heat.
 LQFP - Low profile Quad Flat Pack: The Low Profile Quad Flat Pack is based upon the metric
QFP, MQFP, but it is are thinner with a body thickness or height of 1.4mm. This helps solve
 problems where component height may be a problem. It has a standard lead-frame footprint
- 2.0mm lead footprint. Lead counts for the LQFP range from 32 to 256. Body sizes range from
5 x 5mm to 28 x 28mm. Lead pitches available for LQFP package are 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, & 0.65mm.
 MQFP - Metric Quad Flat Pack: A quad flat package where the measurements and in
particular the pin spacing is defined in metric dimensions. Standard QFPs normally use
Imperial measurements and have pin spacing etc defined in terms of convenient Imperial
dimensions.
 PQFP - Plastic Quad Flat Pack: A quad flat pack where the package material is plastic. Some
QFPs can use ceramic.
 TQFP - Thin Quad Flat Pack: The Thin Quad Flat Pack, TQFP is a form of low profile quad flat
pack. Having a body thickness of 1.0mm and have a standard lead-frame footprint with 2.0mm
lead footprint. The TQFP package material used is plastic.

SMT quad flat pack QFP

QFP practicalities
The quad flat pack, QFP is widely used for many electronic circuits and assemblies. This form of
package enables high numbers of interconnections to be accommodated around the device. With
the growing complexity of many integrated circuits, this form of surface mount package enables
the high connectivity levels required to be accommodated in a convenient format.

Although the QFP, quad flat package works well, there are a number of factors to be remembered
when using it.

 QFP pin damage: The pins on the quad flat package are small and closely spaced. It is easy
for them to be damaged and deformed by poor handling. It is also very difficult to reform
them correctly. To ensure damage is minimised they must be stored carefully - they are often
shipped in special 'waffle' packing to provide adequate protection. This packaging can be used
on the pick and place machines for assembling thereby ensuring that handling is minimised
and the risk of damage reduced to the minimum.
 PCB track density: The very high numbers of pins that can be accommodated by the QFP
does mean that great care is required when designing the printed circuit board. The high pin
count can lead to difficulties in track density around the device. Careful routing and design
may be required to ensure that none of the design rules is violated.
In view of their advantages, quad flat packages are widely used within the electronics industry to
enable the highly complex assemblies to be manufactured swiftly, efficiently and reliably.
Ball Grid Array, BGA
SMD ball grid array, BGA packages enable high density
connections to be made more easily to integrated circuits by
allowing the under-side of a chip package to be used for the
connectivity.
The Ball Grid Array has become increasingly popular for SMD ICs that require high density
connections. Using the under-side of the IC package rather than connections around the edge,
this enables connection density of be reduced, simplifying PCB layout.

The main problem with using SMD BGA IC packages is that using the under-side of the chip means
that direct access to the connections is not possible, making soldering, de-soldering and
inspection more difficult. However with mainline PCB production equipment, these issues are
easy to overcome and the overall reliability and performance can be improved.

Rationale for BGA usage

There have rationale for the introduction and use of the ball grid arraye, BGA is quite
straightforward as there had been issues with other technologies. The conventional quad flat
pack style packages had very thin and very closely spaced pins. This configuration gives rise to a
number of difficulties.

 Damage: The pins on QFPs are naturally very thin and their spacing means that their position
needs to be controlled very closely. Any mishandling can lead to them being displaced and
when this happens they are almost impossible to restore. ICs using high pin counts tend to be
very expensive, so this can become a major issue.
 Pin density: From a design viewpoint, the pin density was such that taking the tracks away
from the IC also proved to be problematic as there could be congestion in some areas.
 Soldering process In view of the very close spacing of the QFP pins, very careful control of
the soldering process is required otherwise contacts can be easily bridged.
The BGA package was developed to overcome these problems, and improve reliability from the
soldered joints. As a result the BGA is widely used and processes and equipment have been
developed to overcome the problems with their use.

Ball Grid Array BGA aims

The Ball Grid Array was developed to provide a number of benefits to IC and equipment
manufacturers as well as providing benefits to the eventual users of equipment. Some of the
BGA benefits over other technologies include:

 Efficient use of printed circuit board space, allowing connections to be made under the SMD
package and not just around its periphery

 Improvements in both thermal and electrical performance. BGA packages can offer power
and ground planes for low inductances and controlled impedance traces for signals as well as
being able to route heat away via the pads, etc.

 Improvements in manufacturing yields as a result of the improved soldering. BGAs allow wide
spacing between connections as well as a better level of solderability.

 Reduced package thickness which is a great advantage when many assemblies need to be
made much thinner, e.g. mobile phones, etc.

 Improved re-workability resulting from larger pad sizes, etc.

These advantages have meant that despite initial skepticism about the package, it provides some
useful improvements in many circumstances..

What is a BGA package?

The Ball Grid Array, BGA, uses a different approach to the connections to that used for more
conventional surface mount connections. Other packages such as the quad flat pack, QFP, used
the sides of the package for the connections. This meant that there was limited space for the pins
which had to be spaced very closely and made much smaller to provide the required level of
connectivity. The Ball Grid Array, BGA, uses the underside of the package, where there is a
considerable area for the connections.

The pins are placed in a grid pattern (hence the name Ball Grid Array) on the under-surface of
the chip carrier. Also rather than having pins to provide the connectivity, pads with balls of solder
are used as the method of connection. On the printed circuit board, PCB, onto which the BGA
device is to be fitted there is a matching set of copper pads to provide the required connectivity.

Apart from the improvement in connectivity, BGAs have other advantages. They offer a lower
thermal resistance between the silicon chip itself than quad flat pack devices. This allows heat
generated by the integrated circuit inside the package to be conducted out of the device onto the
PCB faster and more effectively. In this way it is possible for BGA devices to generate more heat
without the need for special cooling measures.

Top and bottom view of a BGA

In addition to this the fact that the conductors are on the underside of the chip carrier means
that the leads within the chip are shorter. Accordingly unwanted lead inductance levels are lower,
and in this way, Ball Grid Array devices are able to offer a higher level of performance than their
QFP counterparts.

BGA package types

In order to meet the variety of requirements for different types of assembly and equipment, a
number of BGA variants have been developed.

 MAPBGA - Moulded Array Process Ball Grid Array: This BGA package is aimed at low-
performance to mid-performance devices that require packaging with low inductance, ease
of surface mounting. It provides a low cost option with a small footprint and high level of
reliability.
 PBGA - Plastic Ball Grid Array: This BGA package is intended for mid- to high-performance
devices that require low inductance, ease of surface mounting, relatively low cost, while also
retaining high levels of reliability. It has some additional copper layers in the substrate that
enable increased power dissipation levels to be handled.
 TEPBGA - Thermally Enhanced Plastic Ball Grid Array: This package provides for much higher
heat dissipation levels. It uses thick copper planes in the substrate to draw heat from the die
to the customer board.
 TBGA - Tape Ball Grid Array: This BGA package is a mid- to high-end solution for applications
needing high thermal performance without an external heatsink.
 PoP - Package on Package: This package may be used in applications where space is at a real
premium. It allows for stacking a memory package on top of a base device.
 MicroBGA: As the name indicates this type of BGA package is smaller than the standard BGA
package. There are three pitches that are prevalent in the industry: 0.65, 0.75 and 0.8mm.
BGA assembly
When BGAs were first introduced, BGA assembly was one of the key concerns. With the pads not
accessible in the normal manner would BGA assembly reach the standards that could be
achieved by more traditional SMT packages. In fact, although soldering may have appeared to be
a problem for a Ball Grid Array, BGA, device, it was found that standard reflow methods were
very suitable for these devices and joint reliability was very good. Since then BGA assembly
methods have improved, and it is generally found that BGA soldering is particularly reliable.

In the soldering process, the overall assembly is then heated. The solder balls have a very
carefully controlled amount of solder, and when heated in the soldering process, the solder
melts. Surface tension causes the molten solder to hold the package in the correct alignment
with the circuit board, while the solder cools and solidifies. The composition of the solder alloy
and the soldering temperature are carefully chosen so that the solder does not completely melt,
but stays semi-liquid, allowing each ball to stay separate from its neighbours.

View of the underside of a BGA showing the solder ball contacts

As many products now utilize BGA packages as standard, BGA assembly methods are now well
established and can be accommodated by most manufacturers with ease. Accordingly there
should be no concerns about using BGA devices in a design.

Ball Grid Array, BGA, inspection

One of the problems with BGA devices is that it is not possible to view the soldered connections
using optical methods. As a result there was some suspicion about the technology when it was
first introduced and many manufacturers undertook tests to ensure that they were able to solder
the devices satisfactorily. The main problem with soldering Ball Grid Array devices, is that
sufficient heat must be applied to ensure that all the balls in the grid melt sufficiently for every
joint to be satisfactorily made.
The joints cannot be tested fully by checking the electrical performance. It is possible that the
joint may not be adequately made and that over time it will fail. The only satisfactory means of
inspection is to use X-ray inspection as this means of inspection is able to look through the device
at the soldered joint beneath. It is found that once the heat profile for the solder machine is set
up correctly, the BGA devices solder very well and few problems are encountered, thereby
making BGA assembly possible for most applications.

BGA, ball grid array technology has become well established. Although it might appear that there
would be issues with lack of access to the contacts, suitable methods of overcoming these have
been found. PCB layout and board reliability have been improved as track and pin density has
reduced, and in addition to this soldering has become more reliable and infra-red reflow
techniques have been refined to enable reliable soldering. Similarly inspection of boards using
BGAs can use X-ray inspection, AXI, and in addition to this rework techniques have been
developed. As a result the use of BGA technology has led to an overall improvement in quality
and reliability.
Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier, PLCC
The PLCC, Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier is a form of SMD IC
package that can either be soldered to the board or mounted in a
socket.
The Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier, PLCC is a form of SMD integrated circuit package that can be
used to enable ICs to be mounted on a printed circuit board either directly soldered to the board
or within a socket.

This provides options for the same IC to be used during development where the PLCC may need
to be removed periodically for reasons like updating firmware. When the design is stable, the
PLCC can then be soldered to the board.

These options can be achieved because the PLCC has its connection leads on all sides of the chip
which can connect with the socket. The leads are then in a form of a “J” which enables them to be
soldered to the board.

SMD PLCC basics

An SMD PLCC or plastic leaded chip carrier is a four sided flat integrated circuit package or chip
carrier. Rather than using the gull wing leads that are used on the quad flat pack, the SMD PLCC
uses a "J" lead format. Here the leads are in the form of a J that is positioned on the edge of the
SMD PLCC package with the lower section of the J folding back under the package.

As a result of the lead format the SMD PLCC offers a number of advantages:

 Socket compatible: In some areas, especially when developing new products a socketed chip
can be particularly useful, if new builds of a PLD or other chip may be needed. The PLD can
be programmed off the board and added to the board to test the overall system operation.
While many boards will allow on-board programming, this may not always be achievable.
 Space saving: The "J" lead of the SMD PLCC provides a useful reduction in board area when
compared to the gull wing lead of the QFP. As the "J" lead effectively folds back under the
package, this provides a significant reduction in real estate usage.
 Heat resistance: In some limited instances, the heat experienced during the soldering
process could cause damage to the chip. In this case a socket can be added to the board, and
the PLCC inserted after soldering is completed, and no high temperatures will be experienced.
The SMD PLCC can have a variety of formats. Lead counts can vary from 20 up to 84 and body
widths range from 0.35 to 1.15 inches. Pin or lead spacing is generally 0.05 inches, i.e. 1.27 mm.

PLCC sockets
One of the major advantages of an SMD PLCC is that the chip can be connected to the circuit via
a socket. The same chip format can also be used in the standard SMT format, soldering the PLCC
directly to the board. This can have significant advantages when a replaceable chip is needed for
development, but then the same chip can be used in production where it can be soldered onto
the board.

PLCC sockets may either be surface mounted - the most common, or some through hole versions
are also available. Some through hole PLCC sockets may be used with wire wrap techniques for
prototyping.

Although it is often possible to extract PLCCs using a small screwdriver, etc., it is far more
preferable to use a PLCC extractor tool. This will make extraction of the PLCC far easier, and
minimise the possibility of any damage.

The PLCC package fills a gap in the marketplace. Although not as widely used as other forms of
IC package, it can be useful in applications where a the design may not be completely stable and
firmware updates may be required and the design is such that this may not be possible in situ.