BGA stands for Ball Grid Array. It was introduced in 1990. It is a type of surface mount technology that is used for packaging integrated circuits(IC). It consists of an array of tin balls arranged in a grid, and its solder balls play a role in the connection interface between the packaging IC and Printed circuit board PCB. The device is placed on PCB with copper pads in a pattern that is similar to solder balls. Then it is heated, which results in the melting of balls. Melted solder balls hold the alignment with the circuit board tightly with the help of surface tension. Once the solder cools and solidifies, it forms connections between the device and the PCB.
It has a very short distance between the package and BGA, which gives superior electrical performance to pinned devices.
The system offers high speed and higher electrical performance.
It is more reliable as solder pads are connected to solder balls.
Difficult to find faults.
It is not practically easy to solder BGA in place.
The equipment that is required is very costly.
It is used in microprocessors.
In 2001, BGA became popular.
The system is heated by using a reflow oven or infrared heater.
Some types of BGAs are plastic BGA, ceramic BGA, enhanced BGA, metal BGA, micro BGA, thermally enhanced BGA, flip chip BGA etc.
It provides lower thermal resistance, which helps in flowing of heat from the Integrated circuit to the PCB.