Greetings,
What do you do when you want to build a prototype circuit but the necessary IC components available are very tiny surface mount dust specs? For the last project I built, I was able to get DIP8 packages, which are large enough to solder, etc. But now, they don't seem to make newer IC's in such large packages. Is there a kind of "expander" package you could mount the tiny IC into that will bring out the leads to workable sizes? Thanks.
Tom

 

Yes, Digikey sell various package size conversion mounts, you still have to solder the SMT chip to the DIP conversion socket.
Max.

 

Breakout boards, as Max pointed out, allow you to mount the IC onto a board with each of the pins brought out to a more manageable(for humans) package.

 

Many thanks, MaxHeadRoom and tshuck, it's exactly what I was hoping for.
Tom

 

Soldering a very small Ic onto a conversion mount should be easier than soldering it into your own pcb without solder mask etc.

 

SMD to DIP chip adapters are convenient when you are evaluating/debugging/testing a new design/idea/chip on a solderless breadboard.

It is not difficult to hand solder SMD components, especially larger SOIC packages.
I can make my own prototype boards using SMD components by manually cutting 0.5mm strips of copper off double sided laminate.

 

I must confess, about 15 years ago, I did build a stereo op amp audio amplifier for home made hearing aids, using small ear buds on a head band, with electret mics mounted on the outer sides just where the buds go into the ears. I soldered small pieces of wire to the chip terminals, radiating them outward, and it was very challenging. I made up my mind never to try that again.
Tom

 

Greetings,
What do you do when you want to build a prototype circuit but the necessary IC components available are very tiny surface mount dust specs? For the last project I built, I was able to get DIP8 packages, which are large enough to solder, etc. But now, they don't seem to make newer IC's in such large packages. Is there a kind of "expander" package you could mount the tiny IC into that will bring out the leads to workable sizes? Thanks.
Tom

That's what I hated the most. The idiots in marketing wanted to show off how "small" the solution was so the evaluation boards were built using microscopic 0402 size parts. Hated working with that crap. When we got to the tiny IC's, we had to have our package group attach them and they screwed up most of the parts with the heat.

I longed for the days when I could just solder parts on without using a microscope.

Not my problem anymore.

 

It is not difficult to hand solder SMD components, especially larger SOIC packages.

But many new types are impossible to hand solder, they attach with solder "wafers" and are flowed using IR.

 

On a similar subject... I'm designing a switching boost converter right now... Pease and Williams were always stressing the use of copper clad and had a small spiders Web of parts coming up off of the board... Am I dumb or do I just not see how you can do that these days?

 

I assumed that the reason for the miniaturization of IC packages was simply to accommodate the trend for smaller and smaller electronics. No? Smaller is better, no?

 

There is more than just reduction in size.
As spacing and traces get shorter, trace inductance is reduced.
With the use of SMD decoupling capacitors, power and signal noise is reduced as well.

 

On a similar subject... I'm designing a switching boost converter right now... Pease and Williams were always stressing the use of copper clad and had a small spiders Web of parts coming up off of the board... Am I dumb or do I just not see how you can do that these days?

times change. Still use copper clad boards, but most are either four (or more) layers with components mounted on both sides to reduce board size.

 

I assumed that the reason for the miniaturization of IC packages was simply to accommodate the trend for smaller and smaller electronics. No? Smaller is better, no?

Yes, for most things like cel phones or Ipods or anything portable. But in cases where the IC is dissipating any power, it may force a larger package. In the last years I worked at Nat Semi, the package sizes were so small they were basically just a die with feet. Power devices still require larger packages and some kind of "heat slug" to allow heat to pass directly from the die down to the board. It's a lot more complicated than it used to be.

 

ewaste is a consideration and high PCB costs as well logistics costs for large ICs.

Think plastic tubes (1980s) compared to reels.
Plastic tubes and their boxes need a lot of space and they have their own cost too.