Chris & Werner, Thanks for the quick reply. We make some automotive products and tend to use fine pitch peripheral leaded parts which take up some room and are harder to route. I suggested investigating 1.27mm BGA solutions as they can pack the same pins in a smaller area, not too bad to assemble, and easier to route the PWB in less layers. I'd never suggest below 1mm pitch BGA in any case for products below Class 2/3. The BGA suggestion was not too well received. At my former employer, BGAs were routinedly used and passed some fairly severe shock and vibration testing. Not under-the-hood but close enough to suggest taking a look... Gerry ========================================================== From: Chris Ball <[log in to unmask]> Reply-To: TechNet E-Mail Forum <[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask] To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] Use of BGA packaging in automotive applications Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 12:53:55 -0400 Hi- We're an automotive company using BGA's. They are not common in our applications at this point, but not verbotten. A recent prototype uses 0.5 mm pitch, but may switch to 1mm for production. It's a combination of associated cost factors (in this case, maybe higher layer count, micro-vias, etc.), relative product complexity (we aren't usually on the bleeding edge so don't NEED it), and fear of the new (no historical reliability data), that slow down the introduction of any new technology in automotive electronics. We didn't jump all over SMT either, and took MANY years to fully embrace the concept..... Because the environment is so harsh, and long term reliability issues are SOOOOO serious, we will proceed with great caution. BR, -Chris Gerald Gagnon <[log in to unmask] To: [log in to unmask] > cc: Sent by: TechNet Subject: [TN] Use of BGA packaging in automotive <[log in to unmask]> applications 06/03/2006 12:25 PM Please respond to TechNet E-Mail Forum; Please respond to Gerald Gagnon All, I was recently told that BGA packages are not reliable enough for automotive applications. I know automotive environments are harsh & hot, but I found that statement to be the type to challenge. Are BGA packages used successfully in automotive applications? If so, what types of BGA packages are preferred? Any pitch or pincount limits? Discussions welcome. Gerry _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! 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