The term "via" probably comes from the Latin word meaning "road." Therefore, open via would essentially mean "open road." Open roads, here in Oregon sometimes run through open range ranch land. That means that cows have as much right to... Read more
There are many reasons you shouldn’t use via in pad. It’s not good practice, and those via holes act like little capillary straws and suck solder off of the pad or the BGA. That said there are some applications that... Read more
Via in pad is an old issue that still pops up now and then. Our standard answer hasn't changed: No open vias in pads. But one of the questions we get related to the subject is: "What if we make... Read more
The answer to the question: "is it ever okay to put open vias in BGA pads?" is simply No. It's no, no, no, no, not ever!!! That makes it easy. No technique to worry about. No tolerances. Nothing. Just don't... Read more
Here's an interesting via in pad case. On the one hand, the footprint is very symmetrical and clean looking. On the other hand, it has open vias in the pads. At first glance, I thought this was a DIP footprint... Read more
Over the years, most of what we see are good PC boards. But some standout in the other direction as examples of what not to do. Some didn't make it through the board house alive. Some were unknowingly rendered useless... Read more
No. This isn't a closeup of an owl face. There is still some debate on how best to create a land pattern for a 0.4mm pitch BGA. We recommend soldermask defined pads at that pitch. But that's not really what... Read more
Parts change and so do vias. Our standard policy here is that open vias in pads are bad. We from time to time recommend ways to plug them. Generally, you have several options. Like this post shows. However, with vias... Read more
Here's an example of what via in pad can do for a small passive component. Other things can happen too, like tomstoning or twisting. But take a close look at this photo. In doing so, you'll note that both sides... Read more
Over on the Circuits Assembly blog, Michael asked a question about my Via in Pad Myth #5. He asked: "I have a question about vias. I have seen charts on the current carrying capacity of traces, but what about vias?"... Read more
