What Is a Grid Pitch?

Grid pitch can refer to the space between ball grid array solder balls.

Grid pitch refers to the distance between grid spaces. Grid pitch can refer to the spacing of solder balls on circuits, the dots on an optical grid or the distance between electrical paths. Knowing the grid pitch helps engineers and technicians understand the design or estimate the electrical effect on the design.

Microchips

A ball grid array (BGA) on the bottom of the microchip is made of balls soldered to a printed circuit board. Grid pitch is the distance between the solder balls of a microchip. BGA grid pitches are as small as 1 mm. Fine-pitch BGAs have grid pitches of a fraction of a millimeter. Microchips with a smaller grid pitch can make more connections with the underlying motherboard. With smaller solder balls, they also require a lower temperature to melt the solder balls during assembly and repair.

Optical Grids

An optical grid provides a reference for locating items. The grid pitch is the number of grid dots per area. Projected grid pitch is the number of pixels between optical grid lines. The grid pitch is the inverse of the grid frequency.

Control Grids

Electronic items like amplifiers can have a control grid. The grid closest to the cathode is called the control pitch. The grid pitch affects the voltage and electrical interference of the grid.

References

• "Printed Circuit Boards"; R. S. Khandpur; 2005
• "Area Array Interconnection Handbook"; Karl Puttlitz, Paul Totta; 2001
• "Optical Metrology for Fluids, Combustion and Solids, Volume 1"; Carolyn Regan Mercer; 2003
• "Valve Amplifiers"; Morgan Jones; 2003

Resources

• "Precision Nanometrology: Sensors and Measuring Systems for Nanomanufacturing"; Wei Gao; 2010
• "Handbook of Optical Metrology"; Toru Yoshizawa; 2009