Stands for IC

Sockets for integrated circuits in different housings

In the offer of our store you can find sockets for integrated circuits dedicated to different casings of integrated circuits. They are designed for through-hole mounting, in which the legs of an electronic component go through holes in a printed circuit board and are connected to the solder fields with the help of tin from one (usually the bottom) side or two. If a pad is used, the pad is soldered in place for mounting the circuit, and the circuit itself is inserted into the holes of the pad. This type of mounting is often used for expensive components to avoid damaging them by soldering, as well as for components that are frequently replaced, such as processor program memory in embedded systems.

Versatile and inexpensive DIP sockets

The simplest bases for integrated circuits are the so-called DIP sockets, designed to place the circuits in the housing of the same name. DIP, or Dual In-line Package, is an enclosure with two rows of pins. The chip feet in DIP enclosures typically have a 2.54 mm, or 0.1 inch, raster. The chip sockets in DIP enclosures have similarly spaced slots equipped with spring-loaded metal elements. The significant pressure of these springs against the metal leads of the IC provides excellent electrical contact between the pin and the socket in the socket, even when the component is repeatedly inserted and removed from the socket.

Dedicated ZIF sockets for delicate components

ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) sockets are another type of socket for ICs. Thanks to their construction, pressure on IC pins is exerted only after latching the socket with a special lever. When the lever is released, the chip slides into the holes in the socket without any resistance. This type of IC socket is most often used in devices such as memory programmers or microcontrollers because ZIF sockets can survive many more cycles of insertion and removal of ICs than ordinary DIP sockets.