1. A leadless socket for mounting a decapped semiconductor device to a circuit board for testing, the semiconductor device comprising semiconductor circuitry and leads to connect the semiconductor circuitry to the circuit board, the socket comprising:
a frame adapted to mate with the semiconductor device, the frame forming an opening for accessing the semiconductor circuitry and an edge surface for receiving the semiconductor device; and
a fastener connected with the frame for removably connecting the frame to the circuit board.
2. The leadless socket of claim 1, wherein the frame forms a plurality of indentations for receiving the leads.
3. The leadless socket of claim 1, wherein the fastener is one of a screw and a latching button.
4. The leadless socket of claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a non-conductive material.
5. The leadless socket of claim 1, wherein the width of the opening is less than the width of the semiconductor device.
6. The leadless socket of claim 1, wherein the length of the opening is less than the length of the semiconductor device.
7. The leadless socket of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the leadless socket is no more than three times the thickness of the semiconductor device.
8. The leadless socket of claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a top surface, wherein the top surface forms the opening, and wherein the distance from the top surface to the edge surface is less than five millimeters.
9. The leadless socket of claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a plurality of indentations for receiving the leads.
10. A method for mounting a semiconductor device to a circuit board for testing, the semiconductor device comprising semiconductor circuitry and leads, wherein the semiconductor device is decapped so that at least a portion of the semiconductor circuitry is exposed along a top side of the semiconductor device, and the circuit board comprising traces along a top side of the circuit board, the method comprising:
forming a frame that mates with the semiconductor device, the frame having a top surface opposed to a bottom surface and an edge surface parallel to and recessed into the bottom surface, the frame forming an opening from the top surface to the edge surface for accessing the semiconductor circuitry, wherein the size of the opening is less than the size of the semiconductor device;
placing the top side of the semiconductor device in the frame against the edge surface so that the semiconductor circuitry is accessible through the opening; and
fastening the frame and the semiconductor device to the circuit board, wherein the bottom surface faces the top side of the circuit board.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the fastening of the frame further comprises connecting the leads with the traces.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:
placing a probe through the opening and in contact with the semiconductor circuitry; and
testing the semiconductor circuitry.
13. The method of claim 10, further comprising removing the frame and the semiconductor device from the circuit board.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein the distance from the edge surface to the top surface of the frame is less than five millimeters.
15. The method of claim 10, wherein the width of the opening is less than the width of the semiconductor device.
16. A leadless socket for mounting a semiconductor device to a circuit board for testing, the semiconductor device comprising semiconductor circuitry and leads, wherein the semiconductor device is decapped so that at least a portion of the semiconductor circuitry is exposed along a top side of the semiconductor device, and the circuit board comprising traces along a top side of the circuit board, the leadless socket comprising:
a frame that mates with the semiconductor device, the frame having a top surface opposed to a bottom surface and an edge surface parallel to and recessed into the bottom surface, the frame forming an opening from the top surface to the edge surface for accessing the semiconductor circuitry, wherein the size of the opening is less than the size of the semiconductor device.
17. The leadless socket of claim 16, further comprising a fastener connected with the frame for removably connecting the frame to the circuit board.
18. The leadless socket of claim 16, wherein the frame forms a plurality of indentations for receiving the leads.
19. The leadless socket of claim 16, wherein the frame comprises a non-conductive material.
20. The leadless socket of claim 16, wherein the thickness of the frame is no more than one and one-half times the thickness of the semiconductor device.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of controlling operation of a base station, comprising:
calibrating an RF board in said base station, said calibrating including measuring transmission power (Tx power) of said RF board and determining a transmission power attenuation (Tx Atten) based on said measured Tx power and a target Tx power;
calculating a variation of the Tx Atten based on a previous Tx Atten and said determined Tx Atten;
comparing said calculated variation with a predetermined threshold value; and
providing a Tx Atten reference alarm message based on the result of said comparison.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the Tx Atten reference alarm message indicates that transmission power of the base station has changed as a result of a change in one or more attributes of the RF base.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein providing a Tx Atten reference alarm message includes providing the Tx Atten reference alarm message when said calculated variation is greater than said threshold value.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting said target Tx power of said RF board, wherein comparing said calculated variation with said threshold value is performed when the value of said set target Tx power is at least substantially equal to a previous value of target Tx power.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining said threshold value based on said one or more attributes of said RF board.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein said calibrating is repeated periodically.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein said calibrating is performed in response to an instruction entered by an operator.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the target Tx power is set to a level which causes interference of signals transmitted from the base station into a cell of another base station to be below a desired level.
9. A system for controlling operation of base station, comprising:
a transmission power attenuation (Tx Atten) determiner to determine a Tx Atten based on a transmission power (Tx power) of an RF board in said base station and a target Tx power, wherein said determiner determines a the Tx Atten value as a part of a process of calibrating said RF board in said base station;
a Tx Atten variation calculator to calculate a variation of the Tx Atten value based on a previous Tx Atten and the determined Tx Atten value;
a comparator to compare said variation of the Tx Atten value with a predetermined threshold value; and
a reference alarm provider to provide a Tx Atten reference alarm message based on said comparison.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the Tx Atten reference alarm message indicates that transmission power of the base station has changed as a result of a charge in one or more attributes of the RF board.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein said reference alarm provider provides the Tx Atten reference alarm message when said variation is greater than said threshold value.
12. The system of claim 9, wherein said calibrating is repeated periodically.
13. The system of claim 9, the comparator compares said variation with the predetermined threshold value when the target Tx power is at least substantially equal to a previous value of the target Tx power.
14. The system of claim 9, wherein said calibration process is performed in response to an instruction entered by an operator.
15. The system of claim 9, wherein the target Tx power is set to a level which causes interference of signals transmitted from the base station into a cell of another base station to be below a predetermined level.
16. A method for controlling operation of a base station, comprising:
measuring transmission power of an RF board of the base station;
determining an operating parameter of the base station based on the measured transmission power;
comparing a variation of the operating parameter to a predetermined value; and
determining that the transmission power of the base station has changed as a result of a change in one or more attributes of the RF board.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
generating an alarm message after determining said change in the transmission power of the base station.
18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
adjusting the transmission power of the base station to at least substantially correspond with a target transmission power.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the target transmission power is set to a level which causes interference of signals transmitted from the base station into a cell of another base station to be below a desired level.
20. The method of claim 16, wherein the operating parameter is a transmission power attenuation value.
21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:
calibrating the RF board,
wherein the transmission power is measured and the operating power is determined during said calibration of the RF board.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the RF board is calibrated in response to an instruction from an operator.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein the RF board is calibrated on a periodic basis.
24. A system for controlling operation of a base station, comprising:
a detector to measure transmission power of an RF board of the base station;
a circuit to determine an operating parameter of the base station based on the measured transmission power; and
a processor to compare variation of the operating parameter to a predetermined value and determine that the transmission power of the base station has changed as a result of a change in one or more attributes of the RF board.
25. The system of claim 24, wherein the processor generates an alarm message after determining said change in the transmission power of the base station.
26. The system of claim 24, wherein the processor adjusts the transmission power of the base station to at least substantially correspond with a target transmission power.
27. The system of claim 26, wherein the target transmission power is set to a level which causes interference of signals transmitted from the base station into a cell of another base station to be below a desired level.
28. The system of claim 24, wherein the operating parameter is a transmission power attenuation value.
29. The system of claim 24, further comprising:
a calibration circuit to calibrate the RF board,
wherein the detector measures the transmission power during a calibration operation performed by the calibration circuit.
30. The system of claim 29, wherein the calibration circuit calibrates the RF board in response to an instruction from an operator.
31. The system of claim 29, wherein the calibration circuit calibrates the RF board on a periodic basis.