Other, similar IC packages include TSOP (thin small-outline package) and TSSOP (thin-shrink small-outline package). The SSOP (shrink small-outline package) is an even smaller version of SOIC packages. On SOIC packages, each pin is usually spaced by about 0.05" (1.27mm) from the next. With a steady hand, and a close eye, these packages are among the easiest SMD parts to hand solder. It's what you'd get if you bent all the pins on a DIP outward, and shrunk it down to size. Small-outline IC (SOIC) packages are the surface-mount cousin of the DIP. Here are a few of the more common SMD package types out there, ranging in hand-solderability from "doable" to "doable, but only with special tools" to "doable only with very special, usually automated tools". In order to work with surface-mount packaged ICs, you usually need a custom printed circuit board ( PCB) made for them, which has a matching pattern of copper on which they're soldered. There is a huge variety of surface-mount package types these days. These little chips have two parallel rows of pins extending perpendicularly out of a rectangular, black, plastic housing.Ī regular DIP socket (top) and a ZIF socket with and without an IC. DIP (Dual in-line packages)ĭIP, short for dual in-line package, is the most common through-hole IC package you'll encounter. ICs in this form factor are not very "hand-assembly-friendly." They usually require special tools to aid in the process. The pins of a SMD package either extrude out the side, perpendicular to the chip, or are sometimes arranged in a matrix on the bottom of the chip. They are all designed to sit on one side of a circuit board and be soldered to the surface. Surface-mount packages range in size from small to minuscule. They're designed to be stuck through one side of a board and soldered to the other side. Through-hole packages are generally bigger, and much easier to work with. All packages fall into one of two mounting types: through-hole (PTH) or surface-mount (SMD or SMT). One of the main distinguishing package type characteristics is the way they mount to a circuit board.