A printed circuit board, commonly referred to as a PCB, is used in computers, cell phones, televisions and most other devices that operate electronically. The PCB is made of a stiff, nonconductive material. The circuits are then printed onto it with special machinery, using the appropriate layout for the particular board being made. Along with the conductive lines that connect the different parts of the board, the PCB has places for components to be mounted directly to the board. In many situations a PCB socket is used to provide a mounting location on the board for various integrated circuits, often called ICs or chips.
A PCB socket has rows of pins on its underside. Different sockets have different numbers of pins, depending on the type of IC that it is to be used for. On the top side of the socket are rows of holes that correspond to the pins. The socket is made of nonconductive plastic. Each of the holes allows access to the pins beneath, so that when a chip is placed in the PCB socket each of its legs will be touching one of the legs of the socket.
