-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueLevel Up Your Design Skills
This month, our contributors discuss the PCB design classes available at IPC APEX EXPO 2024. As they explain, these courses cover everything from the basics of design through avoiding over-constraining high-speed boards, and so much more!
Opportunities and Challenges
In this issue, our expert contributors discuss the many opportunities and challenges in the PCB design community, and what can be done to grow the numbers of PCB designers—and design instructors.
Embedded Design Techniques
Our expert contributors provide the knowledge this month that designers need to be aware of to make intelligent, educated decisions about embedded design. Many design and manufacturing hurdles can trip up designers who are new to this technology.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
IPC Symposium: U.S. Must Address Critical Gaps in Advanced Packaging Needs
October 12, 2022 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
There is a significant capability gap in advanced substrate packaging in North America, forcing all semiconductors to be packaged in Asia and leaving North America at risk in its supply chain. This was a common theme during a two-day IPC Advanced Packaging Symposium, which launched yesterday at the Kimpton Monaco hotel in Washington, D.C.
Opening day speakers included keynotes from Tech Search’s Jan Vardaman, and Intel’s Tom Rucker. Additional speakers throughout the day represented DoD, NIST, the European Union, Western Digital, IBM, AMD, Northrup Grumman, and BAE Systems.
IPC organized this symposium so that executives, government, and industry leaders could meet in person and share insights. The discussion was intended to identify key business and technology issues with near- and longer-term solutions. The purpose was focused on opportunities and challenges for next-generation advanced packaging production. The top-down agenda covers public policy updates, commercial and defense electronics technology drivers, current business environment for IC-substrates and component assembly and test manufacturing.
Figure 1: John Mitchell, president and CEO of IPC, addresses the crowd during a morning session at the IPC Advanced Packaging Symposium.
Vardaman laid the market groundwork in an early presentation Tuesday, pointing out that there is effectively no packaging capability in North America, forcing all semiconductors to be packaged in Asia; a theme that many of the speakers would return to throughout the day. Likewise, Vardaman pointed out the lack of substrate capabilities outside of Asia, setting up another capability gap that was addressed by nearly every speaker throughout the day: Investment in advanced packaging techniques is a critical manufacturing capability not only for U.S. and EU military needs, but also for supply chain resilience.
The CHIPS Act was a key area of discussion. During his presentation, Frank Gayle of NIST asserted that packaging and PCB manufacturing investment programs would be considered as appropriate to submit under the CHIPS Act. This seemed to be news to several attendees I spoke with, and if true, certainly leaves the door open for wider CHIPS Act investment throughout the supply chain.
Each speaker, in their own way, made the argument that the U.S. and EU need to ramp up these capabilities. During her Q&A session, Kim Eilert of BAE Systems was asked when BAE would need to have this capability available to them. Her answer was, “Today.” It was clear that she meant that quite literally.
Wednesday’s agenda includes a welcome from IPC Chief Technologist Matt Kelly, who will also moderate a panel discussion on the North American perspective on the IC substrate market. Other speakers will provide insights on the history of the package substrate industry, how the U.S. can gain a foothold in this market, where the technologies are at, and next steps.
Suggested Items
Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Understanding Objective Evidence in Manufacturing Processes
05/07/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOGraham Naisbitt explains the importance of objective evidence in manufacturing processes, debunking the common misconception that the ROSE test is a cleanliness test. He also discusses the introduction of Rev J, a requirement for measuring ionic contamination on circuit assemblies, and the challenges in accurately measuring contamination. Alternative methods like ion chromatography and the need for updating standards like the ROSE test are mentioned.
Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2024: My Role as a Technology Solutions Director
05/02/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOPeter Tranitz, senior director of technology solutions at IPC, shares insights into his role as the design initiative lead. He details his advocacy work, industry support, and the responsibilities of the design initiative committee. The conversation also covers the revamping of standards, the IPC Design Competition, and the implementation of design rules in software tools.
HQ NextPCB of HQ Electronics Debut on the International Stage for Electronics Manufacture at IPC APEX 2024
05/01/2024 | PRNewswireHQ NextPCB of HQ Electronics, a leading Chinese-based multilayer PCB manufacturer and assembly house showcased its industrial prowess on the international stage for the first time at the IPC APEX Expo 2024.
IPC's Vision for Empowering PCB Design Engineers
04/30/2024 | Robert Erickson, IPCAs architects of innovation, printed circuit board designers are tasked with translating increasingly complex concepts into tangible designs that power our modern world. IPC provides the necessary community, standards framework, and education to prepare these pioneers as they explore the boundaries of what’s possible, equipping engineers with the knowledge, skills, and resources required to thrive in an increasingly dynamic field.
North American EMS Industry Down 4% in March
04/29/2024 | IPCIPC announced the March 2024 findings from its North American Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Statistical Program. The book-to-bill ratio stands at 1.31.