IPC EXPO, ANAHEIM, Feb. 25, 2004 - Mentor Graphics Corp. has joined IPC's Emerging/Critical Interconnection Technology (E/CIT) program. E/CIT was formed in 2002 by IPC and the Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center, an R&D facility that develops some of the military's most sophisticated weapons systems.

Crane will use Mentor's Supermax layout tool for its embedded passives (EP) design. Mentor acquired Supermax with its purchase of Dansk Data Elektronik in 2003, and the company hopes to accelerate the use of EP technology in the electronics industry.

Much of the DoD's work with the electronics interconnect industry occurs at Crane, an Indiana-based US Navy shore command that occupies 100 square miles. Crane is represented by IPC on Capital Hill, said David Bergman, IPC's vice president of standards, technology and international relations.

"IPC will lobby for additional funding for Crane, because they're prohibited from doing so," Bergman said.

Mentor, Crane and IPC also plan to work with EP materials suppliers, OEMs and PCB manufacturers. But Bergman was unsure whether companies based outside the US would be eligible to take part in the program.

In its first year, E/CIT launched a project to evaluate the use of liquid crystal polymer (LCP) as a laminate alternative.