In pursuit of improvement of processes and end-products, the electronics industry – from the design engineer’s seat to the fab shop floor, and on through to the assembly process – have long been a focus of research and new product development attention.
In the early days of PCB design and fab, millions of dollars were spent annually by OEMs and suppliers in an effort to improve the processes. They used process yield and end-product reliability as their guiding principles and forged innovations in EDA, materials, plating and assembly to name a few.
The process of invention is a well-understood and logical procession. An idea is generated and perhaps some small demonstration of its potential pursued. This can be a physical demonstration such as a sample or perhaps just a concept drawing. Many of the inventions credited to Leonardo da Vinci are simply documented ideas.
The road between invention and commercialization can be long. The more revolutionary and the more unlike previous practice the idea is, the more difficult it will be to garner industry acceptance and market penetration. Along the road to commercialization, the first step is making it known that there is an invention and the potential benefits of the new idea.
But what really drives invention, and especially in an industry that is mature and moving toward commoditization? These past few months we have seen a resurgence of the “idea.†Some of the inventions are well on their way to commercialization. Some are simply dreams. Most are evolutionary, but others have a more far-reaching and disruptive potential.
In the past month, for example, we have seen a new PCB developed in collaboration by Sanmina-SCI, Viking InterWorks and Shocking Technologies that incorporates embedded electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection for components right into the board (sanmina-sci.com/pressroom/pres_rel.html).
Another recent process introduction follows the logical adaptation of nano materials into the printing process for manufacturing flexible circuits (dknresearch.com/products.html). Introduced by DKN Research and NY Industry, the process promises high-resolution capabilities through low cost, automated screening processes using conductive nanopastes.
Of the newest processes introduced, few have had as much hype as Occam from Verdant Electronics (verdantelectronics.com). Inventor Joe Fjelstad told PCD&M in August that his inspiration was undoubtedly founded in the trials and tribulations the industry has had to embrace on the road to lead-free interconnect.
Obstacles are often catalysts for invention, and Fjelstad has often commented it was actually the solderless connection that was his inspiration. The issues with lead-free just went to further support the desire to eliminate solder, lead-containing or not, from the electronic interconnect.
The simple elegance of Fjelstad’s so-called reverse order interconnection process is not lost on the industry. As noted by Fjelstad, the reverse order concept is similar to earlier MCM-L processes that sought to encapsulate chips onto platforms that would be ultimately soldered to a PCB. With Occam, the PCB is also the platform, and solder becomes a thing of the past.
The connection methodology will borrow the best of build-up processes and is envisioned as incorporating the possibility of both wet-plating methodologies like additive or semi-additive metallization or conductive pastes, potentially employing nanomaterials, to make the signal layers and interconnect the components. Techniques already being used for semiconductor metallization may be used to bolster metal to dielectric adhesion improving acceptance of the additive approach.
Occam is still in the development stages but with the support of a creative team of advisors that cut across the electronics industry disciplines (and the many interested industry members on the sidelines), it is hoped that the technology can be brought to practical demonstration in the months to come.
We are at a crossroads where material limitations and overall manufacturing costs are butting up against high-speed constraints and signal-integrity issues. Toss in a liberal dose of environmental legislation limiting materials and power consumption and you have the electronics version of the primordial ooze, geared up and ready to erupt great things.
I look forward to the continued conversations, spirited debates and collaborative efforts that will surround these and the other inventions that will grace our industry in the months to come as computing speeds increase, real estate shrinks and cost control reigns supreme.
Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody else has thought. – Jonathan Swift
