Design Hall of Fame CAD Pioneers Lead Latest Hall Inductees The father of the gridless router. The largest seller of CAD seats. A leading inventor of team-based design. The foremost signal integrity guru. These are the four latest inductees to the Dieter W. Bergman PCB Design Hall of Fame. by Mike Buetow
Data Transfer IPC-2581 Consortium Update The consortium is on track to extend the standard to enable build-intent collaboration between PCB manufacturers and design houses before layout begins. by Hemant Shah
Quality Assurance Using Forensics to Improve PCB Design and Assembly Where AOI and conventional x-ray peak, other methods can hone in on nettlesome defects. by Zulki Khan
ESD Static Control Standards: An Annual Progress Report From components to wrist straps, a look at more than 60 documents that make up ESD control programs. by The ESD Association
PCB Layout Will a Via Fit in Between? BGAs have never been easy to route, but with 0.3mm versions coming, via-in-pad becomes a consideration. by Duane Benson
Thermal Management Cool Runnings The ongoing push to integrate mechanical and electrical design has now extended to electronics cooling simulation. by Mike Buetow
Schematic Design Advanced Block Organization in Schematic Design and Layout Designs using blocks are much easier to check and maintain, saving precious design time. A lesser-known hierarchical capability called the virtual block is especially useful for smaller schematics. by Abby Monaco
EMS Top 50 Bend, Don’t Break If the EMS market in 2012 were a movie, it would have been the good (Nam Tai), the bad (the effects of RIM) and the ugly (Elcoteq). But most of the world’s 50 largest contract assemblers absorbed the blows from shrinking PC and cellphone margins and set their sights on the more profitable (if smaller) automotive and industrial sectors. by Mike Buetow
ESD Basics Managing Your ESD Program Enjoy all the software tools, but don’t forget the procedures. by The ESD Association
CircuitHub In Search of the Designer’s Holy Grail The latest in a yearlong PCD&F series highlighting promising new enterprises in printed circuit board design looks at startup CircuitHub’s user-driven parts library. by Mike Buetow
ESD Basics The ‘Simple’ Problem “Does my process generate an electrostatic charge, and if so, how much?” A simple “yes or no” answer is rare. by The ESD Association
Apex Expo Recap Let’s Get Small At IPC Apex Expo this year, small was big. Benchtop was in and integration was all the rage at the annual North American trade show. by Mike Buetow
Cover Story Bridging Technology between Conventional 3D and TSV 3D Stacking Two new multi-die DRAM packages have thin profiles and minimize wirebond length. by Belgacem Haba, Ph.D.
Signal Integrity Addressing ‘Power-Aware’ Challenges of Memory Interface Designs Memory interfaces are challenging signal integrity engineers from the chip level to the package, to the board, and across multiple boards. As the latest DDR3 and DDR4 speeds support multi-gigabit parallel bus interfaces with voltage swings smaller than previous generation interfaces, there is no room for error in any modern memory interface design. The combination of complete model libraries, advanced tools and engineering expertise addresses modern buses and data rates. by Ken Willis and Brad Brim
Cover Story Lead-Free Assembly Design for Manufacturability Considerations The changeover to lead-free has brought with it serious implications for many key design rules. A look at the system-level management requirements and key DfM elements shown to improve overall yield, quality and reliability of high-complexity, high-reliability hardware. by Matt Kelly and Mark Hoffmeyer, PH.D.
Quality Assurance Availability Index and Minimized Reliability Costs A model for quantifying how the total cost of improving and maintaining reliability can be minimized, and the relationship of that minimized cost to the availability index. by Ephraim Suhir, Ph.D., and Laurent Bechou, PH.D.
ESD Basics How Much Protection Is Enough? Five questions to ask concerning ESD protection. by The ESD Association
FIRST PERSON
Caveat Lector Rethinking responsibility. Mike Buetow
Upverter Designing Hardware in the Cloud A startup company leveraging online collaborative tools to perform printed circuit design using a web browser and, in doing so, driving what it says is the first real technology transformation since Windows. by Mike Buetow
Thermal Management Direct Thermal Exchange and Its Impact on LED Heat Removal A cutting-edge PCB construction methodology for highly-efficient heat removal or thermal dissipation creates a direct thermal path conduction capability and reduces LED junction temperature far more efficiently when compared to traditional FR-4, metal core or aluminum PCB constructions. by Pratish Patel
High-Speed Backplanes Predictability and Efficient Initial Backplane PCB Fabrication The total signal loss is the combination of the losses by the conductor and dielectric laminate, and a successful design requires understanding SI design and low-loss material properties. by Carl F. Hornig
Moisture Protection Influences on Barrier Performance of UV/EB Cured Polymers. by Joshua M. Oliver and Dale S. Babcock
