AUSTIN, TX – The competition is increasing in the OSAT space with Intel and Samsung offering OSAT services for silicon not fabricated in their foundry. TechSearch International examines high-performance packaging offerings from top OSATs and foundries with a score card for the options. This competition may be driven by the shortage in assembly capacity for AI packages used for training and inferencing. With increased capacity coming online for silicon interposers, chip-on-wafer (CoW) assembly, and high bandwidth memory (HBM), the assembly crunch is expected to ease by the end of the year. High Density Fan-Out (HDFO) using redistribution layers (RDL) instead of silicon interposers is emerging as an option.
It has been used for AMD’s machine learning and Apple’s high-end graphics computing station for several years, and automotive companies are exploring its use for future chiplet designs. Intel continues to use its embedded silicon bridge in a laminate substate. TechSearch International’s latest analysis describes AI market trends with a new market projection for training and inferencing packages.
The report analyzes build-up substrate supply and demand, finding no shortage in the overall industry. AI, server CPUs, and network switch packages continue to drive the growth in body size. With pull back in capacity plans and the growth in body sizes, supply and demand will become tight in 2028. Fortunately, the new plants coming online have higher yields. The report also examines the market for flip chip bonders used in fine pitch device assembly.
The electronics industry continues to burn through inventory, but this year’s decline in smartphone and PC shipments made it a difficult year, as reflected in OSAT financials. The outlook is brighter this year. OSAT financials are highlighted in the report.
The semiconductor industry is experiencing renewed attention from governments around the world. The report highlights some of the plans and list various incentives offered by governments globally. A list of U.S. government funded projects and programs, award winners, and activity is provided.
The latest Advanced Packaging Update is a 60-page report with full references and an accompanying set of more than 60 PowerPoint slides.
WASHINGTON – February 7, 2024 – In a letter signed by 54 microelectronics executives, IPC, the global association for electronics manufacturing, and the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA) are calling on Congress to fully fund the Defense Production Act Purchases Account at the House-passed level of $618 million and $1.08 billion for the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program.
These funding sources are crucial to restore American leadership in the strategically vital printed circuit board (PCB) industry. The United States currently produces only four percent of the world’s supply compared to 30 percent at the turn of the century. PCBs are central to all electronics across all industries including defense, healthcare, telecommunications, aviation, and automotive.
The semiconductors funded by the CHIPS and Science Act gain functionality through their placement on PCBs. As chips have increased in sophistication, so too have the PCBs upon which they are placed. U.S. armed forces depend on PCBs found in everything from night vision goggles and drones to avionics and satellites.
“Semiconductor chips are powerful examples of modern innovation, but they require an electronic system to operate,” said John W. Mitchell, IPC president and CEO. “Chips have no functionality until they are packaged and placed on PCBs by electronics manufacturers who assemble systems. IPC and our member companies urge Congress to reinvigorate a domestic PCB industry that is critical to U.S. industrial resiliency, economic competitiveness, and national security.”
“America’s leadership in microelectronics has implications for our national and economic security,” said PCBAA Chairman Travis Kelly, “As they did with the CHIPS Act, Congress must invest in American printed circuit boards.”
For years, experts inside and outside of government have warned that the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) reliance on a long and vulnerable supply chain creates unacceptable risk.
2017: The Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security issued a warning to DOD regarding the health of the PCB industry
2018: The White House recommended that the DOD expand direct investment in the lower tier of the industrial base.
2022: The Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security warned of serious risks because of the lack of PCB manufacturing and recommended investment incentives and funding of Title III of the Defense Production Act.
2023: The House Select Committee on the United States Competition with the Chinese Communist Party recommended financial assistance programs for American PCB manufacturing and research. This was the first of 150 recommendations in their report.
2024: The Department of Defense named microelectronics as a key area of risk for the defense industrial base.
For the full text of the letter, please visit https://emails.ipc.org/links/IPC-IndustryLetter_FY24Appropriations.pdf
PCB East, the electronics industry’s East Coast conference and trade show. Coming June 4-7 to the Boston suburbs. pcbeast.com
AUSTIN, TX – High Density Packaging User Group (HDP) is pleased to announce that Gold Circuit Electronics (GCE) has become a member.
"GCE is a top 25 printed circuit board manufacturer with top Fortune 100 OEM customers in the server, AI, data center, cloud, storage, switch, router, base station, telecom, automotive, industrial and medical markets supply. Our tech range has grown significantly in the last 5+ years to include a large percentage of business in the advanced tech space", said Joseph Beers, Senior Vice President at GCE. “Joining HDPUG is a strategic decision to increase our presence in this community and contribute, learn, and collaborate meaningfully to help our business alignment in the markets and with the customers we serve.”
"I am pleased to welcome GCE to HDP, joining the outstanding companies working on HDP User Group projects. Their expertise and capability in PWB fabrication for high performance electronics, especially those focused on next- generation servers and networking products, will contribute significantly to several of our emerging technology projects", said Larry Marcanti, Executive Director of HDP User Group.
AUSTIN, TX – High Density Packaging User Group (HDP) is pleased to announce that Shikoku Chemicals Corporation (Shikoku) has become a member.
"Shikoku Chemicals has been developing distinctive copper surface treatment chemicals for PWBs and semiconductors by applying our unique organic synthesis technology, like OSP (Organic Solderability Preservative) and new chemical adhesion process between smooth copper and resin focus on the high frequency field. We look forward to working together with HDP members and hope to support cutting-edge technologies from around the world in various fields,” said Kazuhiko Yokoe, General Manager, Fine Chemicals Sale Dept. Sale & Marketing Division.
"I am pleased to welcome Shikoku to HDP, joining the outstanding companies working on HDP User Group projects. Their expertise and capability in surface treatment chemicals for high performance PWBs, especially those focused on next-generation servers and networking products, will contribute significantly to several of our emerging technology projects", said Larry Marcanti, Executive Director of HDP User Group.
INGLESIDE, IL – IDENTCO – a manufacturer of high-performance labeling solutions for the power equipment, electronics, transportation, and general industrial sectors – has renamed its popular stock TTL ® 100 Series. Now called DuraTrack, the label series for printed circuit boards and electronic components provides printed circuit assemblies with comprehensive traceability – an increasingly attractive internal quality control and supply chain transparency feature for brand owners producing high-leverage electronics.
Engineered for use in surface mount technology and throughout the entire assembly process, DuraTrack thermal transfer printable labels can endure harsh fluxes, the latest cleaning chemistries, and high temperatures encountered in today’s circuit board assembly processes on both sides of the board.
The DuraTrack Series of labels is ideally suited to a wide array of electronics components manufacturing environments, including box builds, internal and external vehicle parts (such as in-cabin infotainment systems and outside sensors), and various other computer unit and PCB assembly settings.
Available in 61 sizes, in both high-performance polyimide and polyester, this off-the-shelf product is available for immediate delivery. The DuraTrack Series can also be customized for those customer applications that require an exact fit.
WASHINGTON – As one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and arguably home to Latin America’s most attractive business environment, the Dominican Republic is a leading candidate for nearshored investments in advanced manufacturing activities for the U.S. and regional markets—particularly electronics like printed circuit boards (PCBs) and the assembly, test, and packaging (ATP) of semiconductors—according to a new report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).
Particularly as the U.S. government stimulates semiconductor-sector growth across North America through the CHIPS and Science Act, the Dominican Republic has a unique opportunity to establish a presence for itself in global semiconductor and PCB value chains that are projected to grow 40 percent to become a $1 trillion industry by 2030, the report finds.
“Global production chains in advanced-technology industries are undergoing a dramatic reordering,” said Stephen Ezell, vice president of global innovation policy at ITIF and author of the report. “Between geopolitical tensions with China, the search for lower production-cost environments, a desire to tap into new pools of skilled talent, and to locate production closer to end users, the Dominican Republic offers a stable political economy and one of the most attractive environments for foreign direct investment in the Western hemisphere.”
To start, the Dominican Republic offers a cost-competitive manufacturing environment. For example, the World Bank finds that the hourly labor cost in the Dominican Republic is just six percent of the U.S. rate, approximately half that of Costa Rica or Mexico, and even less than in China. Not to mention, notable global electronic manufacturers such as the Eaton Corporation and Rockwell Automation are housed in the Dominican Republic.
In addition, a key driver of the Dominican Republic’s economic growth is the country’s 87 free zones that underpin advanced manufactured goods production—notably of electronics products. These free zones support 820 companies and employ close to 200,000 workers. The Dominican Republic’s second-largest export (after medical devices) is electronics, accounting for $1.2 billion in 2022. On top of that, the Dominican Republic’s liberalized trade regime permits exporters duty-free access to more than 900 million consumers across 49 countries—made in large part thanks to the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, its Economic Association Agreement with the European Union, and its membership in the initial World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement. The Dominican Republic sits in an enviable geographical position in the Caribbean and offers world-class logistical infrastructure.
Yet despite all the benefits the Dominican Republic offers for increased semiconductor manufacturing, there are some areas where the country lags. If the Dominican Republic is truly to move up the value chain in advanced electronics manufacturing, it will need to educate and field a skilled workforce. Thankfully, the Dominican Republic already possesses a technical education ecosystem and demonstrates the ability to support the workforce of a high-tech electronics manufacturing industry.
The report concludes with several policy recommendations to help advance the Dominican Republic’s ambition to compete in semiconductor and PCB value chains:
The Dominican Republic should be considered a leading candidate as a designated recipient of funding from the U.S. Department of State’s International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund.
The government of the Dominican Republic should develop an explicit semiconductor value proposition and broader competitiveness strategy, which addresses topics such as expanding the pool of scientists and engineers, how the government can better support applied industrial R&D activity, and how it can further improve regulatory, tax, customs, and incentive programs to attract globally mobile investment in the sector.
The Dominican Republic should launch an awareness campaign reaching out to global investors in advanced electronics industries highlighting the country’s free zones and tax policies.
The Dominican Republic should help address the global semiconductor workforce gap by expanding the availability of degree programs in electrical engineering, computer science, and related courses, including in collaboration with leading U.S. universities in these fields.
The Dominican Republic needs to increase the number of individuals holding IPC 610 certifications.
The Dominican Republic could consider the use of investment incentives to attract semiconductor industry manufacturing activity.
The Dominican Republic should set up a “one-stop-shop” to facilitate the regulatory clearance of all permits and approvals, such as environmental review permits, that would be required to launch a semiconductor ATP or PCB facility in the country.
The Dominican Republic should join the expanded Information Technology Agreement (ITA-2) and join discussions toward promulgating an ITA-3.
The Dominican Republic should champion robust digital trade regulations. For example, one way to do so would be by joining the WTO’s Joint Initiative on E-commerce.
Brazil and Ecuador have entered into bilateral protocols relating to trade rules and transparency with the United States. The Dominican Republic should explore the possibility of entering into an exchange of views for a similar protocol with the United States.
“As leading semiconductor manufacturers evaluate where to situate a multi-billion dollar fab or ATP investments, they may consider as many as 500 discrete factors, ranging from countries and states’ talent; tax, trade, and technology policies; labor rates; laws; custom policies; and more”, said Ezell. “Since the ease and certainty of doing business in a country matters greatly, the Dominican Republic is well poised. But, there’s still work to do.”
