CHANDLER, AZ — Isola Group, one of the world’s leading developers and suppliers of copper-clad laminates and prepreg materials for printed circuit boards (PCBs), will be inviting visitors to the 2023 IPC APEX EXPO to learn more about its low-loss circuit materials. Isola’s material experts will offer guidance on its latest halogen-free TerraGreen® 400G series of circuit materials for halogen-free PCBs. The 2023 APEX EXPO Conference & Exhibition is scheduled for January 24-26, 2023 in the San Diego Convention Center (San Diego, CA) with additional 2023 APEX EXPO meetings set for January 21-26, 2023 in the same locale.
Visitors to Booth 127 of the 2023 IPC APEX EXPO can learn more about designing and manufacturing high-frequency RF/microwave and high-speed digital circuits in excess of 100 Gb/s using environmentally sound, halogen-free TerraGreen® series of circuit material solutions, including TerraGreen® 400G, TerraGreen® 400GE, and TerraGreen® 400G2 circuit materials. The circuit materials represent low-loss advancements of the company’s popular TerraGreen® and high-frequency TerraGreen® (RF/MW) halogen-free materials. All are RoHS-compliant for use with lead-free circuit manufacturing processes and compatible with FR-4 circuit material manufacturing processes for creation of cost-effective, hybrid, multilayer circuits. The three new materials are characterized by glass transition temperature (T g ) of +200°C and decomposition temperature (T d ) of +380°C.
Sean Mirshafiei, Isola Group’s Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, notes: “We are very excited to offer the PCB industry our three new products that were created with a unique halogen-free resin system that has outstanding CAF and bond line resistance.” He added: “TerraGreen® 400G2 is our most advanced High Speed Digital product. We use ultra smooth copper foil and ultra low Dk glass fabric that are combined with this novel resin system for optimal performance for the next generation of high-end network and communication systems.”
The three halogen-free circuit materials feature permittivity (Dk) that is stable with temperature from -55 to +125°C and across wide frequency ranges with extremely low loss tangents (Df), enabling designers to produce halogen-free circuits with materials with even less loss than the company’s highly regarded Tachyon® 100G circuit materials (see figure) at 28 GHz.
For example, TerraGreen® 400G exhibits typical Dk of 3.1 at 5, 10, and 20 GHz with typical loss tangent of 0.0018 at the same three evaluation frequencies. TerraGreen® 400GE halogen-free circuit laminates offer higher Dk of 3.4 at 10 and 20 GHz with slightly greater loss, with typical Df of 0.0026 at 10 and 20 GHz. The lowest-loss material of the halogen- free trio, TerraGreen® 400G2, features typical Dk of 3.1 at 5, 10, and 20 GHz with typical Df of 0.0015 at the same three evaluation frequencies.
The halogen-free laminates are available in standard thicknesses of 2 to 18 mil (0.05 to 0.46 mm) with ultra-smooth HVLP and HVLP3 copper foils and choice of 1/3, ½, 1 oz. copper weights (12, 18, and 35 μm). The laminates feature low moisture absorption and support manufacturing processes with multiple lamination cycles while meeting 94 V-0 requirements. The RoHS-compliant circuit materials are ideal for 5G infrastructure, high-speed data centers, and wired and wireless communications equipment. For more information about any of the TerraGreen® 400G, 400GE, or 400G2 circuit materials, please visit the Isola website at www.isola-group.com
PLANO, TX — Siemens Digital Industries Software today announced that Chipletz, an innovative fabless substrate startup, has selected Siemens as its strategic electronic design automation (EDA) provider for the development of its groundbreaking Smart Substrate™ products.
After an extensive technical evaluation of available solutions, Chipletz selected a suite of Siemens’ industry-leading EDA tools for the design and verification of its Smart Substrate technology, which facilitates the heterogeneous integration of multiple ICs in a single package for critical artificial intelligence workloads, immersive consumer experiences, and high-performance computing.
“The Chipletz vision is to revolutionize semiconductor in-package functionality through the development of advanced packaging technology that bridges the gap between the slowing of Moore's Law and the rising demand for compute performance,” said Bryan Black chief executive officer of Chipletz. “Our Smart Substrate designs, now in development, are very demanding. Siemens has demonstrated that they have the ideal technology for our needs.”
To design and verify the heterogeneous integration of multiple ICs into a Smart Substrate based package, Chipletz selected Siemens’ Xpedition™ Substrate Integrator software, Xpedition™ Package Designer software, Hyperlynx™ software and Calibre® 3DSTACK software solutions.
“Siemens is honored to be selected by Chipletz as a primary semiconductor packaging design and verification supplier,” said AJ Incorvaia, senior vice president of Electronic Board Systems at Siemens Digital Industries Software. “The Chipletz Smart Substrate technology offers Chipletz customers a robust path to bring multiple ICs, even from different vendors, into a wide range of system-in-package configurations using Siemens’ design tools to deliver a high-performing and cost-effective end-product.”
PLANO, TX ― Super PCB, a single source for high quality printed circuit boards (PCBs), is pleased to announce the company’s 20th anniversary. Since 2003, Super PCB has been providing the best value in the PCB industry by offering competitive pricing at the highest quality and best-in-class customer support.
“We are so proud to have served this industry for 20 years,” said Jessica Zhang. “In these 20 years, we have established long term relationships with our customers and have witnessed many of them grow and succeed. We feel so blessed to be a part of it! Their success is our success. They rely on our quality and on time delivery. The industry has changed a great deal in the last 20 years. We will continue to keep up with the technology and continue to improve our offerings.”
The team at Super PCB’s mission has been and remains to be the only PCB source that its customers ever need. The company serves the telecom and Wireless, Transportation, Industrial, Medical, Lighting, Consumer Electronics, Energy and IOT industries.
Finding a good PCB source can be a daunting task, especially when you go overseas. The Super PCB team’s expertise helps you find the best match for your PCB needs. Quality control is the toughest task when you outsource your manufacturing. Super PCB finds the best price while keeping the highest quality standard. The company offers high mix-low volume, low mix- high volume and is proud to offer 24-hour turns on request.
The company offers USA manufacturing to support fast-turn and ITAR requirements, as well as overseas manufacturing facilities to support you prototype and mass production to lower costs. Super PCB’s manufacturing facilities are ISO 9001 certified and UL listed. Super PCB’s state-of- art equipment and technology ensures the highest quality and efficiency.
For more information about Super PCB, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , call (214) 550-9837 or visit www.superpcb.com
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The SMTA has announced the accepted speakers for the Wafer-Level Packaging Symposium (WLPS). The symposium will be held February 14-16, 2023 at the Marriott Fremont Silicon Valley in Fremont, California.
Packaging technology expert John Lau, Ph. D., will kick off the program Tuesday afternoon with a Professional Development Course on February 14, 2023. The lecture course is titled, “Advanced Packaging: Fan-out, Chiplet, and Heterogeneous Integration”.
The Technical Program consists of over 20 presentations addressing wafer-level packaging (WLP), 3D packaging, and advanced manufacturing and test technologies. The program will conclude with a “Wafer-Level versus Panel Level” panel discussion moderated by Jan Vardaman. View the full program here.
Registration for WLPS is now available online. Discounted rates are available for conference registration made on or before Wednesday, January 25, 2023. All presentations along with the PDC are included in standard registration this year. Visit https://smta.org/wafer for more information. If there are any questions, please call +1-952-920-7682 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
PASADENA, CA — For the first time in several quarters, the electronic components value chain is getting some pricing and lead time relief, as the new Supplyframe Commodity IQ insights reveal. Bloated inventories have led to plummeting memory device lead times and pricing, and the equalization of lead times and pricing for some passive components. This shift has occurred amid slowing demand in many end markets as central banks continue to raise interest rates to curb inflation and economies worldwide teeter on the edge of recession. But Commodity IQ data indicates that automotive and other sectors that rely on mature process nodes will be plagued by elevated prices and lead times through most of 2023.
“Component availability is improving and prices are stabilizing across many categories, especially in the area of passive components,” said Supplyframe CEO and founder Steve Flagg. “But we continue to see significant challenges related to other components and raw materials. And the economy, energy costs, and escalating geopolitical instability have dampened user demand and sourcing activity and cast a cloud of uncertainty over the electronics value chain outlook.”
Uneven, but now significant, component supply chain improvements continue
The Commodity IQ forecast for H1 2023 indicates that only 27% of semiconductor pricing across all major commodities will increase, compared with 76% in H1 2022.
From Q1 through Q3 2023, less than 20% of semiconductor pricing will rise, and just over three-quarters of semiconductor pricing will stabilize. Nearly 30% of semiconductor and passive component pricing dimensions will decrease in H1 2023, according to Commodity IQ.
While long lead times will persist into 2023 for components like microcontrollers and analog ICs, according to Commodity IQ data, 23% of all component lead time dimensions in Q1 2023 will decline. For Q3 2023, Commodity IQ data indicates half of lead times will stabilize, with just 3% of dimensions increasing.
End-market demand has softened, and component sourcing activity has taken a hit
Recessionary fears, central banks’ monetary policy actions intended to thwart inflation, and China’s souring economy are all impacting downstream demand for electronic components across multiple industry segments. In early May, Supplyframe’s predictive intelligence identified the sharp downturn in consumer device demand downturn that we are experiencing today, as well as the softening in the enterprise data center arena. These insights helped Commodity IQ users proactively adjust their sourcing strategies and inventory levels accordingly.
The Commodity IQ Demand Index shows global component sourcing activity was down nearly 22% in November 2022 versus November 2021, due in part to easing lead times for constrained components and less spot buying. Global component sourcing activity was down 7.4% from October through November this year. After peaking in March with commodities like microcontrollers at over three times the Commodity IQ Demand Index baseline, November 2022 found 40% of the top passive and active component commodities below the baseline.
Activity for the top 30 component types in November shrunk month-on-month by an average of 12%. Year-on-year growth in November was positive for most passive devices and negative for most semiconductors, with programmable logic devices leading the declines at 34.8%.
The Americas region saw the largest decline (15%) in sourcing activities in November. This was driven by a 16.1% downturn in the U.S. sourcing activity for Asia-Pacific and Europe ebbed by 3.1% and 5.8%, respectively. But all regions experienced decreases in sourcing in November.
Examples of volatility, uncertainty, strife, challenge, and change are everywhere
This is all happening amid an environment in which global output contraction (real GDP) is projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at 3.2% (annual change) in 2022 versus 6% in 2021. And more than a third of the worldwide economy is poised to contract in 2022 or 2023.
Meanwhile, oil and natural gas price volatility, coupled with soaring energy costs overall – especially in Europe, have added to production and logistics woes across industries. That includes, but is not limited to, raw metals and resins used throughout the electronics value chain. Heightened energy costs impact end markets, muting electronic component demand.
Recurring COVID-19 outbreaks and related containment protocols, climate change, and a global shortage of electrical engineering talent are also among the myriad disruptions adding to the macroeconomic, interconnected impacts of the complex electronics supply chain.
The U.S. restricting shipments to China of graphics processors and AI accelerators used in high-performance computing, and the sweeping U.S. export controls supported by other nations that effectively prohibit China’s chipmakers from procuring semiconductor production equipment required to move to smaller IC geometries will no doubt further disrupt supply chains and add to the uncertainty. Additionally, Beijing is challenging the U.S. and other nations’ supporting the chip restrictions by bringing suit via the World Trade Organization (WTO) while reportedly crafting a 1 trillion yuan ($143 billion) plan to counteract the restrictions for its semiconductor sector, further adding to the market anxiety.
“The world has become an increasingly unpredictable place,” said Richard Barnett, chief marketing officer and SaaS sales leader at Supplyframe. “That elevates the need for businesses to use the power of intelligence to best position their companies and products for resilience and success. Supplyframe Commodity IQ is a transformed approach to electronics supply chain information that provides unique, predictive, and prescriptive intelligence for electronic components, systems, and associated commodities based on operational analytics. This always-on SaaS solution from Supplyframe pairs expert analysis and context with global electronics design, demand, pricing, lead time, and inventory indices to help companies connect the dots.”
