SCHRAMBERG, GERMANY – To achieve a CO2-neutral world and an All-Electric Society, where electricity is the primary energy source, innovations like high power densities, reduced losses and system cost advantages are essential. However, the All-Electric Society also requires innovation and collaboration among companies working in these very technology areas to achieve a sustainable transition to energy efficiency. Two traditional companies in the microelectronics ecosystem are now forming a strategic partnership in the field of power embedding. The common goal – a proven increase in efficiency – will be achieved with the p² Pack® embedding technology and its possible applications. This will create added value for the industrial and automotive markets and thus for climate protection and our society.
The power embedding partnership for Schweizer Electronic AG’s p² Pack® technology is a design-in collaboration that operates at multiple levels, from design support to system provider. The cooperation will enable a wider range of customers to gain access to power embedding technology. Zollner will provide customers with the support they need to move from traditional designs to embedding design in their products to maximize the technology’s benefits. The partnership will also enable Zollner to integrate the technology directly into its own applications. This partnership is a significant growth opportunity for both companies, fostering the development of new applications and expanding their customer base.
Schweizer Electronic AG’s p² Pack® is a power embedding technology that integrates SiC chips directly into printed circuit boards. All applications requiring high power switching can benefit from the advantages of this technology. The most important applications are in the conversion between DC and AC systems. These systems are increasingly confronted with higher power requirements and with expectations for high energy efficiency, maximum reliability and long service life. Schweizer Electronic AG has already been able to demonstrate the superior performance, advantages, and savings that this technology brings to the market in recent years: the patented cutting-edge technology contains both extensive development experience and technological depth, which is already being used in series production by major Tier-1 companies in Europe.
Nicolas-Fabian Schweizer, CEO of Schweizer Electronic AG, is looking forward to the future partnership and collaboration: “Zollner will benefit from our expertise in complex PCB and chip embedding while we will gain from their extensive application knowledge as a leading European EMS service provider. This synergy is a powerful multiplier for both companies and creates the best conditions for innovation! Both family owned, based in Southern Germany and highly specialized, this partnership is a natural fit!” Nicolas Schweizer is the 6th generation to lead the family business of the same name, which is headquartered in Schramberg and has five locations worldwide. SCHWEIZER is one of Europe’s largest suppliers of printed circuit boards and embedding technologies, with a portfolio that includes RF & sensor technology, logic circuits and various technologies for power electronics technologies, including p² Pack.
Ludwig Zollner, CEO of Zollner Elektronik AG, is optimistic about the future collaboration: “We see SCHWEIZER as a partner with whom we can offer our European customers a first-class service. Power embedding is an important topic for the future and we are convinced that we will be able to use the synergy effects resulting from the cooperation to offer our customers added value. We look forward to working together and using the innovative power embedding technology to implement challenging projects!”
SANTA CLARA, CA – LQDX, developer of high-performance materials and process IP for advanced semiconductor manufacturing, today announced that it has signed a multi-year sales and licensing agreement with Kansai Denshi Industries (KDI), enabling manufacturing support for next generation IC-substrates in semiconductor packaging and advanced printed circuit boards.
Under the terms of the transaction, LQDX will supply its Liquid Metal Ink (LMIx®) chemistries and Aluminum Clad Laminate (ACL®) products via its partnership with Toyal-Alconix, as well as a process license for Ultra High-Density Interconnect technology to support the rapidly growing demand in the Japan-Asia market. LQDX's technology enables Kansai Denshi, who has been producing 30-micron trace/space circuits, to leapfrog, via development, to 5-micron trace/space products today with a path to 2-micron trace/space by 2025.
"We are delighted to complete this deal with Kansai Denshi, and to support it through our partnerships with Toyal and Alconix," said Simon McElrea, LQDX CEO. "Japan is a critical global hub for the Heterogeneous Integration market infection, and we have been building our supply chain eco-system partnerships in-region with key material, equipment and manufacturing leaders. We look forward to supporting the Asian market with advanced interconnect prototyping and manufacturing in the second half of this year."
Zazunori Miyabe, Board Director of KDI inc. stated, "For a long time, Kansai Denshi Industries has specialized in developing and acquiring the latest technologies to provide our customers with the most advanced circuit designs and manufacturing solutions. By adding LQDX's Liquid Metal Ink (LMIx®) technology to our portfolio, we are now able to provide the most advanced IC-substrates and printed circuit boards for the highest performing applications."
ANAHEIM, CA – Summit Interconnect, a leading provider of advanced PCB manufacturing, today announced that David Lane recently joined the company as General Manager and Vice President. In this position, he oversees all aspects of operations within Summit’s Denver-based facility, Advanced Assembly.
Lane is an industry veteran with over 25 years of hands-on experience in operations and management. He joins Summit Interconnect after serving as the Director of Global Key Accounts at Universal Instruments Corporation, where he played a pivotal role in driving business growth and enhancing customer relationships. Before that, he held key executive positions at Creation Technologies, NEO Technology Solutions (OnCore Manufacturing, LLC.), DDi (Dynamic Details, Inc), McData Corporation, and Compaq Computers.
“We are thrilled to welcome David Lane to Summit Interconnect as the new General Manager of our assembly division,” said Sean Patterson, COO of Summit Interconnect. “David’s extensive experience and proven leadership will be invaluable assets as we expand our capabilities and continue delivering superior products and services to our customers.”
Throughout his career, David has demonstrated exceptional skills in operations management, business strategy, customer relationship management (CRM), and team leadership. He has a long history of building and leading technical organizations, manufacturing operations teams, and cross-functional teams focused on delivering innovative solutions and driving continuous improvement initiatives.
“I am excited to join Summit Interconnect and lead the assembly team,” said David Lane. “I look forward to collaborating with the talented individuals at Summit Interconnect and leveraging our collective expertise to drive innovation, exceed customer expectations, and achieve operational excellence.”
Lane holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University.
Advanced Assembly, a Summit Interconnect company, will change its name to Summit Interconnect Assembly later this year.
GENT, BELGIUM – Ucamco, a pioneering force in CAM and Pre-CAM software solutions, proudly announces that a global leader has implemented Ucamco’s groundbreaking Jayda software in its new web shop. This strategic collaboration represents a significant leap forward in redefining the landscape of online PCB procurement, leveraging Jayda's capabilities to streamline and revolutionize the industry.
What is Jayda?
Ucamco’s Jayda is a highly responsive and ultra-fast data input and analysis sales tool designed to empower online web portals and quotation engines. Leveraging state-of-the-art technology, Jayda communicates seamlessly with web servers, extracting key PCB characteristics from visitor archives and safely storing them for accurate price calculation. Its progressive result gathering feature ensures a smooth user experience, eliminating endless back-and-forth communications with customers. Jayda's best-in-class stack-up engine offers unsurpassed first-pass hit rates at record speed, empowering businesses to deliver timely and precise quotations, thus achieving a significantly higher quote-to-order conversion.
Huge benefits
Integrated into the web shop of this global leader, Jayda enhances the user experience by providing instant quotes. With over 25 years of experience in the electronic industry, our customer understands the importance of efficiency and quality in PCB procurement. Jayda’s automatic Gerber data extractor represents a significant improvement over previous systems, meeting customer demands and simplifying the ordering process, getting users their quotes in less than 5 minutes.
SAN MATEO, CA – San Francisco Circuits has released a new in-depth article on PCB Line Spacing for high voltage applications.
PCB line spacing is critical for both safety and function in high voltage circuitry. Traces, which are conductive connections between different components on a PCB, must adhere to specific spacing standards to prevent electrical shorts and maintain circuit integrity.
Proper line spacing can prevent issues like arcing by following established safety standards. Additionally, clearance and creepage distances are crucial to avoid electrical faults in high voltage circuits.
As technology advances, so do the standards and tools available for PCB design. Accurate line spacing is crucial, especially in complex designs used in medical devices, industrial equipment, and power electronics.
CAMBRIDGE, UK – The conductive inks market will grow to exceed US$6.5 billion by 2034 but remains a highly segmented industry, underpinning both photovoltaics and the emerging field of printed electronics. Taking stock of the different outlooks for the myriad of conductive ink types and the various application areas is a complex task. IDTechEx has tackled this problem by assessing the market for different conductive ink types across 15 application areas and providing granular ten-year market forecasts.
IDTechEx has covered the printed electronics and conductive inks market for over ten years, independently assessing technological and commercial progress within the industry. IDTechEx has published a new report, “Conductive Inks Market 2024-2034: Technologies, Applications, Players”, which includes granular 10-year market forecasts, is based on profiles of 30+ key players, and leverages extensive in-depth coverage of many end-use markets for conductive inks.
Conductive inks are a platform technology that facilitate a very broad range of applications, spanning from the established (photovoltaics) to the emerging (smart packaging). As printed/flexible/hybrid electronics gain traction, opportunities will be created for differentiated conductive inks to meet the needs of emerging applications such as in-mold electronics and wearable technologies. There are many different types of conductive ink, each spanning a different range of parameters, including conductivity, printing yield, and curing time. In this article, IDTechEx gives an overview of some considerations taken when assessing ink technologies and key application areas.
Ink technology
The conductive ink technologies in IDTechEx’s report are segmented into the major categories used to market the inks while minimizing duplication where possible. Flake-based silver is today's dominant conductive ink material, estimated to comprise around 97% of the market by weight. It is primarily produced in substantial volumes by large companies such as Henkel, DuPont, and Sun Chemical. Therefore, while it is arguably not an ‘emerging technology’ itself, the emergence of high-volume applications for printed/flexible electronics, such as smart packaging or electronic skin patches, is expected to drive an increase in sales. Nanoparticle-based inks are generally produced by smaller suppliers, with the key selling point being higher conductivity. However, substantial displacement of conventional flake-based inks for most applications is yet to be seen. Particle-free conductive inks are produced by a range of early-stage companies and offer distinct benefits for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and printed antennas.
Moving beyond silver, copper inks have long been desirable due to the far lower raw material price, and after years of unsuccessfully battling the challenges of oxidation during sintering, they are finally gaining some commercial traction. Carbon-based inks fall into two categories: those based on low-cost commoditized carbon (typically carbon black) and those based on more expensive conductive/semi-conducting nanocarbons such as graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Stretchable and/or thermoformable conductive inks can be produced using multiple formulations, with flake-based inks with an elastomeric binder the most common. This class of conductive inks is likely to grow rapidly with the adoption of wearable electronics/e-textiles and in-mold electronics (IME). Moving further down the list of ink types also includes silver nanowires and conductive polymers – both suited to particular applications.
Key applications
Conductive inks are arguably the premier platform technology for printed/flexible electronics, utilized in all types of devices and components. As such, these materials have a large and diverse application space, ranging from photovoltaic panels to electronic skin patches and from transparent antennas to pressure sensors. IDTechEx aims to bring structure to this complex application space by segmenting the market into three distinct categories. Circuit manufacturing accounts for conductive inks being used to connect components, with the required properties determined by the manufacturing methodology rather than the device's functionality. Conductive inks may also be used to enable a specific type of sensing, which determines the required properties. Furthermore, conductive inks are used to provide non-sensing functionality beyond simply connecting components.
The current status of the conductive ink market is dominated by the use of silver flake-based ink as a charge collector in photovoltaics. However, an increase in efficiency and transition to the next iteration of solar cell technology will lead to an extremely modest growth in demand for silver flake-based ink in photovoltaics over the coming decade. Indeed, the vast majority of the growth in demand for this dominant ink type will come from emerging opportunities in applications such as 3D electronics, printed heaters, RFID, and smart packaging.
The largest growth opportunity for conductive inks will be in non-silver inks, with market revenue forecast to grow with a CAGR of 24% by IDTechEx. Stretchable/thermoformable inks and copper inks will seize the largest share of this expanding market, driven by applications such as in-mold electronics and wearable electronics. As for silver flake-based inks, RFID and smart packaging is also set to be a key application area when assessing growth over the next ten years.
For more details on the conductive inks market, including segmentations by application area, see the new IDTechEx report, “Conductive Inks Market 2024-2034: Technologies, Applications, Players”. To find out more, including downloadable sample pages, please see www.IDTechEx.com/Ink
