UHDI shrinks copper features into the tens of microns, but solder mask tolerance stubbornly refuses to follow along.
Ultra high-density interconnect (UHDI) technology is best known for giving designers new routing freedoms. With new fabrication techniques, trace and space capabilities are dropping from 75µm, microvias are shrinking down to 50µm and capture pads are approaching 25µm and below, all of which is creating more simplified stackups. One important caveat: while copper features scale down, solder mask tolerance constraints do not. It is important for PCB designers to grasp this concept, because if best guidelines are not incorporated, this is where many UHDI yield issues begin.
Three months after the excitement fades, most AI tools sit open in a browser tab while engineers go back to email, ERP and ECOs.
It's 7:45 AM on a Tuesday. Your AI subscription auto-renewed last night – $20 you barely noticed leaving your account. You've had it for three months now. You've used it... twice? Maybe three times?
A flexible printed circuit board, also known as a flex PCB, is an electronic circuit that is built on a flexible substrate, allowing the board to bend, fold or twist during use. Unlike traditional rigid PCBs, flex PCBs are designed to fit into compact, lightweight and dynamically moving electronic products. Flex PCBs are widely used in modern electronics such as smartphones, wearables, medical devices, automotive systems and aerospace applications, where the ability to flex is required and space, weight and reliability are critical.
Written by Chris Parker, Martin Anslem, Ph.D., and Francisco Aguilar
Category: Features
A study shows how high-thermal dielectrics outperform FR-4 for bulk heat spreading, with surface-mount thermal bridges serving as targeted tools for hotspot control.
As power density continues to increase across power electronics, industrial controls, automotive electrification and data center infrastructure, printed circuit boards (PCBs) are increasingly required to function as active thermal management structures rather than passive interconnect platforms. Localized hotspots, rising junction temperatures and constrained form factors are pushing conventional FR-4 substrates beyond their practical thermal limits. In response, PCB designers are adopting a combination of material-level improvements within the PCB stackup and localized heat-spreading solutions. One such approach is the use of surface-mount thermal bridges (SMTBs), passive SMT components designed to conduct heat away from power devices and redistribute it into larger copper regions of the PCB without providing an electrical function.
Copper-filled microvias, controlled aspect ratios and fabrication-aware design are redefining vias.
If you want a front-row seat to the evolution of PCB technology, look no further than vias. While ultra-fine lines tend to capture the spotlight, real transformation is happening in the via structures that connect those lines from layer to layer.
Vias are no longer simple drill-and-plate features. In ultra HDI, they are engineered elements that require the right geometry, material set and process window to work.
How polyimide core technology determines whether electronics survive extreme conditions.
Deciding which processes and materials to adopt for a PCB design depends on the designer’s awareness of the factors that influence those decisions. For example, which regions are targeted for your product? The supply chain cycles for materials are greatly impacted by geography and demographics. What are the limits of environmental conditions (heat and pressure, etc.) the product will be exposed to? Such factors also affect the choice of materials used in PCB manufacturing. Similarly, your awareness about the purpose, the scope and the type of industry that will use the product will also help you choose the right materials and processes for manufacture.
