The High Density Packaging User Group drives innovation through active partnerships.

For more than 30 years, the High Density Packaging User Group has facilitated innovations in the electronics industry supply chain, encouraging collaboration to solve some of the industry’s critical problems.

We sat down with HDP project facilitator Karl Sauter during PCB West 2024 to learn more about the group and some of its ongoing and completed projects.

Sauter said the group’s primary focus is to permit companies to collaborate on large joint research projects that would otherwise be too costly or require too many resources for a single company to conduct independently.

Many large OEMs are not as vertically integrated as they once were, so conducting a research project that goes up and down the supply chain often requires working with multiple companies along each step, he added.

One recently completed project led by Intel involved eight laminate manufacturers who supplied samples of their materials as part of the study, and also looked at the effects of different materials, copper routing densities and manufacturing processes on coplanarity to minimize dielectric variation under large BGAs.

One recent HDP User Group project examined various impacts on coplanarity to minimize variation under large BGAs.

Other ongoing projects include looks at improved copper surface roughness modeling, defects and anomalies in backdrilled vias, improving microvia reliability, low-loss materials and copper foils, as well as improving SIR test methods.

The results of projects are shared among members, but HDP periodically publishes its findings in academic papers, with the aforementioned project led by Intel winning IPC Apex’s Best Paper Award in March.

Other recently completed projects include a non-contact foil profile project that brought together ten copper foil manufacturers and three laser microscope manufacturers to complete statistically significant testing with the goal of improving measurement standards and ultra-low profile foil classifications. This work included a thermal analysis methodology evaluation that highlighted the need for a better understanding of test methods and identifying potential improvements for analyzing next-generation PCB materials.

Some of the group’s ongoing projects are examining the measurement of copper surface thickness and examining the coefficient of thermal expansion and how temperature affects expansion across the X and Y axes, Sauter said.

A Fine-Tuned Process

With its decades of experience in the field, HDP has fine-tuned its process for defining projects and seeing them through to completion. Each project starts in the idea phase, in which members and nonmembers can voice their proposals to determine if there is sufficient interest.

If interest is sufficient, the project moves to the definition phase, in which HDP gathers as much information as possible from members and across the industry to develop a project plan, choose a project leader, finalize its scope and timeline and secure resources, and under the implementation phase, the project is conducted by HDP members.

This approach allows participation of all HDP members who may be interested, and it ensures members are not committing resources to a nonviable project, Sauter said.

Research always has some risks, and HDP works to make sure that at every point a project can be stopped or discontinued as early as possible if warranted. Then as more resources get committed to a project, HDP has already worked to maximize the chances of success, he said.

HDP currently has 50 members, including large OEMs, material suppliers and test facilities, and having a mix of companies that specialize in different areas is important to ensure research stays up to date and a broad set of resources is available.

“You don’t have to be a major OEM to be a member,” he said. “You can be a supplier, you can be a test facility, and you will get visibility from participating in the projects.”

HDP company membership has benefits, with members being able to share costs that they would incur while conducting research on their own, whether it’s adding new equipment or technology. And project team members also determine which final results of a project are only shared among members, Sauter said.

“We don’t publicly share all the results,” he said.

With HDP Board of Directors approval, HDP project members may decide to at least let the industry know that there’s a better way. HDP may not share all the details, but it can be in the interest of HDP membership to let the industry know that there’s a better way.

Sauter said HDP continues to look for potential new members as technology advances into new territories, and as the industry landscape changes through consolidations and mergers.

“We’re open for new members and we do have areas of technology that we’re looking to work toward,” he said.

He said the industry continues to see growing interest in HDI and ultra-HDI, and the group has a large enough presence that some members encourage their suppliers to join and add to the effort of tackling some of the challenges they are seeing.

Other areas of interest among members include new substrate materials and packaging innovations, Sauter said. While there may not be active projects in those areas, HDP member companies are encouraging new members and new research directions.

“If something is not currently covered and a company wants good research done where collaboration would be cost-effective, that company can join so that good research can be done.” he said. “The HDP value-add is to improve their member companies’ ability to serve their customers in the electronics industry.”

Tyler Hanes is managing editor of PCD&F/CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..