Ed.: This is a special feature courtesy of Binghamton University.
Smallest on-chip optical modulator has switching speed up to 11Gb/s. University of Rochester researchers have created the world’s smallest modulator for photonic integrated circuits, augmenting communications, computing, and photonics research. The device consists of a thin film of lithium niobate (LN) bonded on a silicon dioxide layer to create a modulator that, besides being small, operates at high speed and is energy-efficient. The modulator occupies an electro-optical modal volume of 0.58µm3 and has a modulation bandwidth of 17.5GHz, switching speeds of up to 11Gb/s and a tuning efficiency of up to 1.98GHz/V. Applications include communications, computing, and quantum photonic information processing. (IEEC file #11886, Laser Focus World, 8/27/20)
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My business contact list has more than 2500 names. Most of these contacts are affiliated with the printed circuit or electronic material industries. The DKN biweekly newsletter is distributed to every contact in my electronic address book. I do receive a few bounce-back emails with the default message “address not found.” People do leave change jobs and leave their current company for greener pastures (hopefully). Some readers from the distribution list will email us their forwarding contact information. The number of these requests has significantly increased during the coronavirus pandemic.
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The Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA) released the PCB shipments report for the month of August.
The Taiwanese PCB industry can be considered the barometer for global consumer electronics. Shipments during August declined, but let’s take a closer look at the data.
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A marginally larger package would cut design times and improve PCB yields and performance.
Most electronics engineers know there is no 1.1mm BGA or CGA package. Because we are forced to use a 1mm pitch package, we live with tradeoffs. A slight increase in the pitch size, however, could satisfy the needs for today’s high I/O pin count designs.
This conclusion comes from my observations of building Class 3 and aerospace 1mm pitch products, and the challenges, setbacks, redesigns, returned product, and field failures we all endure.
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Here we are, nine months into 2020, with little insight as to how the rest of the year will turn out for printed circuit fabricators. When was the last time that occurred? Perhaps more than a decade ago? The 5G implementation drove revenue gains at the best-performing PCB fabricators last year and are providing a foundation for 2020 as well. Automotive, on the other hand, is sputtering, as car sales have crashed with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Who could have seen any of this when the book closed on 2019?
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