Features

What PCB designers need to know to bring AI hardware to the device level.

A few buzzwords dominated headlines in 2020, many centered around Covid-19 and politics. Those who follow trends in technology probably noticed one area saw an explosion of growth: artificial intelligence. Unfortunately for the hardware developer, the tech world’s interest always seems to be drawn to the software side of AI.

The software industry has quickly embraced AI to the point where many software-driven services incorporate some element of AI to provide a meaningful user experience. As of the first quarter of 2021, it’s getting difficult to find a SaaS platform that doesn’t use AI for some specialized task. SaaS-ification is fine, and it’s creating a wealth of productivity tools that businesses can mix and match to make their processes more intelligent. And there are the big players like Facebook, whose AI models run quietly in the background, determining which advertisements and inflammatory memes you’re most likely to click.

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2:46 p.m. March 11, 2011. It is an unforgettable time for me. The historically strongest earthquake followed by the largest tsunami has attacked eastern Japan. Over 23,000 people killed or missing from the disaster.

Over half million residents required to evacuate from the area. Four nuclear power plants in Fukushima Prefecture destroyed by the attack, and remarkable amounts of radioactive fallouts sprinkled in the area.

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Essential for mmWave applications, phase accuracy is affected by a host of variables.

Applications for millimeter-wave (mmWave) circuits are growing rapidly, from collision-avoidance radar systems in autonomous vehicles to high-data-rate fifth generation (g5G) new radio (NR) cellular wireless networks. Many such applications are driving higher frequencies, above 24GHz, where wavelengths are smaller and the smallest attention to circuit design and fabrication can make the biggest differences in electronic product performance. Understanding the differences between PCBs at mmWave frequencies and lower frequencies can help avoid circuit manufacturing mishaps for many applications that are soon to require millions of double-sided and multilayer PCBs at those higher frequencies.

RF PCB Technologies Overview

Compared to lower frequency circuits, high-frequency RF/microwave circuits are sensitive to circuit materials and fabrication processes. Whereas some electrical circuit functions such as power lines and digital control may be well-supported with low-cost FR-4 circuit materials, RF, microwave and mmWave circuits require much higher performance circuit materials to minimize signal losses and distortion. Many multilayer mixed-signal PCBs with many different electrical functions are a blend of different types of circuit substrate materials, with materials selected according to behavior best suited for the types of circuit functions fabricated on that layer.

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The new data transfer format provides comprehensive support for embedded components.

Board designers today must provide fabricators files beyond those containing the design data in order to describe what is needed for embedded components. It’s a nonstandard process, different for each designer-fabricator relationship, so every fabricator must contend with multiple, disparate, nonintelligent formats and communications. Sometimes the additional files get out of sync with the design data, thus requiring phone calls or more revisions of the files to sync up what is intended. This is a slow, manual and error-prone process, which is still used even with other intelligent data transfer formats.

An additional challenge is that while some ECAD tools may now support state-of-the-art embedded components – e.g., face-up (flipped), pins on both top and bottom, formed (etched, printed) – the handoff to manufacturing formats has not evolved to support them at the same pace.

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One year in, Covid-19 has shifted priorities in the industry – or has it?

One year in, has Covid-19 shifted priorities in the industry? To find out, CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY reached out in January to experts for insights on how the pandemic has impacted everything from inside the factory to the business decisions we make. Then, for good measure, we asked how the semiconductor industry might change in the wake of Intel’s proposed sale of some manufacturing assets, a move that could have lasting impacts on the IC. We spoke with a range of leaders covering various segments of the electronics manufacturing supply chain. Their responses, lightly edited for clarity and length, follow. After reading their thoughts, share your own on our LinkedIn page (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/2847418).

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Updates in silicon and electronics technology.

Ed.: This is a special feature courtesy of Binghamton University.

Breakthrough quantum-dot transistors create a flexible alternative to conventional electronics. Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have created fundamental electronic building blocks out of tiny structures known as quantum dots and used them to assemble functional logic circuits. This development provides a low-cost and manufacturing-friendly approach to complex electronic devices. The building blocks can be fabricated in a laboratory with simple, solution-based techniques, and provide these components for a host of innovative devices. Potential applications of the new approach to electronic devices based on non-toxic quantum dots include printable circuits, flexible displays, lab-on-a-chip, wearable devices, medical testing, smart implants, and biometrics. (IEEC file #11971, Science Daily, 10/29/20)

This flexible and rechargeable battery is 10 times more powerful than state-of-the-art. University of California researchers working with ZPower have developed a flexible, rechargeable silver oxide-zinc battery that provides five to 10 times greater energy density than current state-of-the-art. The battery also is easier to manufacture, as it can be screen-printed in normal lab conditions. The areal capacity for this innovative battery is 50ma/cm2 at room temperature, which is 10 to 20 times greater than the areal capacity of a typical lithium-ion battery. The device can be used in flexible, stretchable electronics for wearables as well as soft robotics. (IEEC file #12027, Science Daily, 12/7/20)

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