A7-20 flying probe tester is for large-format backplanes of up to 72 layers and weighing up to 30kg (66lb). Handles boards with more than 100,000 test points. Equipped with 20 test heads, 10 cameras for optical alignment and motion system design with direct linear drive technology for accuracy and speed, with optional 24 test heads and 12 cameras. Horizontal test position allows a single operator to load and unload heavy PCBs. Moveable support table, which can be attached to front of tester, available for loading and unloading. Boards of 1.50 m (60") can be tested at volume levels.

Luther & Maelzer, www.atg-lm.com

Altium Designer 15.1 PCB design software features a wizard for xSignals that helps save time on configuring length-matching rules; the addition of bikini coverlay support for rigid-flex designs for adding support layers to flexible designs that can be viewed in 3D and configured with user-specific materials; 3D PDF output documentation for broad user viewing of a PCB design in 3D from any compatible PDF viewer; and additional design reuse for managing pads and vias as reusable libraries in PCB designs. Users now can define templates for different sized pads and vias in specific groups being used on a board, and no longer have to define pad and via sizes individually.

Altium, www.altium.com

Chronon low-loss, high-speed laminate and prepreg materials are said to mitigate skew issues in high-speed designs with differential pairs. Under testing, maximum skew on a horizontal 14" trace was 5 ps. Maximum skew on a proprietary test vehicle from a large OEM was 1.79 ps. Use same parameters as Tachyon and Tachyon 100G products. Come with reverse treat foil (RTF) and very low profile copper with 2-micrometer surface roughness (Rz) copper foil (VLP-2 foil). Eliminates need to route signals at 5.0- to 7.5-degree angles to the glass weave, which saves board space and reduces overall cost. Dielectric constant (Dk) of 3.64. 

Isola Group, www.isola.com

Meteorwave 3000 and Meteorwave 4000 low loss printed circuit board materials come in prepreg and laminate forms. Meteorwave 3000 has a dissipation factor (Df) of 0.0048 at 10GHz and 50% resin content using open resonator testing methodology. Meteorwave 4000 has a Df of 0.0028 at 10GHz and 50% RC. For high-speed transfers and reduced transmission losses. Are said to withstand multiple high temperature lead-free assembly cycles and are for high-layer-count printed circuit board designs. CAF resistant, high Tg, and low z-axis expansion. Meet UL 94V-0 designation, 130°C MOT Rating and IPC-4101/91 and /102 specifications and are RoHS compliant.

Park Electrochemical, www.parkelectro.com