FLORENCE, KY– Ticona Engineering Polymers plans to break ground on a Vectra liquid crystal polymer (LCP) production facility at the Celanese integrated chemical complex in Nanjing, China, next year. This will be Ticona’s fourth unit within the complex. In addition to manufacturing, it will also provide technical and commercial resources focusing on customer application development. The plant will produce highly crystalline, thermotropic thermoplastics, delivering precise and stable dimensions, high temperature performance and chemical resistance for very thin-walled applications. The polymer is flame resistant, contains no additives, is halogen-free and permits lead-free soldering–allowing customers an eco-friendly innovation. “The new units, combined with our presence in Europe and North America, will support our customers’ need to shift to non-halogenated materials and give Ticona a global footprint to provide the same brand experience to customers throughout the world,” explains Sandy Beach Lin, president.
ESPOO, FINLAND– Imbera Electronics Ltd. has entered a 5-year deal with Ibiden to license its integrated module board (IMB) technology. The agreement allows Ibiden to offer a cost-effective miniaturization solution with the capabilities to support numerous product applications. “This deal will enable others to see IMBs great potential to satisfy the electronics market’s requirement for thinner, smaller products with enhanced electrical performance and functionality,” explains Jeff Baloun, Imbera CEO.
Imbera also announced it has released the next generation of IMB technology that allows OEMs/ODMs to produce smaller boards, in less time and at lower costs, through simple adaptations to current manufacturing processes. Through this latest technology, numerous types of components can be embedded inside the core layer of a PCB, such as discrete passive components, wafer level CSPs and bare die.
The Imbera IMB technology embeds components on the inside of a PCB core layer and then electrically connects them by laser drilling and electrolytic copper plating. Differing from other embedded component processes, Imbera IMB embeds unpackaged die and components, reducing the footprint. The components are attached to a sheet of copper foil and processed through pre-preg build-up and a lamination sequence that results in the encapsulation of the components into a double-sided PCB core layer. Standard laminate materials are used. The laminated core is processed through laser drilling to expose the electrical contact areas on the embedded components and then the core is electroplated to make the connection to the top layer of circuitry.
A wide variety of components can be embedded including discrete passive components, application specific integrated passive (ASIP) components, bare die (Silicon, GaAs) and wafer level CSPs. According to CTO, Risto Tuominen the current process has some I/O limitations, with components that have over 350 I/Os being harder to process.
MATTHEWS, NC– Exopack Advanced Coatings has doubled its production workforce within the first year of relocating operations from South Hadley, MA, to Matthews, NC. Exopack believes the move will eventually give it the ability to develop new product lines. Three core lines from the South Hadley plant already have been integrated, including phototools; conductive products that cover medical, whiteboard and battery current collector material, as well as all microfilm products.
YAVNE, ISRAEL– Orbotech Ltd introduced its Sprint-8 inkjet legend printer, providing high quality, legend imaging for the bare board production. According to Orbotech the Sprint-8 has high-performance print heads and electronics combined with a unique UV light source that quickly cures the ink as it hits the substrate, providing a fully cured legend after imaging the panel’s sides. Multiple serialization and bar-coding options are also available, and the printer has a full specification range, including a large depth focus that allows for printing on warped panels, fine features to 3 mil lines and 0.5 mm text, panels up to 10 mm in thickness and panels up to 30".
ENDICOTT, NY– Endicott Interconnect Technologies, Inc. has been honored with the INNOVATION SUPPLIER award from Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems (NGES), presented in July. The award recognizes EI’s abilities in several areas including customer service, strategic contributions and innovation, and it echoes EI’s vision of providing a competitive edge for its customers by reducing the weight of equipment and by providing the most functionality within small spaces.
TAIWAN and CHINA– Everyone is feeling the effects from the weak economy. Mass lamination services of copper clad laminate (CCL) are predicted to see a 30% decline during the third quarter, according to a DIGITIMES’ report, as PCB makers cut back on outsourcing. Elite Material (EMC) has postponed a new mass lamination production line until October, as well as curtailed expansion at its Zhongshan, China, plant, possibly resulting in a decline in the company’s utilization rate and profits for the second half of 2008. Taiwan Union Technology (TUC) plans to increase its production process and new customer base, while improving management and capacity usage at the Hsinchu plant, as a way to counteract its reported $3.73 million in losses for 2007
