AUGUST 2019 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 43
The PCB Norseman: From Wooden Huts
to Homemade G0-karts—It All Srarts
With Design! E
Whether building the coolest go-kart or the
most sophisticated electronic hardware, the
story is the same: It starts with design. And for
designers and manufacturers, early involve-
ment and commitment between all the in-
volved parties in a product development pro-
cess diminish the risk for mistakes and misun-
derstandings.
Dissecting the IPC Regional Survey on
PCB Technology Trends E
Sharon Starr, Denny Fritz, and Mike Cara-
no talk about the global 2018 IPC Technolo-
gy Trends Report released early this year—
the size of the survey, how it was conducted,
the general findings, and regional differences.
They also shared their takeaways and region-
al insights, and the industry outlook over the
next five to 10 years.
An Examination of Glass-fiber and Epoxy
Interface Degradation in PCBs E
Multilayer organic laminates, which make up
over 90% of the interconnecting substrates in
electronics (standard FR-4 represents 85% of
the substrates used for laminates), can devel-
op a loss of electrical insulation resistance be-
tween two biased conductors due to conduc-
tive filament formation.
Microvias: Links of Faith are Not
Created Equally E
Microvias connect adjacent copper layers to
complete electrical paths. There are copper-
filled microvias, which can be stacked to form
connections beyond adjacent copper layers,
and staggered microvias, which stitch adjacent
copper layers with paths that meander on the
layers between the microvias. This article dis-
cusses the various laser-drilled microvias and
presents SEM photographs to begin the search
for the root cause of weak copper interface.
EPA, Industry Come Together in
Visit to TTM Facility E
IPC member TTM Technologies is proud to
show off the new wastewater-treatment system
at its Sterling, Virginia plant, which is helping
to enhance the company's pollution preven-
tion and resource recovery performance.
Avoiding CAF Failures at the IPC
High-reliability Forum E
Foresite CEO Terry Munson recently spoke
with Andy Shaughnessy during the IPC High-
Reliability Forum and Microvia Summit in Bal-
timore about his presentation on the causes
of conductive anodic filament (CAF), the dan-
gers of resin starvation, and what advice he'd
give to PCB designers to avoid those types of
failures.
Global PCB Market Analysis and Outlook E
The global PCB market is expected to reach an
estimated $89.7 billion by 2024 with a CAGR of
4.3% from 2019 to 2024.
It's Only Common Sense: It's Time for
Summer Reading E
Some people go to the beach excited about their
summer reading. When Dan Beaulieu goes to
the beach (yeah, right!), his summer reading
involves much more useful, and for him, fun
(believe it or not) business books on custom-
er service, business strategy, and my personal
favorites, advertising, and marketing. Here are
some of the best!
