Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1189040
20 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2019 Feature Interview by Barry Matties I-CONNECT007 Karthik Vijay is head of the applications engineering team for customers in Europe at Indium Corporation. He spoke with Barry Mat- ties about what EMS or assemblers for auto- motive should consider, as well as how he thinks 5G will affect the marketplace and man- ufacturing. Barry Matties: How do you see the automotive market and 5G? Karthik Vijay: These are two massive markets, and we are really excited to play in these verti- cals with innovative material sets. To put that in the automotive perspective, opportunities with powertrain electrification platforms (e.g., 48V, hybrid electric vehicles, electric vehicles) and advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) are exploding. The foundations of this work will facilitate the innovations for the full-elec- tric driverless car of the future. That's what is making it really exciting because I see this as a once in a 20–30-year opportunity. Automotive typically doesn't adapt to new material sets that quickly, and rightfully so because there's a lot of reliability testing and lifetime criticality that needs to be validated. That's still happen- ing, but the goalposts are changing pretty fast. With 5G, we are involved in various stages of the ecosystem right from the material sets inside the components to the base-stations used. To give you an example of the conver- gence of 5G and automotive, V2X is a core plat- form that will be facilitated by 5G. That means that the vehicle is connected to everything: vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-tower, vehicle-to- people, etc. As mentioned, both the automo- tive and 5G markets are open to innovation, and it is a great time to be involved with new material sets. Matties: What opportunities are you seeing? Vijay: If you look at electrification, a direct consequence of moving up the electrification chain is increased service temperatures. Stan- dard alloys like tin/silver/copper [SAC] are not going to make the cut, and there is an immediate opportunity for high-reliability solders in PCB assembly. The reliability criteria have changed from -40/+150°C for 1,000 cycles to 6,000 cycles. Likewise, the ecosystem has changed with the explosion of power modules used in electrification in 48V, HEV, and EV platforms. The Convergence of 5G and Automotive