Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1269815
78 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2020 We already have two and a half years of manufacturing experience with it and over two years of application experience. We're not wor- ried about someone developing the manufac- turing capability, now taking this technology away from WUS; it's the opposite. The more competitive this technology becomes, the bet- ter it is for WUS. Happy Holden: Talk to me about the reliability data. Dickson: WUS is building our own reliability data, and we'll be publishing more and more as the months go on. The coronavirus slowed us down on that particular deliverable. And we probably won't have that data available until August or September for high-volume reliabil- ity. But we have no lack of interest in this tech- nology from a chip and from an OEM stand- point. It's at a point now where even if we had three or four other suppliers involved, I don't think they could cover all of the interest. Since we haven't had anything since HDI as an interconnect structure, OEM leaders de- cided that HDI would be something that they would market to the industry. They educated the industry not just on what it is but also how to do it, as well as when it was an advantage and when it wasn't. When HDI first rolled out, people thought it was going to eliminate through-holes. No, there are still technologies today, but WUS makes excellent money off al- ternatives to HDI for structures that are me- chanically drilled. We can do technology with mechanical drills that we never dreamed of 15 years ago that is much more high-performance and cost-effec- tive than HDI. But HDI has a significant design application; it fits very well when you under- stand how to use it. And now those two tech- nologies have aligned to the point where it's not uncommon to have a PCB built at WUS that has 15% HDI, and the rest is mechanical interconnects. It's selective use of high-perfor- mance, high-value engineering, low-cost mate- rials, close chip-to-chip locations, and packag- ing so that you're getting the best value chip to chip that you can get. That's where VeCS will The next great step in this particular tech- nology to me is when the design houses start embracing this and moving into VeCS and HDI and via expertise. Once there are multiple de- sign houses that have that technology, that's when I feel true integration. At the OEM levels, integrations are isolated because they consider their movement into this as IP. There's going to be a limited amount of communication inside the industry because they're utilizing this as a competitive advantage. But the design houses are where HDI made its transition into a more global and operational level. VeCS will be the same type of concept. When you see design houses understanding the strengths and weak- nesses of it—as well as where it should be ap- plied and where it should be done—you'll see a more open acceptance in the industry and the interconnect structure. Johnson: What's the plan for making designers aware of the knowledge required for VeCS? Dickson: WUS has a collaborative team where we have worked with equipment, process, and material suppliers. We even have PCB competi- tors participating in our collaboration team pri- marily because this technology needs multiple supply chain resources. We understood that from the very beginning. Our CEO is very open to that because we believe that once this evolves, it won't just be that VeCS is a concept; it will be the application of VeCS, how it fits with every- thing, and the expertise that will allow WUS to be leaders in that technology for many years. The next great step in this particular technology to me is when the design houses start embracing this and moving into VeCS and HDI and via expertise.