Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1350598
28 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2021 port commercial applications in North Ameri- ca and Asia Pacific regions. Today's long-range radars on newer cars are tiny compared to yesterday. ere has been a tremendous amount of development using PCBs as mmWave sensors. e current state- of-the-art is a hybrid, a combination of FR-4 with RF material, and microvias are used to connect to the MMICs. Other attributes such as antenna features and registration require tighter tolerances, which can be achieved with advanced equipment sets and special handling processes. LiDAR is oen a combination of a high-res- olution camera with a dense charged-coupled device (CCD) chip that requires extremely tight mechanical tolerances on the board fea- tures to get the right focus. e mechanical tol- erances required on LiDAR PCBs are pushing the edge of mechanical process tolerances. Q: With all this variety and new developments, what do your customers struggle with the most? A: Even with all the new technology elements on the boards, customers must design for man- ufacturability, long-term reliability, and meet industry standards and specifications. Many of the new PCB design attributes are pushing the boundaries of fabricators' abilities to maintain compliance to standards, such as IPC Class 2 vs. Class 3. TTM has a legacy of 30+ years of manufacturing PCBs for the high-reliability in- dustry. Our experienced field applications en- gineers provide technical support by engaging with customers early on in their design cycle or during the design cycle. We mitigate the need to redesign the product by considering key el- ements such as long-term reliability and CAF resistance. You don't want to press "Ctrl/Alt/ Del" when going 160 on the Autobahn, and you want your car to run for 20 years, even when living up in Canada or Finland with their long and cold winters. A new challenge comes with new cars that are "always on." Your car senses when you ap- proach with your keyless gadget and automat- ically unlocks. Charging devices may run all night long. Interior sensors tell you whether you forgot your child or dog in the car through continuous monitoring. ese functions mean that the active and switched-on lifetime of elec- tronic components in the vehicle is increasing significantly. One year has 8,760 hours. e sta- tistic modeling of the accelerated lifetime test- ing needs to consider the multiple active life spans of components. Maximum operating temperature (MOT) is rising from 130°C to a level of 150°C +. Prod- uct specifications and qualifications show a temperature cycling of up to a range of –40°C to +160°C, while temperate storage is tested at 160°C; this requires a complete set of new and reliable materials that haven't been test- ed for long-term reliability yet, and which will require an update of specifications in UL and IPC. Our customers have to not only get the de- velopment and new designs done, they also need to work extensively to quantify, speci- fy, and test the properties and functions of the new devices. Q: If you look at the other direction, what pres- sure is that scenario putting to your suppliers? A: Well, our partners who provide laminates, chemistry, and equipment are challenged in the same way. Development speed is acceler- ating, quality and productivity are increasing, and specs are tightening. We collaborate close- ly to ensure our suppliers are aware of our cus- tomers' needs and challenges, so the supply chain is flexible, and their products can meet our needs. PCB007 Walter Olbrich has been with TTM for eight years but is an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience with printed circuit boards, primarily in R&D, engineering, manufacturing, and sales/ marketing. He now manages Field Application Engineering in the EU.