Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1419905
70 PCB007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2021 In remembrance of our late technical editor, Dr. Karl Dietz, Happy Holden has volunteered to resurrect Karl's popular Tech Talk column. Karl authored this technical column from August of 1995 to August of 2016 compiling 225 columns over those 21 years. Happy will endeavor to catch our readers up on the latest technologies devel- oped around the world and close the five-year gap since Karl stopped writing his column. The industry has not introduced many new structures in the last 60 years. Multilayers have continued to evolve with thinner materials and smaller traces and spaces as well as drilled vias. It's been nearly 40 years since Hewlett- Packard put its first laser-drilled micro- via boards into production for its innovative Finstrate process 1 . Now we have a new structure, vertical con- ductive structures (VeCS), developed by Joan Tourné of NextGIn Technology BV of the Neth- erlands. is technology is a breakthrough because now any advanced board shop can produce HDI level high density interconnects without any new capital equipment—and at a lower cost with higher electrical performance. I first became aware of the technology from an interview in the February 2017 issue of e PCB Magazine 2 . As seen in Figure 1, the key technology is the replacement of small or blind vias with a routed trench (slot), that is much easier to metallize and plate. VeCS is a true 3D concept for interconnec- tion by creating a routing channel (slot) in the printed circuit that can then be metallized and plated easier than high-aspect ratio vias while allowing a connection to the inner layers. e channels are easier to plate and can be created by existing PCB fabrication equipment. is allows HDI densities to be achieved without Vertical Conductive Structures (VeCS) Happy's Tech Talk by Happy Holden, I-CONNECT007 Figure 1: VeCS slot under magnification (left), bottom view of VeCS slot (right). (Source: NextGIn)