Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1481368
68 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2022 I hope PCB designers will find ways from our contributors to tangibly understand and apply UHDI technology. Will UHDI remain as lim- ited for use as are the tiny 01005 chip packages due to manufacturing capability? Will there be confusion on how to implement UHDI into a PCB which already suffers assembly challenges while processing micro-scaled 0201 chip pack- ages? Designers don't have to voyage too far into smaller scales of technology before pushing a PCB destined for low-cost, volume production into outer darkness. It is notable that the nar- rator of "Powers of Ten" makes the point that most of space—galaxies and quarks—are like dust suspended in darkness. (Hey, this sounds like my recent request for an UHDI quote.) e narrator comments, "e richness of our own neighborhood is the exception." Is our propensity to focus on the distant macro matter of space or the micro matter of PCBs just a distractive diacatholicon, diverting our atten- tion from the problems and challenges of our present scale? "Our house is on fire," warn our supply chain managers, quality engineers, and DFM auditors. We've got substantial problems to solve within our own neighborhoods in the PCB industry right here on Earth. I do think the messaging of the "Power of Ten" film somehow transcends into scales of PCB design. We must first and foremost con- sider the neighborhoods of our PCB industry stakeholders. As PCB designers creatively zoom out or in, we must avoid venturing into manufacturing darkness. Be thankful for the scientists who go there and bring back applicable data. Let's help where we can and as project stakeholders, wisely stay in touch, understand, and apply appropriate scales of technology in our indus- try neighborhoods or we risk losing vision and sense of purpose. "We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion- year-old carbon, and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden." —Joni Mitchell. DESIGN007 References 1. "Powers of Ten," a 1977 film adapted from Cosmic View, authored by Kees Boeke. The film is available for viewing on YouTube. Kelly Dack, CIT, CID+, provides DFx centered PCB design and manufacturing liaison expertise for a dynamic EMS provider in the Pacific Northwest while also serving as an IPC design certification instructor (CID) for EPTAC. To read past columns, click here. Figure 4: Zooming past the transition between land and trace we see a small UHDI trace emerge. What it will be used for (application and cost) is yet to be determined, but it is good to know that the manufac- turing capability is there to support the requirement when an application arises. Figure 5: I whipped this layout up on my own CAD tool. Proof that common CAD design capability exists to create a 15-micron trace. But for many PCB designers, applications for this capability are sur- rounded by darkness. Designers and engineers will need help to see how to implement and scale UHDI to volume production to realize value.