Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1481876
18 PCB007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2022 Introduction It is hard to believe we have had direct imag- ing for 40 years, starting with Excellon's intro- duction of its DIS-2000 argon laser imager. Since then, companies in 11 countries 1 have developed various digital direct imagers. Karl Dietz wrote about this technology sev- eral times in his columns 2 , noting early on the skepticism that laser direct imaging would hit a Golden Age. So, where are we now? Digital Imaging Updates I-Connect007 has repeatedly reported on and updated digital imaging 2 . ere are several reasons for this extended coverage: Direct Imaging Revisited • e technology had a slow, long incuba- tion time that eventually led to accelerated improvement and acceptance for mass production. • It might also be argued that next to the development of the microvia technologies, digital imaging is probably the most inno- vative technology to achieve high density interconnects with acceptable yields. • It is worth mentioning that "direct imaging" is a more appropriate term to refer to this technology than "laser direct imaging" (LDI) because LDI is just one example of digital imaging, albeit its pioneering vision. Happy's Tech Talk #13 Feature Column by Happy Holden, I-CONNECT007