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56 PCB007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2022 Interview by Nolan Johnson I-CONNECT007 During a recent tour of the MKS facility in Beaverton, Oregon, I met with Todd Tem- pleton, Chris Ryder, Kyle Baker, and Martin Orrick. As a reminder, MKS acquired ESI in 2019 and has retained the ESI brand. In this interview, they explain their approach to HDI and ultra HDI, the current state of base mate- rials, and what the future looks like on the cut- ting edge of technology. Nolan Johnson: Todd, what are you seeing in the market and what's happening with your customers? What are the dynamics and what are their pain points? Todd Templeton: When it comes to HDI, we have seen a big shi in historical spending MKS Discusses the Cutting Edge of Technology recently, with a lot more investment into the IC substrate space. In 2019, we introduced the Geode™ drilling system, primarily targeted at the HDI market. Since then, we've heard cus- tomers say, "at's great, but what can you do for me over here in IC substrate?" erefore, we're looking at ABF (Ajinomoto Build-up Film) substrates and investing more heavily to meet customer demand. Chris Ryder: We're expanding the Geode CO 2 via drilling system into that IC substrate space, and it has turned out to be an excellent modu- lar platform for a broad range of applications. It has worked well in adopting and adapting into various rigid panel products. e Geode via drilling system already has quite a breadth of