Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1494936
MARCH 2023 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 51 I think it's design revs. If you have a stable design, then nobody will cost-reduce it by put- ting microvias in. I don't think that ever hap- pens. But in the electronics world we live in, technology is evolving so rapidly that eventu- ally you change on some level. As you make those changes, you're incorporating the lat- est knowledge, newer components, and other things which require tighter fadeout patterns. Suddenly, you start doing these things. Are you doing active embed- deds or anything like that? We have an active R&D proj- ect we're working on for a customer where we will do an embedded chip that will be attached to a copper slug and then buried in the circuit board. That's a whole different level of manufacturing because the cost of waste or scrap is quite expensive once that active is in there. Is this a new endeavor? We do a lot of embedded pas- sives, obviously, but embed- ded active is new. Now you have a regular six-layer panel with microvias. Well, guess what? That six- layer panel with microvias will cost you more money, there's just no doubt about it. Is it cheaper? It could be, compared to any alternative way to get to the same solution. at's really the point: HDI is expensive, but what is the cost of the real alternative solu- tion, such as when you must put 40 layers in a board vs. eight? Suddenly, you are saving money. at's how you answer it. You look at it holistically. Ultra HDI is getting attention right now from the marketplace. It's just beginning. Part of it is designers being aware that it's available. Let's not kid ourselves, ultra HDI has been practiced in Taiwan for years. It's all about continuous education and customers now wanting domestic production of ultra HDI boards. Do they look at it as a matter of practice, or is it typically a design cycle rev when they start looking at these things?