Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1509257
OCTOBER 2023 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 25 dard at no charge with a breakdown of the specs and who the subject matter experts are. We're lucky enough to have good relationships with the fabricators and assembly companies that we work with so that we can ask them questions. Kolar: A lot of times, our questions are usually about fabrication capability because of some limit that we're trying to push to meet. We also work with assemblers on a process that's non-standard, or one that has really stringent requirements, maybe for flight or space, and we see that the customers is really worried about reliability. Sounds like you are dialed in on the whole standards process. What improvements would you like to see as far as standards and specs from the industry or IPC? Grunwald: It would be nice to know more manufacturing requirements as far as the cop- per tracing or copper spacing, part sizes, etc., but those are so technology-based by the fab shop that you're working with, so I don't know if that's even possible. But if I could have any- thing, it would be to have a spec sheet that lists, "If you have half-ounce copper, here's the spacing you should go with," and so forth. What advice would you give new designers when using standards? Grunwald: Get familiar with them. You don't need to memorize them, and you don't need to read every page, but get familiar with the handful that I mentioned. You need to at least know where to find the information. Kolar: It's worth familiarizing yourself with the more important standards. Be sure you have physical copies of the standards; that's defi- nitely valuable. New designers should talk to fabricators whenever they have questions. I've seen these newer designers go down rabbit holes on slash sheets or materials. It's far better to just ask your fabricator than this rabbit hole of trying to specify everything and understand all the different material properties; that can be a waste of time. This has been great. We really appreciate it. Kolar: ank you. Good to speak with you all. DESIGN007 It is no secret that electronic devices are becom- ing increasingly compact, with greater functionality contained in smaller volumes. As such, increasing efforts are being made to mount integrated cir- cuits (ICs) and other components such as antennas closer together, sometimes within the same semi- conductor package. IDTechEx's report "EMI Shielding for Electronics 2024-2034: Forecasts, Technologies, Applications" explores the current status and technology trends within this essential aspect of many electronic cir- cuits. Conformal package-level shielding is especially important for consumer devices where both ness and wireless communications are needed. These include smartphones, smartwatches, and AR/VR headsets. At present, sputtering is the dominant method of creating conformal EMI shields. Emerging methods such as spraying and printing are gaining traction and offer much lower equipment costs since no vacuum chamber is required, along with additional benefits such as reduced variation in package top and side coating thickness and fewer process steps. (Source: IDTechEx) IDTechEx Explores How EMI Shielding is Enabling Compact Electronics