Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1532052
FEBRUARY 2025 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 23 PCB fabrication, design for manufacturing, and more. Don't miss more valuable resources. Explore the IPC Librar y, a central portal providing access to additional technical content, webinar recordings, white papers, reports, economic analysis and indus- tr y publications. Industry can now download peer-reviewed e-books for free on various topics including process control, SMT inspection, sustainability for electronics, DFM essentials, high-performance materials, and more. In 2024, IPC exemplified its unique role as the global electronics association. While maintaining a robust schedule for new and revised standards, IPC expanded the breadth and depth of its industry programs to pro- mote innovation, sustainability, workforce develop- ment, and supply chain resiliency. IPC kept its focus, as we have for close to 70 years, on working with and for our members and the greater electronics industry globally. e hallmark of IPC's success remains the value we deliver to our members and industry. In this report, we highlight the incredible work that IPC and our members accomplished together in 2024. e IPC website is a valuable resource and can direct you to more information on standards, certi- fication, education, advocacy, technology solutions, events and news. Visit www.ipc.org to learn about all of IPC's resources for industry. SMT007 IPC resources at a glance: • Learn more about IPC's standards and standards development process • Visit Conference Paper Database • Visit IPC Library • Learn more about IPC's grants and funding opportu- nities; download the workforce white paper; gain an understanding of certification levels, and browse IPC's full education catalog • Download titles from the I-Connect007 eBooks library • Read 2024 Year in Review Sandy Gentry is the director of brand communications at IPC. A New Ultrathin Conductor for Nanoelectronics Researchers at Stanford Engineer- ing have developed an ultrathin mate- rial that conducts electricity better than copper and could enable more energy- efficient nanoelectronics. As computer chips continue to get smaller and more complex, the ultrathin metallic wires that carry electrical signals within these chips have become a weak link. Standard metal wires get worse at conducting electricity as they get thinner, ultimately limiting the size, efficiency, and performance of nanoscale electronics. In a paper published Jan. 3 in Science, Stanford researchers show that niobium phosphide can conduct electricity better than copper in films that are only a few atoms thick. Moreover, these films can be created and deposited at sufficiently low temperatures to be compatible with mod- ern computer chip fabrication. Their work could help make future electronics more powerful and more energy efficient. "We are breaking a fundamental bot- tleneck of traditional materials like cop- per," said Asir Intisar Khan, who received his doctorate from Stanford and is now a visiting postdoctoral scholar and first author on the paper. "Our niobium phos- phide conductors show that it's pos- sible to send faster, more efficient sig- nals through ultrathin wires. This could improve the energy efficiency of future chips, and even small gains add up when many chips are used, such as in the massive data centers that store and process information today." Source: Stanford University Source: Asir Khan and Eric Pop