Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1532278
50 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2025 Solder Processes and Reliability; Soldering Materials and Process Technologies; and Sus- tainability for Electronics. ere are also Spe- cial Sessions focusing on Advanced Packaging for High-Performance Computing and AI/ Data Center Applications and Advanced Pack- aging for EV Power Electronics. Are the submissions well divided among these topics, or are they bunched up in a par- ticular focus area? Rak: Traditionally, the IPC APEX EXPO conference has been very strong in PCB fab- rication and materials, quality and reliabil- ity, and test processes in assembly. ey are the legacy areas for IPC APEX EXPO. In recent years, we've added Fac- tory the Future and have received, I believe, 99 contributions. We also have seven contribu- tions in the category of Emerging Technologies. Advanced Packaging is actually a new category and, as you mentioned, it is a very important focus and an IPC core ini- tiative. We specifically added that this year. Did you get many submissions for advanced packaging? Rak: It is our first year in this area, so we did not get very many—only two directly about advanced packaging and some others related to that category, but their primary focus was in one of the other technology focus areas. We weren't surprised, and it's one of the reasons for scheduling special sessions related to advanced packaging. is is where we can introduce IPC membership and the conference attendees to these newer technology focus areas. We are laying the groundwork to grow those areas. Welzel: We also addressed this by adding new members to the TPC. Our colleagues from Intel and NXP offer the expertise we need to cover these topics, which are somewhat new to both the TPC and the greater IPC APEX EXPO community. ough there were only a few technical contributions, they will build a bridge to the special sessions, and are quite in line with IPC's philosophy that we must build a bridge from silicon to systems. IPC APEX EXPO is the biggest electronics show and conference for our industry in the United States. What is available for the PCB fabricator attending the conference? Welzel: e traditional, strong focus of IPC APEX EXPO on PCBs and materials has pro- vided a strong foundation for where we are now: focusing on HDI, ultra HDI, and substrates. e High-Density Sub- strates track has received a considerable number of contributions. It is the logical extension of the well-established PCB fabrication and materials track. To some degree, the boundary is not always so well defined. It's a bit debatable whether a particular technical paper falls into one or the other category, and whether it's material-related. Let's talk about power, which is a big discus- sion point for PCB designers. Given AI, big data processing, and EV, the increasing need for power while simultaneously managing heat dissipation and meeting signal integrity needs presents challenges for today's PCB and sys- tem designer, as well as the fabricator. Welzel: e HDI substrates track will link nicely to the first Advanced Packaging special sessions addressing high-performance com- puting and AI data center applications. e Power Electronics technical session nicely links to the second Advanced Packaging spe- cial session focused on EV power electronics, " e traditional, strong focus of IPC APEX EXPO on PCBs and materials has provided a strong foundation for where we are now: focusing on HDI, ultra HDI, and substrates. "