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58 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2025 successfully tested with up to 6-ounce copper. As a pure resin, our material creates very flat surfaces, a significant advantage for large form factor packaging. Applications in Ultra HDI and Substrate Manufacturing fastRise™ TC is especially well-suited for UHDI and substrate manufacturing, as it can be supplied as resin-coated copper (RCC) with micro foils as thin as 1.5 to 3 microns. We have achieved dielectric thicknesses ranging from 20 μm to 125 μm, depending on application and design needs. This enables the production of designs containing 2- and 3-mil microvias. Resin Filling for Blind and Buried Vias This material can be used to fill blind and buried vias, eliminating the need for epoxy fill, which has a high CTE. It results in a material with CTE values close to copper, thereby reducing mismatches. It also removes the necessity for planarization, ensuring maximum wrap with minimal plating. Extremely Low CTE Materials, Pad Cratering, Joint Failure AGC is advancing the development of extremely low CTE materials, targeting the substrate market, to eliminate the risk of pad cratering or joint failures resulting from CTE mismatches between the PCB and surface mount packages. Initial results are promising, with values around 6 ppm. The next gen- eration is expected to reach approximately 4 ppm. These initiatives represent some of the ad- vanced processing areas under development at AGC and our significant investment in innovation of PCB materials technology. PCB007 Paul Cooke is director of application engineering at AGC. For the first time, scientists at Northwestern Univer- sity, Boston University (BU), and University of Califor- nia, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) have built a tiny photonic quantum system into a traditional electronic chip. The first-of-its-kind silicon chip combines both the quantum light-gen- erating components (photonics) with classical electronic control circuits—all packed into an area measuring just one millimeter by one millimeter. So, not only does the chip generate quan- tum light, but it also has its own built-in smart elec- tronic system to keep that light perfectly stable. This photonic-electronic integration enables the single chip to reliably produce a stream of photon pairs—basic units that encode quantum information— required for light-based quantum communication, sensing and processing. "For the first time, we have achieved monolithic electronic, photonic and quantum integration," said Northwestern's Prem Kumar, one of the study's se- nior authors. "This is a big deal because it's not easy to mix electronics and photonics. It was a heroic ef- fort that combined expertise from an interdisciplin- ary, collaborative team of physicists, electrical engi- neers, computer scientists, materials scientists and manufacturing experts. Our chip could open doors for not only computing but sensing and communica- tion applications." Because the chip uses built-in feedback to stabi- lize itself, it behaves predictably despite temperature changes and fabrication variations—an essential re- quirement for scaling up quantum systems. It also bypasses the need for large external equipment. (Source: Northwestern University) First Electronic-Photonic Quantum Chip Manufactured in Commercial Foundry Paul C o oke