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60 PCB007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2025 industries showed an uptick, PCB manufacturing remains steady at about 4% of the world's supply. PCBs for AI applications require advanced manu- facturing capabilities and scale that is lacking in the U.S., and despite recent planned investments, will continue to fall short of what is required for secure AI infrastructure. The need to restore domestic capacity and build an AI infrastructure we can trust presents a unique public policy and private investment opportunity. Members on both sides of the aisle in Congress are signing on to sponsor H.R. 3597, the Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act. That bill would provide government grants and game-changing tax credits certain to spur private investments, similar to the CHIPS Act. PCBAA and the Global Electron- ics Association are pushing hard to pass legislation that would end up on the president's desk to bol- ster his Made in America campaign. The AI revolution and the data centers that power it are being built today. Smart policies now can ensure American leadership for years to come. The nation's security and prosperity depends on a vibrant and innovative microelectronics industry. Join PCBAA today and add your voice to our out- reach in Washington, D.C. PCB007 References 1. "Where Chinese or American Tech Is Used in Cloud Data Storage," by Katharina Buchholz, Statista, May 5, 2025. 2. "Aust 2025 Manufacturing Insights," US Manufacturing Report, Sept. 15, 2025. Shane Whiteside is president and CEO of Summit Interconnect and current chair of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America. To read past columns, click here. A M E R I CA N M A D E A DVO CACY Mirror-like Graphite Films Break Records in Strength and Conductivity Graphite has attracted global interest due to its unique anisotropic properties, including excellent elec- trical and thermal conductivity. Widely used as a bat- tery anode material and in applications such as elec- tromagnetic shielding, catalysis, and nuclear technolo- gy, graphite remains a critical material in both industrial and research fields. For decades, researchers have sought to produce high-quality artificial graphite with large grains and smooth, layered structures. Conventional methods typically involve high-temperature treatment of poly- mer films under mechanical stress. However, the re- sulting materials often suffer from limited grain size, lower density, and surface irregularities, with their bulk mechanical properties seldom evaluated. Anoth- er well-known synthetic form, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), offers improved crystallinity, but still exhibits relatively small domain sizes. Moreover, such materials tend to develop wrinkles and distortions dur- ing cooling, and their properties are typically studied at the microscale—using exfoliated flakes rather than in- tact graphite films. Led by Director Rodney S. Ruoff at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), researchers have developed a groundbreaking method to produce mirror-like graphite films with millimeter-sized grains—approximately 10,000 times larger than those found in conventional synthet- ic graphite. Central to this achievement is a clever "po- rous substrate" strategy: by selectively evaporating nickel from a molten Ni-Mo alloy after graphite growth, the team created a sponge-like substrate that dramati- cally weakens the interaction between the graphite and the metal surface. This effectively eliminates interfacial stress during cooling, preventing the formation of wrin- kles or kinks in the film. The potential applications are wide-ranging. Defect- free, high-purity graphite films could transform ther- mal management in high-power electronics, such as AI chips, serve as ultra-strong and conductive compo- nents in MEMS and sensors, and enable frictionless coatings or advanced battery anodes. Looking ahead, the team is working to scale up production toward me- ter-sized films. (Source: Institute for Basic Science)