IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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JANUARY 2026 I I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE 107 tion. They also don't realize we are dependent on foreign sourcing, even for critical infrastructure systems. This realization prompted the formation of PCBAA in 2021 and defined our "Educate. Advo- cate. Legislate" charter and messaging on the Hill. The Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates (PCBS) Act (H.R.3597) is a strategic necessity. The legislation, as many of you know, calls for a $3 billion PCB industry infrastructure investment and a demand-driven 25% tax credit to the purchaser of U.S. fabricated PCBs so our industry can scale up to meet the challenges we see ahead. Without this legislation, there will not be the ability to scale appropriately, meet the demand signal, or attract private investment. A public/private investment approach is the best path to restore our position of leadership. There are additional opportunities in 2026. We are pursuing a Senate companion bill to the PCBS Act. Our team in Washington is focused on adding cosponsors who recognize the importance of American manufacturing. PCBAA is also building strong relationships at the Department of Defense (War) and Department of Commerce as they pursue policies to reshore and restore PCB manu- facturing to support the defense industrial base and critical infrastructure. PCBAA's growing membership is giving us more influence in Washington. Members are taking an active role by contacting their representatives and inviting them to facilities to see the men and women on the front lines of our industry. A global requirement for PCBs demands a national strategy for manufacturing. Our allies and our adversaries are meeting this challenge head on. The U.S. needs to do the same or we risk ceding the market to those who see the future and have proactively positioned to solve for it. Join us today to help restore the PCB industry. PCB007 Shane Whiteside is presi- dent and CEO of Summit Interconnect and current chair of the Printed Cir- cuit Board Association of America. To read past col- umns, click here. A M E R I CA N M A D E A DVO CACY Powering the Future: The Materials That Make Tomorrow Possible by Brian Buyea Every new era of technology begins the same way: with a leap in materials. Silicon sparked the electronics age, copper and gold made it efficient, and ceramics made it reliable. Now, as we step into a world of elec- trification, 5G connectivity, and high-power density systems, the materials behind the hardware are once again defining what's possible. At Remtec, we live in the intersection where sci- ence meets manufacturability, and where reliability isn't a promise but a measurable outcome. "Powering the Future" isn't just a slogan. It's the challenge we face daily as engineers designing metallized ceramic sub- strates, power packages, and thermal solutions that quietly enable the technologies shaping our world. The Future Is Hot, Literally Every engineer knows that heat is the enemy. As power levels rise and device footprints shrink, managing ther- mal stress has become the limiting factor for nearly every industry we serve, from EV inverters to satellite RF modules. We're no longer designing for comfort margins, but for survival at 200°C. That means the materials, metal- lization, and interfaces we use must conduct heat, iso- late voltage, and resist mechanical fatigue simultane- ously. This is where metallized ceramics shine. Aluminum nitride (AlN) and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) substrates combine high dielectric strength with superior ther- mal conductivity, something polymers and FR-4 could never offer. The key is in how we metallize and bond those ceramics to handle real-world stresses. Remtec's thick-film and direct bond copper (DBC) processes are engineered not just for conductivity, but for endurance across thousands of thermal cycles. Read the full column here.