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12 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2026 F E AT U R E A RT I C L E Every layer interconnect (ELIC) is an archi- tectural statement about how a PCB is built, sig- naling a fundamental shift in how we think about routing density, vertical interconnect, and the rela- tionship between design and fabrication. To understand what ELIC solves, you have to understand what it replaces. Traditional HDI construc- tion uses a rigid core with sequential build-up layers on one or both sides: configurations such as 2-4-2 or 3-2-3. In those designs, microvias connect only adjacent build-up layers. Through-holes serve the core. The result is a predictable, well-characterized architecture, but one that is fundamentally limited in how tightly you can pack interconnects, because the through-hole barrel consumes real estate from one side of the board to the other regardless of whether the signal needs to traverse every layer. ELIC eliminates the through-hole as the primary vertical interconnect. In a true every-layer intercon- nect architecture, each layer connects to the adja- Every Layer Interconnect The Promise, the Pain, and the Practical Limits BY A N AYA VA R DYA , A M E R I CA N STA N DA R D C I RC U I TS Figure 1: ELIC architecture (left) eliminates through-hole barrels and makes every layer available for routing. Traditional 2-4-2 HDI (right) requires a mechanical through-hole barrel that consumes board space across all layers regardless of signal routing need.