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June 2014 • The PCB Magazine 53 performance was being enhanced by embedded passive components, with embedded actives in prospect, and cost savings were being achieved by roll-to-roll processing and automated cover- lay application. There was increasing industrial collaboration in flex-rigid manufacture. So "thin" was the significant keyword when it came to describing packaging trends: multi- chips in thin single packages, thin system-in- package and thin package-on-package. Cop- per-pillar bumping gave the dual benefits of being completely lead-free and offering higher current-carrying capacity, and fine-pitch bump- on-trace techniques enabled cost reduction through greater functionality per unit area. Lines as fine as two microns had been demon- strated in embedded-trace IC substrates. Via diameters were approaching 10 microns as the packaging and PCB industries worked closely to- gether. Through-silicon-vias presented no tech- nology challenge, but the overall cost was too high and fan-out technology offered a viable low-cost alternative. An important message was that whatever might be achieved in maximising the system performance whilst miniaturising the packaging, cost was always the over-riding consideration: "New technology can't exceed the product cost budget!" Dr. Ma commented that the demand for continuous enhancement of electronic systems never stop, focusing on miniaturisation, opti- ECWC13: "CoNNECTINg THE WoRLD" THE KEyNoTE PRESENTATIoNS continues mised system performance and, most critically, continuous cost reduction. The PCB industry would provide its own solution in flexible cir- cuits and, as PCB and IC substrate technologies continued to converge, would continue to work closely with the packaging industry to provide advanced substrates to enable electronic system improvement. Some new technologies would become mainstream and induce a shifting of roles and responsibilities within the supply chain of electronic hardware manufacturing, the impact of which remained to be observed. Dr. Ma's presentation provided a most ap- propriate context for Prismark's Phil Plon- ski to consider how creative designs and new manufacturing technologies would shape the future of the PCB industry. "There's a lot more to come!" His figures indicated that more than two-thirds of global electronics industry pro- duction was presently based on networked com- munications, and forecast that this share would be maintained over the coming five years as the industry continued to expand with an annual growth rate of 3.8%. He did comment that the eventual growth rate in cash terms might not be as big as forecast, simply because things were getting less expensive! In mobile electronics, the trends towards thinner and lighter were being supported by robust and thin enclosures, integrated displays and touch panels, and thin packages, substrates and components. Cloud-access-anywhere-any- time was facilitated by faster cellular standards on more frequency bands. Faster multi-core pro- cessors and faster memory access enabled faster computing. There was increasing use of sensors at the user interface for navigation, gaming and virtual reality, and software developments kept pace with the hardware. The global PCB market could be segmented in many ways, by geography, application, layer count, laminate type or fabrication methodol- ogy. Over the past decade, the fastest growing technology segments had been IC substrates, flex and microvia HDI. Presently, the growing segments were flex and microvia HDI, largely due to progress in smartphone and tablet mar- kets. Another growth area was commodity products based on CEM materials used in LED lighting applications. And all technologies were dr. alun morgan