Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/324117
54 The PCB Magazine • June 2014 relevant to the ongoing progress of the world market for PCBs. To illustrate how designers were challeng- ing the PCB and packaging industries to meet the goals of higher performance, smaller per- formance and lower cost, Plonski showed a se- ries tear-down cross-sections of components, modules and packages from currently avail- able smartphones, demonstrating their amaz- ing complexity and ingenuity. As a contrast a white-label Chinese smart-phone that could be purchased very cheaply from the grocery store was based on a relatively simple 6-layer board and five basic modules—not the latest technol- ogy, but an example of the intelligent integra- tion of available low-cost building blocks to produce an attractive-looking device with a sur- prising level of functionality. RF modules had undergone a substantial module size reduction by integration of multiple functions in the same die, multiple functions within the same package and tighter assembly within the package. "You no longer have to be an RF engineer to buy a pretty sophisticated de- vice!" Incredibly complex hybrid multi-mode, multi-band power amplifier modules could be bought for less than $10, and as an example of form factor reduction a 128Gb disk drive could now be made the size of a postage stamp. With many more illustrative examples, Plonski demonstrated the convergence of PCB assembly and semiconductor packaging, with designers working together and thinking in three dimensions. The standard recipes of the past were giving way to new methods of inno- vation. Advanced packaging technology and rapidly maturing fabrication technologies were becoming generic, enabling many creative de- signs and lots of crazy applications, for exam- ple activity monitors that modified behaviour, like the Japanese intelligent fork that tells you when you're eating too fast, and serious ones like medical tricorders, previously Star Trek sci- ence fiction but now subject of X-Prize compe- tition. There would be a revolution in clinical diagnostic equipment trends as the cost of these tools began to fall dramatically. The concept of the Google driverless car, an example of making a whole lot of sensors work together, was be- coming accepted, and Google glass was a good example of clever packaging technology. He envisaged that electronics would con- tinue to play a role in our lives in many ways, with micropackaging providing tools to in- crease functionality per unit cost and create positive economic value. Technology innova- tion was alive and well, but increasing R&D and capital costs would force consolidation to only a few main players with many outsourc- ing partners. PCB Based in the uK, Pete starkey joined i-connect007 as its technical editor in 2008. most recently, starkey was products editor and europe editor for circuitree and has more than 30 years experience in the PcB industry, with a background in process development, tech- nical service and technical sales. to contact starkey, click here. ECWC13: "CoNNECTINg THE WoRLD" THE KEyNoTE PRESENTATIoNS continues