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18 The PCB Magazine • October 2014 by Desmond Wong and Bill Burr transsiP inC. Wearable Electronics Driving the Need for a New Level of Systems-in-Package Performance f e a t u r e Impending limitations on the ability of planar interconnects to continue to satisfy the expectations created by Moore's Law are driv- ing innovations in packaging technologies which in turn are enabling new applications to emerge. While wearable electronics have been with us for decades in the form of increasingly functional athletic devices and medical moni- tors, the missing link has been the ability of these devices to transmit information to a re- mote receiver in real-time. Developments in digital radio driven by the cellphone industry and the subsequent revolution in packaging in response to the need for miniaturisation of RF/ wireless functionality are opening up a whole new range of applications. These applications are set to skyrocket as semiconductor and pack- aging technologies enable smaller size, lighter weight, longer range, and higher efficiencies. One of the most promising blends emerging technologies for engineered materials with 3D embedded SiP, transcending the conflict be- tween miniaturization and high performance typical of conventional materials. Introduction As electronics have become lifestyle items, first in the form of cellphones and subsequently tablets and an expanding range of devices, the functionalities required by this evolution no longer necessarily scale according to Moore's Law. The added value perceived by the end cus- tomer is seen in many different ways. This sug- gests that miniaturization itself is no longer the sole vector, but that a complementary approach is emerging which combines functionality and