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60 The PCB Design Magazine • June 2017 is reporting moisture absorption from 24-hour testing, at 25°C at 85% RH and the other data sheet is using the 48 hr./50°C/water submersion test method. These comparisons should not be done since the two testing conditions are not the same. Some test methods for thermal conductivity will test the raw substrate only and other test methods will include the copper of the lami- nate with the substrate testing. Since copper has a thermal conductivity of about 400 W/m/K, the added influence of copper will certainly improve the thermal conductivity values for a test method which includes that metal. And if the test method includes copper, the substrate thickness during testing is important since a thinner sample will be more dominated by the copper influence. I have pointed out a few things to consid- er when comparing data sheets, but there are many more. Just about every property on the data sheet has its own story. To do a fair com- parison between data sheet properties, one must consider how they are tested, conditions and the details must be well understood. It is highly recommended that you consult your material suppliers when reviewing information given on any data sheet. PCBDESIGN John Coonrod is technical marketing manager for Rogers Corporation. To contact him or read past columns, click here. WHEN COMPARING DATA SHEETS, THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS Governments and industry stakeholders are keenly following developments in the microelec- tronics industry, as these technologies could po- tentially disrupt and bolster the Internet of Things (IoT) megatrend. Microelectronics will support eco-friendliness, Innovating to Zero, smart and connected homes, cloud computing and minia - turization trends, and influence the technologi- cal progress of a wide range of industries. This will open up opportunities across value chains, and key industry participants are actively enter- ing this technology space to gain an early mover advantage. "One of the major selling points of microelec- tronics is its low power consumption. Industries recognize that the technology's rapid charging, smart antenna, wireless charging, and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) make it extreme- ly cost effective in the long term," noted Frost & Sullivan TechVision Research Analyst Brinda Manivannan. Top Technologies in Micro- electronics, 2017 is part of Frost & Sullivan's TechVision (Micro- electronics) Growth Partnership Service programme. The study assesses the impact of the top emerging microelectronics technologies, the in- novation strength of each region, and the global market potential of the technology. It also covers the dynamic technologies that enable the conver- gence of megatrends such as smart cities, vehicle to X (V2X) systems, IoT, and connected systems. While the benefits of microelectronics are man- ifold, scientists and adopters are still challenged by the huge cost of research and development (R&D), capital-intensive manufacturing, scalability limitations, volume production and lack of a struc- tured supply chain. However, technology develop- ers are gradually addressing these roadblocks to adoption, with North America leading in technol- ogy advancements and Asia-Pacific in technology adoption. "Microelectronics R&D will also get a boost with the impending bandwidth crunch due to the increased penetration of augmented reality and virtual reality devices. Microelectronics can be employed to develop faster data transmission technologies such as visible light communication (VLC) and advanced data stor- age techniques to power data- intensive applications," noted Manivannan. Microelectronics R&D Intensifies to Address High Customer Demand