Technical Library | 2018-12-05 14:52:23.0
The multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) has become a widely used electronics component both for surface mount and embedded PCB applications. The MLCC technologies have gone through a number of material and process changes such as the shift from precious metal electrode (PME) configurations which were predominantly silver/palladium to base metal electrodes (BME) dominated by nickel. Each of these changes were accompanied by both quality and reliability problems. The MLCC industry is now in the midst of an unprecedented set of challenges similar to the Moore’s Law challenges being faced by the semiconductor industry. While capacitor failures have historically been responsible for a significant percentage of product field failures (most estimates are ~30%) we are seeing disturbing developments in the low voltage (
Technical Library | 2014-07-17 17:01:10.0
Embedded computing systems used in many military and avionics applications are trending toward higher heat fluxes, and as a result performance is being hindered by thermal limitations. This is intensified by the high ambient conditions experience by today’s modern warfighter. In many applications liquid cooling is replacing air flow through chassis for both thermal and environmental benefits(...) This paper outlines a series of passive thermal improvements which are easily integrated into legacy, or existing, systems and can provide a 3-4x increase in dissipated power.
Technical Library | 2017-12-21 11:24:05.0
The present work concerns on the use of sensors to monitor the structural health of wind turbine . Conventionally the inspection was made using non-contact sensing during the turbine’s inoperable period hence loss occurred. A real -time monitoring system via embedded wireless sensor is preferred but the sensor could only be implanted using non-contact printing method due to most turbine blade s’ curved surface. Conductive ink associate d with non-contact printing method via fluid dispensing system are proposed since conductive inks are proven stretchable and fluid dispensing system enables printing on various substrates and works well with any materials...
Technical Library | 2016-04-21 14:10:55.0
The world of electronics continues to increase functional densities on products. One of the ways to increase density of a product is to utilize more of the 3 dimensional spaces available. Traditional printed circuit boards utilize the x/y plane and many miniaturization techniques apply to the x/y space savings, such as smaller components, finer pitches, and closer component to component distances.This paper will explore the evolution of 3D assembly techniques, starting from flexible circuit technology, cavity assembly, embedded technology, 3 dimensional surface mount assembly, etc.
Technical Library | 2021-03-10 23:57:29.0
Latent short circuit failures have been observed during testing of Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) for power distribution of spacecraft of the European Space Agency. Root cause analysis indicates that foreign fibers may have contaminated the PCB laminate. These fibers can provide a pathway for electromigration if they bridge the clearance between nets of different potential in the presence of humidity attracted by the hygroscopic laminate resin. PCB manufacturers report poor yield caused by contamination embedded in laminate. Inspections show ...
Technical Library | 2020-08-13 00:59:03.0
The paper will discuss the integration of 3D printing and inkjet printing fabrication technologies for microwave and millimeter-wave applications. With the recent advancements in 3D and inkjet printing technology, achieving resolution down to 50 um, it is feasible to fabricate electronic components and antennas operating in the millimeter-wave regime. The nature of additive manufacturing allows designers to create custom components and devices for specialized applications and provides an excellent and inexpensive way of prototyping electronic designs. The combination of multiple printable materials enables the vertical integration of conductive, dielectric, and semi-conductive materials which are the fundamental components of passive and active circuit elements such as inductors, capacitors, diodes, and transistors. Also, the on-demand manner of printing can eliminate the use of subtractive fabrication processes, which are necessary for conventional microfabrication processes such as photolithography, and drastically reduce the cost and material waste of fabrication.
Technical Library | 2016-09-12 10:16:04.0
It is hard to open an Industry newsletter or visit an equipment manufacturer’s website without coming across a mention of the Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, SMART Manufacturing or ‘big data’. The accessibility to obtain data will only increase and this information and its real-time processing will become one of the most important resources for companies in the future. Production machinery will no longer simply processes the product, but the product will communicate with the machinery to tell it exactly what to do. Industry 4.0 has the vision to connects embedded system technologies and SMART production processes to drastically transform industry and production giving way to the SMART factory development. Future development in oven technology will allow machines to be controlled more intelligently and remotely resulting in the lowest cost model for manufacturing flow.
Technical Library | 2023-06-02 14:13:02.0
This work examines the use of dual-material fused filament fabrication for 3D printing electronic componentsand circuits with conductive thermoplastic filaments. The resistivity of traces printed fromconductive thermoplastic filaments made with carbon-black, graphene, and copper as conductive fillerswas found to be 12, 0.78, and 0.014 ohm cm, respectively, enabling the creation of resistors with valuesspanning 3 orders of magnitude. The carbon black and graphene filaments were brittle and fracturedeasily, but the copper-based filament could be bent at least 500 times with little change in its resistance.Impedance measurements made on the thermoplastic filaments demonstrate that the copper-based filamenthad an impedance similar to a copper PCB trace at frequencies greater than 1 MHz. Dual material3D printing was used to fabricate a variety of inductors and capacitors with properties that could bepredictably tuned by modifying either the geometry of the components, or the materials used to fabricatethe components. These resistors, capacitors, and inductors were combined to create a fully 3Dprinted high-pass filter with properties comparable to its conventional counterparts. The relatively lowimpedance of the copper-based filament enabled its use for 3D printing of a receiver coil for wirelesspower transfer. We also demonstrate the ability to embed and connect surface mounted components in3D printed objects with a low-cost ($1000 in parts), open source dual-material 3D printer. This work thusdemonstrates the potential for FFF 3D printing to create complex, three-dimensional circuits composedof either embedded or fully-printed electronic components.
Technical Library | 2021-06-21 19:34:02.0
In this era of electronics miniaturization, high yield and low-cost integrated circuit (IC) substrates play a crucial role by providing a reliable method of high density interconnection of chip to board. In order to maximize substrate real-estate, the distance between Cu traces also known as line and space (L/S) should be minimized. Typical PCB technology consists of L/S larger than 40 µ whereas more advanced wafer level technology currently sits at or around 2 µm L/S. In the past decade, the chip size has decreased significantly along with the L/S on the substrate. The decreasing chip scales and smaller L/S distances has created unique challenges for both printed circuit board (PCB) industry and the semiconductor industry. Fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) is a new manufacturing technology that seeks to bring the PCB world and IC/semiconductor world even closer. While FOPLP is still an emerging technology, the amount of high-volume production in this market space provide a financial incentive to develop innovative solutions in order to enable its ramp up. The most important performance aspect of the fine line plating in this market space is plating uniformity or planarity. Plating uniformity, trace/via top planarity, which measures how flat the top of the traces and vias are a few major features. This is especially important in multilayer processing, as nonuniformity on a lower layer can be transferred to successive layers, disrupting the device design with catastrophic consequences such as short circuits. Additionally, a non-planar surface could also result in signal transmission loss by distortion of the connecting points, like vias and traces. Therefore, plating solutions that provide a uniform, planar profile without any special post treatment are quite desirable.
