Oct 13, 2009 
The paper, titled “Imbedded Die Assembly Process, Is It Ready Yet?”, was co-authored by Mark McMeen, V.P. of Engineering Services, and Casey H. Cooper, Electrical Engineering Manager. The discussion was well attended. The presentation was a success and very well received by the audience.
Military and aerospace electronics providers continue to push the technological envelope to design and manufacture leading edge electronics for today’s DoD users. Current design problems are not driven by circuit design capabilities, but by an inability to reliably package these circuits within size and weight requirements outlined by the system level specifications. Innovative packaging techniques are required to meet the increasing size, weight, power and reliability requirements of the DoD without sacrificing electrical, mechanical, or thermal performance.
Emerging technologies, such as those imbedding components within organic substrates, have proven capable of meeting and exceeding these design objectives for meeting size, weight and power requirements. The ability to design smaller and lighter circuit board assemblies with increased power and reliability than conventional SMT boards has a future in the electronics of tomorrow.
Imbedded Component/Die Technology (IC/DT®) addresses these design challenges through imbedding both active and passives into cavities within a multi-layer PCB to decrease the surface area required to implement the circuit design and increase the robustness of the overall assembly.
This paper discussed the design methodology and validation/test data gathered during the implementation of IC/DT® in a mixed-signal prototype. The prototype designed and assembled using IC/DT® processes was subjected to reliability testing and ultimately demonstrated in a test flight. The results from this testing as well as the future designs utilizing IC/DT were presented.
About STI Electronics Inc.
Since 1982, STI Electronics, Inc. (STI) has been the premier full service organization for training, consulting, laboratory analysis, prototyping, and small- to medium-volume PCB assembly in the electronics industry. STI also produces a complete line of solder training kits including many lead-free versions and training support products. Additionally, the company distributes more than 100 product lines for the electronics and industrial markets. For more information, visit http://www.stielectronicsinc.com.
