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Current IssueThe Hole Truth: Via Integrity in an HDI World
From the drilled hole to registration across multiple sequential lamination cycles, to the quality of your copper plating, via reliability in an HDI world is becoming an ever-greater challenge. This month we look at “The Hole Truth,” from creating the “perfect” via to how you can assure via quality and reliability, the first time, every time.
In Pursuit of Perfection: Defect Reduction
For bare PCB board fabrication, defect reduction is a critical aspect of a company's bottom line profitability. In this issue, we examine how imaging, etching, and plating processes can provide information and insight into reducing defects and increasing yields.
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Mentor: PCB Technology Leadership Award Winners
December 9, 2014 | Mentor GraphicsEstimated reading time: 3 minutes

Continuing its tradition of promoting and recognizing PCB design excellence, Mentor Graphics Corporation has announced the winners of its 25th annual PCB Technology Leadership Awards. Started in 1988, this program is the longest running competition of its kind in the electronic design automation (EDA) industry. It recognizes engineers and designers who use innovative methods and design tools to address today's complex PCB systems design challenges and produce industry-leading products.
Prominent experts in the PCB industry judged entries from around the world in six categories that represent a wide variety of industries:
- Consumer electronics and handheld;
- Industrial control, instrumentation, security, and medical;
- Military and aerospace;
- Computers, blade and servers, memory systems;
- Telecom, network controllers, line cards; and
- Transportation and automotive.
The expert judges included Happy Holden, Gentex Corporation (retired); Gary Ferrari, FTG Circuits technical support director; Pete Waddell, president of UP Media and publisher of Printed Circuit Design & Fab/Circuits Assembly Magazine; Andy Kowalewski, Metamako LP senior interconnect designer; Rick Hartley, L-3 Communications/Avionics Division senior principal engineer; Susy Webb, Fairfield Nodal senior PCB designer; and Charles Pfeil, Mentor Graphics Systems Design Division director of engineering.
2014 Technology Leadership Award Winners
Category: Best Overall Design
- Company: Alcatel-Lucent Italia
- Design team: Fabrizio Crippa, Giovanni Villa, Sergio Pirovano, Massimo Pollastri, Stefano Cornini, Luigi Aldeghi, Fabio Villa,Paolo Scotti, Massimiliano Severi, Ivan Malaspina, Fabio Frigerio, Donato Maggi
- Using: Xpedition Enterprise
Category: Computers, Blade & Servers, Memory Systems
- 1st place: Seagate Technology LLC
- Design team: Andre' Dutko, Keith MacLean
- Using: Xpedition Enterprise
- 2nd place: Sanmina Corp.
- Design team: Damodhar Chakravarthy Mallisetty, Tom Thomas, Birla Manoharan
- Using: Xpedition Enterprise
Category: Consumer Electronics & Handhelds
- 1st place: Qualcomm Technologies Inc.
- Design team: Larry Paul, Sanat Kapoor, Stephen Baker, Danlin Xiang, Michael Tex, Scott Asbill
- Using: Xpedition Enterprise
- 2nd place: Wizlogix Pte. Ltd.
- Design team: Vivian Ong Ai Lian, Tan Shean Huey, Romeo Pineda
- Using: Xpedition Enterprise
Category: Industrial Control, Instrumentation, Security & Medical
- 1st place: Fujitsu Technology Solutions GmbH
- Design team: Andreas Schaefer, Timo Bruderek, Joachim Bub, Andreas Titz, Willi Neukam, Peter Brau, Werner Hasubick, Rudi Haeussermann, George Emanuel Valceanu
- Using: Xpedition Enterprise
- 2nd place: Valtronic SA
- Design team: Gabriel Gay, Van Ly Mai, Cristian Anton, Bert de Vries
- Using: Xpedition Enterprise
Category: Military & Aerospace
- 1st place: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- Design team: Dave Petrick, D.Albaijes, Banks Walker
- Using: PADS
- 2nd place: BAE Systems
- Design team: Matthew Offredi, Gary Chambers, Daniel Smith, Sammy Laver, Ross McCullie, Gary Prior
- Using: Xpedition Enterprise
Category: Telecom, Network Controllers, Line Cards
- 1st place: RAD
- Design team: Olga Goykhberg, Svetlana Zlotnik, Didier Halimi; Dorit Leizer, Sharona Manasherov
- Using: Xpedition Enterprise
- 2nd place: Ericsson TV
- Design team: Rob Dickinson, Paul White, John Curtis
- Using: Xpedition Enterprise
Category: Transportation & Automotive
- 1st place: Visteon Corp.
- Design team: Hai Pham, Padmanaban Kanagaraj, Krzysztof Russa
- Using: Xpedition Enterprise
- 2nd place: Visteon Corp.
- Designer: Nagarajan Mani
- Using: Xpedition Enterprise
The on-demand webinar highlighting industry trends and the winners of the 2014 Technology Leadership Awards competition can be found here.
About the Technology Leadership Awards Contest
The TLA contest is open to any designs created with Mentor Graphics® PCB solutions. Judging is based on design complexity and overcoming associated challenges, such as small form factor, high-speed protocols, multi-discipline team collaboration, advanced PCB fabrication technologies, and design-cycle time reduction.
About Mentor Graphics
Mentor Graphics Corporation is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronic, semiconductor and systems companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues in the last fiscal year of about $1.15 billion. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. For more information, visitwww.mentor.com/.
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