IPC APEX EXPO 2023 Special Session Sneak Peek

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The IPC APEX EXPO 2023 Technical Conference at the San Diego Convention Center will feature two hot topics—Advanced Packaging and e-Mobility/EV Automotive—in custom and curated Special Sessions on Thursday, Jan. 26. Please plan your travel accordingly to attend these exciting sessions.

Advanced Packaging
Led by IPC’s Chief Technologist, Matt Kelly, the Advanced Packaging special session will provide latest insights on IC-substrate and packaging needs from industry experts.

The electronics industry is in the early stages of a new era, with unprecedented change already in motion. In this era of heterogeneous integration led by massive changes in semiconductor and advanced packaging sectors, the days of following Moore’s Law are over. These fundamental changes in the semiconductor sector have significant impact throughout the rest of the electronics supply chain. As lines blur between IC substrate and HDI printed circuit board technologies and capabilities, the lines between OSAT and EMS manufactures also blur. Please join us for this important Advanced Packaging Special Session focused on IC substrates and packaging assembly.

The session will be interactive with panelists providing top of mind priorities, followed by a panel discussion with interaction from attendees. HDI and ultra HDI PCB needs along with IC substrate and package assembly design, material, equipment, and process needs will be discussed.

E-Mobility/EV Automotive
Climate change, government policy, and consumers are all driving us fast and furious toward an electrified future. As our century-old, mostly mechanical modes of powering transportation transition to using electric powertrains, and with the ever-increasing use of electronic systems in advanced driving assistance and autonomy systems, the PCBA industry plays an increasingly important role in making sure that electronic assemblies can work harder, longer, and at higher operating temperatures. This provides opportunities for many consumer PCBA manufacturers to participate in the automotive industry for the first time, but also creates challenges for the industry around navigating new technologies and supply chains.

Whether building an infotainment or driving assistance system with processors running over 200 watts, or a charging station’s printed circuit boards running at 1,000 volts, the industry is being called upon to help with design, material selection, and test in an environment where quality and reliability are challenged by requirements focusing on time to market. Meanwhile, specifications from design to test struggle to keep up. To further challenge the industry, EVs are part of a large rapidly developing ecosystem of charging stations that now require up to 97% uptime performance, and battery energy storage systems that require more than 20+ years of reliability, each with its own unique standards for design and test.

Co-chairs for the Technical Program Committee special sessions are Brian O’Leary, global head of e-mobility and infrastructure at Indium, and Jason Schwartz, business development manager at KYZEN. “The first part of the agenda will address the problems and challenges, with the second part addressing the solutions,” says O’Leary. “Our speakers will share a macro perspective about supply chain issues; a policy perspective about new government regulations and incentives; and a few technical perspectives from Tier 1, Tier 2, and OEMs.”

The e-Mobility session is supported by IPC’s e-Mobility Quality and Reliability Advisory Council and closely aligns with the council’s mission to help deliver e-Mobility quality, reliability, and safety while protecting the drive for innovation. IPC, in the first-of-its-kind event at IPC APEX EXPO’s e-Mobility/EV Automotive Special Session, will bring together stakeholders from OEMs, their supply chains, regulators, and policy and technology experts to discuss the many challenges as well as the collaborative-based solutions to those challenges.

The e-Mobility/EV Automotive session is a three-hour panel discussion with audience participation encouraged. Registration for this Jan. 26 session will be included in the “All Access” or “Full Technical Conference” packages, or it can also be added as a “Technical Conference Single Session Pass.”

Julia Gumminger is manager of professional development and events for IPC.