Dan's Biz Bookshelf: 'Move Your Bus'
Driving Innovation: Direct Imaging vs. Conventional Exposure
It’s Only Common Sense: Selling to Today's Generation of Buyers
MKS Instruments Unveils Significant Investment in its Yokohama TechCenter at Expansion Ceremony
March 14, 2023 | MKS Instruments, Inc.Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
MKS Instruments, Inc., a global provider of technologies that transform our world, unveiled a significant investment in its Yokohama Technical Center (YTC) in Japan, which will enable an industry leading integrated approach to creating solutions for complex package substrate manufacturing, satisfying current requirements as well as those needed for future roadmaps.
The YTC is an integral part of the most comprehensive portfolio of global TechCenters in the industry. These TechCenters combine unique analytical capabilities, state of the art full scale equipment, and highly proficient expert teams to conduct extensive research and development, providing world-class service to more than 8,000 customers around the globe. Working closely with customers and industry partners helps anticipate the industry’s future requirements, which in turn enables MKS to help customers stay ahead in a rapidly changing environment.
The recent investment in the YTC delivers the latest capabilities for the production of next generation package substrates. Offering a unique combination, the YTC utilizes dedicated lasers, optics, and motion systems for high precision, high-speed via formation in ABF build-up laminates, in combination with the latest process chemistry and equipment for desmear and electroless copper metallization. Using the latest Equalized Curtain Flow (ECF) plating tool, the YTC is able to support customers in their yield optimization and next generation process development for advanced packaging applications.
During the YTC Expansion Ceremony, Dr. John T.C. Lee, President and CEO of MKS Instruments, escorted visitors around the state-of-the-art facility showcasing the two new systems, the ESI GeodeTM A CO2 laser system and the Atotech G-Plate® plating tool, as well as demonstrating the Vitrocoat® process for Plating on Glass (PoG).
“We are highly committed to driving and leading technology development within our industries,” Dr. Lee said. “With these key installations, we are accelerating time to market through our combined capabilities, which allow us to view problems holistically and design solutions faster. This helps us to drive innovation for next generation electronic devices and offer customers and OEMs quicker development cycles for new products and materials enabling high-end SAP technology requiring <=5/5µm lines and spaces. Our unique portfolio of MKS combined services at our Yokohama technical center allows us to reduce the cycle time for a typical ABF sample from three months or more to less than one month.”
MKS Instruments’ Optimize the InterconnectSM offering drives MKS’ focus on next-generation advanced PCB and package substrate development. The investment in the YTC will further solidify MKS as a leader in the next frontier for miniaturization and complexity by enabling increasingly smaller feature sizes and offering new solutions by combining ESI laser drilling technologies with Atotech chemistry and plating equipment.
Share on:
Suggested Items
The Evolution of Picosecond Laser Drilling
06/19/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineIs it hard to imagine a single laser pulse reduced not only from nanoseconds to picoseconds in its pulse duration, but even to femtoseconds? Well, buckle up because it seems we are there. In this interview, Dr. Stefan Rung, technical director of laser machines at Schmoll Maschinen GmbH, traces the technology trajectory of the laser drill from the CO2 laser to cutting-edge picosecond and hybrid laser drilling systems, highlighting the benefits and limitations of each method, and demonstrating how laser innovations are shaping the future of PCB fabrication.
Day 2: More Cutting-edge Insights at the EIPC Summer Conference
06/18/2025 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The European Institute for the PCB Community (EIPC) summer conference took place this year in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 3-4. This is the third of three articles on the conference. The other two cover Day 1’s sessions and the opening keynote speech. Below is a recap of the second day’s sessions.
Day 1: Cutting Edge Insights at the EIPC Summer Conference
06/17/2025 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The European Institute for the PCB Community (EIPC) Summer Conference took place this year in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 3-4. This is the second of three articles on the conference. The other two cover the keynote speeches and Day 2 of the technical conference. Below is a recap of the first day’s sessions.
Preventing Surface Prep Defects and Ensuring Reliability
06/10/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineIn printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication, surface preparation is a critical process that ensures strong adhesion, reliable plating, and long-term product performance. Without proper surface treatment, manufacturers may encounter defects such as delamination, poor solder mask adhesion, and plating failures. This article examines key surface preparation techniques, common defects resulting from improper processes, and real-world case studies that illustrate best practices.
RF PCB Design Tips and Tricks
05/08/2025 | Cherie Litson, EPTAC MIT CID/CID+There are many great books, videos, and information online about designing PCBs for RF circuits. A few of my favorite RF sources are Hans Rosenberg, Stephen Chavez, and Rick Hartley, but there are many more. These PCB design engineers have a very good perspective on what it takes to take an RF design from schematic concept to PCB layout.