It’s Only Common Sense: Be the Solution, Not the Problem
American Made Advocacy: Long-time Challenges Confront a New Administration
Marcy's Musings: It's Show Time!
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
Multicircuits Expands Capabilities with State-of-the-Art Automated Copper Via Fill Process
03/10/2025 | MulticircuitsMike Thiel, president of Multicircuits, a leading provider of high-reliability printed circuit boards, has announced the addition of a state-of-the-art automated copper via fill process to their advanced manufacturing capabilities. This strategic investment enhances the company’s ability to deliver cutting-edge solutions for demanding industries, including aerospace, defense, medical, and high-speed telecommunications.
EIPC 2025 Winter Conference, Day 2: A Roadmap to Material Selection
02/20/2025 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The EIPC 2025 Winter Conference, Feb. 4-5, in Luxembourg City, featured keynotes and two days of conference proceedings. The keynote session and first-day conference proceedings are reported separately. Here is my review of the second day’s conference proceedings. Delegates dutifully assembled bright and early, well-rested and eager to participate in the second day’s proceedings of the EIPC Winter Conference in Luxembourg.
Designers Notebook: Addressing Future Challenges for Designers
02/06/2025 | Vern Solberg -- Column: Designer's NotebookThe printed circuit board is and will probably continue to be the base platform for most electronics. With the proliferation of new generations of high I/O, fine-pitch surface mount semiconductor package variations, circuit interconnect is an insignificant factor. Circuit board designers continually face challenges such as component quantity and complexity, limited surface area, and meeting the circuit board’s cost target. The printed circuit design engineer’s prominent position demands the development of efficiently manufacturable products that perform without compromise.
DesignCon 2025, Day 2: It’s All About AI
01/30/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007It’s hard to get away from the topic of artificial intelligence, but why would you? It’s everywhere and in everything, and my time attending presentations about AI at DesignCon 2025 was well worth it. The conference’s agenda featured engaging presentations and discussions focused on the technological advancements in AI, big data centers, and memory innovations, emphasizing the critical relationship between processors and circuit boards.
Beyond Design: Electro-optical Circuit Boards
01/22/2025 | Barry Olney -- Column: Beyond DesignPredicting the role of PCB designers in 10 years is a challenge. If only I had a crystal ball. However, we know that as technology progresses, the limitations of copper PCBs are increasingly apparent, particularly regarding speed, bandwidth, and signal integrity. Innovations such as optical interconnects and photonic integrated circuits are setting the stage for the next generation of PCBs, delivering higher performance and efficiency. The future of PCB design will probably incorporate these new technologies to address the challenges of traditional copper-based designs.