I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

This week’s must-reads are comprised of news which moves the industry forward. We’ve had quite a lot of news on a global scale, and they’re all good reads. To winnow down to just five, I chose either new information or interesting takes on ongoing industry stories. To that end, we have news about new capital equipment for advanced packaging, discussions of material selection and the imaging process during PCB fabrication, a columnist's ode to the best engineer she knows, and some optimistic news from the semiconductor industry.

ASMPT Combines High-speed Chip Assembly Directly from the Wafer with SMT Placement in a Single Machine
Published June 6

System in package (SiP) technology is not just a thing of the future. It’s here today and ASMPT has announced manufacturing equipment to support SiP. This new system “processes both SMDs from tapes and dies taken directly from the wafer in a single step at speeds of up to 50,000 dies or 76,000 SMT components per hour.” It might not become a mainstream manufacturing method in 2024, but it’s clear packages will be bypassed entirely for certain silicon die in the near future. 

Overconstrain? Underconstrain? Selecting Materials for High-speed Designs
Published June 6

No matter the technical sophistication of your PCB design, the evolution of state-of-the-art packages continues to make materials selection a critical step in the design process. So, I-Connect007’s Andy Shaughnessy asked Stephen Chavez, principal technical product marketing manager at Siemens, to share his thoughts on material selection for high-speed designs. Steph discusses material constraints, stackups, and the cut-off point when a “traditional” laminate will (and won’t) work for a high-speed board.

ASC Sunstone Talks Imaging in Latest Podcast Episode
Published June 11

In the latest episode of the podcast series, On the Line With: Designing for Reality, I returned to Sunstone Circuits in Mulino, Oregon, to continue down the manufacturing process with Matt Stevenson.

This series is all about the specifics that can affect your circuit board during the manufacturing process and includes tips and tricks for optimizing design, fabrication, yields, and cost. In this episode, Matt paints a picture of the outer layer imaging process. Since each circuit board is a one-of-a-kind pattern of metal connections representing the specific design for that circuit, how do those unique features get mapped onto the board? Find out in Episode 7.

Global Semiconductor Sales Increase 15.8% YoY in April
Published June 7

This announcement from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) was interesting enough to make my must-reads based on the numbers alone. But at the risk of spoiling the article, I found this passage most interesting: “SIA today endorsed the WSTS (World Semiconductor Trade Statistics organization) Spring 2024 global semiconductor sales forecast, which projects annual global sales will grow to $611.2 billion in 2024, which would be the industry’s highest-ever annual sales total.” Get all the numbers here.

The New Chapter: Lessons From the Best Engineer I’ve Ever Known
Published June 12

How did you get into this industry? Did you follow in a family member’s footsteps? As columnist Paige Fiet explains, her engineer father played a large part in her decision to become an engineer. In this column, Paige discusses the lessons she’s learned from her father—engineering and otherwise—that have shaped the way she looks at her job and the world.