PCB Designers: ‘Level Up’ IC, Packaging Knowledge

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Soo Lan Cheah is kind of a unicorn in the industry. She is an IPC instructor based in Malaysia, and she has years of experience designing integrated circuits and printed circuit boards. I knew I had to get her thoughts for this issue on silicon-to-systems. I asked Soo Lan to discuss her cross-discipline background and what silicon-to-systems means to her.

Andy Shaughnessy: Please tell us a little about your background. It’s rare to meet someone with experience designing ICs and PCBs.

Soo Lan Cheah: I am currently an instructor for IPC PCB design certification in Asia and instructor-led online training. I’ve spent the past 20 years in Malaysia in engineering education and training, designing technical curricula for professional development, as well as national projects for upskilling local graduates and engineers in the semiconductor industry. Before this, I worked in Singapore as an engineer, for 15 years in the data communication network, doing R&D for the National Computing Center, Defense Advanced Electronics Laboratory, and Microelectronics Institute.

I started PCB design as a team member working on signal integrity simulations and test board designs for advanced PCB board products in the defense industry. I acquired electromagnetic field solver knowledge and techniques at the microelectronics institute while working on semiconductor IC package electrical design. The PCB and IC design’s formal certification for training came under a local training center in Malaysia, with a technology transfer program (PCB, IC design, and IC testing) from Japan to Malaysia. My contributions include developing the IC package design course for training and updating the PCB design and IC design courses.

I am fortunate to have been given numerous opportunities to upskill myself and be introduced to IPC design certifications. I owe a huge thank you to Tan Beng Teong. I am also grateful to my IPC mentors Dieter Bergman and Gary Ferrari for their guidance, patience, and generosity in the learning process that has inspired me to continue to update and guide new learners in the industry through IPC.

To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the September 2024 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.