SMTA UHDI Symposium: Shortening the Learning Curve

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

SMTA’s second annual UHDI Symposium on Jan. 23 in Phoenix will highlight groundbreaking discussions on UHDI assembly test board, innovative electronic inks, process controls, and signal integrity solutions.

Organizer Tara Dunn talks about the importance of the event and how she prepared presentations and discussions that would appeal to fabricators, assemblers, and designers. This event will shorten your learning curve and spark new ideas that push the boundaries of hardware electronics manufacturing. There’s still time to register.

Marcy LaRont: I attended your first UHDI symposium last year and appreciated the single-day approach packed with high-value presentations. Tell me about this year’s event.

Tara Dunn: We started the event last year because we felt strongly that the industry must come together to understand and shorten the learning curve on this technology from design to fab to assembly. Our vision was a one-day event jam-packed with technical presentations and insights into the industry and served as a jumping-off point for future conversations, as we did at SMTA International and with a second symposium this year.

This year, we have included presenters in design, fabrication, and assembly, that will address methods for UHDI technology and its challenges surrounding miniaturization. The presentations include a wide range of topics, with an intentional focus on assembly processes. The day will conclude with an interactive roundtable discussion focused on how to collaborate across these different industry segments. You can expect to take away some action items and projects for the coming year.

LaRont: Last year, you talked about forming an online forum to continue the conversation. What came of that idea?

Dunn: We had an online event last June, “Translating the Technology,” with the same idea to focus on UHDI and bringing all three of those industry segments together. There was a panel discussion and good audience participation. We met again in October in person, but I like the idea of a discussion forum. Hopefully, as we continue this initiative, we will build more momentum on that. I like the idea of getting together regularly and moving things forward.

LaRont: I agree with you. UHDI is big and it requires continuous energy and collaboration to keep us all moving forward. Tell me about some of the presentations you have planned for the symposium.

Dunn: In the morning session, Chrys Shea will provide an update on the SMTA UHDI assembly test board. Last year, she launched the debut test board, which had already gone through a couple of iterations. She now has quite a bit of experience running that test board through different assembly processes. She will talk about what they’ve learned and new areas of focus for improving our process windows for UHDI features.

LaRont: Showing the process of the UHDI test board allows the audience to see the manufacturing and testing journey.

Dunn: Yes, it's been fun. It’s taking on a life of its own and gaining momentum as many people are aware of it and looking at the board. It is being used more to test and dial-in processes.

That element of the test board fits well with the other presentations. Michael Sivigny of CeTaQ Americas works on how to dial in your process controls for improved performance. On the fabrication side, as you start building, it's not just building the one layer with the fine feature sizes on it, but how do you hold tight registration? How do you do cleaning? How do you best approach testing? It's such a broad scope that you have to look at everything in terms of individual processes.

The same will be true for assembly: They're starting to better identify and work through those key areas as well.

LaRont: I noticed that you have electron inks on the schedule. That should be an interesting presentation.

Dunn: Yes, Mike Vincent’s presentation is about how to build UHDI layers and fabricate with their specific version of metal ink, which will blend into the discussion of different additive manufacturing processes. It will be followed by John Johnson of American Standard Circuits, whose session is aptly entitled, “’It Depends’: Ultra HDI Fabrication Methods and Tradeoffs.” If you're looking at your design and the tradeoffs in one area, you might want to use a specific type of fabrication technology, an mSAP vs. ASAP, for example. Those presentations will blend well in terms of opportunities and options for fabrication.

LaRont: You also have AGC Multi Materials’ Paul Cooke’s presentation on materials, Stephen Chavez of Siemens talking about DFM for UHDI, and Zach Peterson of NWES with a presentation on signal integrity for UHDI.

Dunn: We are excited about the signal integrity presentation because it’s a hot topic throughout the design community. When you start moving into these miniaturized line widths and spaces, SI changes significantly. How do you design for it? There will be a lot of interest in that.

LaRont: Tara, is there anything else we should know about the symposium?

Dunn: Yes, there's still time to register. We are hosting the event at the Peoria Sports Complex, just a couple of days before spring training starts. It's always a fun venue. We have a breakfast kickoff focused on workforce development breakfast at 7:30 a.m., where we hope to gather information on what the industry needs in terms of skilled workers. We will discuss skills gaps and opportunities for learning and training.

LaRont: You pack a lot into one day, which helps all of us with busy schedules.

Dunn: When you come to this event, you will get your money’s worth. In addition to the technical information in the program, we have been very intentional about including extra-long networking breaks. We know it’s important to be able to continue those UHDI conversations well beyond the event, so we built in time for you to make connections with your colleagues in the industry.

LaRont: Tara, thank you so much, and I look forward to the event.

Dunn: Thank you, Marcy.