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Marcy’s Musings: Advancing the Advanced Materials Discussion

As the industry’s most trusted global source of original content about the electronics supply chain, we continually ask you about your concerns, what you care about, and what you most want to learn about. Your responses are insightful and valuable. Thank you for caring enough to provide useful feedback and engage in dialogue.

I would like to hear from more of you. In Jerry Maguire's infamous words, “Help me, help you.” I promise that if you take the time to reach out to me, I will respond and research every topic and issue you bring to bear.

This month’s issue topic came directly from such a query. Overwhelmingly, the advancement of materials for printed circuit boards, interconnects/interposers, and substrates is of high interest, and for good reason. Moore’s Law is no more, and the solutions being developed to grapple with this reality are surprising, stunning, and perhaps— for those looking to plate onto them—a bit daunting. Advanced materials hold amazing potential for the next chapters of the electronics manufacturing journey.

Our advanced materials vendor line-up features Ventec, Isola, Arlon, EMC, Rogers, and AGC, each discussing their solutions (and products) that address high-speed signal integrity, excessive thermal stress and heat management, Dk variability with fine features, and applications that must operate reliably and for long periods of time in harsh environments.

We gave our vendors some flexibility to include product details as they highlighted the solutions they provide for advanced manufacturing. Within these pages, you’ll find valuable insights and clear answers to our questions.

SMT0007 Magazine Managing Editor Nolan Johnson joins the line-up with an article that addresses whether the time has finally come for glass as a substrate material, and Steve Driver, the CEO and “driver” of Jiva Solutions, discusses its groundbreaking recyclable PCB material, Soluboard, and what’s next for them in this space.

Our columnists provide a full spectrum of valuable information. Happy Holden reviews the importance of statistics and good modeling tools in PCB fabrication and offers a free tool available for all to use. Don Ball talks candidly about the pros and cons of using a sales rep service model to support one’s international customers. Schmoll’s Simon Khesin tackles the issue of panel warpage and bow and twist, and Shane Whiteside, representing PCBAA, continues a discussion on the ”disconnect between stated Pentagon goals and budgetary reality” with no money allocated for the U.S. Defense Production Act for PCBs in 2026.

This issue also includes an interview with Venkat Raja of Advint, a training company that specializes solely in advancing expertise in electroplating—a topic that goes well with advanced materials.

We lost yet another important and beloved member of our industry, Walt Custer, just weeks ago. As Dan Feinberg said, “Walt’s life was characterized by his unwavering commitment to the industry, his profound wisdom, and willingness to share it, and his infectious enthusiasm for everything he did.” He will be missed.

I will end on Steve Williams’ column, which tells the story of his father, Chuck Williams, another industry innovator, entrepreneur, and the founder of Electro-tek.

This issue is packed with news and information you can use right away. If it sparks an idea, please let me know. Let’s keep this important conversation going.

This column originally appeared in the September 2025 issue of PCB007 Magazine.