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

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

It’s the last week of January, and it’s been pretty cold outside. That’s the best time to hunker down and catch up on your reading. Here are my top five must-reads for this week. All eyes continue to be on advanced electronics processes and packaging technology, which are highlighted in Pete Starkey’s review of the ICT winter conference in the UK, as well as Nolan Johnson’s article on inflection points, and Kris Moyer’s look forward into what will be important for PCB designers in 2026 and beyond. Candor Industries’ Sunny Patel discusses “Normalizing the Impossible” in his look forward, and Mike Jouppi contributes with his critical look at what IPC-2152 does not cover.

ICT Winter Seminar: Leading-edge Developments in Electronics Manufacturing
Published January 29

Among a short list of impactful topics and speakers at the ICT Winter Conference was Jonathan Jones of RAM Innovations, who presented the advantages of a heterogeneous packaging approach to solving packaging challenges, including their specialized process where semiconductors and components are embedded into the circuit boards. Materials were also spotlighted with Leigh Allison presenting on developments in next-generation substrate materials, and Dr. James Claypool of the company, Ail Arian (a Welsh term meaning recycled silver), circular electronics and their pioneering approach to the conductive inks used in printed electronics. Pete Starkey never disappoints.

A Look Back at 2025 as an Inflection Point
Published January 28

“The industry is converging on a more integrated, data-driven, and collaborative form of product realization,” writes Nolan Johnson in this insightful article. He examines seven trends that were important in 2025 and will continue to have a significant impact on 2026, He also dives into AI driven automation, supply chain, advancements in interconnect packaging, sustainability, high-speed design, the engineering workforce, and ever-shortening NPI timelines. This article is well written and interesting, and it is worth your time.

Normalizing the Impossible: The Next Era of PCB Fabrication
Published January 26

Sunny Patel of Candor Industries writes, “It’s not about incremental change, but velocity, physics, and the people willing to get their hands dirty to push the limits of what’s possible.” What are and will be the most influential changes in PCB fabrication through 2030? Sunny’s thoughts range from dealing with ever tighter and cumulative tolerances, to managing through “the fog of globalism.” What are your thoughts? Check in with your own perspective on these big and important questions about the future.

The Evolution of PCB Design from 2D Layouts to 3D Structures
Published January 27

In a fitting follow up to Pete Starkey’s ICT conference review, PCB design expert and instructor Kris Moyer looks forward to what’s next in PCB design in his most recent article. From the necessity for embedded devices “to support the increasing rise and fall times of digital designs,” to ultra HDI and 3D printed PCBs, which Kris cites as two of the most difficult challenges for designers to master, he tells us what designers should be paying attention to and what they will need to do to succeed going forward.

Beyond IPC-2152: Creating Technology-specific Current-carrying Capacity Design Charts Using Thermal Modeling
Published January 29

It was great to have Mike Jouppi as a contributor in January’s issue of I-Connect007 Magazine. Having served as a critical member of the Global Electronics Association standards committee, he knows what he’s talking about. In this article, Mike takes a critical look at IPC-2152, stating, “Standard IPC-2152 current capacity charts are conservative, based primarily on isolated traces, leaving substantial thermal performance untapped in modern multilayer PCBs.” What should be done? Read on and find out.