Standard of Excellence: Speed vs. Quality in Customer Service
Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Revamp Your Components with BGA Reballing
Global Sourcing Spotlight: Balancing Speed and Flexibility Without Sacrificing Control
Just Ask Joe: The Occam Process
August 25, 2020 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: 1 minute
First, we asked you to send in your questions for Happy Holden. Now, it’s Joe Fjelstad’s turn! Inventor, columnist, instructor, and founder of Verdant Electronics, Joe has been involved with rigid PCBs and flexible circuits for decades, and he’s ready to share some of his knowledge with our readers. We hope you enjoy “Just Ask Joe.”
Q: Is the Occam process an early version of chiplets, placing chips first in assembly?
A: There have been a number of speculative and prospective chip first package solutions over the last 15–20 or more years. GE, Intel, and others have shown ways of interconnecting chips in packages by plating and then socketing or surface mounting the resulting components on PCBs using solder as almost everything still is today.
Chiplets are a more recent manifestation where chips are tiled and interconnected in mosaic form around the edges using solder. Occam was envisioned as a way to eliminate solder from the manufacturing process by reversing the manufacturing process. That is, building a “component board” comprised ideally of packaged ICs, all having a common grid pitch for terminations and which have been tested and burned in. Circuits are then built up onto the component board as if it was a basic PCB substrate. The component board substrate can be of almost any material because soldering is not required. Aluminum is suggested because it is an excellent thermal conductor and has a CTE near that of copper. Having all components with a common grid makes routing very efficient, and layer counts can drop significantly. Because there is no soldering, there is no unintended thermal damage to components or assembly. With the reduced number of steps, the assemblies should be much less expensive.
To pose your own question for Joe Fjelstad, click here.
Joe Fjelstad is founder and CEO of Verdant Electronics and an international authority and innovator in the field of electronic interconnection and packaging technologies with more than 185 patents issued or pending. To read past "Flexible Thinking" columns or contact Fjelstad, click here. Download your free copy of Fjelstad’s book Flexible Circuit Technology, 4th Edition, and watch the micro webinar series on flexible circuit technology.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Our marketing partnership with I-Connect007 is already delivering. Just a day after our press release went live, we received a direct inquiry about our updated products!"
Rachael Temple - AlltematedSuggested Items
BTU International Earns 2025 Step-by-Step Excellence Award for Its Aqua Scrub™ Flux Management System
10/29/2025 | BTU International, Inc.BTU International, Inc., a leading supplier of advanced thermal processing equipment for the electronics manufacturing market, has been recognized with a 2025 Step-by-Step Excellence Award (SbSEA) for its Aqua Scrub™ Flux Management Technology, featured on the company’s Pyramax™ and Aurora™ reflow ovens.
On the Line With… Ultra HDI Podcast—Episode 7: “Solder Mask: Beyond the Traces,” Now Available
10/31/2025 | I-Connect007I-Connect007 is excited to announce the release of the seventh episode of its 12-part podcast series, On the Line With… American Standard Circuits: Ultra HDI. In this episode, “Solder Mask: Beyond the Traces,” host Nolan Johnson sits down with John Johnson, Director of Quality and Advanced Technology at American Standard Circuits, to explore the essential role that solder mask plays in the Ultra HDI (UHDI) manufacturing process.
Rehm Wins Mexico Technology Award for CondensoXLine with Formic Acid
10/17/2025 | Rehm Thermal SystemsModern electronics manufacturing requires technologies with high reliability. By using formic acid in convection, condensation, and contact soldering, Rehm Thermal Systems’ equipment ensures reliable, void-free solder joints — even when using flux-free solder pastes.
Indium Experts to Deliver Technical Presentations at SMTA International
10/14/2025 | Indium CorporationAs one of the leading materials providers to the power electronics assembly industry, Indium Corporation experts will share their technical insight on a wide range of innovative solder solutions at SMTA International (SMTAI), to be held October 19-23 in Rosemont, Illinois.
Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Revamp Your Components with BGA Reballing
10/14/2025 | Nash Bell -- Column: Knocking Down the Bone PileBall grid array (BGA) components evolved from pin grid array (PGA) devices, carrying over many of the same electrical benefits while introducing a more compact and efficient interconnect format. Instead of discrete leads, BGAs rely on solder balls on the underside of the package to connect to the PCB. In some advanced designs, solder balls are on both the PCB and the BGA package. In stacked configurations, such as package-on-package (PoP), these solder balls also interconnect multiple packages, enabling higher functionality in a smaller footprint.