Just Ask Tara Dunn: Will IC Substrates Be Produced in Volume in the U.S.?

Estimated reading time: 1 minute

First, we asked you to send in your questions for Happy Holden, Joe Fjelstad, John Mitchell, and others in our “Just Ask” series. Now, it’s Tara Dunn’s turn! Tara is the vice president of marketing and business development for Averatek. A regular Flex007 columnist, Tara discusses flexible circuits, rigid-flex, and rigid PCBs, as well as RF/microwave technology, microelectronics, and additive processes. She is also co-founder of Geek-a-Palooza and a show manager for the SMTA Additive Electronics TechXchange event. She has over 20 years of experience in the PCB industry. We hope you enjoy “Just Ask Tara.”

Q: Do you think IC substrates (BGA, CSP, flip chip, etc.) will ever be produced in high volumes in the U.S.? The Asian capacities are currently full and expanding.

A: That’s a great question. First of all, I think the concept of high volume is relative, and the definition may be something different for everyone. There is quite a bit of effort ongoing at this time to bring this technology back to North America. These endeavors are exciting for the industry and important to the Department of Defense and its mission of providing security for the U.S. These “reshoring” efforts have begun with limited capacity in comparison to the overall volume in the market, but as development progresses, we might find that North American manufacturing may be more competitive than we realize, thus drawing additional production back to North America.  

To submit your questions for Tara, click here.

Read Tara's column: Flex Talk.