Access to critical minerals essential for electronics manufacturing, and China’s monopoly of them, is increasingly under scrutiny, with gallium (Ga) and germanium (Ge)at the forefront of this discourse. However, all critical minerals imported from China share a similar narrative, and understanding the implications of this dependency and the risks to both U.S. commercial and defense sectors has created an urgent need for a comprehensive electronics strategy to secure and diversify access to these vital minerals. In this candid interview, USPAE Executive Director Jim Will discusses the issues and the mitigation steps that must be taken to adequately address them.

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I attend a lot of industry trade shows and conferences. Lately, during conversations with technologists, I’ve noticed that there is some confusion about what exactly constitutes an interposer. One question I hear every so often is, “Are all interposers substrates?” The short answer to that question is no. But some interposers are, in fact, full substrates.

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As power density and thermal loads continue to increase, effective thermal management becomes increasingly important. Rapid and efficient heat transfer from power semiconductor chip packages is essential for achieving optimal performance and ensuring long-term reliability of temperature-sensitive components. This is particularly crucial in power systems that support advanced applications such as green energy generation, electric vehicles, aerospace, and defense, along with high-speed computing for data centers and artificial intelligence (AI).

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