e l

Hybrid Systems for August 2014 e

26 Print Organic and Printed ctr by Klaus Hecker

Piezoelectric, Pyroelectric, 32 and Ferroelectric Materials onic for

by Josh Goldberg e d Conductive Ink Market: 44 Photovoltaic and Touch Screen Sectors by Dr. Khasha Ghaffarzadeh s

Printed Electronics 2014: World Standardization Effort Growing Opportunities for Collaboration by Marc Carter, page 12

August 2014 • The PCB Magazine 1

IPC echSummit October 28–30, 2014 • Raleigh, North Carolina

Combining three events into one, IPC TechSummit focuses on innovation, reliability and leadership — three cornerstones of successful business in today’s electronics marketplace.

Running parallel conferences, this world-class event will provide critical knowledge that you need to solve today’s challenges and prepare for the future. Select from sessions in one conference or from all three.

Innovation Electronic System Technologies Conference

Reliability 8th International Symposium on Tin Whiskers

Leadership Executive Management Sessions

Mark your calendar now to join your colleagues for this one-of-a-kind learning and networking event.

www.ipc.org/TechSummit Printed Electronics august What is the story with printed electronics? Where have they been and where are they going? Most

F importantly, how are they being used in today’s eatured content market? These questions and more are addressed by this month’s feature contributors from IPC, OE-A, and more.

12 Printed Electronics 2014: 32 Piezoelectric, Pyroelectric, and World Standarization Effort— Ferroelectric Materials for Growing Opportunities for Printed Electronics Collaboration by Josh Goldberg by Marc Carter

26 Hybrid Systems for Organic and Printed Electronics by Klaus Hecker feature short 44 Conductive Ink Market: Photovoltaic and Touch Screen Sectors by Dr. Khasha Ghaffarzadeh

4 The PCB Magazine • August 2014

electronics

august 2014 Printed contents Volume 4 Number 8

the definitive interactive magazine dedicated to the global PCb industry

thepcbmagazine.com

columns Video Interviews 8 Bits and Pieces 46 Sunstone’s New Initiatives by Ray Rasmussen

Panel Discussion feature Video 50 Controlling the ENIG Process for 53 Printed Electronics Discussion Optimum Efficiency and Performance by Michael Carano

Shorts 11 The Passing of an Industry Icon: Dieter Bergman

24 Cheap, Flexible Printed Cameras from Graphene

56 Pressure in Hot Roll Lamination of Dry Film Photoresist News Highlights by Karl Dietz 42 Markets

48 Mil/Aero007 Extras 62 Events Calendar 54 Supplier/New Product

63 Advertisers Index & Masthead 60 Top Ten PCB007 News Highlights

6 The PCB Magazine • August 2014

the way i see it feature C olu m n Bits and Pieces by Ray Rasmussen I-Connect007

The PCB Dream So, if you were starting a PCB facility from I had a recent discussion with a board fabri- scratch, how would you build it? I know that cator about the expansion of his business. The many of you out there can see what’s happen- company was looking into the possibility of ing and what’s possible with the newer systems buying an existing facility and asked that I keep that are now available. I’d love to see your plan them informed if I came across any companies for the PCB factory of the future. Please send that were interested in selling. My first thought me your thoughts. I’ll share them with the rest was that these guys know how to run a business; of the readers. Let’s see what’s doable, today. they’ll do well with a good, strategic acquisition. Watch for my article this fall that describes a Then, after thinking about it a bit, I changed new factory currently taking shape, one that is my mind. Why buy someone else’s obsolete fac- adopting all of the latest technologies in order to tory with all of its environmental baggage? You become the PCB factory of the future. might buy a business for a strong customer base PE, 3D PCB Machine or if you were looking I’ve been really in- for a new capability, but trigued by the marriage it would have to be re- of printed electronics ally compelling. Instead, and 3D printing. After build something new. intently watching the What if you could emergence of printed put together a new, state- electronics over the last of-the-art, highly auto- 5–10 years, I can clearly mated factory without see the intersection be- waste treatment (no air tween the PCB and PE or water)? I have the op- industries. And now, portunity to visit such a factory being built right with the rapid advancement of 3D printing, here in the U.S. by an OEM that is making the we’re starting to see applications for full-blown necessary investments. PCBs. Considering the cost associated with prov- Think about it: Increasingly better CAD and ing out a PCB design, offering up PCB proto CAM software makes going from design to direct machines seems like the logical first market for imaging more of a reality. If you fully investigat- these systems. With a market PCB protos alone ed a one-off panel production flow, just in time, to be in the billions of dollars, with thousands of along with a system like Mutracx which guaran- potential systems, it must look quite attractive tees panel quality, you could flow from design to those building these systems. It’s not just the through etch without a pause. I imagine a PCB cost of the PCB; it’s the value of the time as well. factory looking more like a PCB assembly line, Taking a couple of days or weeks out of the prod- with long columns of equipment moving prod- uct development cycle is worth a lot more than uct through the factory. I believe everything is the PCB. With that in mind, we see the introduc- available to take a board from one end to the tion of a few new entries to the market. other in a smooth flow, without too many stops. Recently, we posted this article on pcb007. And if we just invested a bit more in those areas com: FirePick Delta 3D: One Step Closer to where product stops, we could build a PCB from Desktop Electronics . The sys- end to end, quickly and efficiently. tem described in the article is quite interesting

8 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 Electronics

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Atotech Main Offic · P.O. Box 21 07 80 · 10507 Berlin · Germany Tel.: +49 30 - 349 85-0 · Fax:+49 30 - 349 85-777 · www.atotech.com bits and pieces continues and gives us a glimpse of where this is heading. jumped into the fray: “The Internet of Things Here’s a quote: represents a vast landscape of amazing potential; This machine is capable of doing two of the we are just now beginning to grasp how truly most important and difficult tasks in the process far the growing convergence of many tradition- of assembling working electronic devices. While ally standalone applications and cyber-physical it’s not quite to the point of simply being able systems can take us,” said Oleg Logvinov, IEEE to press a button and have it print out an entire committee chair who is director, special assign- working device on its own, it certainly shows us ments, Industrial and Power Conversion Divi- how close we are to one day having a machine sion, STMicroelectronics. that will print and assemble working electronic To read more about IEEE’s efforts, click here. devices at the touch of a button. I wouldn’t say I’m mesmerized by all these In another recently posted article, Advan- new and and industries, tech Launches Printing Tech for Microelectronic but I am certainly intrigued. I am quite hope- Industry, we find this quote: Features and devic- ful that our industries will embrace some of the es below 5 µm are typically the realm of Chips/ newer manufacturing technologies as well as the VLSI. Features above 30 µm are the realm of tra- emerging ones and incorporate them into their ditional printed circuit and device technologies. offerings as soon as is applicable. I hope the in- The manufacturing processes of these two worlds dustry will not be blindsided by what’s coming, have rarely intersected. Advantech US has devel- but will instead seize the opportunities they of- oped a printing process that allows these worlds fer. That’s why we cover this the way we do. It’s to merge. important. Pay attention. I also came across a video, which introduces a system to make desktop PCBs. It’s not so much Sustainability in the Supply Chain the system, but who is making it: young engi- Pam Gordon, of Technology Forecasters, has neers. Check it out! written an article for Green Biz titled How to It’s not doom and gloom here; it’s just that make electronic trade groups drive sustainabil- there seem to be opportunities emerging in the ity. With help from IPC, Gordon gathered input PCB and assembly space that we all need to be from association members to gain some perspec- aware of. That’s what I’m trying to do. If it were tive on how industry associations engage their just a few hobbyists making PCBs on their work- members on environmental sustainability. A bench, it would be one thing. Instead, there are couple of questions: First, is it their (the associa- two potentially very large industries emerging tion’s) job to drive this in the industry? Second, that are starting to intersect more and more with what is “environmental sustainability”? Here’s what we do each year. how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency For more on the PE, 3D merger, visit our describes it: Sustainability is based on a simple printed electronics news section. principle: Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, Internet of Things on our natural environment. Sustainability creates It’s kind of a corny name for something that’s and maintains the conditions under which humans about to have an impact on everything we do. If and nature can exist in productive harmony, that you haven’t heard the term Internet of Things permit fulfilling the social, economic and other re- (IoT), you will. With a market size in the trillions quirements of present and future generations. (yes, with a “t”) of dollars, the IoT will touch just Although I think it makes for an interesting about everything we do. We see lots of interest article and it caught my attention, I’m not so and investments being made by all the major sure this is an issue for our associations. Where players from just about every industry. And the are we falling short? Yes, we all use dangerous IoT isn’t just for the factory floor, as we found chemicals, but what does that have to do with out recently with Apple’s announcement that it sustainability? If we’re doing our environmental was moving into the connected home market bit, what are we doing that isn’t sustainable? If along with Google and other major OEMs. IEEE we’re keeping the air and water clean and recy-

10 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 bits and pieces continues cling everything that can be recycled, why do we if, as part of our industry-wide PR efforts, the as- need to make this an industry issue? Can we all sociations took stock of where we stand today do our part to lessen our impact on the environ- with regard to sustainability. But, I don’t think ment? Sure. But it’s the OEMs and the politicians we need associations to drive this. that will drive the effort toward cleaner tech, not Well, I hope you are all enjoying your sum- the associations. mer. See you soon at the next industry event. PCB Sustainability is important to making sure that we continue to have, the water, materials, and resources required to protect human health Ray Rasmussen is the publisher and our environment. And, if you have a flat and chief editor for I-Connect007 roof, which most of our factories do, you should Publications. He has worked in be looking into solar options which will lessen the industry since 1978 and is your impact by helping to clean the air and re- the former publisher and chief duce the impact of global warming. I suspect editor of CircuiTree Magazine. that most, if not all, chemical companies have To read past columns, or to their own sustainability efforts underway, along contact Rasmussen, click here. with all the component makers. Might be best

and later that year joined the IPC staff as Techni- The Passing of an Industry cal Director. In that role, he was responsible for a number of things: the coordination of standards, Icon: Dieter Bergman specifications and guidelines development; round robin test programs; establishment of workshops It is with great sadness that IPC announces the and seminars; government and inter-society liai- passing of Dieter Bergman, IPC staff member for son; and initiating IPC activities in Europe and Asia. more than 40 years. In 1984, Bergman became Director of Tech- Decorated with countless awards over his life- nology Transfer to help foster the interchange time, Bergman’s name will forever be synony- between design and manufacturing and he con- mous with IPC, and he leaves a legacy tinued to serve as a leader in the of friendships, lasting memories, and identification of future technologies what is affectionately treasured by and industry needs. IPC staff and close friends as “Dieter- While Bergman had a special place isms,” such as a 45-minute answer to a in his heart for the design community, 10-second question. his contributions to the industry as a Bergman began his career in 1956 whole earned him IPC’s highest honor, as a designer for Philco Ford in Phila- the Hall of Fame Award, in 1985. delphia, Pennsylvania. He assumed the Most recently, Bergman chaired the position of supervisor of the printed cir- IPC Ambassador Council, a group of cuit design group in 1967, and joined IPC Hall of Famers who provide advice the company’s advanced technology and guidance to IPC, and encourage group where he specialized in printed circuit com- active participation in IPC activities by all of its puter-aided design. Before that, however, 1962, members to enhance the electronics industry. he became Philco’s official representative to IPC “The staff and I feel very fortunate to have and received the IPC President’s Award in 1968, known Dieter, and have benefited from his knowl- the same year he assumed chairmanship of the IPC edge and his passion for the industry,” said IPC Design Committee. President and CEO John Mitchell. “He will be Bergman was elected Chairman of the IPC missed, but always remembered as an icon, Technical Activities Executive Committee in 1974, pioneer and friend.”

August 2014 • The PCB Magazine 11 feature

Printed Electronics 2014: World Standardization Effort Growing Opportunities for Collaboration

by Marc Carter cialization, national interests, poorly developed IPC—Association Connecting cooperation between standards bodies, etc.) are Electronics Industries discussed. Some means of avoiding this unde- sirable outcome are suggested. Current and near-future efforts toward co- Abstract operative standardization, technology devel- Although technically not a new technology, opment, and communication are discussed, as printed electronics is a technology with a grow- well as a status report on the major efforts in ing number of real commercial applications and progress. Partnerships that currently exist and very broad potential applications. It is the as- partnerships under discussion are presented. sessment of IPC that printed electronics is at the Over the next five years, we envision a num- stage of development where widely accepted ber of potential obstacles to both effective and international standards, based on consensus by efficient collaborative printed electronics stan- experts from many viewpoints and many coun- dards development, and to the broader avail- tries, could aid global adoption of this technol- ability of printed electronics as a viable option ogy as an additional tool widely available for in electronic fabrication. In this article, we will the fabrication of electronic apparatus. communicate those areas of concern, and sug- At the same time, there are factors that could gest some possible means to avoid them. drive the generation of multiple competing or We predict the general success of printed conflicting printed electronics standards, with electronics, if success is defined as the wide unnecessary duplication of effort. Some of the availability and acceptance of printed electron- forces behind this possibility (geographical spe- ics technology as one of many possible tools

12 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 “No great thing is created suddenly.” -Epictetus

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www.mutracx.com printed electronics 2014: world standardization effort continues which may be employed in electronic fabrica- engines with various fuels, compression-igni- tion, when it is the most appropriate solution tion engines (i.e., diesel), battery-electric mo- to a particular problem. tors, and steam. Each had sufficient advantages and disadvantages, and the situation was suf- Historical Background: How We Got Here ficiently complex when viewed from the per- As is typical with any major technological spective of the times, that the winners were not shift, when alternatives to wired circuits were easily predicted. Eventually (due to a complex needed, several possible paths were identified, combination of events, materials available at but no one could predict with certainty which the time, and market forces) internal combus- paths would succeed in the marketplace. The tion (Otto cycle ignition engines, and compres- path (or paths) chosen depend on the technolo- sion ignition) powered vehicles became the gies and support for each available at the time, dominant types. the various market, environmental, and societal Similarly, when the world needed products forces in play at the moment, and a bundle of that were more complex, or more miniaturized additional imponderable factors usually lumped than could easily or economically be produced together under the heading of “luck.” by traditional hand wiring techniques, several As an illustration, consider the introduction plausible alternatives emerged, including depo- of the automobile. Early examples of successful sition of conductive materials on an insulating automobiles were powered by spark-ignition substrate by printing or other techniques, auto-

Figure 1: From “Printed Circuit Techniques” by Cledo Brunetti and Roger W. Curtis (National Bureau of Standards Circular 468 first issued 15 November 1947).

14 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 printed electronics 2014: world standardization effort continues mated wire “stitching” (one well-known trade the protected copper in place. The resist could name is “Multiwire”) and variations on the sub- then be removed with solvent, component leads tractive techniques. inserted in holes drilled “in board” and then sol- The simplest, and to some, the most obvious dered to the copper conductors. early solution involved depositing a conductive material where it was needed: to connect the 1950–2000: Printed Electronics— elements of a circuit into some useful assembly. the Path not Taken The various alternative methods of depositing Improvements in the placement of the re- conductive materials on an eventu- sist, methods developed to electrically con- ally yielded what is believed to be the first high- nect electrical conductors on stacks of layered volume production examples of printed circuits circuits (multilayers), meant that printed elec- during World War II. tronics (i.e., depositing an electrically conduc- An alternative method generally credited to tive paste on an insulating substrate) could not Paul Eisler involved depositing a chemically re- economically meet the speed, miniaturized fea- sistant ink (resist) on a copper-foil-clad insulat- tures, and precise size and positioning required ing sheet in a pattern that would eventually con- in the rapidly developing electronics industry, nect component parts as wires would have in the given the technologies of the day. past. Thus prepared, the sheet was immersed in Thus, for the second half of the 20th century, a solution that dissolves copper etchant, leaving printed electronics was a minor player in the

Figure 2: Subtractive process multilayer printed wiring board production sequence.

August 2014 • The PCB Magazine 15 printed electronics 2014: world standardization effort continues electronics industry. The subtractive process of of the 20th century, where 1,300–1,400 automo- etching away most of the copper, with all of its bile manufacturers formed in the U.S., most of chemical requirements and waste generated, which had disappeared by 1920. was the path we followed. Evolutionary im- The legacy of this period remains a barrier to provements reduced feature size and improved investment and consideration of printed elec- precision of feature location, facilitating the tronic alternatives among main-stream elec- miniaturization that was (and to some extent, tronic manufacturers. In the latter part of the still is) the driving force behind electronic prod- decade, successes of more realistic, “hybridized” uct improvements. (i.e., where selective application of printed elec- As the century waned, a combination of tronic technology in an otherwise conventional cost pressures, environmental concerns and ex- electronic fabrication sequence) applications pansion of electronics applications previously have begun to erode the skepticism. Continued unimagined started to run into areas where steady growth in what became known as tradi- the subtractive approach reached limitations. tional printed electronics (membrane switches, Very large displays with thousands of identi- electroluminescent [EL] applications, auto rear- cal (TFTs), e-readers, new window defoggers, etc. Ninety-five percent of directions in lighting, photovoltaic interest, which was screen printed) continued through and very low-cost electronic applications on the decade also helped overcome some reserva- renewable (sometimes disposable) substrates tions. renewed interest in the potential advantages inherent in placing functional materials only 2010: A New Beginning where needed. In 2010, IPC membership tasked IPC staff Simultaneously, material science provided with a realistic assessment of printed electron- new options for functional electronic materials ics, including: that began to address limitations the inks and substrates of earlier generations. Advances in • 2010: Problem Assessment: Existing vs. nanomaterials, semi-conductor materials, and Desired State of Industry substrates accompanied the start of a number • Assessment of 2010 Issues Impeding of new ventures, each encouraged by optimis- Market Development tic projections of dot-com-like growth, and the • What was Needed to Achieve Desired State looming prospect of obsolescence of all exist- • Select & Prioritize Needs based on ing forms of electronic production. While there 1) Achievability 2) Resources were isolated examples of commercial success using the technology where and when appro- A breakdown of these four areas follows. priate, the next decade was a lesson in indus- trial/technology reality. 2010: Problem Assessment Situation Analysis: 2000–2010: Too Many Promises, In 2010, our assessment of the existing gen- Too Little Commercialization eral state of the printed electronics industry Inflated growth projections, the lack of wide- worldwide determined that there were isolated spread infrastructure, lack of universally accept- examples of commercial success (blood glucose able criteria (for acceptance, reliability, testing, monitor strips, some RFID, some membrane etc.) and improvements in the well-established switch applications, etc.). They each shared cer- existing alternatives limited the growth of the tain characteristics, namely: market. A number of major companies invested heavily on the promises and drove important • Each was a strictly bilateral arrangement developments in the technology and materials, (one customer and one supplier), with unique but without the “killer app” success they antici- and privately agreed design criteria, acceptance pated. The situation is in some ways analogous and performance requirements and (generally) to the automotive industry in the first 20 years building approaches

16 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 printed electronics 2014: world standardization effort continues

• Each success was developed in isolation other would-be practitioners of the art as “les- and any parallel efforts elsewhere must there- sons learned” opportunities. fore be uniquely re-developed 7. Printed electronics incorporates elements • Technical solutions to any problems en- of both traditional electronics manufacture and countered were similarly re-developed for each traditional printing technologies. Even skilled case designers in one of the traditional fields might be unaware of design considerations critical to All of these made for an inefficient repeti- success in the other. tion of effort for each project. In addition, there was no general agreement on definitions, ex- The first three of these impediments were pectations, etc. and are beyond IPC’s scope. The fourth might be achievable by IPC, but was deemed less effi- 2010 Issues Impeding Market cient than development of a partnership to ad- Development dress the issues by expanding the scope of an We identified a number of impediments to a existing platform. The final three we judged as fully functional global printed electronics mar- well within our established abilities. With those ketplace, including (but not limited to): caveats, we concluded that sufficient maturity in the individual elements necessary had been 1. Additional research and development achieved to allow the development of a true to refine, expand, and fully characterize ex- global industry, with cooperative support from isting successful material and process sets was IPC and many others. needed. Our working assumption was that in order 2. Basic research to identify new materials to achieve the desired state of the industry, it and processes to address cost, reliability, envi- was necessary to reduce or eliminate the wasted ronmental, health, and safety issues associated effort in repeated “re-inventions of the wheel.” with some of the existing material and pro- In part, mutually understandable means of com- cesses was distributed (piecemeal) among many municating methods, needs and requirements centers around the world. were necessary. IPC has been in the business of 3. Process developments were needed, par- facilitating global, consensus-based standards, ticularly linkage of existing unit operations into test methods, and guidelines in the traditional integrated production sequences, as much of electronics industries for more than 50 years. the equipment available had been developed That body of work serves as the means of com- and optimized to perform one kind of process munication described earlier for the traditional step only. electronics industry, so it should be possible to 4. Market projections (both in size and di- build the equivalent communications tool for rection) tended to be highly speculative, in part printed electronics, with the right participants. because the concept of a “printed electronics The same could be said of the design require- product” was poorly defined, with very indis- ments. tinct boundaries. IPC has a long history of providing tech- 5. No world-wide system existed whereby a nology forums for lessons learned in the tra- potential buyer could describe to multiple po- ditional electronics manufacturing arena and tential suppliers what was desired in terms of has well established methods to support such a printed electronic product in a consistently events. What was lacking (at least at the time) understood manner in either performance, reli- was sufficient specific technical background ability, acceptance requirements, etc. to insure that any such event would be truly 6. While there were multiple venues where useful to attendees. This was another oppor- technological developments, basic research, tunity to couple our resources with those of market potential were discussed, there were too other organizations with the specific knowl- few forums where existing success stories (and edge to support the growth of this industry for the failures along the way) were presented to the benefit of our existing and future mem-

18 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 printed electronics 2014: world standardization effort continues ber companies. Organizations with whom IPC • Design guidelines (eventually standards) has partnered to a greater or lesser degree are to bridge the gap between traditional electronic shown in Figure 3. design requirements and the traditional print Our conclusion on completing that assess- technologies ment, including likelihood of success and re- • Fact-based market data for decision makers sources available can be summarized as: (developed in partnership with others) Maximum benefit from IPC resources will be achieved by: To consolidate IPC’s parallel efforts in sup- port of these targets in one framework, IPC for- • Global consensus-based printed electron- mally established the IPC Printed Electronics Ini- ics standards tiative in early 2012.

Figure 3: Partial list of organizations that have partnered with IPC.

August 2014 • The PCB Magazine 19 printed electronics 2014: world standardization effort continues

IPC Printed Electronics Initiative: tronics Packaging and Circuits Association. The Overview current standards development landscape is IPC has learned a thing or two in its more shown in Figure 4. than 50-year history in supporting rapid tech- There are at least three items of interest we nology-to-production transitions, so we set out would like to highlight in this graphic: some guiding principles for this effort. The first is a strong emphasis on collaborative partner- • First and foremost, in keeping with our ships with groups and organizations that share goal of fostering collaboration and avoiding common high-level goals. In today’s lean oper- overlapping efforts, all three of the documents ating environment in technical organizations, published to date are “dual-logo” publications, and in a fast-developing field like printed elec- jointly created and managed by IPC and JPCA tronics (or large area electronics, or flex-hybrid • Second, even as the first publications electronics, or any of the other near-synonyms were being released, rapid developments in the used to describe this field), the industry can ill- printed electronics field made it obvious that afford duplication of effort. With the goal of revision and expansion of those documents, supporting the development of a truly global and additional documents covering other as- marketplace, one of the most destructive possi- pects of the technology and marketplace would bilities is having multiple international, region- be needed immediately al, or national groups generating “not-quite- • Third, with people from many organiza- duplicate” or even conflicting documentation tions and many nations working on subcom- to interfere with smooth and efficient exchange mittees D61 through D66 (with more to fol- of ideas and requirements. low), the “master” D60 committee had to take We have been fortunate in our collabora- an active role in prioritizing efforts, redistribut- tive efforts and succeeded in releasing the first ing resources, and maintaining close communi- three operational-level documents (two stan- cation between the subcommittees. This steer- dards and one design guideline), with help ing committee has had good success to date, from many international partners, but espe- and will serve this effort, and the industry, well cially close cooperation with JPCA-Japan Elec- into the future.

Figure 4: Summary of the current standards development landscape.

20 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 printed electronics 2014: world standardization effort continues

Other current collaborative activities in Electronics Initiative to encourage further pru- progress include: dent resourcing of printed electronics develop- ment. • FlexTech Alliance: Another potential challenge is actually a – Planning stages of summit on Global side-effect of the breadth of possible applica- PE Standards priorities tions of the loosely-defined printed electronics • OE-A: technology. Building on national and regional – Exploring alliance options; joint strengths leads naturally to a degree of segmen- PE-Roadmap discussion tation of printed electronics technology appli- • IEC TC119-Participant/member. cation types by region. Examples include (and – “D” Liaison status to materials group these are oversimplified): for IPC pending – “Normative reference” status is goal for • North America=Medical already-published IPC/JPCA standards • Germany=Auto – Working model: Use IPC lead and • Korea=Display and portable faster pace to guide content of • Japan=Hybridized conventional/PE international, and IEC global and combo/components governmental status to maintain global coordination The risk, of course, is that this regional spe- – ASTM-D-65 test methods cialization will lead to not-quite-parallel region- – Co-meeting with ASTM F01.18 at al or national development of standards par- APEX2014; close contact maintenance ticular to each end application, which doesn’t match the versatility of the underlying technol- As a side note, the spirit of collaboration ogy. There is a political element to this chal- and cooperation in this growing industry is not lenge in cases where a national government, for limited to IPC. The IEC TC119 committee was reasons of industrial policy, may seek to domi- in the early stages of developing requirements nate a particular aspect of a technology and en- for barrier layer materials, a critical element of courage this regional compartmentalization. If many printed electronics applications. They unchecked, this leads to (and we know this from discovered that the IEEE was working on simi- similar experiences in conventional electronics) lar requirements and IEC TC119 has thrown its a deferred burden of time and duplication of ef- support behind the IEEE effort. fort as the globalization of the industry drives With all the positive collaborative efforts un- de-confliction of these documents. It is better to derway, there are still challenges to overcome. coordinate from the beginning. The final challenge we’ll discuss (though Global PE Standardization: many more exist, it is beyond our scope here) is Challenges Ahead in the natural and healthy desire of the initial As noted earlier in this article, throughout innovators in this (or any other new) technol- (roughly) the first decade of this century, there ogy to preserve their lead market position by were promoters of the printed electronics con- keeping as much of the technology and meth- cept whose excitement at the possibilities led to ods development as proprietary. There is always underestimating the effort and time required to a balance to be maintained between protecting achieve success, and overestimating the growth the market advantage hard-won technology de- in applications and profits. There were well- velopments can bring (maintaining or growing known corporations who invested heavily and the size of your slice of the pie) and the market lost heavily based on those predictions. Living advantage that growing the industry can bring down those excesses of the past, and demon- (baking a bigger pie). The trick lies in sharing strating value in rational, appropriate applica- enough developed technology so that the mar- tions of this technology is an ongoing commu- ket (and your customer awareness, supplier nication and education effort of the IPC Printed breadth of offerings) grows to your advantage,

22 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 Delivering the highest quality standard for Aerospace and Defense

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Ventec Europe Ventec USA Ventec International Group www.ventec-europe.com www.ventec-usa.com www.venteclaminates.com printed electronics 2014: world standardization effort continues while maintaining as much of your lead posi- initial inquiries from the medical/diagnostic tion as practical. market,” says Gordon Smith, chief technology In the end, the technical solution will either officer. “We began with the printing of glucose become known or alternatives will be devel- test strips, and today we enjoy a very good busi- oped, which may negate market leadership. In ness relationship with a customer in that field. order for the true global marketplace to grow We manufacture 1–1.5 billion strips per year— to its full potential, there needs to be sufficient and that’s only about 10% of the market for the sharing of information to provide common product. There are a lot of untapped regions in bases for the consensus-based standards (and the world where diabetes is undiagnosed.” we have already concluded that the existence of 4. Carhistory4u.com, Section 1.2, Produc- standards is one necessary condition for facili- tion. tating global market growth). 5. “New Materials & Emerging Applications for Printed Electronics,” 27 June 2014, Robert Conclusions Waldrop, DuPont MicroCircuit Materials, RTP, • Cooperatively developed, consensus-based NC, in a PowerPoint presentation at WMU- standards are one, necessary, but not sufficient CAPE Networking event 30 June 2014, Kalama- requirement for global printed electronic devel- zoo, MI. opments. Many other technical, political, logis- tical, etc. issues must also be addressed Marc Carter is the director of • Competing standards development efforts Technology Transfer at IPC. He will harm the industry; means to combine, or at is responsible for oversight of least coordinate content are the goal IPC technology and printed • A more collaborative approach will ad- electronics roadmap activities, vance printed electronics to achieve full poten- and supporting IPC efforts in tial PCB regulatory compliance, training, and support of the developing printed electronics indus- References try. Carter has been actively employed in 1. Americans Adopt the Auto electronic fabrication, assembly, and applied 2. The of Paul Eisler material science industries for approximately 3. GSI Technologies: A Pioneer Maintains its 36 years and joined IPC in 2011. PE Leadership “Around 1997, the company had

ing, wall papers, posters, touch screens or even Cheap, Flexible Printed buildings. Everybody with a printer at home will be able to print their own “artificial eye” and Cameras from Graphene physically stick it to a flexible ,” Felice said. Dr. Felice Torrisi, university lecturer in gra- The goal of the 18-month project is to de- phene technology, has been awarded a Young sign, develop and characterize inkjet printed 2D International Researchers’ Fellowship from the crystal-based flexible photodetectors and study National Science Foundation of China to study their integration with commercial electronics. how graphene and two-dimensional materials “Photodetectors are needed in cameras, au- could enable printed and flexible eyes. tomotive applications, sensing and telecommu- The vision is to create a technology for nications, medical devices and security. If these cheap, flexible cameras that can be printed or were flexible they could be integrated in clothes, stamped on plastic or paper. “It might eventually rolled up or printed over any irregular surface, be possible to embed these printed, flexible substantially increasing the quality of printed optoelectronic devices into clothes, packag- and flexible electronics.”

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Hybrid Systems for Organic & Printed Electronics Photo courtesy Thin Film Electronics ASA

by Klaus Hecker ing year 2015—along the entire value chain of Organic and Printed Electronics the printed electronics industry, from material Association (OE-A) suppliers to end users, as well as in all global regions: Europe, Asia and America. The OE-A’s first Business Climate Survey The organic and printed electronics indus- shows that the young industry has developed try is on the upswing. That is what the first into its own sector with a bright future. Thin, OE-A Business Climate Survey shows. One cen- lightweight and flexible are characteristics of tral point that helps the industry to grow and organic and printed electronics. These features develop is hybrid systems, as identified by the enable new applications in numerous areas, latest edition of the OE-A Roadmap. Hybrid sys- with particular focus on , tems combine classical silicon and printed elec- automotive, lighting, packaging and printing, tronics components. That opens up new pos- pharmaceuticals and energy. In many of these sibilities for the PCB industry. fields hybrid systems already enable market Participants expect a 16% increase in sales entry and new applications. turnover compared to the previous year. This Hybrid systems are one of the key trends trend is going to continue through the upcom- that the fifth edition of the OE-A Roadmap has

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Figure 1: OE-A Roadmap illustrating the common perspectives of OE-A members. (Source: OE-A) identified for the organic and printed electronics As the OE-A Roadmap has identified, hybrid industry. The roadmap represents the common systems that integrate printed and silicon-based perspectives of the OE-A membership—with components in a heterogeneous process will more than 250 experts who worked together on lead to new products and be especially impor- it. Based on the analysis of all applications and tant for market entry in the short and medium technologies, key challenges (“red brick walls”) term. In addition, production techniques well that have yet to be overcome and key trends to known from PCB manufacturing can be em- get ready for mass produc- ployed. For these hybrid technologies, the road- tion were identified. map summarizes combinations of processes “In the future, organic and conventional including large-area photolithography, screen electronics will be combined more and more,” printing or printed circuit board technologies OE-A Chairman Dr. Stephan Kirchmeyer says. that make use of flexible substrates (e.g., poly- “Hybrid electronics—combining printed, flex- mer films or paper). Materials are deposited by ible electronics with building blocks containing spin , doctor blading or large-area vacu- classical (silicon) electronics—will pave the way um deposition, and in some cases, also partially for mass production. The industry is working by printing. Ink-jet printing and laser-pattern- towards integration of organic and printed elec- ing are additional techniques that are grouped tronics in new products, and this opens up new in the hybrids and enable production at mid- possibilities in the market.” range cost levels.

28 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 hybrid systems for organic and printed electronics continues

Figure 2: Example of a hybrid system: printed pressure sensors on flexible substrates combined with Si chip. (Source: Holst Centre)

Numerous Products Already Available Numerous products including hybrid systems are already on the market in large numbers: Printed sensors, which when combined with silicon electronics, can mea- sure temperature or glucose; touch screens and surfaces that consist of a printed capacitive sensor ar- ray and silicon electronics; hybrid systems that may improve smart packaging. One example is an il- luminated cardboard box package that combines printed electrolu- minescence with a silicon driver chip. Other examples include: Figure 3: As seen in this lighting foil, hybrid systems bring RFID tags with printed antennae together classical silicon and printed electronics components. and Si chips; seat recognition for (Source: Holst Centre)

August 2014 • The PCB Magazine 29 hybrid systems for organic and printed electronics continues

Figure 4: This hybrid smart blister pack and an additional smartphone app support patients in taking their medicine. (Source: Holst Centre) automotive applications with printed pressure on available technologies and applications. The sensors on flexible substrates and Si chip; smart group is also identifying gaps in the process textiles combining printed conductive paths chain. By staying in close contact with end us- on garments with Si sensors and electronics. ers, the working group is developing concepts to overcome these hurdles. PCB New Production and Assembly Technologies Needed Hybrid applications afford special demands About OE-A: on the assembly technique. To assemble the The OE-A (Organic and Printed Electron- chip and connect it to a flexible substrate in a ics Association) was founded in December confined space, special know-how and high pre- 2004 and is the leading international industry cision are required. Today, several components association for organic and printed electronics. such as sensors or displays are printed onto dif- Members are world-class global companies ferent substrates in a first step. In a second step, and institutions, ranging from R&D institutes, they are assembled and interconnected on a component and material suppliers to produc- . In the future, more and ers and end users. More than 220 companies more components will be printed directly on from Europe, North America, Asia and Austra- one flexible substrate in subsequent production lia are working together to promote the es- steps. Since the substrate is flexible, the inter- tablishment of a competitive production infra- connections need to withstand more extreme structure for organic and conditions than those found on rigid boards. printed electronics. The New high-throughput assembly and intercon- vision of the OE-A is to nection technologies are under development. build a bridge between The OE-A is supporting and fostering the science, technology and trend towards hybrid systems by setting up a application. The OE-A is working group dedicated specifically to this a working group within the German Engineer- topic. OE-A members along the whole supply ing Federation (VDMA). For more information, chain—from material suppliers to end-users— visit: www.oe-a.org, www.lopec.com. are working together to provide an overview

30 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 feature

Piezoelectric, Pyroelectric, and Ferroelectric Materials for Printed Electronics

by Josh Goldberg ing, along with the electronics, can be disposed Taiyo America Inc. of after the product is used. Several factors can drive down the cost of these devices, such as the use of inexpensive Introduction substrates. Such surfaces as PET, PEN, paper, and For a while now, the term “printed electron- textiles are all relatively inexpensive and lend ics” has been used freely, though many people well to the next factor that can drive cost down, don’t have the full picture of what this industry and that is the printing process. is all about. Printed electronics (PE) is a plat- One of the main cost-saving goals for PE is form for bringing down the production costs of to move towards a fully additive printing pro- electronic devices so that they can be incorpo- cess. What this means is that the material is rated or sold to the item level (e.g., cereal boxes, only printed in the places where it is functional. battery packs, POP displays, etc.). Incorporat- There is no masking process where material is ing devices such as electroluminescent displays removed after such steps as etching. This pro- can help grab consumers’ attention. Integrat- duces a cost savings in not just the labor and ing an RFID tag into a box can inform a con- material aspect, but it also allows for the device sumer about the product’s ingredients, vitamin to be manufactured with roll-to-roll processes. content, and upcoming offers related to that The rapid production rates enabled by this pro- particular product.. Having said that, all of the cess allow for a potentially large cost savings in electronics that are incorporated into a product manufacturing, as well as being able to utilize have to be inexpensive enough that the packag- the flexible nature of the inexpensive substrates.

32 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 piezoelectric, Pyroelectric, and ferroelectric Materials continues

Another way to save on production costs is The first practical use for piezoelectric mate- to use well established materials in novel ways. rials came in WWI. Paul Langevin, a French sci- Some polymeric materials have been used for entist and student of Pierre Curie, developed an decades for products such as battery covers, ultrasonic submarine detector, known today as paint additives, and insulated foams and seal- sonar. The success of sonar led to other develop- ants. By investigating these materials’ proper- ments using piezoelectric materials. Ultrasonic ties, we find that some of them have uses out- devices helped to dramatically further materi- side of their intended function. Piezoelectric, als research with more accurate instruments to pyroelectric, and ferroelectric materials have measure the viscosity and elasticity of liquids. been around for quite a long time, but are con- Better solid characterization led to safer build- tinuing to find useful niches in emerging elec- ing materials, because cracks and air bubbles tronics markets. were easier to find. During WWII, several countries indepen- Piezoelectric Materials dently researched piezoelectric materials, lead- To understand how a piezoelectric mate- ing them to develop synthetic materials such as rial functions, a general understanding of the PZT (lead zirconate titanate), a major piezoelec- piezoelectric effect is needed. The piezoelectric tric material still used today. After the war, due effect is the relationship between mechanical to restrictive patent laws and lack of informa- stress and electrical voltage. As stress is applied tional sharing in the United States, piezoelectric to a material (usually, but not always, materials research stalled. However, through compression), electrons Japan, not suffering such restric- are bumped off the molecular tions, picked up materials re- structure, thus generating an PVDF is important search and took the forefront electrical current. The reverse of the device research for a of this process is also true. As to the“ printed number of years. This lead to electrical current is introduced electronics world in the development of a number to the molecule, it causes the of piezoelectric devices includ- solid in most cases to expand. that it is a polymeric ing igniters used in gas grills The piezoelectric effect was material that can be and some of the first first demonstrated through remote controls. experiments by Jacques and incorporated into In 1969, the synthetic Pierre Curie in 1880 based on solvent-based systems polymer polyvinylidene fluo- some initial work by Rene Just ride (PVDF) was discovered to Hauy and Antoine Cesar Bec- and made into an have very strong piezoelectric querel. The Curie experiments ink, making it properties, as well as pyro- noted the piezoelectricity with particularly useful in electric and ferroelectric prop- materials such as quartz and erties. This material is com- rochelle salt (sodium potassium inkjet formulations. monly found in additives for tatrate tetrahydrate). The next paints, electrical wiring insula- year, Gabriel Lippmann mathemat- tion, aerospace materials, chemi- ically deduced that the reverse piezo- cal bottle liners, headphones, and bat- electric effect should also be true. Experimen- teries. PVDF is one of the few materials that ex- tally, this was then proven by the Curies. Over” hibit the reverse piezoelectric property. In other the next couple of decades, materials exhibiting words, it compresses in volume when an electri- piezoelectric effect were characterized but not cal field is applied to the material. PVDF is im- utilized in any practical applications. In 1910, portant to the printed electronics world in that Woldemar Voigt published the “Textbook on it is a polymeric material that can be incorpo- Crystal Physics,” which describes that 20 out of rated into solvent-based systems and made into 32 naturally occurring classes of crystals have an ink, making it particularly useful in inkjet the proper symmetry to exhibit piezoelectricity. formulations.

34 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 For more information please contact [email protected] Call (32) 9-216-9900 or check out our new website at www.ucamco.com piezoelectric, Pyroelectric, and ferroelectric Materials continues

Typically, you would see piezoelectric mate- confused with thermoelectric materials, which rials in items like printed sensors (particularly, exhibit a permanent voltage change when sub- vibrational sensors). Perhaps the most common jected to temperature change. One way to vi- use of piezoelectric materials is found in inkjet sualize the relationship of piezoelectric materi- printers themselves. By sending an electric sig- als and pyroelectric materials is in the diagram nal to a piezoelectric crystal located in the print below heads, the crystal expansion creates a pressure Pyroelectric materials were first noted in 314 wave that forces inks through the orifice of the B.C. by the Greek philosopher Theophrastus. inkjet printing heads. So while piezoelectric While he was more of a botanist and ecologist, materials can be printed for various devices, as witnessed by the books that he wrote, he was perhaps the most important use of these mate- the first one to note that the stone “lyngourion” rials is for the printing platform itself. (most likely tourmaline) became charged when heated. This charged crystal then had the abil- Pyroelectric Materials ity to attract bits of straw and wood while other Pyroelectric materials are a subset of piezo- heated rocks did not have any such attraction. electric materials. In other words, if a material is In 1707, Johann Georg Schmidt studied tourma- pyroelectric, then it is also piezoelectric, but not line and noted that it was not attracted to cold necessarily the other way around. Out of the 20 ashes, but only the hot ones. Further studies in naturally occurring crystal classes, 10 also ex- 1747 lead to tourmaline being called lapidem hibit pyroelectric properties. Pyroelectric ma- electricum, or the “electric stone.” Interest in terials generate a temporary voltage when the the electric properties of some crystals in rela- material is heated or cooled. This is not to be tion to temperature change led the Curie broth-

Figure 1: The relationship of piezoelectric materials and pyroelectric materials.

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www.rogerscorp.com If you are unable to scan a VR code please visit our Support Team website at www.rogerscorp.com/coolspan piezoelectric, Pyroelectric, and ferroelectric Materials continues ers to start investigating this group of materials, Ferroelectric Materials leading to the discovery of piezoelectricity. The final group is ferroelectric materials, Some common pyroelectric materials such which make up a very small subset of pyroelec- as tourmaline, PZT, and PVDF are utilized for tric materials. In other words, materials that are devices such as thermal sensors. There have ferroelectric are also pyroelectric and piezoelec- been some studies into these materials for pow- tric in nature. While the prefix of “ferro” usu- er generation, where the theoretical efficiency ally means that a given material contains iron, of power generation could be at 50% or higher. this is rarely the case with ferroelectric materi- Additionally, pyroelectric materials have dem- als. Ferroelectric materials exhibit a spontane- onstrated their use in a process called Pyroelec- ous polarization that can be reversed by apply- tric fusion. The pyroelectric properties of the ing an electrical field. When ferroelectric ma- crystals used in this particular experiment were terials were discovered in 1920 by the scientist used to cause nuclear fusion of deuterium into J. Valasek, they were thought to be a subset of Helium-3. While this makes for a good academ- ferromagnetic materials (materials that exhibit ic exercise, this method of fusion is very inef- a permanent magnetic moment). Ferroelectric ficient. However, the ability to make a “neutron materials were determined to be a new set of generator” with these materials could point to materials, but the “ferro” prefix stuck as a label. other uses as research areas. To understand ferroelectricity, we need to In the world of printed electronics, materi- understand a couple of other types of polariza- als such as PVDF can be utilized in inexpensive tion. The first type, polarization, oc- temperature sensors. These printed sensors have curs when polarization is directly proportional the potential to be used on such items as pro- to the applied electrical field in a linear relation- duce (to monitor temperature during shipping), ship. Paraelectric polarization is a non-linear re- pre-packaged items such as those sold in cof- lationship between the applied electrical field fee shops and corner markets (to track the shelf and the polarization response. Finally, ferroelec- life of food items or monitor the recommended tric polarization is characterized by a couple of storage temperatures), and temperature-sensi- properties. First, it is polarized even when there tive items such as chemicals. Development is is no applied electrical field. When an electri- actively being done to bring these types of sen- cal field is applied in the opposite direction, the sors to the marketplace, with some of them test- polarization is reversed, giving what is called a ing in select markets. “hysteresis loop.” Finally, as the temperature is

Figure 2: The ferroelectric effect.

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2550 Zanker Road San Jose, CA 95131 | www.maskless.com | tel: +1(408) 433-1861 piezoelectric, Pyroelectric, and ferroelectric Materials continues raised in these materials, the hysteresis loop be- market that utilize ferroelectric materials: gift comes narrower. When a point called the Curie cards, toys, and RFID tags that are readable by temperature is reached, the hysteresis loop clos- your smartphone or a scanner. The multifunc- es and the material becomes paraelec- tional properties of these materials tric. Please refer to the Figure 2. are also useful in energy harvest- New ferroelectric materials ing, where these materials are are a hot area of research cur- Another recent incorporated into solar cells rently. Beyond the research experiment tested and panels. Vibration caused materials, PZT, barium tita- “ by wind or changes in tem- nate, lead titanate, and PVDF these materials by perature can cause the mate- are all ferroelectric materi- incorporating them rials to produce an electrical als that are commonly used current that can be harvested in today’s devices. One of into the matting of a in addition to the power gen- the main ways this property playground structure. erated by the solar cells. An- is used in printed electron- As children played on other recent experiment test- ic devices is for rewritable ed these materials by incorpo- memory. PVDF is typically the playground, the rating them into the matting used in conjunction with piezoelectric and of a playground structure. As another polymer. The PVDF children played on the play- forms rigid crystalline struc- pyroelectric properties ground, the piezoelectric and tures, while the function of helped to generate pyroelectric properties helped the copolymer is to act as electricity. As the sun to generate electricity. As the flexible chains between the sun set, the energy stored dur- crystalline structures. When set, the energy stored ing the day was used to pow- an electrical field is applied to during the day was er the lighting for the play- regions of the film, the PVDF used to power the ground. polarity orientates in relation Piezoelectric, pyroelec- to the field. The orientation lighting for the tric, and ferroelectric mate- of the crystalline regions’ po- playground. rials have been studied and larization can then be read as used for quite a long time. a “1” while the default polar- Their relatively low cost, ease ization crystalline regions’ polar- of use, and multifunctional ca- ization can be read as a “0,” thereby pabilities have made them the topic creating a binary code for the printed memory. of research for use in various electronic devices, Please keep in mind that this is a simplified” for over a century now. This group of materials explanation and that suppliers of ferroelectric is a prime example of how PE can utilize well materials can give significantly more detail into established materials in next-generation de- the mechanism behind printed memory. vices. As our research advances in this field and the deposition methods improve, we can Multifunctionality expect to see more of these multifunctional The nature of ferroelectric, pyroelectric and materials used in our conventional and dispos- piezoelectric materials makes them very useful able electronics. PCB for multifunctional devices. One such example is the use of array of ferroelectric capacitors in infrared cameras. Such an array makes infrared Josh Goldberg is a marketing cameras sensitive enough to detect temperature specialist at Taiyo America Inc. variations as little as 1/1000000 of a degree Cel- sius. They can also be used in heat and vibra- tional sensors, or in printed sensors for item- level purchases.. There are some devices on the

40 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 Oregon Bioscience Association

KEYNOTES

Digital Health and the Medical Electronics Connected Consumer

Symposium 2014 September 18 & 19, 2014

Matthew Hudes  U.S. Managing Principal, MARYLHURST UNIVERSITY • PORTLAND, OR Biotechnology Deloitte Health Sciences

INEMI, MEPTEC, and What Can Medical SMTA have joined forces to Devices Leverage from host this international confer- Consumer Electronics? ence, focusing on advances in electronic technologies and advanced manufacturing, specifically targeting medical and bioscience applications. Previously, MEPTEC’s and SMTA’s conferences were held in Phoenix, Arizona and Chandra Subramaniam Milpitas, CA, respectively,  Vice President CRDM drawing technology experts, Marylhurst University, founded in 1893, is Oregon’s oldest Catholic university, Research & Development and the first liberal arts college for women established in the Northwest. entrepreneurs and service Medtronic providers that work in this niche technology space. Typi- Multiple Track Topics Include: Ensuring Quality Medical cal applications within this n Track 1: Devices Meet Regulatory space involve implantable Components and Designs for Higher Density Functionalities Scrutiny in the Face of Industry Cost Pressures defibrillators, neurostimula- This track will focus on advances in electronics components and tors and drug delivery, inter- designs that can make current medical electronics ever more miniaturized with more functionality and at lower power. ventional catheters, pillcams, n Track 2: ultrasound transducers, hear- Solutions for Best-in-Class Assembly and Volume Manufacturing ing aids, biosensors, micro- This track will focus on critical methods and protocols to ensure that fluidics, wireless communica- the production of Class II and III medical electronics is conducted in tions, as well as future diag- the most effective, efficient and quality-controlled way with full nostic and treatment solu- traceability and zero defects. n Track 3: tions that may use stretchable Mike Tendick Next Generation Microelectronics for Changing Healthcare Markets electronics, microelectrome-  Healthcare/Life Sciences chanical systems (MEMS) or This track will focus on advances in next generation, revolutionary Market Sector Vice President microelectronics for medical devices and applications that solve Plexus nanoelectromechanical sys- technology challenges and are aligned with solutions for new tems (NEMS). ◆ healthcare models.

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Conference Board ETI Up 6.3% in June Global 3D Printing Forecast to 2019 “The rapid increase in the Employment Trends The 3D printing market has seen rapid growth Index in recent months suggests that strong job in recent years due to its increasing applications growth is likely to continue through the summer,” across different sectors such as consumer products said Gad Levanon with The Conference Board. and electronics, automotive, medical, industrial, “While the strong labor market signals an im- and aerospace. Decreasing cost of 3D printers and provement in economic growth, the key factor is its increasing adoption across the government and that the average productivity of workers will need education sectors is further expected to spur the to rise as well.” demand in the coming years.

Global LCD TV Shipments to Gain Tablets to Bridge the Gap 3% This Year with Smartphones WitsView Research Director Burrell Liu noted, “TV New analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds that by panel pricing is expected to remain flat or increase 2016, the use of smartphones is expected to de- throughout August into September but this is still crease from the current levels of 66% to 58%, yet to be fully determined, as end sales perfor- while tablets are expected to increase from 49% mance and whether vendors’ inventories are pil- to 56%. ing up will still all make a difference. The same will apply to and monitor panels.” PC Monitor Market Sees Sluggish Q12014 “Despite the overall decline, the shipment totals Consumer Confidence Index on the Rise were stronger than the forecast of 31 million units,” The Conference Board Consumer Confidence In- said Phuong Hang, program director, Worldwide dex, which had increased in May, improved again Trackers at IDC. “Geographically, Japan and the in June. The Index now stands at 85.2 (1985=100), Middle East and Africa (MEA) regions delivered the up from 82.2 in May. The Present Situation Index largest gains during the first quarter while Dell and increased to 85.1 from 80.3, while the Expecta- HP both experienced solid shipment growth.” tions Index rose to 85.2 from 83.5 in May. Health Monitoring Market to Reach Consumer Healthcare Sensor Market $2.50B by 2020 at $47.40B by 2020 The machine health monitoring market is expect- The sensor market in Consumer Healthcare is ex- ed to reach $2.50 at a CAGR of 7.16% from 2014 pected to reach $47.40 billion by 2020 growing to 2020. Machine health monitoring is an unin- at an estimated CAGR of 5.56% from 2014–2020. terrupted assessment of the equipment and ma- The developments in sensing technologies can chinery. Machine health monitoring system can help to increase the trend of continuous patient be implemented to reduce plant operating costs monitoring, which can result in reduced health- by optimizing maintenance activities and lower- care costs and improved treatment outcomes. ing the instances of unscheduled outages. Thus it helps in reducing the overall maintenance costs Solar Makers Seen to Boost and improving the lifetime of equipment. Production Capacity Solar PV supply chains are starting to see demand Digital Signage Revenue Falls Flat in China whither, while demand in the United The digital signage industry is facing a formidable States and Japan remain stable, according to Ener- challenge from cheaper, conventional TV pan- gyTrend. As such trends occur, solar supply chains els that replace specialized custom products that are expected to increase production capacity in long have differentiated the professional displays the second half of 2014. market.

42 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 feature short

Conductive Ink Market: Photovoltaic and Touch Screen Sectors

by Dr. Khasha Ghaffarzadeh mon approach is to print a fine seed layer (i.e., IDTechEx inkjet print), plate nickel as a diffusion barrier and then thicken it with copper. Note that the silver nitride layer will have to be opened up to Photovoltaic Market enable plating. In general, plating wins on re- The photovoltaic market is a large, address- ducing the bill of materials, but loses on high able market, which is growing again after sev- process costs as it is more complex than screen eral years of difficulty, when the prices crashed printing. IDTechEx estimates that plating will from $3.5/W in 2008 to $0.75/W in 2012. This take approximately 20% market share by 2024. period of overcapacity was characterised by many companies going bankrupt, closing, or Touch Screen Market selling. The touch screen market is booming. Con- However, the market is showing signs of re- ductive pastes are used to make the edge (or covery. frame) electrodes, as shown in the image below. Each crystalline silicon PV wafer carries The edge electrodes can be made by sputtering 150–200 mg of screen-printed silver. This is followed by patterning or by printing. The for- mostly in the form of bus bars, but also fingers mer method gives high resolution but can be and back electrodes. Screen printing is a robust expensive due to the subtractive nature and the technology that is cost competitive. However, number of steps involved. This method is most the high price of silver has compelled compa- common in Korea. The latter method is lower nies to look for alternatives to silver as the high cost but L/S resolution is typically 100/100. This bill of materials can constitute up to 30% of the method is most common in China and Taiwan. wafer cost. Our industry input confirms that 18–20 grams Plating is the main threat, although it is still of conductive paste is consumed per one square at an experimental stage. Despite this, many in- meter of transparent conductive. It is noted dustry players expect to be phased-in in a sig- that the trend in the industry is to narrow the nificant way over the coming decade. A com- frame, and the consumer will be demanding L/S

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www.mortechinc.net | (916) 473-2140 conductive ink market continues below 30/30. This can either be met by sput- tering (which remains expensive) or new types of printing such as gravure offset and inkjet (if thickness can be increased).

Other Markets Conductive inks and pastes are used in a variety of other applications including circuit boards, membrane switches, automotive, sen- sors, RFID antennas, etc. Here are just a few ap- plication examples of these sectors: Printed Circuit Boards: Silver paste is Membrane Switches: Membrane switch- screen printed on printed circuit boards to fill es are already a large and established (though in vias. Silver migration is a challenge, which is declining) business for conductive paste. Key- why many considering silver/copper or copper boards for PC, and home appliances pastes for this market. are amongst the leading applications. PCB Cars: The automotive sector is a large tar- get market for conductive paste already. In the exterior, screen printed silver paste is used in Dr. Khasha Ghaffarzadeh window heaters, while in the interior seat sen- is the head of consulting at sors, seat heaters, airbag dispatchers, dashboard IDTechEx. illumination, overhead consoles (in-mould electronics) are used. video interview Sunstone’s New Initiatives by Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPO 2014

Publisher Ray Rasmussen sits down with Sunstone Circuit’s Marketing Manager, Mathew Stevenson, to discuss some of the company’s new initiatives, revamped website, and more! Click realtimewith.com To View

46 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 Why choose Fein-Line? Because there is a Fine Line between winning ...and the alternative.

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There are few in our industry that have his experience and expertise in just about every aspect of the business. Dan knows what works, and perhaps more importantly, what doesn’t.

When additional expertise is needed, or when senior management just needs an independent opinion, companies large and small alike get the guidance of Fein-Line Associates, especially in the areas of New Product Market Entry and M&A Due Diligence.

In our business, there's a lot on the line, not just Dan (Baer) Feinberg sometimes, but every time. The line between success and Fein-Line Associates the alternative can be razor thin. That’s why winning companies choose Fein-Line time after time.

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Fein-Line Associates, Inc. P.O. Box 73355, San Clemente, CA 92673-0112 (949) 498-7866 [email protected] www.feinline.com ne w s Mil/Aero007 News Highlights

Murrietta Circuits Nets Raytheon FTG Tianjin China Ships 10,000th Five Star Supplier Award Flight Deck Product Andrew Murrietta, CEO and co-owner of Murrietta Firan Technology Group Corporation has shipped its Circuits, announced that his company has been 10,000th aircraft flight deck product from its facility awarded Raytheon’s Five Star Supplier Recognition in Tianjin, China. “It has been amazing to watch the Award for the second year in a row. He says, “This is development and growth of our new facility in Tian- truly overwhelming for me and the rest of the Mur- jin. The team there has learned so much and has de- rietta team. I know we have all worked hard to make veloped world-class skills in illuminated cockpit prod- this happen and we are so pleased and proud we ucts,” stated Brad Bourne, president and CEO, FTG were recognized again this year.” Corporation.

IPC Lauds U.S. Rule on NASA Launches Mission to Monitor Military-related PCBs Earth’s Breathing Following years of advocacy work to clarify the treat- NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) aims ment of printed circuit boards (PCBs) under Inter- to locate Earth’s sources of and storage places for at- national Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), IPC is mospheric carbon dioxide, the leading human-pro- applauding the U.S. Department of State’s final rule duced greenhouse gas responsible for warming our for Category XI for Military Electronics of the United world and a critical component of the planet’s carbon States Munitions List (USML). Published today, the cycle. new rule states that PCBs “specially designed” for defense-related purposes will be controlled under DoD Spending Driven by Geospatial USML Category XI. Additionally, any designs or digi- Tech Innovation tal data related to “specially designed” PCBs will be The DoD is leveraging innovations in geospatial tech- controlled as technical data. nologies to ensure commanders at every level have a deeper understanding of evolving operational en- FTG’s Aerospace Segments Show vironments. “After engineering and integration, im- Dramatic Q2 Improvements provements in dissemination and targeting will com- “FTG’s momentum has continued through the first mand the most attention, with spending in 2018 half of 2014 with strong results across the compa- likely to stand at $712.6 million and $579.4 million, ny, particularly at our two new aerospace facilities respectively,” said Industry Analyst John Hernandez. in Tianjin and Chatsworth where we continued to see progress on qualification activities, strong orders, Power GaN Market to See 80% CAGR and increased shipments,” stated Brad Bourne, presi- through 2020 dent and CEO. Overall, 2020 could see an estimated device market size of almost $600 million, leading to approximately Merlin Flex Earns SC21 Bronze Award 580,000 x 6 wafers to be processed. Ramp-up will Flexible and flex-rigid PCB manufacturer Merlin Flex be quite impressive starting in 2016, at an estimated Ltd., based in the Northeast of England, has been 80% CAGR through 2020, based upon a scenario awarded a prestigious SC21 Bronze award. The SC21 where EV/HEV begins adopting GaN in 2018–2019. programme has become a benchmark for supply chain excellence evaluating current business practic- Global Commercial Satellite Imaging es against rigorous international standards in quality, Market Forecast service, and business management. This report analyzes the commercial satellite imaging market on a global basis, with further breakdown into Multilayer Technology Completes various sub-segments. It provides thorough analysis AS9100 Audit and market growth forecast of the global commercial Multilayer Technology of Irving, Texas is pleased to satellite imaging market, based on its applications, announce it has successfully completed a scheduled end-use industry, and geography for the period from AS9100C + ISO9001: 2008 conducted in May 2014. 2013–2019.

48 The PCB Magazine • August 2014

trouble in your tank colu m n Controlling the ENIG Process for Optimum Efficiency and Performance

by Michael Carano OMG Electronic Chemicals

Introduction the ENIG process must provide the optimum In last month’s Trouble in Your Tank, differ- in solder joint reliability while operating at the ent levels of corrosion in the nickel deposit were highest level of cost efficiency. All too often, presented. In addition, the suggestion was made process parameters that have the most influ- that mid-phosphorous content EN process was ence on these critical attributes are poorly un- more beneficial with respect to solderability, as derstood. An example of poor control is shown opposed to a high phos content nickel deposit. in Figure 1. The gold deposit has been removed Certainly, concerns with corrosion of the nickel in order to expose the electroless nickel surface. (with lower phos) were allayed as long as the It is very difficult to discern any anomalies in proper process controls were in place. Ideally, the nickel deposit without removing the gold.

Figure 1: The top two photos show the severe corrosion in the nickel deposit. The bottom photo is the surface with the gold deposit over the nickel.

50 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 ®

Upcoming IPC Events

August 20 October 28–30 Southeast Asia High Reliability IPC TechSummitTM Conference Raleigh, NC, USA Penang, Malaysia November 18–20 September 23–25 High-Reliability Cleaning and IPC India Conference & Workshops Conformal Coating Conference at electronica & productronica India 2014 sponsored by IPC and SMTA Bangalore, India Schaumburg, IL, USA

September 28–October 2 November 19 IPC Fall Standards Development Assembly & Reliability Conference Committee Meetings Bangkok, Thailand co-located with SMTA International Rosemont, IL, USA December 3–5 International Printed Circuit and October 14–15 APEX South China Fair IPC Europe High Reliability Forum (HKPCA and IPC Show) Düsseldorf, Germany Shenzhen, China

More Information www.ipc.org/events

Questions? Contact IPC registration staff at +1 847-597-2861 or [email protected].

Strengthening & Advancing Electronics Manufacturing Globally controlling the enig process for optimum efficiency and performance continues

It is clear from the SEMs in Figure 1 that there Figure 2 provides a good summary of what is significant corrosion on the electroless nickel happens under certain plating conditions. Note surface. Obviously, this is an unacceptable situ- that X (green) refers to an EN formulation with ation, and in order to prevent it one must work the operating pH kept at 5.3. The area of the harder to optimize and control the electroless chart outlined in red refers to an EN process that nickel-immersion gold process. Some of these operates at a 4.8 pH, but co-deposits a higher factors will now be presented in detail. level of phosphorous in the EN deposit (due to additional influences). The blue refers to the Critical Electroless Nickel Features preferred range of phos (7–8.5%) and a pH of 1. Phosphorous content control in the elec- 4.8. Note that under these operating conditions troless nickel deposit. Don’t underestimate this (as well as the proprietary nature of the EN so- important parameter. lution) the blue process gave a higher immer- 2. Stabilizers in the EN solution influence sion gold thickness that was required to meet phosphorous content in the deposit. the IPC-4552 specification. It should be noted 3. Phos content has strong influence on sol- the thicknesses of the gold shown in the red derability, immersion gold deposit thickness area are much too low to meet the minimum and potential for hyper-corrosion. specification as listed in IPC-4552. And this was primarily due to a higher EN solution operating Let’s look at these points in a little more de- pH. There is one caveat here. Quite a few OEMs tail. and fabricators will accept lower gold thick- As I have written in this monthly column nesses. I am not advocating such an approach on many occasions, operating the chemical pro- without the need for further study. cesses within the process window is the key to The phosphorous level in the deposit of most consistent and predictable performance. After EN processes is inversely related to the pH of all, your customers should expect no less from the working bath; as the bath pH decreases, the you. So with respect to #1 above, it is recom- phosphorous level in the EN deposit increases. mended that the EN process be able to maintain Each 0.1 decrease in bath pH units will increase a reasonably tight window with respect to phos the phosphorous level of the deposit by about content through five metal (MTOs) turnovers in 0.5 %. Close pH monitoring will improve not the nickel solution. only corrosion resistance of the nickel deposit, but will also improve the gold plated distribu- tion across the panel.

The Use and Control of Stabilizers in the EN Solution The type and concentration of stabilizers in the EN plating solution exert a strong effect on the phosphorous content of the deposit. It has been well documented that some stabilizers, while performing the intended effect of prevent- ing nickel plate-out, may actually negatively in- fluence the amount of phos in the deposit. And as was stated earlier, the higher phosphorous content can actually reduce the amount of gold that is deposited on the nickel (via the galvanic or displacement reaction). As a consequence, some fabricators, in an effort to increase the gold thickness, will increase the dwell time in the im- Figure 2: Influence of EN solution pH and phos mersion gold solution. The outcome is usually content of EN deposit on gold plating thickness. corrosion spikes in the electroless nickel deposit.

52 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 controlling the enig process for optimum efficiency and performance continues

Some Interesting Interactions Again, the higher the phos content, the lower The phosphorous content of most commer- the immersion gold thickness. In addition, the cially available EN processes tends to increase solderability of the nickel surface is reduced as with bath age; this is due to the incremental re- evidenced by previously published solder spread duction in plating rate from by-product build- and wetting balance tests. up. Typically, the phosphorus level will increase by up to 0.5% per MTO. In addition to this or- Summary dinary change in deposit phosphorous content, Manage the phosphorous content in the EN the level can also be altered through the use of deposit. Higher phosphorous content will reduce specific additives as well as through modifica- immersion gold thickness. And, poor control of tion of certain operating parameters. This is pre- the phos content will cause higher-than-normal cisely why it is important to understand the EN gold consumption as well. In addition, too low of system one is using and be provided the proper a phosphorous content will lead to possibility of control procedures to maintain the phos con- corrosion spikes in the nickel deposit. PCB tent within a tight operating window. Michael Carano is with OMG Phosphorous and Solderability Electronic Chemicals, a devel- There are some who believe that the key to oper and provider of processes eliminating black pad or hyper-corrosion rests and materials for the electron- with operating an EN solution that allows for ics industry supply chain. To higher phos content in the nickel deposit. Some read past columns, or to con- advocate a phos content of upwards 11–12%. I tact the author, click here. disagree for reasons stated in previous columns.

I-Connect007 Feature Panel Discussion Printed Electronics Discussion Sponsored by: Taiyo America

Publisher Ray Rasmussen moderates a discussion on the state of printed electronics today, with John Andresakis, VP of strategic technology, Oak-Mitsui; Scott Gordon, busi- ness development manager, Click DuPont Teijen Films; and Josh

Goldberg marketing specialist, Taiyo America. To View

August 2014 • The PCB Magazine 53 ne w s PCB007 Supplier/New Product News Highlights

Enthone Six Sigma Black Belt Isola Relocates Asia-Pacific Graduation Hits Milestone Technology Center Enthone Inc. is proud to announce the upcoming The new Taiwan Technology Center, which will graduation of the company’s 2014 Six Sigma Black support the increased demand for Isola’s high- Belt Class. The graduating class marks the tenth speed digital materials and RF/microwave and mil- black belt training certification held in the Ameri- limeter wave substrates in the Asia-Pacific region, cas and the twenty-third class worldwide since the will be co-located with the company’s flagship inception of the company-wide program in 2001. Advanced Engineered Manufacturing Center in Yangmei, Taiwan. Ucamco’s Integr8tor v8.3 Now Available for Download Orbotech Acquires SPTS; Integr8tor v8.3 offers a range of new, state-of- Accelerates Growth the-art features and tools that respond directly to Orbotech Ltd. has announced the signing of a de- those needs. One of these is a brand new tool that finitive share purchase agreement to acquire SPTS determines automatically whether holes should be Technologies Group Limited (SPTS), a U.K.-based drilled in sequential PCBs using laser or mechani- leading manufacturer of etch, deposition and cal means. thermal processing equipment for the microelec- tronics industry, from European private equity firm Isola Introduces Tachyon-100G Bridgepoint and others. Laminates & Prepregs Tachyon-100G laminates and prepregs enable line Intercept Expands to India with cards required to transmit 100 Gigabit Ethernet at Tecnode Solutions data rates in excess of 25 Gb/s per channel. They Intercept Technology Inc. announces its newest have identical electrical properties as Tachyon; authorized reseller, Tecnode Solutions (P) Ltd. Tec- however, the Z-axis CTE on Tachyon-100G is more node’s primary goal is to expand its RF and mi- than 30%, making it more suitable for fabricating crowave solutions portfolio by selling Intercept’s high-layer count, 0.8-mm pitch line cards with PCB, RF, and hybrid design software applications heavy 2-ounce copper inner layers. throughout India.

FASTechnologies Completes Installation Plasma Treatment Can Improve at Alpha Circuits Conformal Coating Adhesion PCB drilling software solutions provider, FASTech- Nordson MARCH, a Nordson Company, and nologies Corporation is pleased to announce the global leader in plasma processing technology, successful installation of the company DNC Ultra- announces that recent studies have shown that Server, SmartParts Classic, and SmartParts Casset- plasma treatment of printed circuit boards prior to ting at Alpha Circuits in Elmhurst, Illinois. conformal coating improves the adhesion of the . Fuji Recognizes National Graphics Supply Orbotech, Ion Pact Supports During the recent Japan Electronics Packaging Declassification Proposal and Circuits Association Exhibition (JPCA) in To- Orbotech Ltd. and Ion Asset Management Ltd. kyo, Japan, Fuji Film recognized National Graph- have reached a mutual agreement under which ics Supply, LLC for their excellent service and suc- Orbotech has agreed to call an Extraordinary Gen- cess in providing Fuji Film products to the Na- eral Meeting not later than August 15, 2014 to tional Graphic Supply customers in the U.S. and allow its shareholders to consider a proposal to de- Canada. classify the Orbotech Board of Directors.

54 The PCB Magazine • August 2014

karl’s tech talk colu m n Pressure in Hot Roll Lamination of Dry Film Photoresist

by Karl Dietz Karl Dietz Consulting LLC

Lamination Pressure draulically, mechanically, or a combination of In lamination, we are trying to achieve good these means. This column focuses on pressure contact between the resist and the substrate sur- as an important variable that needs to be con- face by making the resist flow to conform to the trolled and optimized. surface topography. Flow is achieved by lower- Non-uniform pressure can cause a variety of ing the resist viscosity through heat, and by ap- problems such as dry film resist wrinkles shown plying a pressure differential for a certain time in Figure 1. to cause the flow. The the photoresist is exposed If the hot roll surface has a localized recessed to these conditions depends on the rpm of the area (e.g., a cut caused by a knife during man- hot rolls, the hot roll diameter, and to some ex- ual trimming of film), this will be a spot of low tent on the pressure as it affects the footprint pressure, resulting in poor resist conformation width in the nip. The pressure may be transmit- to the board surface, which in turn can cause ted to the lamination rolls pneumatically, hy- opens in a print and etch process.

Figure 1: Lamination wrinkles pointing to one side.

56 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 pressure in hot roll lamination of dry film photoresist continues

Conversely, if there is a protrusion on the is narrow at the center of the rolls and wider at roll surface (e.g., caused by a particle adhering the ends. This means that the pressure on the to the roll surface) this becomes a spot of high resist at the center is less than at the ends (Fig- pressure, which causes resist thinning that can ure 2). lead to a variety of defects. Laminator suppliers are aware of this phe- It is well understood that higher lamination nomenon and try to build the rolls as sturdy as pressure will result in improved dry film resist is practical. Residual roll bending can be com- conformation to the board surface. However, pensated for with rolls which are “crowned.” there are practical limitations to increasing the A crowned roll has a rubber covering which lamination pressure due to the design of a par- is thicker in the center than at the edges and ticular model of automatic cut sheet laminator. changes gradually from center to edge, resulting Even if a high pressure setting is compatible in a curved profile (Figure 3). In our studies, we with the design of the laminator, it may be dif- found that the correct amount of crown for an ficult to take advantage of the higher pressure ASL-24 laminator was in the range of 3–4 mils because the lamination rolls bend under the in- (75–100 microns). creased pressure. Roll bending results in an un- Figure 4 shows the results of lamination test even roll footprint on the resist. The footprint at two different pressure settings: with straight

Figure 2: Nip pressure profile with straight rolls.

Figure 3: Nip pressure profile with crowned rolls.

58 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 pressure in hot roll lamination of dry film photoresist continues rolls and with crowned rolls. “Open” defects as defect rate is now more even across the board, detected by AOI were plotted as a function of with some random defects remaining. Adding the location on the board. High columns in- high pressure to this condition as shown on the dicate a high occurrence of opens. The results lower right hand side of Figure 4 then yields the of the “base” condition (i.e., low pressure and overall best results. PCB straight rolls) are shown in the upper left hand corner of Figure 4. One can see the high rate of defects in the center of the board, in machine Karl Dietz is president of Karl direction, due to the bowing of the rolls. The Dietz Consulting LLC. He offers higher pressure scenario, still with straight rolls, consulting services and tutorials is shown on the lower left side of Figure 4. The in the field of circuit board and higher pressure give a lower overall defect rate, substrate fabrication technol- but the pattern of higher defects in the center ogy. To view past columns or line due to bowing remains visible. The result to reach Dietz, click here. Dietz may also be shown on the upper right-hand side of Figure 4 reached by phone at (001) 919-870-6230. shows the beneficial effect of crowned rolls: The

Figure 4: “Open” defect plots for different pressure settings and different roll construction.

August 2014 • The PCB Magazine 59 ne w s Top Ten PCB007 News Highlights This Month

Schweizer CEO Reappointed IPC: PCB Industry Growth a Board Member of ZVEI c Slows in May

At the general meeting of the Zentralverband “While sales growth is slowing, declining orders Elektrotechnik und Elektronikindustrie (ZVEI), the pushed the book-to-bill ratio below parity after just German electrical and electronic manufacturers two months of positive ratios,” said Sharon Starr, association, in Munich, Germany, Dr. Marc Sch- IPC’s director of market research. “This setback in weizer, CEO of Schweizer Electronic AG, was re- the industry’s recovery is likely to be short-lived, appointed a member of the board of ZVEI. given the positive economic outlook for North America this year,” she added. Electronics Industry Leaders b Meet with Policy Makers Newbury Begins in D.C. d Redevelopment Program

A healthy electronics industry is critical to the Newbury Electronics has begun the initial phase economy and national security of all nations. of its redevelopment program early this month. That’s why 17 IPC member-company executives West Berkshire MP Richard Benyon recently vis- gathered in Washington, D.C. to meet with se- ited Newbury’s premises to learn more about its nior policy makers as part of IMPACT 2014: IPC redevelopment of the site, which will ultimately on Capitol Hill. Through a series of meetings, the provide increased production space, new offices, executives educated lawmakers about the needs and deliver savings in both water and electricity of our industry. consumption.

60 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 PCBs Enumerated at TTM Shanghai Earns Zero e Category XI of USML h Defect Award from Spansion

The U.S. Department of State published a final TTM Technologies, Inc. announced that its Silicon rule that enumerates PCBs in Category XI for Mili- Platforms facility in Shanghai received the World tary Electronics of the United States Munitions List Class Supplier—Zero Defect Award from Spansion (USML). This is a significant win for IPC which has Inc. on June 16, 2014 for supplying top quality, advocated for the enumeration of PCBs on the zero defect substrate products in 2013. USML. Merlin Circuit Installs Latest Sunstone Circuits Names i ITC Via Plugging Machine f Hammer QA Manager Flintshire-based Merlin Circuit Technology has Sunstone Circuits, the leading PCB prototype solu- completed the installation and testing of the latest tions provider, has named Dennis Hammer as qual- via plugging machine supplied by ITC. The THP35 ity assurance manager. In this position, he will play is the most advanced system currently available a vital role in the management of product quality, and gives the ability to reliably fill all via types by continuous improvement, and process analysis. way of its vacuum head.

Global, China Advanced Colonial Committed g Rigid PCB Industry Report j to IP Safeguarding; Earns IPC-1071QML The PCB industry is fairly mature, with the growth IPC’s Validation Services Program has awarded rate generally not more than 6%. The output value its first IPC-1071 Qualified Manufacturers Listing of rigid PCB vendors has long been declining—the (QML) to Colonial Circuits Inc., a full-service printed year 2012 witnessed hard times for rigid PCB ven- board manufacturer in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The dors at a time when the smartphone and tablet PC facility underwent an intensive audit based on IPC- market showed unexpectedly rapid growth. This 1071, Best Industry Practices for Intellectual Prop- sent rigid PCB vendors into a fierce price war, lead- erty Protection in Printed Board Manufacturing. ing to a drop in profit and revenue.

For the latest PCB news and information, visit: PCB007.com

August 2014 • The PCB Magazine 61 Vietnam Manufacturing Expo calendar August 27–29, 2014 EVENTS Hanoi, Vietnam Electronics Assembly August 27–29, 2014 For the IPC Calendar of Events, click here. Hanoi, Vietnam

For the SMTA Calendar of Events, click here. Assembly Technology Vietnam August 27–29, 2014 For the iNEMI Calendar of Events, click here. Hanoi, Vietnam

For the complete PCB007 Calendar of World Engineering Expo (WEE) Events, click here. September 1–3, 2014 Singapore

IMTS 2014 Advancements in Thermal September 8–13, 2014 Management 2014 Chicago, Illinois, USA August 6–7, 2014 Denver, Colorado, USA Capital Expo & Tech Forum September 9, 2014 Philadelphia Expo & Tech Forum Laurel, Maryland, USA August 12, 2014 Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA Hybrid & Electric Vehicles Forum 2014 September 17–18, 2014 West Penn Expo & Tech Forum Munich, Germany August 14, 2014 Monroeville, Pennsylvania, USA Medical Electronics Symposium 2014 September 18–19, 2014 IPC Southeast Asia High Reliability Portland, Oregon, USA Conference August 20, 2014 FUTURA Penang, Malaysia September 18–21, 2014 Salzburg, Austria NEPCON South China August 26–28, 2014 MEDIX Osaka Shenzhen, China September 24–26, 2014 Osaka, Japan

SMTA International 2014 September 28–October 2, 2014 Rosemont, Illinois, USA

Standards Development Meetings September 28–October 2, 2014 Rosemont, Illinois, USA

CEA Innovate! September 30–October 2, 2014 Phoenix, Arizona, USA

62 The PCB Magazine • August 2014 PUBLISHER: Barry Matties MANAGING EDITOR: Lisa Lucke

[email protected] (209) 304-4011; [email protected] m asthead

PUBLISHER: RAY RASMUSSEN TECHNICAL EDITOR: PETE STARKEY (916) 337-4402; [email protected] +44 (0) 1455 293333; [email protected] SALES: Angela Alexander (408) 915-2198; [email protected] MAGAZINE PRODUCTION CREW: PRODUCTION MANAGER: Mike Radogna MARKETING SERVICES: TOBEY MARSICOVETERE (916) 266-9160; [email protected] [email protected] MAGAZINE LAYOUT: RON MEOGROSSI EDITORIAL: AD DESIGN: Mike Radogna, Shelly Stein GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: RAY RASMUSSEN INnovative TECHNOLOGY: BRYSON MATTIES (916) 337-4402; [email protected] cover: RON MEOGROSSI, Shelly Stein

PCB007 Presents The PCB Magazine® is published by BR Publishing, Inc., PO Box 50, Seaside, OR 97138 ©2014 BR Publishing, Inc. does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for loss or dam- age caused by errors or omissions in the material contained within this publication, regardless of whether such errors or omissions are caused accidentally, from negligence or any other cause. August 2014, Volume 4, Number 8 • The PCB Magazine© is published monthly, by BR Publishing, Inc.

Advertiser Index Coming Soon to atg Luther & Maelzer GmbH...... 25 The PCB Magazine: Atotech...... 9 Burkle North America...... 33 September: Electra Polymers...... 21 FASTechnologies...... 55 New Concepts and Fein-line Associates...... 47 Emerging Technologies IPC...... 3, 51 for PCB Fabrication Isola...... 7 Maskless Lithography...... 39 Matrix USA...... 31 October: MEPTEC...... 41 End Markets for PCBs Mortech...... 45 Mutracx...... 1, 13 November: OMG Electronic Chemicals...... 43 Medical Applications Panasonic...... 17 Plasma Etch...... 5 Prototron Circuits...... 49 Rogers...... 37 Taiyo America...... 27 The PCB List...... 2, 57 Ucamco...... 35 Ventec...... 23

August 2014 • The PCB Magazine 63