BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – SEMI, the industry association serving the global electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, today applauded the provisional agreement reached yesterday in the European Chips Act Trilogue Negotiations to invest €43 billion to bolster Europe’s microelectronics industry. The European Parliament, Commission and Council forged the agreement in Strasbourg, France.

In the year since the landmark legislation was drafted, the European Chips Act has become a strategic centerpiece of Europe’s industrial ambition. The legislation aims to facilitate the continent’s digital and green transition by strengthening its semiconductor industry production capacity. A strong supporter of Europe’s economic growth, SEMI Europe expects the EU Chips Act to help Europe increase its global semiconductor manufacturing share to 20% in the next decade.

The legislation includes a crisis response provision through which the European Commission will assess risks to the European Union’s semiconductor supply and publish early warning indicators in member states that might trigger EU-wide chip shortage alerts.

“The European Chips Act is a significant step forward for the semiconductor industry in Europe with robust investments to help strengthen manufacturing and the resiliency of global supply chains,” said Ajit Manocha, SEMI President and CEO. “In addition, the Act will enable cohesive strategies to grow Europe's talent base and ensure the region remains at the forefront of innovation.”

“Now is the time to invest in the semiconductor sector in Europe,” said Laith Altimime, President of SEMI Europe. “The European Chips Act strengthens the continent’s appeal as a destination for semiconductor industry investment and lays the groundwork for the growth of the entire ecosystem. The act will help create a more favorable environment for chip industry investments in Europe and promises to spark greater innovation.”

The European Chips Act is a cornerstone of efforts to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness in building chips and expand innovation in the design, manufacturing and packaging of chips. The act will also enable Europe to deepen its understanding of global semiconductor supply chains and address the skills shortage.

“SEMI looks forward to the implementation of the European Chips Act, which is crucial to strengthening Europe’s semiconductor competencies across the entire value chain,” said Christopher Frieling, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at SEMI Europe.

Visit SEMI Global Advocacy to learn more about its public policy efforts and the latest developments. Go to SEMI Workforce Development for information on how SEMI is addressing the microelectronics industry’s talent needs.

WERTHEIM, GERMANY – Ersa GmbH recently installed the 2,000th selective soldering machine of its bestseller VERSAFLOW 3/45 in Hungary. For the official handover of the anniversary machine to the EMS service provider Flex in Hungary, Ersa General Sales Manager Rainer Krauss traveled with a delegation to Zalaegerszeg at the beginning of March.

Also present were the Budapest-based sales partner Microsolder Kft., represented by its Managing Director Csaba Peto, and the responsible Ersa Area Sales Manager Tom Berx. The partnership between Flex Hungary and Ersa started in 2008 with a first selective soldering machine, followed by 25 more VERSAFLOW 3/45s to date. Tamás Börcz, General Manager of Flex in Zalaegerszeg said: “We have extremely diverse product portfolios with a wide range of sizes and components – requirements are constantly changing, and we have to respond quickly and adequately. We evaluated extensively and made a decision in favor of Ersa when it comes to selective soldering, as their soldering systems offer extremely flexible options for highest throughput and best quality.”

The great acceptance of the modular and expandable Ersa selective soldering machines around the world is due to their versatility. Mixed assemblies with THT components and SMD assembly on both sides can be optimally produced with it. In contrast to wave soldering, the heat input into the assembly is much lower and no solder masks are required. The solder masks used in wave soldering protect SMD components on the underside of the PCB from re-melting and rinsing when in contact with the solder wave. These are also required for very small production runs and must each be manufactured individually – this time and cost factor is eliminated with selective soldering.

Thanks to this technology, individual components of a board can be soldered with individual parameters, whereas under wave soldering, the temperature and wetting time in the solder wave must be selected for the entire assembly. Selectively soldered assemblies are also less likely to become contaminated, as only a few areas need to be soldered and come into contact with flux and solder. Selective soldering is unbeatable if, in addition to the top side of the assembly, the bottom side is also populated with SMDs (with a low proportion of THT components).

In addition to high-performance hardware, first-class service is also crucial for Flex Hungary. Commenting on the relationship, Ersa Sales Director Rainer Krauss said: “With our sales and service network, we are globally positioned and always close to our customers to provide the same level of quality in terms of hardware and service everywhere – at Flex Hungary, this is our sales partner Microsolder, who has supported us for many years in the integration and service of new and existing systems. We have enjoyed a successful partnership with Flex Hungary for 20 years, and we would like to continue this in the future.” Zoltán Tuboly, Manufacturing Engineering Manager at Flex Hungary echoes the sentiment adding: “I can only agree and thank the Ersa team for continued strong support over many years.”

MUENCHEN, GERMANY – Emitech, a company specializing in applied testing for product qualification in the automotive sector, has inaugurated its new vehicle test center in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France. The EMC chamber is equipped with a complete EMC test system from Rohde & Schwarz including R&S BBA150, R&S BBA130 and R&S BBL200 broadband amplifiers, R&S ESW44 test receivers, R&S SMB100B RF signal generators and power meters. At the inauguration ceremony in March, Rohde & Schwarz also demonstrated its innovative solution for advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) testing.

Emitech's new test center is dedicated to electromagnetic compatibility tests for vehicles: two and three- wheelers, cars, trucks, tractors, construction machinery, etc. The reinforcement of a heavy load area supporting up to 40 t allows it to accommodate construction machinery as well as high-tonnage and high- volume equipment found in the defense, aeronautics, railways and nuclear power sectors and, by extension, industry. The center also has the largest and most recent Faraday cage built in France, which is used to perform electromagnetic compatibility tests to ensure that the equipment under test does not generate interference and is not itself disturbed by interference representative of the context in which it will be used.

The R&S BBA and R&S BBL amplifiers support the EMC tests at Emitech's test center. They are housed in several system racks and supply high-power RF signals to all transducers used in the conducted and radiated EMC test setups. More specifically, two racks for R&S BBL200 amplifiers and a 3 kW power class R&S BBA150 amplifier are installed below the chamber, which work together to create a high field strength from 9 kHz to 1 GHz. The amplifiers use one stripline antenna and two log-periodic antennas. Additionally, a mobile rack including 600 W/300 W power class R&S BBA130 amplifiers with one horn antenna is used inside the chamber for high field strength tests up to 6 GHz.

The R&S BBA amplifiers cover frequency bands up to 6 GHz. These amplifiers can be used for a variety of applications, including the various standards for EMS measurements. The R&S BBL200 liquid-cooled power amplifiers for high field strengths complement the test setup. These amplifiers are ideal for applications requiring high RF power in a frequency range from 9 kHz to 250 MHz. They are liquid-cooled, solid-state, highly rugged, quiet and efficient. Precise monitoring of all runtime parameters ensures maximum robustness and reliability. The amplifiers are designed for continuous operation and deliver constant power even under mismatch conditions.

This Rohde & Schwarz project for the French automotive market represents another benchmark EMC test solution.

CHANDLER, AZ – Isola Group brings the latest cost-effective, high-performance PCB material solutions for hybrid circuits to this year’s Del Mar Electronics & Manufacturing Show (DMEMS2023). With growing demand for miniaturization in electronic design, Isola’s materials support compact PCBs for RF/microwave (RF/MW), high-speed-digital (HSD), and power circuits with high efficiency and excellent thermal stability. The durable circuit materials share processing compatibility with general-purpose circuit materials such as FR-4 for ease of fabricating multilayer circuit solutions with a combination of circuit material types.

DMEMS2023 is set for the Del Mar Fairgrounds (San Diego, CA) on April 26-27, 2023, and features free admission, parking, and an abundance of educational seminars. Isola’s representatives are ready to share their years of experience and expertise on matching PCB materials to different mechanical and electrical circuit requirements. They will welcome DMEMS2023 visitors to booth #100 to learn more about their high-performance but “manufacturing-friendly” circuit materials, including TerraGreen ® 400G, Tachyon ® 100G, Astra® MT77, I-Tera ® MT40, IS550H, IS580G and IS680/IS680 AG laminates and prepregs. These temperature-stable circuit materials enable the fabrication of HSD circuits and high- frequency RF, MW, and millimeter-wave (mmWave) signals beyond 110 GHz on the same circuit board.

When the highest signal integrity must be maintained, TerraGreen ® 400G, Tachyon ® 100G, I- Tera ® MT40 and I-Speed® circuit materials support HSD circuits at rates up to and beyond 100 Gb/s. Visitors to the booth can learn more about the characteristics of each material and how they benefit some of the latest high-frequency/high-speed circuits for computing, automotive, aerospace and defense, robotics, space, and telecommunications applications. For applications requiring halogen-free materials, stop by the booth and ask about Isola’s latest offerings. IS550H is our halogen-free solution for high power & voltage applications with extreme thermal stability requirements. The TerraGreen® 400G family of laminates and prepregs provide a range of cost and high speed digital performance solutions up to 200Gb/s. IS580G is a halogen-free material with I-Speed-like electrical performance and optimized Z- axis CTE for thermal reliability.

For more information about any of these materials, please visit the Isola website at www.isola-group.com