What the electronics industry must do to change that.
Ed.: This is the seventh of an occasional series by the authors of the 2019 iNEMI Roadmap. This information is excerpted from the roadmap, available from iNEMI (inemi.org/2019-roadmap-overview).
To realize the benefits and potential of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) or move toward Industry 4.0, the industry must overcome several challenges ranging from securing the factory equipment used to produce secure IoT-ready products to defining the cobotic dialogue so collaboration between humans and machines can be used to drive innovation, while providing efficiencies with minimal workforce displacement in this industry and those of its customers.
Aside from technical issues, ethical, geopolitical, economic and regulatory issues may affect the current and future state of the industry.
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A holistic view of 77GHz radar sensors as a PCBA build, considering fabrication, assembly and packaging materials.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and US Department of Transportation classify levels of vehicle autonomy from 0 to 5. Level 0 incorporates no automation; levels 1-3 have varying degrees of partial assistance to the driver, where the automobile, for example, can control steering, acceleration and deceleration, and even interfere with the driver. Finally, in full autonomy, level 5, the car drives on its own and makes all decisions and reactions to its surroundings.1
The automotive market uses a combination of sensors to make these critical decisions. Radar designs are the fastest growing sensors in ADAS today, due to the longer-range capabilities and their resistance to all weather conditions.2 This research will focus on radar designs, specifically long-range 77GHz radar, to showcase how automotive materials are changing and, through the choice of alternatives to those conventionally used in the space, how product life and reliability can be enhanced.
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Flexible hybrid electronics promises to combine the functionality of conventional rigid electronics with the flexibility of printed electronics. A prototypical FHE circuit, in which an integrated circuit is combined with multiple other elements, includes, for example, printed sensors, an antenna, a thin-film battery and even thin-film PV. Not all components need to be included, or even printed, for a circuit to count as FHE, but they must include as a minimum both printed and placed functionality.
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SiP, MCP and DDR5 support faster speeds and higher power requirements.
Ed.: This is the sixth of an occasional series by the authors of the 2019 iNEMI Roadmap. This information is excerpted from the roadmap, available from iNEMI (inemi.org/2019-roadmap-overview).
New high-end computing system technologies becoming available for such applications as servers, telecom and the cloud must meet bandwidth, power, thermal and environmental challenges. Advanced packaging technologies that can drive integration and increase functionality, at acceptable cost and risk levels, will be key enablers for the sector.
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The largest players in contract assembly toughed out last year. This one might be worse.
No matter what happened in 2019, it will be remembered as the end of a bull run. On financial charts, it will look 2001 and 2006, the last spike before the ensuing crash. As it now stands, it will take a significant surge over the rest of 2020 to make the year look respectable compared to the past several. Thanks, coronavirus.
As we roll out the CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Top 50 EMS Companies list, we chronicle the past calendar year, where M&A activity rose, and many manufacturers spoke of tightening their profit belts.
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A test vehicle and qualification test for proving out process changes.
IPC J-STDF-001G states, “Unless otherwise specified by the User, the Manufacturer shall [N1D2D3] qualify soldering and/or cleaning processes that result in acceptable levels of flux and other residues. Objective evidence shall [N1D2D3] be available for review.”1 (Ed.: N1D2D3 means no requirement has been established for Class 1, and the condition is a defect in Classes 2 and 3.)
In a qualified manufacturing process (QMP), manufacturing materials and processes used to produce electronics hardware are benchmarked and validated against electrical performance in hot/humid conditions.2 Characterizing chemical residues that exist on a manufactured assembly, and assessing the impact of those residues on electrical performance, has much to do with the end-use environment in which the hardware will operate. The other important factor is the circuit density and component types. Leadless and bottom-terminated components are more susceptible to residue challenges due to low standoff gaps, tight pitch, high solder mass, and blocked outgassing channels.
Here, we assess the impact of process residues on electrical performance to qualify electronics hardware and the manufacturing process. The qualification methodology will determine the acceptability of the residue condition at the point of the manufacturing process just prior to the application of conformal coating.
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