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Author: EirikSolberg
Designers Notebook: Flexible Circuits for In-line SMT Assembly Processing
JANUARY 20, 2023 Incorporating surface mount components directly onto a flexible circuit’s etched copper land patterns is not unlike the assembly process used for rigid circuit boards. To maximize robotic assembly efficiency and increase throughput of the flexible circuit, however, the circuit design engineer will need to provide a format that includes all features required…
Designer’s Notebook: PCB Design for Bare Board Testing
MARCH 22, 2023 There are several testing methods used for certifying that the circuit board meets its defined quality level and intended functional criteria. Multilayer circuit boards have become increasingly complex: finer conductor line definition, blind and buried microvia interface, and smaller, finer-pitch SMT land pattern geometries. Visual assessment using automated optical inspection (AOI) is…
Designers Notebook: PCB Designers Guide to Heterogeneous Chiplet Packaging
AUGUST 01, 2023 Integrating multiple chiplet elements on a single interposer or package substrate may be referred to as a multi-chip module, a hybrid IC, a 2.5D package or simply an advanced package. Implementing chiplet technology will provide several advantages over the traditional, system-on-chip alternative: Each chiplet element is designed to be a building block with…
Designer’s Notebook: DFM Principles for Flexible Circuits
SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 Flexible circuit applications can be as basic as furnishing electrical interconnect between two conventional circuit board assemblies, or to prove a platform for placing and interconnecting electronic components. During the planning and pre-design phase of the flexible circuit, there will be several material and process related questions that need to be addressed.…
Designers Notebook: What Designers Need to Know About Manufacturing, Part 1
JANUARY 25, 2024 The designer needs to have a working understanding of two key manufacturing operations: basic circuit board fabrication procedures and assembly process practices. For printed circuit board manufacturing, the number of steps required to produce the printed circuit board correlates to the circuit board’s complexity. Greater process complexity in fabricating the circuit board equates…
Designer’s Notebook: What Designers Need to Know About Manufacturing, Part 2
APRIL 24, 2024 The printed circuit board (PCB) is the primary base element for providing the interconnect platform for mounting and electrically joining electronic components. When assessing PCB design complexity, first consider the component area and board area ratio. If the surface area for the component interface is restricted, it may justify adopting multilayer or…
Designers Notebook: PCB Design and IPC-CFX for Assembly Automation
AUGUST 06, 2024 Surface mount technology (SMT) is a manufacturing process that, through the application of a wide range of small outline components, provides capability to design a printed circuit with higher component density. The assembly process offers the user a means of efficiently producing electronic products in high volume with robotic assembly processing. The…
Designer’s Notebook: Heterogeneous Integration and High-density SiP Technologies
Often, our primary goal is to maximize product functionality without increasing product size. Developing a multi-function silicon-based semiconductor (system-on-chip) for a specific product application, however, requires a significant investment in both engineering and financial resources. The problem is that many of the newer generations of semiconductor die have actually increased in size, with higher I/O…