Newsroom
ATP Award Focuses on Embedded Passives
NCMS / NEMI / ITRI collaboration to further
technology and manufacturing expertise
Press contact at bottom of page
October 7, 1998 · ANN ARBOR, MICH · The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS), in collaboration with the National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI), the Interconnect Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and a dozen industry partners, has been awarded its 6th NIST Advanced Technology Program award. The winning proposal focuses on developing the materials, design, and processing technology for embedding passive devices onto circuit board substrates.
In addition to NCMS, NEMI, and ITRI, team members include: 3M, Compaq Computer, Delphi Delco Electronics, DuPont Photopolymer & Electronic Materials, DuPont High Performance Films, IBM, HADCO Corporation, MacDermid, Merix Corporation, Northern Telecom, Nu Thena Systems, and ORMET Corporation. These partners have formed the Advanced Embedded Passives Technology Consortium to manage and execute the project.
Passive devices (mainly resistors and capacitors) are tiny circuit elements that play a critical role in electronic products. While a portable phone, for example, may have a handful of integrated circuits, it will typically have several hundred passive devices. These devices account for up to 90 percent of the component placements required in the manufacturing process, and take up to 40 percent of the space on the PWB. Embedding these devices into the PWB will increase product density (enabling smaller size, greater performance and higher speeds) and simplify the board assembly manufacturing process.
"In the electronics product marketplace, the pressures for new products having more features, smaller size and lower cost make approaches that reduce the size and complexity of circuit boards an essential strategy," noted Wyckham Seelig, NCMS Vice President, Advanced Manufacturing Programs. "In particular, chip resistors and capacitors are a key focus."
Jim McElroy, Executive Director of NEMI, said that his organization’s roadmaps have identified the replacement of discreet passive devices with embedded passives as a key enabler for producing the compact, high-reliability, high-performance and low-cost products of the future. "In major product sectors these passives represent a significant fraction of the solder joints, consume almost half of the surface area and account for most of the component placements. In addition, new high speed applications require physical positioning of passives that is not possible when these devices are mounted on the surface of the PWB, as they have traditionally been."
Consortium members on this program will develop the technology and manufacturing expertise needed to:
- Meet the needs of the microelectronics industry for compact, high-performance products that incorporate proven embedded passives technology
- Lower system costs
- Develop optimum pathways for commercialization of the technology created in the project. ITRI, the interconnect industry’s circuit board manufacturing research consortium, will lead this part of the project.
The Advanced Embedded Passives Technology Consortium represents the range of electronic manufacturers and includes large, successful electronic material system developers and manufacturers, and smaller, innovative material industry participants. Also represented are key participants in the circuit board manufacturing industry and a company experienced in the costing infrastructure of the industry. This project team aims to introduce a major leap in the design and performance of circuit boards. Successful development of the technologies would enable U.S. companies to build their market share in the $28 billion global printed wiring board industry.
The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (http://www.ncms.org) is the largest collaborative manufacturing research consortium in the United States. NCMS is backed by 200 corporate members, an annual project portfolio exceeding $80 million and a twelve year track record in the performance of collaborative manufacturing research and development. NCMS believes that this award solidifies its role as the creator and manager of the complex R&D programs needed to implement industry technology roadmaps.
The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (http://www.nemi.org) was formed in 1994 to facilitate long-term North American leadership in electronics. NEMI's goal is to help its member companies become global leaders in volume electronics manufacturing. This industry-led, "virtual consortium" also works with government, universities, and other funding agencies to identify infrastructure weaknesses and set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives.
The Interconnection Technology Research Institute is an industry-led consortium sponsored by the Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits for collaboration among the electronic interconnection industry, government and academia. Its purpose is to enhance the global competitiveness of the North American electronics interconnection industry by enabling collaboration among its members to accelerate development and application of revolutionary and evolutionary technology.
Technical contact:
Wyckham Seelig
NCMS
734-995-4915
wdseelig@ncms.org
Press contact:
Cynthia Williams
207-871-1260
cwilliams@nemi.org