IPC Roadmap Now Available

By Jack Fisher, Interconnect Technology Analysis, Inc.

Over the next few years, the electronic interconnect technology industry will undergo many changes. ROADMAP-05, The International Technology Roadmap for Electronic Interconnections – IPC’s bi-yearly roadmap, has helped industry identify changes since it was first published in 1993. The 2004-2005 roadmap is available for free to IPC members from the IPC Members Only site.

Robert Galvin, the former CEO of Motorola, often gets credit as “the father of technology roadmapping.” Galvin’s definition of roadmapping is: “A roadmap is an extended look at the future of a chosen field of interest composed from the collective knowledge and imagination of the brightest drivers of the field.”

The IPC roadmap is published every two years. The team that assembled to write and publish the roadmap are the best experts in electronic interconnect technology.

Roadmap Foundation

Table 1. Electrical testing requirements (click to enlarge)

The IPC roadmap is one of four international roadmaps published worldwide (see sidebar). The uniqueness of the IPC roadmap is that it is the only one that specifically focuses on the operational processes that make up a PCB manufacturing plant or an electronics assembly manufacturing operation.

The foundation of the IPC roadmap is built on product emulators. The IPC roadmap emulators define the future technology needs of “pseudo products” in eight different market areas: harsh environment automotive, harsh environment aerospace/defense, consumer products, RF and microwave, mid range performance products, high performance systems, hand held and wireless products and electronic games. These product emulators provide an abstract representation of a product that allows companies to share needs without sharing proprietary product information. The product emulators forecast trends for future OEM product requirements.

The latest roadmap has two significant enhancements from previous versions. The first is significantly increased international participation from Europe and Asia; the second is the segmentation of the roadmap into two volumes for easier reading and searching.

New Technologies

Table 2. Future electrical test system requirements (click to enlarge)

The roadmap identifies several technological advances that should have an impact on electronic interconnect technology. Some highlights in the new roadmap are:

Embedded Passive and Embedded Actives

The roadmap contains a significant update on embedded passive technology. The process of making embedded resistors and capacitors is explained in detail and several comparisons of different manufacturing technologies are included.

Embedded component technology is gradually being adopted in electronics packaging. Some applications, such as embedded planar capacitance, are more fully proven than others. Nearly all the tools for adoption have been developed.

Increased focus on electrical testing at all levels

Electrical testing of the bare board is indispensable. Today’s products have great complexity, high density and finer circuit design features. Complete electrical functionality and the ability to sustain performance through exposures to higher temperatures and humidity are critical.

The roadmap now includes more testing content than previous versions. Electrical testing information for boards, packaging substrates and backplanes has been enhanced. Table 1 is a roadmap of future electrical test evaluation requirements, while Table 2 shows the requirements for future electrical test systems.

Design Tools

Table 3. Business interaction drivers (click to enlarge)

Design for Manufacturability (DfM) presents tremendous potential for addressing key OEM technological and competitive issues. The industry must change data transfer methods among CAE, CAD, and CAM if it intends to meet time-to-market goals. Reusing data with minimal human intervention is an important strategy in meeting these goals.

Table 3 highlights the critical business drivers affecting different functions.

The IPC roadmap discusses seamless movement of information between designer, OEM and manufacturing which means that it is not simply moving digital data, but moving digital data, non-geometrical design requirements contained in the specifications and drawings, stackup, process requirements and the complete build history of the job between interested parties. Figure 1 is one such illustration.

Figure 1. Data requirements for the future (click to enlarge)

Next Generation Packaging Technology Impact on PCBs

Organic rigid and flexible substrates are the primary choices for the electronic package/modules market today. However, ceramic materials are still used in certain applications due to their thermal capabilities in high power devices, extreme environments and where fully hermetic packaging is required. These three general types of substrate materials are addressed in the roadmap.

Optoelectronic Substrates

The PCB used in fiber wave guide technology is not especially different from any high-speed board. Fiber is usually attached to the outside of the board and to the components and connectors, but fiber technology does not require a board to use significantly different materials. Integration of optical fiber into the board assembly is one of the major elements of the technology. Embedded waveguide technology for substrates is also discussed in the roadmap with a comparison of several waveguide technologies under development.

Flexible Substrates Data Increased

Flexible printed boards (FPBs) find application where interconnect structures must survive severe flexural life cycles and torque (e.g. hard disk drives, printers) or where shock and vibration absorption are required (e.g. military applications). Most flexible printed boards are not subjected to dynamic flex requirements but the flex must be installed in 3-dimensional static shapes, a feature that assists miniaturization in hand-held electronic equipment and certain medical applications. Specialty applications also include membrane switches (key pads) and single-layer structures serving as superior alternatives for wire harnesses.

Table 4. Flexible circuit technology parameters (click to enlarge)

The disadvantages of these products are closely related to their flexibility advantage: dimensional instability, unique tooling requirements and uniqueness of applications that add engineering costs. High Tg flex substrates, suitable for soldering (typically polyimide), are more expensive than comparable rigid substrates.

Using the convention of earlier technology roadmaps, the current FPB technology status can be described by distinguishing between conventional, leading edge, and state-of-the-art sectors. Table 4 represents the roadmap authors’ expectations for flexible circuits in the future.

Conclusion

The 2004-2005 IPC International Technology Roadmap for Electronic Interconnections is a valuable addition to the industry technology resource library. The IPC International Technology Roadmap Committee will begin working on the 2006/2007 Technology Roadmap in January. If you are interested in participating in the next release, please contact Jack Fisher at fish5er@mindspring.com or Jeanne Cooney at JeanneCooney@ipc.org.

Comparing The Roadmaps

The IPC International Technology Roadmap is focused exclusively on the electronic interconnection industry. It centers on the manufacturing of PCBs and electronic assemblies. It is an operational-level roadmap that provides information and/or detail for each manufacturing process step that is not found in other roadmaps.

The iNEMI Technology Roadmap is focused on the business and technology areas associated with the electronics industries’ global supply chain. This roadmap is the starting point of the iNEMI process for identifying technology or business gaps. The iNEMI gap identification process distinctively sets the iNEMI roadmap apart from others.

The Jisso roadmap is a Japanese technology roadmap. Jisso technology is a system integrator encompassing a wide range of technology fields. The uniqueness of the Jisso roadmap results from its focus on a total packaging solution. It also has a level of detail on technology attributes that other roadmaps do not have.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has published the semiconductor industry roadmap since 1992. The roadmap provides a 15-year outlook on major trends of the semiconductor industry. It is an international roadmap with active working groups in all areas of the globe.