New report explores PCB technology trends
22 July 2015
News
The 2014 edition of IPC’s biennial ‘PCB Technology Trends’ study has been published and is now available. The survey-based study shows how global printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers are meeting today’s technology demands and looks at the changes expected by 2019 that will affect PCB fabricators and their suppliers of materials and equipment.
Based on data collected from 158 companies worldwide, the 173-page study presents the aggregate data segmented by application for five key segments: computers and telecommunications, consumer electronics, industrial and automotive electronics, medical electronics, and military and aerospace electronics.
The study covers such issues as clock speed, heat dissipation, operation cycles, product life expectancy, environmental operating range, lamination cycles, board thickness, layer counts, line width and spacing, via diameters, aspect ratios, use of embedded technologies, surface-mount land dimensions, I/O pitch, test density, recyclable content, component size, and numbers of leads, solder joints and components per board area.
Among the many interesting findings, the study reports that nearly half of the responding PCB manufacturers for computer and telecommunications applications expect their highest clock speeds in 2019 to exceed 25 GHz. This segment had the highest clock speed predictions.
The military and aerospace segment reported that heat dissipation is a design-limiting factor in half of their devices currently, which is the highest of the five applications studied, and they expect that percentage to rise in the next four years. More than one third of responding companies in the military and aerospace segment are currently embedding passive components in their boards. Embedding of passive and active components is expected to increase substantially by 2019 for all five applications studied.
‘PCB Technology Trends 2014’ is available free to companies that participated in the survey, and can be purchased by IPC members as well as non-members.
For more information visit www.ipc.org/pcb-tech-trends-2014
Further reading:
SACEEC celebrates standout industrial innovation on the KITE 2025 show floor
News
Exhibitor innovation took the spotlight at the KITE 2025 as the South African Capital Equipment Export Council announced the winners of its prestigious New Product & Innovation Awards.
Read more...
SA team for International Olympiad in Informatics
News
The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa has named the team that will represent South Africa at this year’s International Olympiad in Informatics.
Read more...
Anritsu and Bluetest to support OTA measurement
News
Anritsu Company and Sweden-based Bluetest AB have jointly developed an Over-The-Air measurement solution to evaluate the performance of 5G IoT devices compliant with the RedCap specification.
Read more...
The current sentiment of the global electronics manufacturing supply chain
News
In its latest report, the Global Electronics Association provides an analysis of the current sentiment and conditions in the global electronics manufacturing supply chain as of June 2025.
Read more...
Global semiconductor sales increase in May
News
The Semiconductor Industry Association recently announced global semiconductor sales were $59,0 billion during the month of May 2025, an increase of 19,8%.
Read more...
New president for Avnet EMEA
News
Avnet has announced that Avnet Silica’s president, Gilles Beltran, will step into the role of president of Avnet EMEA.
Read more...
DARPA sets new record for wireless power beaming
News
In tests performed in New Mexico, the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay program team recorded over 800 W of power delivered for about 30 seconds with a laser beam crossing 8,6 kilometres.
Read more...
Nordic Semiconductor acquires Memfault
RF Design
News
With this acquisition, Nordic has launched its first complete chip-to-cloud platform for lifecycle management of connected products.
Read more...
Trina storage demonstrates high efficiency and long-term reliability
News
Independent testing confirms 95,2% DC efficiency and 98% capacity retention after one year of operation.
Read more...
From the editor's desk: AI – a double-edged sword
Technews Publishing
News
As with any powerful tool, AI presents challenges, some of which, if not carefully managed, threaten to undo the potential that it can offer.
Read more...
printer friendly version