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Chicago - The Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits (IPC) has released its annual report on technology trends in the printed- circuit-board industry.
The report from IPC, a trade association based in Northbrook, Ill., offers a detailed analysis of the technical changes occurring within the industry based on a survey of independent board manufacturers.
The study focuses on five areas:density (conductors, hole sizes, and board thicknesses); testing (electrical and optical); finishes (metallic and organic-solder mask); trends in multilayer production (thickness and material temperature ranges); and trends in surface mounting (fine pitch and standard).
The research showed that, as in previous years, the density of printed boards continues in general to increase. The measurement of conductor density is related to the number of conductors that are routed between lands on 0.100-in. or tighter densities, such as 2.0 mm.
The trend since 1994 shows a gradual rise in products that have three or more conductors routed between the land patterns; in...