Printed Circuit Design & Fab - March 2008 - (Page 4)

OUR LINE The Long View topics that that should be at the top of every candidate’s agenda, and none more important than the fate of U.S. technology-based competitiveness. In January, a team at Georgia Institute of Technology released the latKATHY est in a series of reports that since the late 1980s has tracked high-tech NARGI-TOTH indicators in 33 countries (gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?id=1682). This project is supported and funded by the National Science Foundation, considered one of the key innovation-enabling U.S. agencies. It offers an interesting perspective on the technological competitiveness of the countries studied with a look toward future technology viability and leadership. Indicators included in the study were technology infrastructure, national orientation, production capacity and socioeconomic infrastructure. The study is a mix of statistical data and expert opinion. From this, the authors generate a relative technology standing. Rather than providing an absolute number, the report tracks national shifts over time, presenting an assessment of which countries are best-positioned with regard to these leading indicators. One of the key factors in the rankings was each country’s overall success at exporting high-tech products. This was judged based on the monetary value of these products, in particular the value of electronics exports. (It should be noted, the authors did not distinguish the corporate nationality of the manufacturing entities responsible for the exports and therefore treated the majority of exports as “owned” by the exporting nation.) The study concluded that China had jumped into the lead in technology standing, ahead of the U.S., Germany and Japan. China has shown consistant gain in all categories over the past 15 years. The most notable gains came in the area of high-tech exports and a pervasive emphasis on science, engineering and R&D. While one could argue that the exports credited to China are in many cases actually foreign-owned, infrastructure and other input indicators for China have certainly reaped the benefit of foreign investments over the past few years. Based on the rapid rise in input indicator scores, China is positioning itself to be a principal driver for the future world economy. On the U.S. side, programs like the American Competitiveness Institute (aciusa.org) and other enterprises that support innovation should be at the heart of U.S. economic planning. R&D and investment tax credits for domestically located endeavors, funding for U.S. education at every level and funding to support inventions that benefit the environment will factor heavily into our future on the world stage. The report’s findings should not come as a surprise. They do, however, provide us with another tool to chart our progress (be it growth or decline) in the coming years as we strive to develop new technologies that will support continued economic expansion. It’s time to take the long view, and invest in future viability instead of measuring success based on the fluctuations of quarterly profit and loss. Changing gears, Virtual PCB, the online trade show hosted by UP Media Group in midFebruary, was a huge success! More than 2,100 PCB designers, fabricators and assemblers registered for the live show, almost half from outside the U.S. For the uninitiated, Virtual PCB is a fully interactive Web-based event. If you missed the live show, you can still visit the on-demand event for the next three months. Kelly Dack, a senior PCB designer with IGT (International Game Technology), echoed a common reaction when he said, “More PCB industry suppliers need to tap into Virtual PCB. It’s like a listserve on steroids! A virtual tradeshow, but it’s real-time and real interactive!” Based on overwhelming consensus from exhibitors and attendees, another live event is planned for November 2008. As companies like Cisco actively strive to reduce their carbon footprint, and time away from the office is at a premium, Virtual PCB will be at forefront of the coming buyer-seller experience. And you don’t need to take the long view to see that. pcdandf.com EDITORIAL EDITOR: Kathy Nargi-Toth, 678-589-8866, knargitoth@upmediagroup.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Phil Buonpastore, 678-5898853, pbuonpastore@upmediagroup.com A S we move full speed into this election year, there are a number of EDITORIAL OFFICE: 2400 Lake Park Drive, Suite 440, Smyrna, GA 30080 678-589-8800; fax 678-589-8850 EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Dr. Eric Bogatin, Be The Signal; Michael Carano, OM Group; George Dudnikov, Sanmina-SCI; Jack Fisher, Interconnect Technology Analysis; Happy Holden, Mentor Graphics; Istvan Novak, Sun Microsystems CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Dr. Hayao Nakahara COLUMNISTS: Bruce Archambeault, Peter Bigelow, Michael Carano, Dominique Numakura, Charles Pfeil, Dr. Abe Riazi, Susy Webb PRODUCTION MANAGING EDITOR: Katherine Haddox, khaddox@upmediagroup.com PRODUCTION MANAGER: Javier Longoria, jlongoria@upmediagroup.com SALES SALES ASSOCIATE: Kamden Robb, 678-589-8843, krobb@upmediagroup.com EXHIBIT SALES MANAGER: Brooke Anglin, 678-589-8833, fax 678-589-8850, banglin@upmediagroup.com KOREA SALES: Young Media Inc., +82 2 2273 4818, fax +82 2 2273 4866, ymedia@ymedia.co.kr PRINT REPRINTS: Edward Kane, FosteReprints, 866-879-9144 ext. 131, fax 219-561-2009, ekane@fostereprints.com ELECTRONIC REPRINTS: pcdf_reprints@upmediagroup.com LIST RENTAL: Jennifer Schuler, 918-496-1476, fax 918-496-9465 WEBINARS: Frances Stewart, 678-817-1286, fstewart@upmediagroup.com, pcbshows.com/webinars CIRCULATION DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT: Jennifer Schuler CIRCULATION AND SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES/ ADDRESS CHANGES: fax 918-496-9465, jschuler@upmediagroup.com UP MEDIA GROUP, INC. PRESIDENT: Pete Waddell VICE PRESIDENT, SALES AND MARKETING: Frances Stewart, fstewart@upmediagroup.com VICE PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION: Mike Buetow, mbuetow@upmediagroup.com SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER: Ronda Faries, 678-589-8827, rfaries@upmediagroup.com Printed Circuit Design & Fab is distributed without charge to qualified subscribers. For others, annual Subscription Rates in U.S. funds are: $80 (U.S. and Canada), $145 (all other countries). Single copy price is $8.50. All subscription and single copy orders or inquiries should be directed to Printed Circuit Design & Fab, P.O. Box 35646, Tulsa, OK 74153-0646, jschuler@upmediagroup. com, fax 918-496-9465. Photocopies and issues on Microfilm/Microfiche (16mm, 33mm or 105mm) are available from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106, Telephone 313-761-4600. Printed Circuit Design & Fab is published monthly by UP Media Group Inc., 2400 Lake Park Drive, Suite 440, Smyrna, GA 30080. ISSN 1543-6527. GST 124513185/ Agreement #1419617. Periodicals postage paid at Smyrna, GA, and additional mailing offices. © 2008, UP Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in Printed Circuit Design & Fab is forbidden without written permission. 4 PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB MARCH 2008 http://www.pcdandf.com http://gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?id=1682 http://www.aciusa.org http://pcbshows.com/webinars

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Printed Circuit Design & Fab - March 2008

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - March 2008 Contents Our Line Market Watch Around the World Happenings ROI EMC for the Real World Positive Plating FPGA/PCB Co-design Increases Fabrication Yields Optoelectronics Comes of Age, Part 2 Implementation of Buried Capacitance in High-Speed Designs Ad Index Improved Innerlayer Bonding for Sequential Lamination Off the Shelf Marketplace BGA Bulletin

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - March 2008

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