Build to print.

A FEW weeks ago the iNEMI roadmap was officially released. PCD&M will be covering some of the iNEMI chapters that relate to our industry during 2007. This roadmap is important because it provides R&D insights for the entire electronics industry. It pinpoints disruptive and emerging technologies and outlines numerous challenges that might be developed into full-fledged market opportunities. In contrast, the IPC roadmap, another industry guide due out this year, provides more practical, process-driven commentary that covers specific bottlenecks or technology disconnects in our traditional manufacturing sequences. Taken together they are invaluable tools.

We have already covered one technology identified in the iNEMI roadmap that just might be the hottest thing to hit since the microvia. And like the microvia, it involves the consumer experience and is destined to change the way we see and use many everyday items over the course of the next five to 10 years. This technology is printed electronics. The question is, could this technology make an attractive new market for the PCB industry? We don't know, because most PCB companies haven't yet taken a hard look at the compatibilities and disconnects.

Just how disruptive this technology will be for the traditional PCB market is yet to be seen. Most view it as a tangential development, one that will coexist with traditional fabrication methods and products. It could, however, change some of our better-known platforms, particularly in consumer electronics. It is seen as an opportunity that might be best commercialized by a merger of the expertise found in the printing and PCB design and fabrication (primarily imaging) environments.

In the U.S. there seems to be a logical connection to the large opportunity for military applications. Three significant U.S. government-funded initiatives are underway. One program is focused on improving infantry tools. These technologies would include new electronic devices and smart clothing, designed to reduce the weight of the warfighter's gear as much as two-thirds and add such benefits as personal heating and cooling, electricity generation, GPS access and more.

There are other inherently beneficial aspects of printed electronics. For example, from the manufacturing perspective the technology embodies the essence of design for the environment. The process is totally additive and generates minimal waste byproducts. The best fit for the PCB industry may be found in both ink-jet manufacturing techniques and some forms of screen printing. There are notable benefits to ink-jet vs. other printing processes that are ideal for niche markets. Ink-jet is a digitally driven fabrication method that is adaptable to on-the-fly product variability. It resounds with facilities that are geared toward short-run, low-volume, quickturn and prototypes. Screen-printing methods are more applicable for high-volume applications like RFID devices. For high-volume roll-to-roll applications, PCB fabricators may need to partner with experts in the printing industry to be truly successful.

Where the PCB (and semiconductor) industry can lead is in our expertise in imaging. Traditional printing processes are not geared for high-density resolution capability. Printing processes have not needed to reduce their capabilities below 100 microns--gated by human vision. Recently at InterNepcon Japan, equipment manufacturer Naganuma Art Screen demonstrated a screen printer capable of 15-micron pitch resolution (3 micron lines, 11 micron spaces). PCB imaging techniques, coupled with new nano inks and pastes, would be another natural place for the fabricator to enter printed electronics.

Our challenge now is to determine just how good a fit this opportunity is for the PCB industry. Companies like Motorola, AMD, 3M, Toppan Printing, Matsushira, Canon, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Samsung and others are already investing heavy in the technology. You may note that many of these names are familiar. They are the same pioneers of microvia techniques in the late '80s and '90s that led to breakthrough miniaturization in portable electronics. They are all banking on printed electronics to deliver another substantial form and weight reduction benefit, coupled with a significant cost reduction chaser.

Many of the printed electronics applications will not be a good fit for the PCB industry. Low-resolution products will likely fit the printing industry best. More sophisticated applications, such as large footprint, co-deposited electronics--actuators, batteries, capacitors and resistors, sensors and photovoltaics potentially coupled with large printed memory on organic substrates--may be a good place for PCB industry imaging and registration experts to develop a niche. It's certainly a technology that bears watching.

For more information on U.S. government-funded initiatives in printed electronics visit: darpa.mil/mto/solicitations/BAA03-21/S/Section2.htm, asu.edu/feature/includes/spring05/readmore/ flexdisplay.html, and camm.binghamton.edu/. Get involved and see where it takes you.