OCT OBER 1 13

Sierra
Circuits:
A Complete PCB Resource
PLUS: The
Ground Myth
in Printed
Circuits

PCB Resin Reactor

+
Ken Bahl
CEO of Sierra Circuits
Modern Printed Circuits
CONTENTS
4
3
6
10
14
concepts to reality
Bringing your
is as easy as...
Copyright 2013 Aspen Labs LLC.
Visit: digikey.com/schemeit partsim.com pcbweb.com
1.
Create schematics, technical diagrams,
and owcharts using your browser.
600+ Symbol Library
Share Schematics Online
Export High Quality Images
digikey.com/schemeit
2.
Free and easy-to-use circuit simulator
that runs in your browser.
SPICE Simulator
AC/DC/Transient Sims
Waveform Viewer
partsim.com
3.
Full featured online CAD application
for designing and manufacturing
electronics hardware.
Schematic Capture
PCB Layout
BOM Integration
pcbweb.com

18
FEATURED ENGINEER
Q & A with Giorgos Lazaridis
Founder of PCBHeaven.com
24
TECH ARTICLE
New Construction Methods Provide
Highest Quality Rigid-Flex PCBs
TECH ARTICLE
The Ground Myth in
Printed Circuits
TECH ARTICLE
The Route to PCB
COVER INTERVIEW
Interview with Ken Bahl
CEO of Sierra Circuits
FEATURED ARTICLE
Isolas Organic Synthesis Reactor
Creates PCB Resin
5 4
FEATURED ENGINEER
5 4
Modern Printed Circuits
Giorgos Lazaridis
Founder, PCBHeaven.com
Concern each failure as a valuable
lesson, for if you dont find out
how something will work, you will
definitely find out how it doesnt.
How did you get into engineering?
My passion as a child was to break my toys
apart and fnd the magic hidden inside. My
grandfather noticed this and began buying things
for me from the local bazaars and junkyards like
old radios, pick-ups, TVs, mechanical parts and
other gizmos of the 80s. I had my own junk-room
(literally) in which I spent most of my childhood
breaking and dismantling things apart, salvaging
motors lamps and switches.
At the age of 7 I made my very frst electronic
project. It was a needle detector for my
grandmother. I used a wooden round stick
some wire and the fash light from my fathers
camera. My father understood how much I
loved electronics and technology. He was a
ship technician traveling around the globe with
merchant ships. Since then, every year I received
a new tech gadget from him as a presentmy
frst Atari 2600 game console, my frst Pocket
Scientifc Computer PC-6, and my frst PC a
Hyundai XT Super 16 TE. This PC was my ticket
into the programming world. I began with GW-
BASIC and 8086 Assembly. I wrote many BASIC
programs and I also joined a hacking team
as a virus programmer. I never distributed any
viruses though, I only wrote them for educational
purposes. It was some kind of trend back then.
Hacking was an unknown word in Greece in the
early 90s.
Until the age of 14, my knowledge and experience
around electronics was limited in assembling
commercial kits. Around that age, I got my frst
chip-related bookthe SGS-Thomson High Speed
CMOS manual. I then began to discover whats
inside these chips, how they work, and how to
make my own digital projects. It took me another
10 years to discover the microcontrollers and
more specifcally the PIC16F84. I discovered that
this was the key to combine my two passions,
electronics and assembly programming. By
that time, Internet had well entered our lives,
and this gave a good boost to my knowledge.
Tell us about your website pcbheaven.com.
I decided to start this site for two reasons; frst to
improve my skills and knowledge, and second
to gain experience. Back then, I had already
discovered the power of teaching and sharing
knowledge. In order for one to become a
good teacher, they frst must have a complete
understanding of the subject. Moreover, the
relationship between the teacher and student
is bidirectional and ever changing. There are
tons of new subjects that the teacher discovers
because of a question from the student.
Discovering the uniqueness of each ones mind
is the ticket to intelligence. Also, as a general
principle I believe that knowledge must be
freely distributed and I already had quite some
knowledge to share. I uploaded the frst release
of my site in May 2008.
What do you do when youre not working
on your website?
I work as a circuit designer and a CNC
technician. I play the guitar in my free time
and listen to music. I love science and more
specifcally physics and astronomy. Every now
and then I read ancient Greek philosophy,
language, and geometry just to stay in good
shape. I also love solving riddles and puzzles.
What are your favorite hardware and
software tools?
The oscilloscope is my number #1 tool on my
workbench. I use it daily for each and every
circuit. As for the software, its always fun to
work with the Autodesk Inventor 3D for designing
mechanical parts.
What was the trickiest bug you ever fxed?
Well, this one comes from my second job as
a CNC technician. It was this medium-size
CNC. The customer reported that when
he pushed the power button, the NUM
controller would sometimes fail. He would
then have to turn the machine off and
turn it back on again several times until the
power button would work normally. After
several hours (days) I discovered that the
problem was a bad pin connection from
the CPU chip of the NUM controller. The
reason for the power button failure was
the funniest and most interesting part: the
power button would arm a large power
relay. The relay was mounted onto the
same surface as the NUM controller at
the back of the switching cabinet. Being
large enough, the relay caused vibrations
when armed. These vibrations sometimes
would vibrate the CPU chip inside the
NUM controller for just an instance, long
enough though for the controller to raise
several errors. I liked this repair so much
that I uploaded it to my website.
Do you have any experiential stories
youd like to share?
I had a very close contact with the 220V
when I was a child. I was making this
antenna that required a 220V supply up
on the roof of my house. The antenna was
supposed to receive strange signalsI
never found out what a strange signal
was, but I could defnitely hear the hum
in some bands of a toy walkie-talkie that I
had. Maybe aliens? Who knows. Anyway,
it seems that as I was pulling the wire it
got scratched somewhere. I accidentally
grabbed the wire from this scratch. My
right thumb touched the copper and
220V went right through me down to
the wet concrete. I can still remember
each and every second while I was stuck
there. My hand closed and I held the wire
even tighter. The shock lasted for several
seconds. I was twice a lucky guy to live
frst because it was my right hand and not
the left hand. And second, because my
thumb got so severely burned that turned
into a big blister.
And so here I am! For the next 3 days it was
impossible to move my right side due to this
terrible pain, but slowly I recovered. After 20
years, I still have the mark from the blister on my
right thumb only to remind me how dangerous
those strange signals are...
Is there anything youd like to say to young
people to encourage them to pursue
electronics?
Electronics can be a very nice hobby with a bright
future. As long as one likes electronics I defnitely
encourage them to go on with that passion. Start
with small steps and try not to get disappointed
from the early and inevitable failures. Concern
each failure as a valuable lesson, for if you dont
fnd out how something will work, you will defnitely
fnd out how it doesnt. Learn how to learn at a
personal level. Each one has a different way to
learndiscover yours. Share your knowledge with
friends and on the Internet. Read math, study
math, learn your lesson by heart. There is more
than numbers behind the numbers.
But most of all, study the original text of the
Euclidean Geometry. Discover the methodology
and the logical steps of a harnessed and
disciplined mind.
What challenges do you foresee in our
industry?
Oddly enough the greatest challenge that I foresee
is how humans will handle the not-so-distant future
industrial innovations and technologies. Every day,
we manage to harness more and more energy
which can either be creative or destructive. There
will be this time (maybe I will be a spectator in my
70s+) that we will face this situation. We need to
either radically change our behavior and ethics,
or we self-destruct.
7 6
TECH ARTICLE
7 6
Modern Printed Circuits
Latest Material and Construction
Methods Provide the Highest
Quality Rigid-Flex PCBs
Latest Material and Construction
Methods Provide the Highest
Quality Rigid-Flex PCBs
Latest Material and Construction
Methods Provide the Highest
Quality Rigid-Flex PCBs
ith the demand for portable electronics ever increasing, the need
to produce more compact devices with complex capabilities calls for
engineering solutions that combine functionality with fexibility.
W
By Paul Tome,
Flex Circuit Product Manager
Epec Engineered Technologies
9 8 9 8
TECH ARTICLE
Modern Printed Circuits
R
igid-Flex circuits can be shaped to ft
where no other design solution can.
They are an integrated hybrid of printed
circuit board and fex circuit technology
and exhibit the benefts of each. This allows
substantially greater freedom of packaging
geometry and a signifcant reduction of
interconnects while retaining the precision,
density and repeatability of printed circuit
board technology.
Applications of Rigid-Flex circuits can be
found throughout the electronics industry and
in the most demanding applications including
aerospace, medical and military.
Rigid-Flex circuit design has evolved
signifcantly over the past decade. Modern
designs require the rigid areas to be fully
capable rigid boards. The same limits
of complexity and density are pushed as
in modern PCBs including: fine lines/
spacing, high aspect ratio vias, blind
and buried vias, high layer counts (20+),
higher operating temperatures, and RoHS
assembly compliance.
However, some of these advances created
potential via and plated hole reliability
issues. Older design methods used materials
and constructions containing many
layers of adhesives within the rigid area
constructions. Due to adhesives having a
high coeffcient of thermal expansion (10 to
20 times that of FR-4), vias are placed under
a signifcant amount of stress during thermal
cycles that occur during RoHS assembly,
multiple assembly cycles, and higher system
& component operating temperatures. The
use of adhesives within the rigid areas may
cause cracks to form in the copper plating
within via holes (Figure 1).
Adhesives, within a rigid-fex design, may come from any of three
sources: the copper clad fex laminate itself, the coverlay construction
method used and the material used to bond the rigid and fex layers
into the fnal structure. To solve the issue of via reliability, manufacturers,
material suppliers and industry standards organizations have worked
together to develop solutions and specifcations that eliminate or
minimize the use of adhesives in these areas.
To address the use of adhesives in copper clad fex laminate,
adhesiveless constructions were developed. Previously, copper
layers were bonded to the polyimide core with either an acrylic or
modifed epoxy adhesive (Figure 2a). An adhesiveless laminate has the
copper directly attached to the polyimide core (Figure 2b). Eliminating
the adhesive bond layers allows for thinner constructions and more
fexible design with vastly improved reliability. In addition adhesiveless
copper clad laminates have higher operating temperature ratings,
higher copper peel strengths, and the desired reduced Z-Axis thermal
expansion stress on vias.
Coverlay constructions also previously presented a problem in rigid-
fex designs. Older methods use full coverage coverlays that extend
throughout the entire rigid area(s). Vias and plated though holes
would then be exposed to the excessive Z-Axis thermal expansion
stress applied by the coverlay adhesive. To solve this issue, selective
coverlay constructions were developed so that coverlays are restricted
to the exposed fex areas only and have a maximum 0.050 interface
within the rigid areas. (Figure 3). PTH and via holes are restricted from
this interface area.
Lastly, rigid and flex layers are now
laminated into the fnal structure, using
high temp no-fow FR4 prepregs rather
than layers of fex adhesives. This provides
a structure as dimensionally stable in the
Z-Axis as standard rigid PCB designs.
IPC 2223C Sectional Design Standard
for Flexible Printed Boards lists all of the
above as key elements in the design of a
reliable rigid-fex design that meets todays
requirements.
Epec manufactures single, double, and
multi-layer fex circuits using modern rigid-
fex materials and construction. Designs
comply with IPC 2223C standards, which
defne the elimination/minimization of
adhesive use within rigid areas, use of
adhesiveless based substrates, and use
of selective/partial coverlay construction.
During Epecs design review and quoting
process, specifcations, materials, and
construction are carefully examined
in order to minimize and eliminate any
technical issues. Areas of opportunity for
improved reliability, functionality, and
cost reductions are also identifed to
generate an accurate quote that is based
on a manufacturable, reliable and cost
effective design.
Figure 1: The use of adhesives within the rigid areas may cause cracks to form in the
copper plating within via holes.
Figure 3: Coverlays restricted to the exposed fex areas only and have a maximum 0.0050
interface within the rigid areas.
Figure 2a: Copper layers bonded to the polyimide core with either a
crylic or modifed epoxy adhesive.
Figure 2b: An adhesiveless laminate has the copper directly to the
polyimide core.
TECH ARTICLE
Modern Printed Circuits
The Ground Myth
in Printed Circuit Boards
by Bruce Archambeault
Contributing Author
The term ground is probably the most misused and misun-
derstood term in EMC engineering, and in fact, in all of circuit
design. Ground is considered to be a zero potential region with
zero resistance and zero impedance at all frequencies. This is
just not the case in practical high-speed designs. The one thing
that should be remembered whenever the term ground is used,
is that ground is a place where potatoes and carrots thrive. By
keeping this firmly in mind, many of the causes of EMC problems
would be eliminated.
11 10 11 10
T
he term ground is a fne concept at
DC voltages, but it just does not exist at
the frequencies running on todays typical
boards. All metal has some amount of
resistance, and even if that resistance was
near zero ohms, the current fowing through
a conductor in a loop creates inductance.
Current through that inductance results in
a voltage drop. This means that the metal
ground plane/wire/bar/etc. has a voltage
drop across it, which is in direct contradiction
with the intention and defnition of ground.
The important point is that for EMI/EMC
we need to consider the current, not the
voltage, in our signal paths. Since current
must always fow in a loop back to its source,
the return current path must be considered
as well as the intended signal path along
a PCB trace. Any interruptions to the return
current path can have serious negative
effects to the EMI/EMC performance of a
PCB. A very slight deviation in return current
path can result in enough inductance to
dramatically increase emissions.
The return current path is also very important
when considering mother/daughter board
confgurations. Figure 1 shows a simple four-
layer board example of a mother/daughter
board confguration and a signal path
from the mother board to the daughter
card through a connector. If we consider
how the return current will fow from this
confguration, we should expect that the
return current will spread out to include
displacement current through the dielectric
between GND and PWR, as well as local
decoupling capacitors (depending on
their distance and the plane separation).
Figure 2 shows the return current for this
confguration. The added return current
path length results in additional inductance
in the total path, resulting in a noise voltage
between the two GND planes (across the
connector). This noise voltage will drive the
wide, thin, monopole-like antenna, resulting
in increased emissions.
However, if we had simply considered the
return current path and routed the signal
trace so that it was referenced to the same
plane (PWR or GND), the return currents are
able to stay close to the signal trace (Figure
3), and emissions are greatly reduced.
Signal Path Connector
GND
PWR
Signal Layers
Figure 1: Initial Two Board Configuration
Signal Path Connector
GND
PWR
Signal Layers Return Current
Figure 2: Return Current Paths for Initial
Configuration
Signal Path
Connector
Decoupling
Capacitors
Displacement
Current
GND
PWR
Signal Layers
Figure 3: Improved Return Current Design
13 12
TECH ARTICLE
13 12
Modern Printed Circuits
When we consider the return current path,
more ground is not always the right answer.
For example, on a recent design, there was
a 144 pin connector with many high speed
signals traveling from one board to the other.
It was determined that 30 pins could be used
for power and ground combined. At least
fve pins must be power so there would not
be an excessive DC voltage drop across the
connector. How many of the remaining 25
pins should be ground?
In this particular design, it turned out that about
2/3 of the total signal pins were referenced to
the power plane, and only 1/3 referenced
against the ground plane. This meant that
of the total 30 possible power/ground pins,
2/3 should be power and only 1/3 should
be ground. More ground pins was NOT the
best design for this case. Of course, once we
consider both the power and the ground
pins to be return current paths, it is obvious
we should distribute them throughout the
signal pins to keep the return current deviation
as small as possible (compared to putting
all the ground pins at the ends of the
connector, etc.).
When we consider the most important
concerns for good EMI/EMC design, the
schematic is not as important as the physical
layout of the signal path and the return
current. Since todays high speed PCBs
have many layers and are very complex, it
is diffcult for an engineer to examine each
critical signal path for a good return current
path. Automated EMC rule checking tools
can examine each net in turn, regardless
of the PCB complexity. The key to selecting
an automated rule checking tool is to make
sure it can interface well with your existing
design process, it is easy to use, and it can
display rule violations in a graphical and easy
to understand manner.
The most important EMC design rules for high
speed PCBs concern the return current path.
Since the return current will always fnd a path
that minimizes the inductance of that path,
the return current will always fow on the
nearest plane, whether it is called ground
or power or carrots. When traces cross
a split in the return plane (for example if a
trace is routed next to a power layer with
multiple power islands), the return currents
path is interrupted. Changing layers within
the PCB so that the return current must also
change planes will also interrupt the return
current path. Remember, the return current
must always get back to its source. It will
get back to its source. The only question is
whether it will be a path that is benefcial to
you, or if it will cause problems. So, Do you
feel lucky today? It is always best to design
on purpose rather than by luck.
When we consider the
most important concerns
for good EMI/EMC
design, the schematic
is not as important as
the physical layout of
the signal path and the
return current.
eeweb.com/register
Join Today
15 14
TECH ARTICLE
15 14
Modern Printed Circuits
When it comes to turning your design or circuit into a real life, three-
dimensional object, there is one step that can make a big difference to
this being successful. Laying out your PCB is just as important a skill
as designing the circuit. In this article, I want to look at some of the
key steps and the approach I take when taking the route to PCB.
[
I currently use a software package called
PADs at ebm-papst, which in my view is a
great package if you can fnd someone else
to afford and purchase it. However, no matter
what package you use, you can still achieve
the same results. So where do we start?
Assuming that I have all the footprints I need
and Im happy with the circuit drawings
and components, I will print out the circuit
schematics. It is important to have these at
hand; youre going to convert these line
drawings into real copper. Next, I import or
load up all the component footprints into my
layout package.
There are two possible approaches. You can
either be an auto-route person or, like me,
route the entire board by hand. For designs
that do not have large numbers of buses
and are primarily embedded micros, hand
routing is just as quick as auto-routing. I say this
because I would have to check track width
rules like, Is the net set to the correct width to
carry the current? I would also go back and
check that signal lines are not next to power
rails or noise sources. Therefore, in my head I
can do this as I route and get the best layout
I want, using my brain as the auto-router and
design-rule checker.
I start by grouping the components into areas
around the outside of the board. For instance,
lets say I have a switch mode power supply
all these routes end up in a jumble over on one
side. So do not overlap; just place them side-
by-side in a grid to get an idea of the board
area required. I do this for each block of the
circuit, and this is why having the schematic
in front of you is usefulyou can see if the
100nF cap is for the power supply or needs to
go next to an IC for decoupling. I move these
blocks around until I can see where I want the
fow or interfacing edges of each block to go
until Im ready to move on.
Figure 1: Analog
Figure 2: Digital
T
H
E
R
O
U
T
E
T
O

P
C
B
P
a
u
l

C
l
a
r
k
e
E
le
c
tr
o
n
ic
s
D
e
s
ig
n
E
n
g
in
e
e
r
17 16
TECH ARTICLE
17 16
Modern Printed Circuits
Assuming I have a PCB outline I will create
a physical representation and start placing
connectorsthe ones that just have to go
somewhere. I glue on the connectors so I cant
accidentally move them. It is then important
to check PCB size and the location of the
connectors to see if they ft in the enclosure.
I then start routing the board in one of two
ways. Most of my boards are two or four layers.
Regardless of the number of layers, I think
about the board as a 3D object. The circuit
layout can be broken down into two types:
One type of layout deals more analogue
circuits with short routes between a resistor
and an IC or between a few caps and
regulators (See Figure 1). The other type of
layout is for digital circuit with long runs of
two or more routes running between multiple
devices. One example would be routing an
SPI bus (See Figure 2).
I try and start with the analogue circuits
and lay out the components and tracks as
they appear in the circuit diagram. If you
Figure 3: Ground Track
dont have lots of over lapping nets in a 2D
drawing then it should be easy to do the
same on the PCB. If I can keep it all to one
side of the board I will; this allows for another
circuit to sit on the other side. I have used
this technique often with RPM monitoring
circuits for fans and then have the PWM
drive circuit on the other side of the board.
They both have to feed to and from the
microcontroller and device, in this case a
fan, so it is good if they run in parallel.
For a digital layout, I will run the lines together
as much as possible but I do not try to stay
to one side of the board only. I will however
use a rule: blue = horizontal, red = vertical.
The blue and red refer to the bottom and
top sides of the board as it is displayed in
the CAD package. By running these lines
only horizontal on one side of the board
and vertical on the other, it will minimize the
number of board layers required.
However, there are no hard rules, and when
you have a digital embedded circuit you
will have both types of layout to deal with.
This means I will layout each block as it
fts each layout profle above. Digital and
analogue lines from the micro will follow
a more blue/red rule until they reach the
analogue type circuits. This allows me to
break out the signals from the micro and
keep tight and compact analogue circuits
ring fenced from each other.
There is, however, one very important part of
the circuit I have not talked about yet, the
power rails. Now its not hard to remember
to connect power rails like your +5 or +3.3
volt lines but people do forget about the
ground or 0 volt rail. For each section of
circuit or large device, I always check that I
run a 0-volt trace out and connect it back.
I try and use around the outside rule. OK,
not a great sounding rule but this means
that I will have a track that runs around
the whole of the outside of the board in a
loop and then run feeds into these blocks.
Its also good to highlight the whole track
and see where its running. Can you bridge
a gap (Figure 3)? The better your 0-volt
connections the more likely your board
will work well!
Once complete, I then tackle the food
plan. Now I know not everyone worries
about this but I do a copper food on
top and bottom connected to 0 volts. By
maximizing the 0-volt tracks the food will
reach all parts of my board and I will have
good connections throughout.
Finally, I will run connection and clearance
design rule checks that are built into PADs
to fag silly errors before generating a fnal
export to the mechanical engineer. He will,
in my case, check that there are no 0603
resistors sitting under an IC when it was
meant to be on the back of the board. I
only made that mistake once! I then can
send off my fles for the board to be made.
It is a good idea to be certain that all the
components will ft on the board. I once
worked at a place where we had a PCB mill
that could drill and cut the tracks from blank
sheets of copper. This was a good way to
see if everything ft in the right place before
spending money on prototype boards.
There are many hard and fast rules you
can add to your design approach, but
these simple and basic principles allow me
to design a board with minimal errors and
reduce my chance of a re-spin.
For designs that do not
have large numbers of
buses and are primarily
embedded micros, hand
routing is just as quick
as auto-routing.
COVER INTERVIEW
19 18
Modern Printed Circuits
A Complete PCB Resource
Sierra Circuits was founded by current CEO Ken Bahl back in 1986.
After working at various manufacturing companies at the engineering level, Bahl
took a job at Simonds Precision in Vermont as Vice President of Operations.
At the time, Simonds Precision began to develop a subcontract manufacturing
division that assembled PCBs for IBM. It was this division that led Bahl to start
his own company that specialized in PCB manufacturing, which in turn became
Sierra Circuits.
We spoke with Bahl about the origins of Sierra Circuits, the ways in which the
company ensures the highest quality quick turn PCBs, and the unique customer
relationships that allow for continued success.
Sierra Circuits:
Ken Bahl
CEO of Sierra Circuits
COVER INTERVIEW
21 20
Modern Printed Circuits
What are the most challenging aspects of
your quickturn prototyping service?
The PCB manufacturing process is certainly one of
the most complex industrial fabrication processes.
Every step requires perfect quality control,
beginning with the selection of exactly the right
material and every subsequent manufacturing
process. Any one variable that is not precisely
controlled among dozens of steps could easily
scrap the boards. In a quickturn environment,
when you commit to a turnaround of from one
to fve days, quality must be consistently perfect.
To achieve that quality, the equipment must be
perfectly maintained and all wet processes must
be continuously monitored. The manufacturing
staff must be highly trained to regulate each
process perfectly and the handling procedures
for the product must also be precise. The human
factor is the biggest challenge in the PCB and
prototyping businessthere simply is no time to
scrap and remake prototype PCBs. All of the
exacting control I mentioned is dependent on
people, so a crucial aspect of the quickturn
prototype business is managing people.
Youve been at it for many years
and Im sure your processes have
evolved and your customers
requirements have evolved as well.
How would describe your relationship
with your customers and how that
has developed?
Customer relationships have always been
directly dependent upon the level at which
you are meeting the customers needs. Two
things have happened since the beginning
of our business. One, the technology has
exploded. Designs today are much more
complex compared to when we started.
Designers today need a lot more assistance
so that they can give us a manufacturable
design. We have responded by changing
our internal organization to provide that
service to them. Two, designers need
a lot more education so that they can
design good products independently. We
are bolstering our efforts in both of these
directions. To help our customers better
achieve manufacturable designs, we are
providing them with stackups and guidelines
for feature sizes. To help them improve their
design abilities, we are providing them with
such tools as a stackup planner, a material
selector, and online DFM assistance so that
they can be independent. Those efforts are
helping them to provide us with good fles
to produce their boards.
Lets talk about how the technology
in your manufacturing has changed
over the years.
Because of the wireless revolution, more
and more functionality is being designed
per square inch of real estate. This requires
fner and fner traces, spaces, and the use
of sequential lamination processes, which
challenges layer-to-layer registration.
This defned the change required in our
manufacturing processes.
With no prior experience in
PCB manufacturing, Ken Bahl
built, from the ground up,
one of the most successful
prototyping businesses
available today.
Customer
relationships have
always been directly
dependent upon the
level at which you
are meeting the
customer needs.
COVER INTERVIEW
23 22
Modern Printed Circuits
We have a continuously refned registration
process, which gives us the ability to hold a
drill-to-copper clearance within 2 to 3 mils.
We are creating processes to be able to do
a 1-mil line and space. Our effort in improving
these areas is ongoing.
Could you talk about how you
got started with fex circuits and
the companys success with
those products?
We got started in fex because we were
motivated by a few very high-tech military
customers. They saw our registration capability
and gave us R&D projects to do very high-
layer-count rigid-fex boards. We completed
those projects successfully and have now
been building fex for about fve years. We
now have a plan to provide a full line of fex
products. Within the next two to three years,
we will be setting up a separate plant for fex.
What are the most promising
new technologies you see in
PCB prototyping?
We have been working with a new technology
that will help us achieve fne lines with more
reliable yields. When the time is right, we will
make an announcement. This technology
will help us produce consistent quality on sub
3-mil lines; hopefully, down to 0.5 mil.
In terms of your business, where do you
see the largest growth potential?
I see the largest growth potential in providing
turnkey products to our customers. When
we make a PCB, buy components, and
assemble them, we can provide the best
overall turnaround time and prevent a lot
of customer-related issues. Our turnkey
turnaround time of from fve to ten days
provides a tremendous time-to-market value.
When we provide value to our customers, our
business grows. The second biggest potential
is to create the same turnkey service, but
do it completely online. This will provide the
ultimate customer service and ease of doing
business in this complex business environment.
The industry needs to work on totally integrated
automated processes to help designers
from schematic entry through assembly and
thereby aid them to quickly realize a design
free from errors. This is the best way we can
help them. We have superb engineering
services, so designers can talk to experts
and hash out any issues they might be facing
with manufacturing or design. We work with
customers on that level.
The industry needs
to work on totally
integrated automation
processes to help
designers from
schematic entry
through assembly.
Copyright 2013, Silicon Frameworks, LLC

POBWeb |s a free browser-based

OAD app||cat|on for des|gn|ng
and manufactur|ng e|ectron|cs
hardware.
www. PCBWeb. com
Des|gn mu|t|-sheet
schemat|cs w|th our
fast and easy-to-use
w|r|ng too|.
SCHEMATlC CAPTURE
Route mu|t|-|ayer
boards w|th support
for copper pours and
des|gn ru|e check|ng.
PCB LAYOUT
Rea|-t|me |ntegrat|on
w|th D|g|-Key cata|og
and b||| of mater|a|s
manager.
DlGl-KEY lNTEGRATlON
Des|gn Your Hardware On||ne
PCBWeb. com
ep page master fp.indd 1 3/11/13 10:34:41 AM
25 24
FEATURED ARTICLE
25 24
Modern Printed Circuits
ISOLAS ORGANIC
SYNTHESIS REACTOR
CREATES PCB RESIN
ISOLAS ORGANIC
SYNTHESIS REACTOR
CREATES PCB RESIN
is a global material sciences company that develops polymers for advanced
multilayer printed circuit boards. Its R&D facility in Chandler, Arizona
recently expanded to include an internally designed, production-scale organic synthesis reactor that
will allow the company to develop unique polymer resin systems. With the ability to create resins
on site, Isola can distance itself from suppliers to enable completely proprietary products. However,
building a reactor of this complexity is no easy task. We spoke with Stan Wilson, the manager of the
Isola reactor project, about the process of developing with the reactor in-house and how it enables
the company to be more efcient in all aspects of PCB development.
ISOLA GROUP
27 26
FEATURED ARTICLE
27 26
Modern Printed Circuits
Reactor Overview
When making printed circuit boards, you
must begin with building blocks made of
resin. In the past, Isola was tied to an outside
resin manufacturer to supply them with the
necessary materials for the building blocks.
Once they received these resins from the
manufacturers, the Isola team would add
their own components in what they call their
compounding area to bring the quality up to
their standards and formulations.
According to Wilson, by having the reactor
on-site, they are able to create a resin unique
to the marketplace. Our reactor synthesizes
the resin and allows us to create a proprietary
resin system that our otherwise competitors
will be buying off the shelf. With the base
resin, the reactor basically heats it up and
allows some of its molecules to separate
in order to add components to change its
structure. It actually gives us good control of
our own resin system, Wilson explained to us,
especially in the high-performance market
were targeting today. This added control
of the process removes the complexities of
referring to an outside source, allowing more
freedom to test and tailor it to the companys
high standards. This is a fairly new capability
for Isola and, according to Wilson, is unique
to their competition.
From Prototype to Production-Size
Stan Wilson oversaw the reactors creation
as project manager along with Charles
Lehman, another engineer on the team.
All of the production for the reactor and
R&D facility was done in-house with Isolas
own design team. Initially, the team used a
relatively small, 100-litre prototype reactor
that allowed them to come up with a
unique resin. From there, the team
saw the need for a bigger reactor
that would be more cost-effective
and convenient for customizing
their products. We went from
a 100-litre reactor to a 800-litre,
production-sized reactor, Wilson
told us. This allows us to run projects
at production levels to be able to
supply the market.
The reactor took years to design
and build after modeling from the
prototype reactor. It was a pretty
intense project, Wilson recalled,
The company put a lot of funds
into making this happen. Going
from the prototype reactor to the
production-sized reactor was a two-
year process, with the reactor going
into full production mode this past
fall. It turns out it was worth the wait.
The feedback Ive gotten has all
been positive. Wilson told us. It has surpassed our
requirements and is working better than we initially
thought in terms of reaction time, batch size, and
consistency. Since time to market is very important
to Isolas customer base when designing PCB boards,
the convenience of the on-site reactor has also
proven to be a major beneft. Isola is now able to
respond quickly to changing market conditions and
environments to help their customers and OEMs get
their product to market faster.
Isolas reactor allows
them to synthesize resin
to create a proprietary
resin system that
competitors will end up
buying off the shelf.
Design Concept of 800 Liter Reactor
Above: (From left) Charles Lehmann, Michael He, Stan Wilson