Bridging Domestic Supply and Performance Gaps

For the High-Reliability Electronics Industry

Over the past several decades, the consumer electronics
industry readily adopted advancements in technology
nodes, along with packaging and integration approaches,
while also balancing cost of production with
increased performance and miniaturization of the product/
package. In contrast, the High Reliability (Hi-Rel)
microelectronics industry (aerospace, defense, space,
medical, energy, and industrial), by necessity, took a
conservative and methodical path to qualification and
adoption of these new technologies to ensure the robustness
and lifetime longevity of the technologies for
mission, function, or life critical applications. As a result,
the Hi-Rel microelectronics industry usually lags
behind the rest of the electronics industry in adopting
and ruggedizing new technologies/approaches by 10-
15 years, depending on the technology or application.
While this approach has worked historically, it is not
optimal. By the time a technology is approved for use
in a Hi-Rel system, it may already be obsolete or scheduled
for end-of-life (EOL) in the high-volume electronics
world. More important, several industry factors now
threaten to widen the technical performance gap between
consumer electronics and Hi-Rel electronics,
especially domestically. In this paper, we will discuss
industry trends, both technical and economical, and
the resulting accessibility and capability gaps. In addition,
we will discuss how Micross is addressing these
technology and Diminished Manufacturing Sources and
Material Shortages (DMSMS)/EOL supply chain challenges
to support the performance, form factor, and
sustainment needs of the Hi-Rel electronics industry.

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