Micro electronics builds on British brains
25 September 2007
Paul Hill of C-MAC MicroTechnology looks at the how the European specialist microelectronic manufacturing industry has developed in the past fifty years.
Phenomenal developments in electronics in the last fifty years have revolutionised the military and aerospace industries and spawned new industries in support. Modern aircraft are packed with electronics, which control every aspect of flight, communication, navigation and comfort, while the latest fighter aircraft operate outside of the point of aerodynamic stability and rely heavily on electronic control systems to ensure the highest degree of maneuverability and agility. Nowadays, it would be unthinkable to imagine an aircraft with an electronic system that was not interactive. To put this in context, if aircraft technologies such as the auto pilot systems ability to link with electronic navigation systems were not possible, the results would be catastrophic.
Fifty years ago, the technology was very different indeed. In the 1960s, valve technology dominated the electronic applications. However, the large size, high power consumption and poor functionality of these devices meant that electronic equipment was limited in application. While these early electronic systems did bring value, it was value at a price, which meant that usage was limited to the professional markets of defence, industry and communications.
The advent of semiconductor technology and its commercial exploitation in the 1960s and 1970s saw valve based equipment replaced with solid state equivalents. These were smaller, lighter, cheaper and generally more robust solutions and fuelled an explosion in the microelectronics industry creating widespread global uses for electronics. As devices have become more integrated, capabilities have increased, supported in part by the development of hybrid technologies.
The evolution of the technology
To put the evolution of microelectronic manufacturing in context, it is useful to look at technological developments over the past fifty years in detail.
The electronic manufacturing industry in the UK and Europe started to grow rapidly in the post war years with active Government support. In the 1960s and 1970s many Government contracts were placed with ‘Cost Plus’ revenue streams enabling businesses to invest heavily in new and emerging technologies and manufacturing processes.
With the advent of discrete semiconductor technology and high passive component counts, more stringent demands were placed on the mounting and interconnection technologies. Conventional printed circuit board technology provided one solution for many applications; however for high reliability applications requiring densely populated robust assemblies hybrid thick film technology was widely adopted.
These rugged thick film technologies provided an effective mechanism for the interconnection of semiconductors, along with the ability to incorporate printed passive elements that could be laser adjusted to enhance and fine tune circuit performances.
Continuing evolution in semiconductor processing resulted in ever increasing levels of circuit integration. Thick film remained an effective medium to handle the resulting higher packaging densities and power dissipations. The approach taken with commercial and industrial circuits was to create leaded plastic packaged integrated circuits for insertion and soldering into multilayer PCBs and thick film substrates.
For higher reliability, increased packaging density and harsher environments an alternative solution was required. This was realised through the use of unpackaged naked silicon chips bonded directly to the substrate with electrically conductive epoxy glues and wire-bonded into circuit as multi chip modules (MCMs). These assemblies could then be hermetically sealed in an inert atmosphere inside a metal (often kovar) package. This type of assembly has been widely used by the defence, aerospace and space industry for the past twenty five years.
The UK Government effectively embraced hybrid, multi-chip module technology and supported the introduction of the BS9450 accreditation for the technology. C-MAC played an active part in the definition of the standard and was the frontrunner in acquiring the certification in 1980.
British businesses recognised that the US electronics market was as an expanding opportunity. In support of this C-MAC became the first non-American company to be awarded the MIL-PRF-38534 Class H accreditation in 1992. During the same period C-MAC developed a range of MIL-STD-1553 electrical databus MCMs with a particular focus on US aircraft applications. C-MAC has continued to lead the field, becoming the first European company to achieve the MIL-PRF-38534 Class K Space accreditation in March of this year.
The evolution of the industry
Increasing competition from low cost manufacturing regions in Eastern Europe Asia and South America has driven businesses in Europe and North America to develop new strategies in order to maintain their viability and growth.
In the UK, continued innovation in both product design and manufacturing techniques, coupled with the electronic craftsmanship skills of the British workforce, has allowed manufacturers to increase the levels of intellectual property vested within their products and has ensured the continuation of production in this country. The high profile Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft is an outstanding case in point incorporating a suite of optical and electrical databus MCMs designed and developed by C-MAC.
Today, the industry is under greater commercial pressure to perform as other industries do and to respond to market influences. However, there remain many instances where safety and reliability are more important than cost factors alone.
Future evolution
Over the past fifty years the developments in the semiconductor industry have followed Moore’s law. Higher rates of data transfer, coupled with increased capacity for higher frequency, will be the norm and these will continue to increase as companies view value for money as increasingly significant.
There is also a school of thought that suggests moving away from reliance on US military contracts to avoid a stranglehold on European businesses. To avoid this, European business are seeking new ways working more competitively with a wider range of customers and reacting more quickly to the needs of the market. One of the ways UK businesses are looking to move forward is by decreasing development cycles on entire systems. This will mean a more modular approach to design. Functional blocks will be identified and grouped together to create future systems that exactly fit the requirement without starting from scratch and wasting valuable time in the design process.
Another area which is gaining momentum is the development and deployment of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technologies. Developments in this area will enable complete systems on a chip and will allow businesses to supply cost effective solutions to meet specific needs. Furthermore, it will allow the maintenance of Intellectual Property.
It is clear that electronic manufacturers in Europe have been in the vanguard of companies leading the way in ideas and products over the past fifty years.
It is essential that this continues for the next fifty years as manufacturers continue to design and manufacture smaller, lighter, more effective solutions to the increasingly complex demands of this exciting, fast paced industry.
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