A web based course on designing high density interconnect PCBs for manufacturability

The design of high density interconnects (HDI) PCBs is an important step in design and development of present day electronic products. This design is becoming a complex task with the availability of a large number of process technologies. Each technology offers its own cost (yield)/volume/performance optimisation. The designer should be able to do the package design in the context of a selected manufacturing technology, and communicate effectively with the fabricator. This process may be termed as "design for manufacturability" (DFM). While DFM issues are not new to an electronic/PCB designer, these acquire new importance in the context of proliferation of manufacturing processes and increasing performance requirements. In addition, these issues are in a constant state of flux, as process changes and new processes are being introduced on a continuing basis. Consequently, there is a need for the designer to continuously keep track of process improvements, and take advantage of them to make his product more competitive. This paper presents the structure of a course on "design of HDI PCBs for manufacturability". While it is designed as a second level course on electronic packaging, that can be offered at graduate level. As a larger number of practising engineers are likely to be interested in such a course, it is proposed to make it web based.