Paumanok Publications, Inc.
Electronic Industries Alliance
March/April 2000
An affiliate publication of the
A sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance
The Only Magazine Dedicated Exclusively To The Worldwide Passive Electronic Components Industry
Passive Networks
World Markets, Technologies & Opportunities
Rnets/Arrays
Lowering Conversion Costs
Chip Resistors
A Booming Market for 2000
® a step ahead
Development and manufacture of non-metallized, metallized and coated capacitor
films, capacitor papers and specialty films
Manufacturing facilities
of companies:
Customer Representatives for the
Germany:
Ireland:
(since 1951)
STEINER GmbH & Co KG
P.O. Box 70
D–57335 Erndtebrück
Germany
Tel.: +49 2753 6070
Fax: +49 2753 607 153
STEINER@STEINERFILM.DE
(since 1969)
STEINER (Galway) Ltd.
Carnmore, Galway
Ireland
Tel.: +353 91 755444
Fax: +353 91 757722
North–South America:
(since 1971)
STEINERFILM,INC.
987 Simonds Road
Williamstown, Mass.
02167 USA
Tel.: +1 413 458 9525
Fax: +1 413 458 2495
Italy:
Transit S.R.L.
Mr. F. Valerio
Via C. Scalzi 20
I–37122 Verona
Italy
Tel.: +39 045 8000196
Fax: +39 045 597512
TRANSIT@SIS.IT
France:
East-Europe, Scandinavia:
Great Britain:
Korea:
Pierre Foulon
140, Allee de Beauregard
F–75540 Viuz-La-Chiesaz
France
Tel.: +33 450 775505
Fax: +33 450 775649
FOUSTEI@NWC.FR
Klesper Chemiehandel
Mr. J Klesper
Am Osterberg 7
D–21266 Jesteburg
Germany
Tel.: +49 4183 3847
Fax: +49 4183 5214
J.KLESPER@T-ONLINE.DE
Mr. N. Pomery
150, Lightwood Road
Buxton
Derbyshire SK 17 6RW
United Kingdom
Tel.: +44 1 298 77814
Fax: +44 1 298 79943
POMERY@GEMSOFT.CO.UK
Mr. Chang Jae Cho
#301 Westvil
370-22, Seokyo-Dong
Mapo-Ku, Seoul
South Korea
Tel.: +82 2 333 4906
Fax: +82 2 333 4908
CJCHO@ELIM.NET
Pakistan:
Malaysia, Thailand,
Indonesia, Singapore:
M/S–AS Trading Co.
3/37 Chaman Chambers
Chowk Dalgram, Lahore
Pakistan
Tel.: +92 42 7663784
Fax: +92 42 7662274
MSARWAR@BRAIN.NET.PK
China:
Honkison Trading Company
Mr. B. Leung
Block 2, 11th Floor
Wah Shing Centre
11-13 Shing Yip Street
Kwun Tong, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Tel.: +852 2 7930111
Fax: +852 2 27930109
CO@HONKISON.COM.HK
Oriental Marketing
Mr. Lee Yuen Quee
49, Jalan Budiman 26
56100 Bandar Tun Razak
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel.: +60 3 9731103
Fax: +60 3 9731108
ORIENTL@PD.JARING.MY
Japan:
Taiwan:
Mr. A. Nakao
17-4, 34, 5-Chome Nagayama,
Tama City
Tokio
Japan
Tel.: +81 423 371018
Fax: +81 423 391961
King Star Enterprises Corp.
Mr. C. Huang
6Fl No.3 Li Shiu St.
POB 84,249
Taipeh/Taiwan
Tel.: +88 62 2391 2578
Fax: +88 62 2393 0087
KSHWCAP@MAIL.SYSNET.NET.TW
Australia:
Spain:
India:
Horst Stürmann
1 Drysdale Place
Kareela, N.S.W. 2232
Sydney
Australia
Tel.: +61 2 9521 6486
Fax: +61 2 9545 1047
Mr. Juan Staib, S.A.
Pje Dos de Mayo, 3 bjs.
E–08041 Barcelona,
Spain
Tel.: +34 93 4564500
Fax: +34 93 4330580
STAIB@MDIN.ES
Mr. N. P. Trivedi
TRIVTECH Corporation
326, T.V. Industrial Estate
Bombay 400 025
India
Tel.: +91 22 4938403
Fax: +91 22 4930191
TRIVTECH@VSNL.COM
Volume 2, No. 2
MARCH/APRIL 2000
The Only Magazine Dedicated Exclusively To The Worldwide Passive Electronic Components Industry
15%
8
TFOS IPD
40%
20%
Line-Feed
Resistors
Thick-Film
Resistor
Networks
25%
Multichip
Arrays/
Dual-Pair
Discretes
Passive Networks: World Markets, Technologies & Opportunities
An in-depth look at networked passive components and the configurations
in which they are sold.
12
ESD Protection and More
EPCOS AG describes the benefits of multilayered varistors
for protection of sensitive electronic components.
What the Customer Demands
(Component and Conversion Solutions)
Customers:
18
Multichip Arrays & Traditional Resistor Networks:
Lowering Conversion Costs
A look at how arrays and networks help buyers save money on conversion costs.
Flat-Chip Resistors: A Booming Market for 2000
A look at the booming market for flat chip resistors in the first quarter of
2000 and how this is a welcome change to market conditions that have been
endured for the past five years.
4
Letter From the Publisher
EIA and CARTS Spring Conferences.
5
Letter From ECA
The ECA session at the EIA Spring Conference.
14
Pad
2
1
20
19
18
3
17
4
16
5
15
6
14
7
13
8
9
On-Chip
25
Array
10
11
12
Integrate (IPD)
Integral
• Increased Throughput of Mfg.
• Better Profit Margins
Wire Bond to Lead Frame
Featured Technical Paper
Packaging Technology: Integrated Passive Devices.
• Lower Component Price
• Lower Component Conversion Costs
Oxide (SiO2)
Contact (Aluminum)
Composite Layer (Tantalum
Nitride) Resistor
Passivation (Si3N4)
Si
Lead Frame
Epoxy for Die Attached
34
$700
1994-2000
MLCC Market
Boom & Russian
Supply Problems
$500
$400
Russian
Supply
Problems
$300
Mass Exodus
to BME
MLCC
$200
$100
Jan. ’00
Jan. ’99
May ’99
Sept. ’99
Jan. ’98
May ’98
Jan. ’97
May ’97
Sept. ’97
Jan. ’96
May ’96
Sept. ’96
Jan. ’95
May ’95
Sept. ’95
$0
Sept. ’98
Increased
Autocatalyst
Demand
MLCC Market
Downturn
Sept. ’94
Per Troy Ounce
Events
A photo review of March trade conferences.
Palladium Metal Price:
$600
Jan. ’94
32
Market Statistics
What’s Going on With the Price
of Palladium?
May ’94
30
Newsmakers
New product offerings and important developments in the passive component industry.
Cover Art: Integrated passive device, courtesy of California Micro Devices, Inc.
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
3
M
arch is typically the time rata; Howard Witt from Littelfuse;
when we all get together Les Rice from KOA Speer; Pat
in the passive components Wastal from Avnet; John Rector
industry and complain about oner- from IBM; Glyndwr Smith from
ous pricing. Not this year though. Vishay; Jim Kaplan from CornellThe
Capacitor
&
Resistor Dublier; Mark Massow from CeTechnology Symposium (CARTS) lestica; Bob Belter from ESI; and
in Huntington Beach, Calif., and many other important folk. The exthe Electronic Industries Alliance change of ideas was open and
Spring Conference in Washington frank, with excellent comments on
D.C. were held back-to-back from the current market conditions, exMarch 5 through March 10 and pansion plans, and future direcMarch 13 through 15 respectively. tions of the passive component inRepresentatives from the passive dustry, and most importantly,
electronic component industry discussion of when we all thought
were positively giddy and drunk the current market boom would
with glee over the current booming end.
market
conditions
There was also a
worldwide.
tremendous turnout at
I liken it to bears
CARTS this year. Confishing for salmon at a
ference organizer Leon
waterfall. When the fish
Hamiter of CTI noted
are running, the bears
that attendance was
are fat and happy, and
just shy of 300 deleseldom do they fight
gates. For those who
amongst themselves. At
have attended in the
each of these conferpast, there were some
ences, I was surprised
important distinctions.
at how open many supDegussa, now known
pliers were about their Dennis M. Zogbi
as D=MC2, sponsored
sales levels and expanthe exhibits this year,
sion plans. Of course, a collection of and held a raffle. The prizes were
this data will be presented in Pau- bars of gold and silver bullion (now
manok’s upcoming report Capacity that’s class), but I think Mike Metz
Expansion in the Worldwide from PGP and Bob Lapple from
MLCC & Tantalum Capacitor In- Stillwater Mining won both prizes
so it does not count (only kidding).
dustries.
But I must comment on the ECA We also got to see John Ekis from
Component Industry Market Re- Ferro Corporation wear a suit. (I’d
view held at the EIA Spring Con- never seen John in a suit before, so
ference on March 14. Everyone I snapped a picture of him for all
who attended agreed that such an you doubters in Penn Yan. Check
assembly was unparalleled in page 33.)
Paumanok’s marketing seminar
years past and that the ECA, under the directed leadership of Bob at CARTS went well. There was an
Willis, has made strides in becom- excellent turnout of some 52 peoing an indispensable venue for the ple from the industry. Incidentally,
exchange of ideas in the passive my presentation was punctuated
by a rather interesting comment
component industry.
There were less than 30 people from a representative from Seain the room, but they were the gate, who noted that after the curright people—Dave Maguire from rent supply problems in tantalum
Continued on page 30
Kemet; John Denslinger from Mu-
4
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
PUBLISHER
DENNIS M. ZOGBI
BUSINESS MANAGER
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
SAM COREY
E DITOR
C HRIS KELLS
ASSOCIATE E DITOR
JAYE C. WELLS
ART DIRECTOR
AMY DEMSKO
EDITORIAL ADVISORY
BOARD
James M. Wilson
Murata Electronics N.A. Inc.
Glyndwr Smith
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc.
Ian Clelland
ITW-Paktron
Pat Wastal
Avnet
Craig Hunter
AVX Corporation
Jeff Kalb
California Micro Devices
Daniel F. Persico Ph.D.
Kemet Electronics Corporation
Editorial and Advertising Office
109 Kilmayne Drive, Suite A
Cary, North Carolina 27511
(919) 468-0384 (919) 468-0386 Fax
The Electronic Components – Assemblies – Materials –
Supplies Association (ECA) represents the electronics
industry sector comprised of manufacturers and suppliers of passive and active electronic components, component arrays and assemblies, and commercial and industrial electronic component materials and supplies. ECA, a
sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance, provides companies with a dynamic link into a network of programs
and activities offering business and technical information; market research, trends and analysis; access to
industry and government leaders; standards development; technical and educational training; and more.
The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) is a federation of
associations and sectors operating in the most competitive and innovative industry in existence. Comprised of
over 2,100 members, EIA represents 80% of the $550 billion U.S. electronics industry. EIA member and sector
associations represent telecommunications, consumer
electronics, components, government electronics, semiconductor standards, as well as other vital areas of the
U.S. electronics industry. EIA connects the industries
that define the digital age.
ECA members receive a 15% advertising discount for
Passive Component Industry. For membership information, contact ECA at (703) 907-7536 or www.eia.org/cg;
contact EIA at (703) 907-7500 or www.eia.org.
What Dictates Supply and Demand
in the New e-Business World?
D
emand is up and many components are in short
supply. Prices are rising but many manufacturers cannot take advantage of the robust marketplace. And the spectacular growth forecast for the wireless and the automotive electronics sectors might be
tempered by the inability to find enough components to
build the products. Did the industry miss seeing this
opportunity to capitalize on soaring customer demand
or are indicators being hidden by the changes taking
place in the channel?
These were the issues addressed at an industry forum at the EIA Spring Conference in mid-March. ECA
convened leaders from several facets of the distribution
channel at a roundtable to discuss their viewpoints on
what might underlie the current situation of demand
outstripping supply. The group heard forecasts from
leading market-research firms predicting increasing
growth in two of the hottest markets for electronic components: wireless and automotive electronics.
Dennis Zogbi, Paumanok Publications, cited major increases in current electronic content for the high-end
automotive industry that is expected to migrate to midlevel models within the next two years. Zogbi projected
a three-fold increase in the number of passive electronic
component requirements per car by 2002. John Colwell,
Bishop & Associates, projected unit growth in the cellphone market to double in two years with a multiplying
increase of double the number of passive components required per unit. Cell phone functionality will also increase.
Nobody in the session was arguing down the numbers. Yet many manufacturers were admitting that they
did not see the magnitude of these increases coming.
Glyndwr Smith, Vishay Intertechnology, defended
the manufacturers, noting that Vishay’s strategy has
been to analyze the changes occurring in the channel
and to try to determine which factors apply to today’s
models. The problems are compounded by the impact of
e-business on the channel, the increasing role of electronic manufacturing services (EMS), consolidation in
distribution, and globalization. Within this environment, any model that is proposed must remain in a
state of flux. Basically, what applies today might not apply tomorrow. The only solution is to stay vigilant and
agile, and as many in the session agreed, interact and
learn in sessions like these.
Bob Belter, ESI, a manufacturer of component manufacturing equipment, has his own viewpoint on why the
manufacturers were not prepared for the demand: Component prices barely surpassed material costs over the
last couple of years. As a result, there were little or no
equipment acquisitions to increase capacity because of
the perceived poor return on investment. Now, Belter’s
projections for equipment acquisition are off the charts.
So, add no profits in the recent past for component manufacturers to the mix of reasons for short supply.
Not so fast, says Mark Messow of Celestica. Messow
believes electronic manufacturing services (contract
manufacturers) are well positioned to continue their increasing role in meeting customer demand. Messow
says Celestica’s expanding strategy is to offer a soup-tonuts capability for its OEM customers that are looking
to continue to outsource more and more of their manufacturing processes, including both front- and back-end
applications.
Continued on page 23
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Passive Component Industry (ISSN 1527-9170) is published bimonthly by Paumanok Publications Inc.
109 Kilmayne Drive, Suite A • Cary, North Carolina 27511 USA
2000 Paumanok Publications Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.
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Back issues $25.00 when available.
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
5
Passive Networks: World Markets,
Technologies & Opportunities
T
he integration of various passive electronic components
into passive networks has
been and will continue to be a significant trend in the worldwide passive electronic component industry.
Passive networks encompass traditional thick-film resistor and resistor/capacitor networks; multichip
resistor and capacitor arrays; dualpaired discretes; and thin-film-onsilicon (TFOS) integrated passive
devices.
Historical Development
Integration and arraying passive
components has been around for 40
years. The initial thick film developments in passive networks occurred in the 1960s and were primarily based on the combination of
single- or multiple-ohmic-value resistors in a standard leaded network configuration. This technology
eventually developed into thickfilm alternatives that employed a
series of either single- or multipleohmic-value ruthenium- or palladium-based thick-film resistors. The
concept further evolved into the
combination of resistors and capacitors into a single leaded package;
resistance was achieved with thickfilm means, and capacitance was
developed through the simple
placement of ceramic-chip capacitors on an alumina substrate in
conjunction with the resistive thickfilm element.
Companies such as Bourns, Inc.,
CTS Corporation, BI Technologies
and Vishay Intertechnology pioneered the development of traditional thick-film resistor and resistor/capacitor networks. Each of
these companies remains committed to the traditional thick-film resistor network market today. Tradi8
tional thick-film resistor and resistor/capacitor networks have been
used primarily in production of
computer printed-circuit boards
and telecommunications infrastructure equipment.
The Emergence of the Multichip Resistor Array
In the 1990s, the emergence of
three new technology concepts had
major impacts on the traditional
thick-film resistor and resistor/capacitor network markets. The
tremendously successful introduction of the low-cost multichip resistor array demonstrated that multiple components could be placed on a
printed-wiring board at one time
and at a fraction of the cost of a traditional thick-film resistor network.
Multichip resistor arrays were successful in their global proliferation
in applications where four or eight
individual discrete resistors or a
single thick-film resistor network
had been placed. The buyers of arrays experienced a double cost savings from more efficient picking and
placing of individual discrete components as well as from the extremely low price of the thick-film
arrays.
Array technology has ultimately
proven to be quite simple—four or
eight individual discrete resistors
are placed on an alumina bridge.
The components operate independently and are found in many applications today where single discretes or traditional resistor
networks were used. Multichip arrays are primarily produced by the
large Japanese individual discrete
resistor manufacturers, particularly companies like ROHM Corporation, Panasonic Industrial and KOA
Corporation.
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY MARCH/APRIL 2000
Success Leads to Other Array
Products
The success of the multichip resistor array drove many companies
to begin development work in
earnest to produce capacitor and
nonlinear resistor arrays. In ceramic-chip capacitors, however, the
close proximity of the ceramic capacitors produced unwanted crosstalk and signal coupling on the
board. Still, companies like AVX
Corporation are working to develop
the ability to mass produce reliable
capacitor chip arrays. Another development noted in more recent
years is the trend to place a variety
of ceramic and metal-oxide discrete
products into array packages.
Trends of note include the arraying
of multilayered varistors, surfacemount NTC and PTC thermistors,
chip inductors and more advanced
silicon-based products, such as zener and avalanche diodes, for the
purpose of circuit protection from
voltage, current and noise.
Development of the Dual-Pair
Discrete
The similarities in production
methods that employ tape casting,
such as production of ceramic-chip
capacitors and multilayered varistors, led to the recent development
of dual-pair components, such as capacitor and varistor combinations
(EPCOS), which are used to protect
the I/O ports of engine-control
units, for example. Future directions and technologies will probably
focus on the development of ceramic PTC thermistors and metal-oxide
varistors, or capacitor and thermistor dual-pair components for consumer telecommunications equipment
and
battery-charging
applications.
Passive Networks
The Emergence of TFOS IPDs
An important development in the integration of passive components occurred in the 1990s with the advent
of TFOS integrated passive devices (IPD) from such
companies as California Micro Devices, Intarsia, StateOf-The Art and Mini-Systems. The concept behind the
thin-film approach is to employ traditional semiconductor manufacturing techniques to build complex passive
networks that contain multiple capacitive, resistive and
circuit-protection functions. Capacitance is primarily
created by manipulating the substrate with an ion-implantation device to create silicon-dioxide and siliconnitride capacitors. Resistance is achieved by depositing
layers of tantalum nitride on the silicon. In such a device, as many as 18 capacitors and 18 resistors can be
created and packaged in a standard molded plastic
package. Such devices can be useful where there are
high concentrations (local densities) of individual discretes on a printed-circuit board, such as those found at
the I/O port for the printer and modem on computer
motherboards and LAN cards. The value associated
with TFOS devices is that additional functionality can
be employed inside the finished component, such as
surge-protection diodes, and advanced transistor circuits, which can be produced with the same ion-implantation devices that are used to create the silicon-dioxide
and silicon-nitride capacitors. Moreover, additional value-added features of TFOS IPDs include the ability to
operate at much higher frequencies than traditional
thick-film resistor networks, which is especially important in the computer industry, where operating frequency is now approaching 1 GHz in the mass market.
What the Customer Wants
Over the next 10 to 20 years, the concept of increasing an OEM’s throughput of manufacturing will become
more paramount, especially in applications where volumetric efficiency is key, such as handheld wireless devices, personal digital assistants and laptop computers.
In such devices, the passive content represents the
largest component count, as much as 80% to 90% in
most cases. To increase the functionality of handheld
devices to make them more palatable to the existing
customer base, additional integrated circuits must be
employed, which in turn require additional support
components. The best modern example of this is the addition of Internet-related functions to cellular telephones, which is just the beginning of the integration of
the cellular telephone with functions traditionally
found in personal digital assistants. The problem, of
course, centers around the small size of the phone,
which can only be achieved through the use of increas-
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
9
Passive Networks
ingly smaller components. For example, the capacitance
functions in a cellular are accomplished largely by the
smallest commercially available ceramic products, and
there is little room for such devices to get any smaller.
The Future: Integral Passive Substrates
The only logical future direction for passive components is to go inside the interconnecting substrates of
the printed-wiring board. This futuristic concept employs devices known as integral passive components, as
determined by the National Electric Manufacturing Initiative. The market potential for integral passive components is large, with estimates exceeding $1 billion to
$2 billion in 10 years. Integral passive components will
take the form of either a substrate material that easily
lends itself to the production of printed-circuit boards,
or low-profile, flexible passive components that can be
placed inside the interconnecting substrates of the
printed-wiring board during the printed-wiring board’s
manufacturing process. It is important that the substrate material or the low-profile discretes are flexible
the printed-wiring board. Other companies, such as Du
Pont Photopolymers and AMDC, are working toward
the development of integral passive materials and flexible discrete components for applications between the
interconnecting substrates of the printed-wiring board.
Passive Network Market Size
Paumanok
Publications,
Inc. estimates that the 1999
15%
TFOS IPD
world market for passive
networks was approxi40%
mately $660 million, or
Thick-Film
about 30% of the fixed
Resistor
20%
Networks
linear resistor marLine-Feed
Resistors
ket. The largest market segments within
25%
Multichip
passive networks inArrays/
clude
traditional
Dual-Pair
thick-film resistor
Discretes
networks, which encompassed about 40%
of 1999 demand for passive networks, followed by multichip arrays, which accounted
ThickConformal
for about 25% of demand. LineThick
or
Thin
Film
or
Coat
Glass Passivation
(Ruthenium or
Thin-Film
Dielectric Layers
feed resistors (or surge resistor
Tantalum Nitride)
Resistive
4 and 5 µm Thick
Elements
Leads
networks) represented 20% of
Alumina or
Raw
Materials
Silicon
Substrate
demand, and true integrated
Titanates
Thick- or Thin-Film Substrate (96% or
99% Alumina; Silicon or Aluminum Nitride)
Nickel
Polymers
passive devices (including TFOS
Electrodes
Chip Resistors Copper
2.5 µm Thick Nickel Phosphor
Termination Conventional
and thick-film R/C networks) acRuthenium
or Hydrothermal Barium
Ferrites
Rnets & R/Cnets
Titanate in Dielectric Block
Alumina
counted for the remaining 15%
Ruthenium
MLCC
of 1999 demand (in terms of valAlumina
Titanates
ue).
Palladium
The fastest-growing portions
of the global passive network
Semiconductors
PCB With
market are the multichip arSilicon Oxide/Nitride Multichip Array
Integral Passives
Tantalum Nitride
ray,TFOS IPD and line-feed reRuthenium, Alumina, Titanate, Palladium
Aluminum Oxide
sistor segments, which have exHafnium Diboride
hibited average annual growth
Thin Film on Silicon
of 15% to 30% since 1995. TradiSilicon Oxide/Nitride
tional thick-film resistor netTantalum Nitride
Aluminum Oxide
works and thick-film R/C netHafnium Diboride
works have declined in value by
Finished PCB
5% to 10% since 1995 as portions of their total available
market are diminished by the
so they can be applied to both rigid and flexible printedencroachment of arrays and TFOS product lines.
wiring boards, and so they can pass printed-wiring
board flex tests.
Substrate Materials
Two companies are at the forefront of the developThe majority of substrate materials employed for
ment of integral passive materials—Ohmega, which
passive networks are still 96% alumina, sourced from
produces integral resistive substrates from nickel phossuch companies as Kyocera, Ceramtec and Coors. Aluphorous on copper, and Hadco, which has produced a
mina substrates are used for traditional thick-film reprototype board that employs a layer of barium-titanate
sistor networks, R/C networks, multichip arrays and
capacitance between the interconnecting substrates of
line-feed resistors. The more advanced TFOS devices
Industry Solutions
2
1
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19
3
18
4
17
16
5
6
15
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9
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PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL2000
Passive Networks
employ silicon as a substrate material. Other more exotic substrate materials that have been used in the past
include 99% alumina, aluminum nitride and high-purity glass; these are used sparingly for custom solutions
because of their high price.
Resistance Materials
In passive networks, the majority of resistance functions are still achieved with palladium and silver thickfilm elements for low-ohmic-value functions and surgeprotection functions; ruthenium-oxide and pyrochloreruthenate thick-film materials are used for high-ohmicvalue functions. In thin film, resistance is achieved primarily through the deposition of tantalum-nitride
films, although other materials, such as hafnium diboride, chrome silicide and nickel chromium, are also
used. (It is generally accepted that tantalum nitride of-
fers the tightest tolerances.) Resistive pastes are either
manufactured in-house by the network supplier or purchased ready-made from such companies as Ferro,
Shoei and Du Pont Electronics.
Capacitance Materials
Capacitance is still relatively a small part of the value associated with passive networks, although their use
in arrays is beginning to increase substantially. Capacitance with respect to both thick-film R/C networks and
multichip arrays is achieved through the addition of ceramic-chip capacitors, which use ceramic titanate materials to hold their charge. In many instances, passive
network suppliers outsource ceramic capacitors from
such companies as Murata, TDK and Kyocera or produce their own ceramic capacitors from titanate materials supplied by Ferro, Kyoritsu, Degussa or others.
Materials Trends
Material
{ R } Tantalum Nitride
{
{
{
{
{
R}
R}
R}
R}
C}
Hafnium Diboride
Chrome Silicide
Nickel-Phosphorous
Titanium-Tungsten-Nitogene
Silicon Dioxide
{
{
{
{
{
C
C
C
C
C
{
{
{
{
C}
C}
C}
L}
Silicon Nitride
Aluminum Oxide
Liquid Polyamide
Barium Titanate
Lead Magnesium
Niobate (PMN)
Parylene Film
Polyamide/BT
Tantalum Pentoxide
Lead-Zirconium-Titanium-Oxide PZT
Polymer Encapsulated
Ferrite
Silicon
}
}
}
}
}
{L}
{S}
{
{
{
{
{
S } 99% Alumina
S } High Purity Glass
S } CA Nitride
S } Specialty Polymers
TVS } Silicon
Who’s Using It
For
CMD, IRC, Bourns, Vishay,
KOA, Philips, Intarsia
CMD, KOA
CMD, IRC
Ohmega
Philips
CMD, IRC, Bourns, Vishay
KOA, Philips
CMD
Intarsia, CTS
CMD
CMD, Ohmega, ATMI, Nat Semi
IBM Deutschland, Nat Semi
TFOS
TFOS
TFOS
TFOS
TFIPEC, Integral
TFIPEC, Integral
Dow, Foster, Miller
CMD, Du Pont
Arkansas Micro
CMD
TFOS
TFOS
TFOS
TFOS
CMD
TFOS
CMD, IRC, Bourns, Vishay,
KOA, Philips, Intarsia
CMD
CMD
CMD
Dow
CMD
TFOS
TFOS
TFOS
Integral
TFOS
TFOS
TF
TF
TF
TF
TFOS
Source: Paumanok Publications
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
11
ESD Protection and More
By Björn Scharfen and Günther Greier, EPCOS AG
E
lectrostatic discharges can seriously impair the
operation of today’s electronic appliances. The
most effective protection is provided by multilayer varistors (MLVs), which also save space as well as
costs compared to conventional multi-component solutions.
Multilayer technology components represent the latest generation of ceramic products manufactured by
EPCOS. These ceramic capacitors, thermistors and
varistors are particularly useful when miniaturization,
integration and cost savings are major design criteria.
Available as single components or as arrays, they play a
key role in modern electronics applications.
MLVs are bi-directional elements used for the suppression of transient voltages such as ESD, burst or
surge impulses. Produced from zinc oxide, MLVs are
connected in parallel to the circuit to be protected. For
the duration of the overvoltage, the varistor becomes
low ohmic within 0.5 ns and provides an alternative
path for the ESD surge current, diverting it to ground.
In this way, the varistor offers excellent protection by
clamping the overvoltage to a safe level while consuming a minimum of board space.
Multilayer varistors for overvoltage protection consist
mainly of polycrystalline zinc-oxide
ceramic, a semiconducting material.
Manufactured in
SMD
packages
with chip sizes
Multilayer varistor
from 0402 to 220
and for operating voltages from 4 to 150 V, MLVs are
used in a wide range of applications.
General Information on ESD
Protection and EMC
Excessive noise levels caused by EMI or RFI can impair the correct operation and reliability of a design.
Compliance with EMC regulations, including protection
against transients such as ESD spikes, is a basic requirement of modern circuit design. The use of protection elements such as an MLV is essential for suppressing these transients as specified in the IEC 1000-4-X
series for interference.
ESD spikes up to 25 kV can be easily generated by
the human body in everyday activities. If an I/O-port of
a product such as a cellular phone contacts the ground,
a peak current of up to 45 A will flow within 1 ns. As a
12
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
secondary effect, high electric and magnetic fields are
produced, which may lead to memory loss and IC destruction in any unprotected device.
Why Use MLVs for ESD Protection?
The unique electrical properties and protection performance of MLVs make them the state of the art in
ESD protection. A glance inside reveals why.
Microstructure of Multilayer Varistors (simplified)
Printed electrode +V
of the multilayer
structure
3.5 V
Zinc oxide
Microvaristor
Indicates
variable
thickness for
different voltage
levels
100 µA
i
Intergranular
boundary
–V
Printed
electrode of the
multilayer structure
During a sintering process,
microvaristors are formed at the
points where semiconducting zinc-oxide grains meet.
Every microvaristor has a characteristic resembling a
bi-directional Z-diode with a breakdown voltage of about
3.5 V. The electrical behavior of the varistor elements results from the number of microvaristors connected in series (operating voltage level) and in parallel (surge current rating). Varying the thickness of the layer (series
connection of microvaristors) can set the specific voltage
for each different type of varistor. The surge-current
handling capability is defined by increasing the metalized area and/or the number of internal layers (parallel
connection of microvaristors).
Advantages of MLVs Over Diodes
The internal structure
of an MLV with its large
number of microvaristors
compared to the pn-junction of a diode leads to superior performance at a
minimum component size.
Reliability
No significant change
in varistor characteristics
can be detected, even after 10,000 discharges
(acc. IEC 1000-4-2).
Multilayer Varistors
•Millions of pn-junctions
•Energy absorption over the
entire volume of the component
•No pulse temperature
derating up to 125˚C
•Better electrical characteristics
•Small size
•Capacitance controlled types
available
Diodes
•One pn-junction only in a small
area
•Energy absorption only in this
small area
•Pulse temperature derating
starts at 25˚C
Multilayer Varistors
Space Requirements
Compared to an SOT-23 diode, a 0603 MLV requires
only 20% of the board space per protected line. If the
MLV replaces multiple-component solutions, the spacesaving possibilities are even greater and reduced placement costs are an additional benefit. Single 0402 components or arrays offer additional space savings.
Proximity to the Point of Entry of the Transient
Thanks to its compact dimensions, an MLV can be
placed next to the source of a transient. In a three- or
even four-component solution, ESD protection is distributed over a large board area. This distribution is an
undesired drawback of a diode solution, especially while
protecting parallel lines.
High-Temperature Use
The maximum surge current of diodes must be reduced for ambient temperatures exceeding room temperature (25˚C). In order not to overstress the diodes at
higher temperatures, an additional current-limiting resistor must be used. The structure of a varistor allows it
to handle higher electric loads than semiconductor
equivalents, and the rated surge currents can still be
sustained at ambient temperatures up to 125˚C.
Bipolarity
Electrostatic discharges may be positive or negative
polarity. Because every varistor is bi-directional, it can
absorb both types of discharge.
guaranteed in the case of repetitive impulses. Ferrite
beads connected in series do not allow the ESD current
to be diverted to ground. Since there is no defined path
for the discharge current, there is a high risk of
flashover.
Multilayer varistors eliminate additional coarse ESD
protection with spark gaps on the circuit board. The use
of spark gaps can lead to problems due to environmental conditions. So dust on the board surface can result
in an increased leakage current over time.
How to Choose the Right MLV
When choosing a varistor for ESD protection, follow
these guidelines.
• Select a varistor with an operating voltage (VDC)
greater than or equal to the maximum operating voltage of the circuit. Also consider the benefits of a lower
leakage current and a lower capacitance level for
varistors with a higher VDC than is actually required.
• Select a varistor that can handle the expected transient peak pulse current and that clamps the voltage
below the maximum protection level of the protected
circuit.
• For systems using high data rates, consider the capacitance. Low-capacitance MLVs are a good choice in
such cases.
Controlled Capacitance
To protect data lines, the capacitance (including the
parasitic capacitance) should generally be kept low or
within a defined range. Excessive capacitance on the
signal line could have an undesired effect on the signal.
The ceramic structure of an MLV has excellent RF
characteristics, resembling those of a ceramic chip capacitor. By taking advantage of this property, EPCOS
has developed special types of multilayer varistors with
low (LC), defined (CC), or high (HC) capacitance levels.
These versions offer the benefit of ESD protection in addition to saving additional chip capacitors.
Specify:
• LC types as part of a low-pass filter needed in highspeed data lines
• CC types to replace a capacitor for filtering purposes
at I/O ports
• HC types for noise suppression
Advantages Over Other Components Used
Against ESD
If only a chip capacitor is used, it will become
charged and finally damaged in the event of multiple
ESD strikes. A constant low clamping voltage cannot be
Multilayer varistors as arrays
Conclusion
MLVs are available in single or array packages, as
standard types or with special features for telecom, automotive, data processing or high-frequency applications.
About the Authors
Björn Scharfen, Dipl.-Wirtschaftsing, is product marketing engineer at the Ceramic Components Division of
EPCOS AG, Munich.
Günther Greier, Dipl.-Ing., is development engineer
at the Ceramic Components Division of EPCOS AG,
Deutschlandsberg, Austria.
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
13
Packaging Technology:
Integrated Passive Devices
Ashok Chalaka
California Micro Devices Corp.
215 Topaz Street, Milpitas, CA 95035
Tel: (408) 934-3130 Fax: (408) 934-2907
Email: AshokC@calmicro.com
Introduction
Decreasing board space availability and increasing
clock frequencies essential in today’s computers and
wireless system products are forcing manufacturers to
identify and utilize cost-effective, integrated passive devices (IPDs) in more compact packages. Successful integration of passive components requires a balance of experience with such system applications and detailed
knowledge of ESD, filtering, and termination techniques. Production-worthy solutions demand reliable
designs in alternative packaging. California Micro Devices (CAMD) continues to be a significant innovator in
the development of integrated passive components and
the advanced packaging they require, as well as a leading producer of high-quality parts.
veloped using thin-film technology. They were housed in
DIP or SOIC packages, with 100- or 50-mil lead pitches
respectively.
Previously, thin-film technology was reserved for applications which demanded very high reliability standards (such as military applications) and was preferred
over thick-film technology for its ability to produce components with stable performance over frequency and
time. Figure 1 shows the variation a thin- versus thickfilm resistor value can have over frequency. In particular, the thick-film resistor value doubles as it approaches a 1000 MHz frequency, whereas the thin-film
counterpart remains constant.
100
98
Thick Film
60
58%
56Ω
53.2
The Issues
Evolution of Integrated Solutions
0.35
0.3
0.25
Thick
Thin
0.2
0.15
0.01
0.05
0
1000
Figure 2
900
Hours at 125˚ C
800
700
600
500
400
MARCH/APRIL 2000
Thick Film vs. Thin Film Resistor Shifts
0.4
300
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MHz
2000
1500
Figure 2 illustrates the importance of stable resistor
performance over time. The thick-film resistor value
shifts significantly, whereas the thin-film counterpart
exhibits only a minor shift in value.
200
14
1000
Figure 1
100
In the early 90s, the first step was taken toward solving these design issues: discrete passives were integrated into a single silicon component and package. Initial
products were resistor and resistor/capacitor arrays de-
500
Average Shifts %
System designers face daunting challenges in their
on-going efforts to produce high-performance products
within the constraints of limited board space and restricted system cost. The numerous discrete passive
components required for implementing ESD, filtering,
and termination functions significantly impact ease-ofrouting, product reliability, and system cost. Furthermore, implementation of these necessary functions
must be complementary with ASIC components and
mixed signal devices, managing gigabit frequencies and
providing suitable signal integrity.
Passive component manufacturers also face challenges to deliver highly integrated, high-performance
solutions which manage the density of component functions (and their inherent parasitic affects) while improving reliability and controlling costs. In addition, the
marketplace continues to demand development of
smaller, lighter, and more technologically advanced
packages for these passive component solutions.
Thin Film
Technical Paper
CAMD was first to master the production of thin-film
passive components in such products as the I/O Port
EMI/RFI filters used in Apple® Computer’s Macintosh®
and Powerbook® offerings. The construction of a thinfilm resistor network is shown in Figure 3.
Wire Bond to Lead Frame
Pad
Oxide (SiO2)
Contact (Aluminum)
Composite Layer (Tantalum
Nitride) Resistor
Passivation (Si3N4)
such as notebook PCs, PDAs, pagers, and cellular
phones. CAMD was the first manufacturer to deliver
production volumes of integrated passive/active components (the P/Active™ product family) in the QSOP,
MSOP, and SOT packages. Figure 4 summarizes the aggressive packaging approach CAMD has taken with
passive components from discrete parts through these
current integrated networks.
Passive Component Package Evolution
Si
Lead Frame
Epoxy for Die Attached
Discrete
passives
First
integrated
passives in
ceramic
Integrated
passives in
SOIC*
Integrated
passives
TSSOP package*
in QSOP
plastic
package*
Introduction
MSOP
package*
Figure 3
This initial integration of discrete passives reduced
board space requirements and offered the convenience
of through-hole packages; but parasitic effects (such as
lead inductance and power dissipation) and overall performance issues remained.
During the latter half of the 90s, substantial improvements were made to these initial integrated passive components, resulting in increased function, enhanced performance, more compact packaging, and a
reduced cost of ownership. CAMD integrated diodes and
other active components (such as transistors) with the
resistors and capacitors improving ESD performance
and reducing parasitic effects. These advances also resulted in improved product reliability. The table below
lists the results of reliability testing performed on a
CAMD resistor/capacitor T-filter network device.
Reliability Results
Device Hours FITS*
At a 75% confidence level 191,250 2.92
MTBF**
3.24 x 108 hrs
At a 90% confidence level 191,250 4.86 2.056 x 108 hrs
*FITS are a failure rate, failures in ten-to-the ninth (ie; one billion hours).
** MTBF is the mean time between successive failures of a component.
During this period, CAMD was granted 11 patents
covering passive component integration and processing
techniques1. Three more patents are pending.
In addition to these integration improvements, new
SSOP, QSOP, MSOP, and SOT surface-mount packages
offered a 25-mil lead pitch while enabling greater functionality per device. These packages offered dramatic
size reductions, being approximately 75% smaller than
the SOIC package and 80% smaller than the DIP package. This attracted early adopters, such as Silicon
Graphics and Cisco Systems. These new, smaller packages also weighed proportionately less than their precursors. The reduced weight made them extremely attractive for application in portable electronics products,
SOT package
for resistor,
resistor/capacitor
products*
1978
1980’s
1992
1994
1996
Future of
passive
packages:
Flip Chip
(CSP)*
2000
*CMD is the first company to manufacture production volumes
Figure 4
Along with performance and real estate savings, the
new devices brought notable production cost savings.
The reduced component size required less raw material
for manufacture. Also, four to five times more components could be carried by the mold cavity through the
assembly process in the same time, improving assembly
throughput tremendously.
CAMD has developed the Assembly Cost Analysis
Program to further assist the system designer in fully
understanding the merits of an integrated passive network and to streamline their component selection
process. It is available free of charge. The tool evaluates
the real costs of discrete versus integrated termination,
EMI/RFI filtering, and ESD protection circuitry. The
program considers such variables as the number of
components assembled per hour by a customer’s pickand-place equipment, the salary/hourly rate of assembly operators, the total number of components per
board, the number of discrete components which could
be replaced, and more. For more details about the Assembly Cost Analysis Program and download instructions, go to CAMD’s web site at www.calmicro.com.
Successful Product Implementations
CAMD’s P/Active product family offers a range of solutions for high-performance terminations, filters, and
ESD protection. Three examples of system products on
the market that take advantage of P/Active product solutions are presented here.
Cisco Systems’ 7200 Series Routers employ a PAC
V35 termination network. Termination on the serial interfaces of prior products utilized 18 discrete resistor
diodes. They desired a precision array that was smaller
and had a more reliable termination scheme. The PAC
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
15
Technical Paper
Figure 5. IEEE 1284 Parallel Port Solution
Before PAC S1284
After PAC S1284
By integrating diodes into the device, improved ESD characteristics are also realized.
V35 device offered a stable resistor network, six terminations, and a separate ground for receive terminations. Using this device, Cisco was able to eliminate the
18 discrete passive components and replace them with
a single QSOP packaged device. This afforded significant ease-of-design, ease-of-routing, and ease-of-manufacture advantages. Board space requirements were reduced by 75%, and the integrated resistor network is a
more reliable solution.
Stratus Computer’s Continuum mainframe product
employs PAC DN005 termination networks. Digital bus
termination in the memory array required a termination scheme that supported frequencies in excess of 60
MHz. This dictated a diode-based solution. A low forward voltage at 50 mA, an insignificant reverse recovery, and an imperceptible turn-on transient were required to meet the overall system performance
specification. Board real estate was an additional factor.
The PAC DN005 device offered the lowest forward voltage available at 0.65 V, minimized parasitic impedance,
virtually non-measurable reverse recovery time, and an
imperceptible turn-on transient. Using this device,
Stratus was able to enhance the digital bus speed, improve overall system performance, and increase product
reliability. A 75% reduction in board space requirements was also achieved by virtue of replacing over 80
discrete diode pairs with five PAC DN005 devices.
In a third successful implementation, a major computer manufacturer employs PAC S1284 filter networks.
Previous methods of terminating the enhanced parallel
printer port required approximately 90 discrete components. A simpler, more robust, and cost-effective solution
was needed. The PAC S1284 filter network contains 26
resistors, 17 capacitors, and 34 diodes. Using this device,
the computer manufacturer was able to replace the 90
components with two PAC S1284 filter devices, reducing
board space significantly. This enormous component
16
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
count reduction had a tremendous impact on the ease-ofrouting for this product as well. Figure 5 shows “Before”
and “After” snapshots of the board layout.
Roadmap to the Future
2000 brings a year of new developments in packaging
technology and passive component integration. Great as
the advancements are in the current solutions, it is not
enough. As with the entire electronics industry, enhanced flexibility and additional cost reductions are desired for passive/active components.
These market demands have lead to great interest in
Flip Chip on Board (FCOB) technology, invented by
IBM. This technology presents opportunities for further
reduction in component size and weight, while dramatically increasing functionality, improving reliability and
thermal capabilities, increasing manufacturing yield,
and enhancing performance. These benefits are fueling
aggressive development of FCOB technology for the
next generation of “smaller, faster, and cheaper products.” PDAs, cellular phones and pagers, in particular,
have much to gain from the deployment of this technology. CAMD is presently testing pre-production flip-chip
devices, including 4-channel EMI/RFI filter array.
CAMD is also performing analysis of potential board
implementation and rework issues, as well as development of standard manufacturing processes for handling
Flip Chips.
As a leading innovator in the field of integrated passive/active components, CAMD remains focused on
greater integration and cost reduction, as well as continued advancements in packaging technology—to better meet and exceed customer demands for higher performance, more compact system designs.
P/Active™ is a trademark of CAMD.
1 Covered by one or more of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,355,014, 5,370,766,
5,514,612, 5,706,163, and other pending applications.
Multichip Arrays & Traditional Resistor
Networks: Lowering Conversion Costs
T
he best way for a consumer of passive components
controllers, are much higher, at more than $0.05 per
to save money is to pressure passive component
discrete component. Passive components account for a
suppliers to consistently drop price each year a
large population of the components on a board, so concontract is renewed by suggesting they will lose the conversion theory holds that it is inherently economical to
tract to a competitor who is willing to meet the price
place more than one component at the same time if the
goals of the buyer. When the customer is convinced they
local density on the board warrants a network or array.
have achieved the best possible price in the industry (in
The cost savings for the OEM are usually used to justirelation to the volume of parts being purchased), the
fy a higher component price for the network or array. In
next logical step is to concentrate on their conversion
the case of arrays, however, this did not work as well as
costs—the amount of time and
money associated with picking
and placing each of the compo(Component and Conversion Solutions)
nents they have purchased on a
printed-wiring board.
Customers:
One of the most successful
methods of saving money on
• Lower Component Price
picking and placing components
• Lower Component Conversion Costs
is by using either traditional resistor networks or multichip arrays. Simply stated, when a
company places more than one
component at a time, they increase their throughput of manufacturing, which translates
into increased time savings and
therefore increased cost savOn-Chip
Array
Integrate (IPD)
Integral
ings. If a company can place either four or eight individual
components at a single time, it
is more cost effective than placing individual components sepa• Increased Throughput of Mfg.
rately.
The problem is that this
• Better Profit Margins
process is not all encompassing,
and it is only applicable where
component densities on the
printed-wiring board warrant
the use of an array. In short, the proximity of the disthe array producers hoped, and array pricing dropped
crete components on the printed-circuit board and their
substantially between 1995 and 2000. Still, arrays were
orientation must be taken into account before a netaccepted by many end-users, and substantial populawork or array can be used, without redesigning the entions of arrays can be found in modern computer mothtire board.
erboard and wireless equipment where local densities of
The National Electric Manufacturing Initiative has
passive components warrant their usage.
determined that the average cost to convert a single discrete passive component is $0.017 per unit. To qualify
A resistor network is composed of two or more resisthis number, it is important to note that conversion
tive elements on the same insulating substrate. Resiscosts per component for cellular phones and laptop comtor networks are usually applied where there is a need
puters are less than $0.01, while conversion costs for
Continued on page 22
larger electronic equipment, such as industrial motor
What the Customer Demands
2
1
20
19
3
18
4
17
16
5
6
15
7
14
13
8
9
10
Thick-Film Networks
18
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL2000
11
12
Materials Research Furnaces, Inc.
Introduction:
Materials Research Furnaces, Inc. was founded
in 1990, by a group of highly trained and experienced
engineers and technical personnel from within the vacuum
& high temperature furnace field. MRF Inc. was established
to answer the challenge of the Research & Development
community to produce the finest, high temperature, high
vacuum and controlled atmosphere furnaces in the industry.
MRF BUILDING
MRF Inc. has supplied new furnace systems and replacement parts to Universities, National Laboratories and to
private industries around the globe. A large part of
MRF’s Inc. services is providing parts and services for other
furnace manufacturers’ systems. MRF Inc. has over 14,200
square feet of space for manufacturing, assembly,
engineering, sales and after market support.
Materials Research Furnaces, Inc. takes great care in
providing you, the customer, a quality product that is both
reliable, simple to operate and user friendly. The operation
of any MRF Inc. system can be mastered in just a few hours.
MRF Inc. furnace systems will complement any laboratory
or manufacturing facility.
TANTALUM SINTERING FURNACE
Products & Furnace Outline:
MRF Inc. produces a wide range of furnace for almost every application. Our furnaces range in temperature
from 600 degrees Celsius to 3000 degrees Celsius. Our vacuum furnaces are designed to the 10-9 torr range.
These furnaces can be used in a variety of inert gasses and other volatile gasses such as hydrogen and methane.
Some of MRF Inc’s furnaces are:
Continuous Belt Furnace:
Top & Bottom Loading Furnaces:
Hot Pressing 1 through 100 Ton: Front Loading Batch Sintering:
Physical Testing:
Graphite Tube Furnaces:
Arc Melting Furnace:
Crystal Growing Furnaces:
Muffle Tube Furnace:
N2 BME Furnaces:
For more information:
Contact Materials Research Furnaces, Inc.,
Suncook Business Park; Rt. 28 & Lavoie Drive
Suncook, NH 03275: Attn: Daniel J. Leary, SM
Phone: (603) 485-2394 Fax: (603) 485-2395;
E-mail: mrf@interserv.com
WEB SITE: www.mrf-furnaces.com
Reps in Europe & overseas representation:
In the European Union contact:
Instron SFL
Severn Furnaces, Ltd.
Mr. Stephen Horrex
Brunel Way
Thornbury, Bristol BS 35 3UR, UK
Phone: 1454-414600; Fax: 1454-413277;
E-mail stephen_horrex@sfl.instron.com
All other overseas contact MRF directly.
TANTALUM SINTERING FURNACE
“TODAY’S FURNACES FOR TOMORROW’S TECHNOLOGIES’’
Avnet Electronics Marketing
Enhances Online Selector Tools
The World Wide Web’s most comprehensive
capacitor selection site, Capacitors OnlineSM,
has been recently improved for ease of use
and flexibility. The tool has been created for
purchasers and designers to locate the ideal
capacitor for their application from a database of over 20,000 capacitors. There are two
search methods. The first is by entering parameters like type of capacitor, capacitance
value, voltage rating and tolerance. The second is a search by manufacturer part number
or partial part number.
The tool also includes
links directly to supplier
data sheets, and price
and availability are just
a click away.
Enhancements include:
• Easier to use, flexible
search parameters
• Side by side com
parisons of similar
components
• Online technical
support
• Online ordering
• “Smart Results’’
If invalid parameters
are selected, recommended
selections will be offered as possible to
the desired search parameters.
“Automation of passive part descriptions has
enabled Motorola Supply Management to
streamline the selection of industry standard
items stocked by Avnet Electronics
Marketing, reducing time-to-market,’’ states
David Saunders, Senior Buyer, Motorola
Computer Group, Tempe, Arizona. “In addition, availability of detailed descriptions provides viewing of part numbers at a glance,
allowing flexibility and accuracy to support
both internal and external customers.’’ When
design engineers are selecting capacitors,
there are many variations of the same device,
making it difficult and a time consuming
process. Typically, to check the price differences between components, the engineer compiled their list and submitted it to purchasing
for pricing and availability. This information is
now conveniently available on the Internet 24
hours a day, which saves time for both purchasing and engineering. Avnet
Electronics Marketing has
a wide breadth of
capacitors from
the
following
world leaders to
choose from: AVX
Corporation,
Murata, Nichicon,
Philips,Vishay
Roderstein, Vishay
Sprague, and Vishay
Vitramon to name a
few. If you cannot find
the specific device you
are looking for, click on
the Technical Specialists
button and our capacitor
experts will respond
within 24 hours.
Capacitors OnlineSM is
just one of the selector
tools on the Avnet
Electronics
Marketing
IP&E Web site (www.ipe-tools.com) for interconnect, passive and electromechanical
devices.
So try our new and enhanced Capacitors
OnlineSM. Just one more reason that proves
Avnet Electronics Marketing is committed to
your passive component needs. As always, we
would like to hear any feedback you may
have. You may submit comments by clicking
on the Contact Us button on any page within
the site or call us at 1.888.IPE.PLUS.
Rnets & Arrays
Thin-Film Networks
Continued from page 18
for six to 15 low-value resistors, because they save real
estate on a printed-circuit board. In general, commercial networks have thick-film elements (although at
this writing, thin-film networks are a key issue) and are
available in either dual-in-line packages (DIP) or single-in-line packages (SIP).
Standardized DIPs will have 14 or 16 pins, while
standardized SIPs will have either six, eight or 10 pins.
The circuit applications for DIPs and SIPs are in pullup and pull-down transitions between logic circuits,
Thin films are used in network designs when more
precise resistance values are required. Such metals as
tantalum nitride, nickel chromium, chrome cobalt or
chrome silicide are deposited or sputtered on ceramic
substrates. Thin-film networks are made available to
the consumer unpackaged for hybrid networks and hybrid circuit digital-to-analog converters, and as external
feedback networks in hybrid operational amplifiers.
They are also available as substrates for resistive-capacitive networks, usually packaged in metal and ceramic flatpacks because they
are regarded as precision resistive components.
Standard resistor networks are predominantly
sold in either isolated or
dual-termination configura1RC
tions. Bussed and R2R ladder
network configurations represent a smaller unit volume,
$1.00
but they generate high dollar
$0.03
value because of their higher
average price per unit. This
$1.03
especially holds true for
bussed configurations that
are popular and expensive,
while R2R ladder networks
have been traditionally small
in terms of volume and dollar
value.
Leaded versions of resistor networks still dominate
the market in terms of volume, but because of the higher average unit prices for surface-mount resistor networks, the opposite is true in terms of market value.
Average unit pricing for traditional resistor networks
generally falls into the $0.10 to $0.20 range, with isolated networks the lower cost products and bussed configurations the highest cost products.
Traditional resistor networks can typically be found
in personal computer markets, which represent their
largest end-use market by far. The traditional networks
also appear in automotive electronic sub-assemblies and
telecommunications infrastructure equipment to a great
extent.
Thin Film on Silicon Market Strategy
2
18C
1
20
19
3
18
4
17
16
5
18R
6
15
7
14
13
8
9
$0.36
$1.08
$1.44
Component Cost
Conversion Cost
Total OEM Cost
Value Added
•
•
•
•
•
Higher Frequency
Lower Inductance
Lower Residual Cap
TVS Protection
Active Components
11
12
28% OEM Savings Plus
sense amplifier terminations, and for LED
display current limiting. (Because of this
relationship, many smaller suppliers of amps and LEDs
will also supply resistor networks.)
The substrate that is used in resistor networks is
predominantly 96% alumina; while the conductive interconnections are manufactured by screening silverpalladium powders in a volatile binder to form an ink.
After the firing process, the composition forms a solid,
low-resistance conductive pathway for the electrical
current. A resistive ink formulation, which is predominantly made from a ruthenium-cermet composition
mixed with powdered glass frit and a volatile binder, is
then screened over the ends of the conductors. The ink
is fired to form a hard resistive element.
Laser beams are used to trim the resistance value to
a precise level. Values of 10 ohms to 10 milohms with
tolerance ratings of +2 percent are the standard configurations. However, there are limitations to their design
—each network can only handle less than 1/2 W, so the
amount of dissipation each deposited resistor can withstand is limited.
22
10
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
Multichip Arrays
Resistor chip arrays have been around for many
years, but thay were previously designed for use in
high-reliability and medical implant applications. However, within the past six years, chip component suppliers have “re-introduced” multichip arrays to the commercial market. Such devices offer no improvement
over the performance of chip resistors, but they do offer
a significant improvement in the insertion costs for
Rnets & Arrays
printed-wiring board OEMs. In a
chip array, two, three, four or
eight chips are contained on a
Wonderfully Successful
bridge. This enables these arrays
Individual
Discrete
vs.
Multichip Array
to be placed on a board at the
same time. Since the proximity to
the integrated circuit is not as
great an issue as it is with surface-mount capacitors, the array
design lends itself to such appli0603 0603 0603 0603
Case Size
1206
cations. Multichip arrays typical$0.01 $0.01 $0.01 $0.01
Component Size
$0.06
ly save the OEM a significant
amount of money in the insertion
$0.03 $0.03 $0.03 $0.03
Conversion Cost
$0.03
costs, which can explain why the
$0.04 $0.04 $0.04 $0.04
OEM Cost per Unit
$0.09
market for such devices grew significantly between 1995 and
2000.
OEM Cost per Set
As an augmentation to the
flat-chip resistor business, it is
easy to notice similarities in their
demand by type and configuration. Many array products are
sold in the 1/8, 1/10, and 1/16th
watt power ratings, at 5% (standard) and 1% (precision)
Multichip resistor arrays are found in personal comtolerance levels, at 100 Vdc and 50 Vdc.
puters, much in the same manner as traditional resisAverage unit pricing for multichip resistor arrays
tor networks. However, arrays have proliferated into
has dropped by an average of 26% each year since 1995,
other industries, such as wireless devices and consumer
although in 2000 we note price increases for the first
audio and video imaging products, spreading more
time since their mass introduction. In 1995 prices averreadily than their network counterparts because of
aged $0.04 per unit for a standard array, declining over
their greater volumetric efficiency and extremely low
time to a little more than $0.01 in 1999.
price.
Multichip Array Market Strategy
$0.16
$0.09
45% Savings at the OEM
ECA
Continued from page 5
EMS is certainly taking advantage of the opportunities. But, asks John Denslinger of Murata, could they
also be contributing to some of the problems? Denslinger
believes that the increasing role of EMS and their close
relationships with the OEM customer might be masking
new demand from the manufacturers. Manufacturers
used to work more closely with the OEMs, providing better insight for forecasting future requirements. Today,
many of those requirements are being passed to EMS
and thus hidden from the component manufacturer. If
this is the case, it goes back to Smith’s point that the
channel is partially to blame and must now figure in
EMS data. Of course, determining the context of the
EMS data is a topic for a session of its own.
Certainly one of the most important aspects in the
channel is distribution, and Pat Wastak of Avnet
weighed in with his perspective. Distribution companies might have seen the demand from a different per-
spective and applied different strategies to deal with
shortages, says Wastak, but they were still caught offguard by the size of the demand. Avnet, like the other
four or five major distributors, has an aggressive strategy to implement e-business and B2B e-commerce capabilities.
Wastak stated that to survive as a major distribution
organization in the near future, a company must have a
global presence and a supporting and operational ebusiness capability. The major benefit of the Internet today, he says, is the ability to enhance the pre-sales effort, particularly in providing up-to-date, accurate
information. This pertains to both the distributor’s and
the manufacturer’s sites.
Panel participants agreed that all facets of the electronics business are going to be driven by the Internet
and smart, wireless products. Likewise, all facets of the
channel are going to have to be Internet savvy.
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
23
Jimmy Witcher of Tech Spray, a company that goes to
market almost exclusively through distribution, says
that a company without a web-based Internet strategy
and a supporting e-business plan will be left on the side
of the information highway. However, professional sales
reps — on the front line of the distribution channel —
find the Internet and other methods of electronic communications a double-edged sword. Bryan Shirley, Colrud, notes that access to information and speed of communication certainly enhance the rep’s ability to work
with customers. At the same time, this same access and
speed encourages some customers to believe they can
bypass the sales rep function.
Still, most customers are not yet e-business savvy and
reliable B2B capabilities are not yet widely available
yet. Time will tell how these individual roles will evolve.
John Rector, IBM, added perspective to the discussion
by better defining e-business and where he sees changes
occurring. Manufacturers are going to have to define
their e-business strategy and immediately begin to
make the changes needed to implement an e-business
plan, says Rector. The channel is going to evolve into e-
24
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
business partnerships that are enabled by the Internet.
The OEM must be better educated about understanding
that the supply base needs to remain profitable. The current situation should awaken all involved to the fact
that the highest end is still ultimately dependent on the
bottom of the chain. The new e-business models must
take that into consideration early.
The discussion could have gone on for another day or
two and still left many questions on the table. All
agreed, however, that there is much to do to prepare for
the changes in the distribution model for the electronic
components industry. All also agreed that it is imperative that they start now.
ECA will keep these issues on the front burner with
information and insight available on its new website,
Resource Central (www.ec-central.org). In addition, this
will be a principal theme at the ECA Summer meeting,
June 19-21, Hilton Head, SC. Program information on
this meeting will be available in the next 30 days.
— Bob Willis
ECA President
Flat-Chip Resitors:
A Booming Market for 2000
T
he title of this feature article is quite surprising.
For years the worldwide flat-chip resistor markets have been so depressed that many executives in charge of chip resistor production plants wondered about the viability of actually being in the business, trying instead to make a profit when banks
offered interest rates on savings accounts that were
more attractive than margins on chip resistors. In fact,
for at least four years there have been many stories of
CEOs in charge of resistor operations literally crying in
meetings as they begged other companies to buy them
out and save them.
But in the third and fourth quarters of 1999, it became apparent that multilayered ceramic-chip capacitors (the sister business to flat chip resistors) were experiencing a sudden and rather dramatic increase in
unit demand worldwide. For the first time in five years,
the MLCC market was booming, and prices were actually increasing. As any seasoned veteran of the passive
component industry knows, every electronic circuit requires some degree of capacitance and resistance; the
large volume of these requirements are satisfied by ceramic capacitors and traditional thick-film chip resistors. So when the ceramic-chip capacitor business began to boom in the latter half of 1999, it was only a
matter of time before demand for chip resistors followed
suit. This did not occur until the first quarter of 2000,
however, because six months of inventory were in the
global distribution pipeline.
Global Chip Resistor Markets
Paumanok Publications, Inc. estimates that approximately 410 billion flat chip resistors were produced
worldwide in 1999, with a market value of a little more
than $1 billion. For 2000, Paumanok estimates that
worldwide flat chip resistor production will approach
500 billion units, with production up by at least 15%, if
not as high as 25% during the year. Paumanok also estimates that an additional $300 million to $400 million
will flow into the industry in 2000 because of increased
unit shipments and stable (if not higher) annualized
pricing. The major global producers of flat-chip resistors
are predominantly Japanese and include such brandname companies as ROHM, Panasonic, KOA, Kamaya,
Yageo, Philips, TAD and Vishay. Approximately 94% of
global unit production of flat-chip resistors occurs in
Japan and the Asian countries outside Japan, with emphasis upon Taiwan. There is relatively little produc-
tion of chip resistors in NAFTA countries and Europe,
with the exception of the nichrome chip resistor production at Vishay-Dale and BC Components Beyshlag
divisions respectively. The only large-scale thick-film
chip resistor operation outside of the Japan/Asia region
is Vishay’s Dimona plant in Israel.
In terms of unit consumption, the major end-use
product markets are in computer/business machines,
which account for 30% of unit consumption, and followed by consumer audio and video imaging equipment,
which accounts for 25% of global unit consumption.
Telecommunications equipment (both consumer and infrastructure) accounts for 20% of unit consumption.
The 5% and 1% tolerance parts, with power ratings of
1/10 and 1/16 watts in the 0805 and the 0603 case sizes,
dominate worldwide unit shipments, although the overall product mix is moving more toward the 0603 and the
smaller 0402 case sizes. Bulk unit pricing for chip resistors is extremely low—approximately $0.0025 per
unit—so a high level of automation and extremely large
economies of scale are necessary to generate worthwhile profit margins.
Chip Resistor Production Process
Different processes for producing flat-chip resistors
are employed depending upon the type of chip resistor
being manufactured. The majority of the world’s production of flat-chip resistors involves screen printing of
thick-film mixed metals, which include primarily palladium and silver for low-ohmic-value resistors and
ruthenium oxide for higher-ohmic-value products.
Screen printing produces layers as thick as 10 µm. The
substrate material is primarily 96% alumina ceramic.
The method for laying down metal films, which include
nickel chromium and tantalum nitride, is sputtering,
which produces a homogeneous layer with metal thicknesses from 0.005 to 0.5 µm.
In thick-film resistors, the resistance value is determined by trimming, primarily accomplished using a
CO2 laser, which is inexpensive and extremely fast. In
metal-film chips, trimming is accomplished with a YAG
laser; this is more expensive but produces a clean cut
with smooth edges.
Terminations are applied to the fired resistors by either a dipping process or through sputtering. Terminations for metal-film resistors are almost exclusively
sputtered; however, in thick-film chips the terminations
may be either dipped or sputtered.
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
25
Chip Resistors
Inspection of the final resistor chips is almost entirely computerized; the resistance value, adherence to case
size, laser trim and attachment of the termination are
all analyzed. In many instances a second and final inspection is done manually by varying lot number. Tape
and reel of the finished components is accomplished by
the automated Tokyo Weld tape-and-reel machines.
Future Directions for the Chip Resistor
Industry
Certainly the future of the chip resistor lies in smaller case sizes. The market is forecast to begin consolidating production into the smaller 0603, 0402 and 0201
case sizes in the future, as the larger 0805 product line
begins to decline in popularity and goes the way of the
even larger 1206 case size. It is believed that in 2000,
production of the extremely small 0201 case size will
represent about 10% of Japanese production volume of
flat-chip resistors. After the ramp-up of the 0201 is
complete, many discrete linear resistor manufacturers
In Our Next Issue
DC Film Capacitors
Power Capacitors
Metallized Film
Materials
DC Film Capacitor
26
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
will begin to address the use of integral resistors, or the
placement of resistive elements in substrate form between the interconnecting layers of the printed-wiring
board. One company to watch that is already producing
nickel-phosphorous restive substrate materials is
Ohmega, which produces OhmegaPly®, a popular substrate material for board applications that require substantial board surface area. Such applications are typically in cellular phones, pagers and other hand-held
equipment.
There will also be an increase in consumption of the
multichip resistor array, which combines four or eight
resistors on an alumina bridge. The bridge, which is applicable on a board where the density of individual discretes is high enough to bridge the components together, makes economic sense because it saves time on
picking and placing the resistors on the printed-wiring
board. This increases the throughput of manufacturing
at the OEM level and therefore saves the customer
money on conversion costs.
Capacity Expansion
in the
Ceramic and Tantalum
Capacitor Industries: 2000
A New Market Research Paper
From Paumanok Publications, Inc.
Summary of Contents
4. Long-Term Forecasts
1. Capacity Expansion in the
• Shipment Forecasts to 2010 (BME vs. PGM)
• Competing Technology: TFOS & Integral Passives
Global MLCC Industry
• by Manufacturer
• by World Region
• by Country
• Changing Market Shares in 2000
5. Capacity Expansion in the Global Tantalum
Capacitor Industry
2. Effects on the MLCC Supply Chain
• Titanates
• Metallization
• Production Equipment
3. Effects on the OEM Supply Chain
• MLCC Availability
• Pricing
• by Manufacturer
• by World Region
• by Country
• Changing Market Shares in 2000
6. Effects on the Tantalum Capacitor Supply Chain
• Tantalum, Ore, Metal Powder & Wire
• Production Equipment
7. Long-Term Forecasts
Publication date: April 2000
Number of pages: 75
Price for first copy of report: $1,800.00
Price per additional copy: $180.00
• Shipment Forecasts to 2010
• Competing Technology: BME MLCC
To order, contact:
The Paumanok Group
109 Kilmayne Drive, Suite A • Cary, NC 27511 • USA
(919) 468-0384 • (919) 468-0386 Fax
www.paumanokgroup.com • info@paumanokgroup.com
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2000
27
What’s Going on With the Price
of Palladium?
T
$700
he unusually high
price of palladium
metal is causing
1994–2000
$600
significant price increases for multilayered
MLCC Market
$500
ceramic-chip capacitors,
Boom & Russian
(MLCC) especially in the
Supply Problems
NPO-type product line,
$400
where displacement of
Russian
Supply
palladium with baseProblems
$300
metal electrodes is slow
to take hold.
Mass Exodus
$200
So why is the palladito BME
MLCC
um price so high? The
answer lies in a combi$100
Increased
nation of market condiAutocatalyst
MLCC Market
Demand
tions. Demand from the
Downturn
$0
autocatalyst industry is
increasing; automotive
manufacturers use palladium in catalytic converters to contain hydrocarbon emissions. But in the midst of a booming MLCC
gin to distribute large quantities of metal to the world
market in 2000, the industry is facing problems with
market. Still, we do not expect the palladium price to
the supply of palladium, the majority of which comes
drop below $500 per troy ounce anytime soon. This posfrom the former Soviet Union. The combination of these
es a significant problem for MLCC manufacturers who
factors has caused the price of palladium metal to inhave not made a large-scale transition to base metal. As
crease to a six-year high of $700 per troy ounce in
the current market boom ends and prices for MLCCs
March 2000.
drop drastically, margins will be squeezed so tightly that
The graph above illustrates how the price for palladithe palladium metal price could cause smaller MLCC
um metal has fluctuated wildly with changes in market
manufacturers who do not have the working capital to
dynamics. In 1996 the price of palladium fell with the
buy BME MLCC manufacturing equipment to actually
downturn in the MLCC business, then began to rise in
go out of business.
1997 with increased palladium usage in autocatalysts.
In late 1998 the $300 per troy ounce price tag for palladium metal caused a mass exodus toward base-metal
electrodes (especially in Japan, where palladium loading
Continued from page 4
in MLCC electrodes has traditionally been 100% metal),
capacitors are alleviated they would do all in their powwhich in turn impacted price for palladium. In the latter
er to move their higher capacitance requirements to
part of 1999 and the first quarter of 2000, the price of
base-metal-electrode MLCCs. This is a sentiment I am
palladium increased because of Russian supply probhearing throughout the entire customer base in passive
lems, coupled with growing usage of palladium in autocomponents.
catalysts and a booming market for MLCCs, especially
Will it come true? Only time will tell, but regardless of
for NPO products used in wireless communications,
the component, price will always rule the day.
where base metals have made the smallest inroads to
displace palladium in electrodes.
— Dennis M. Zogbi
Looking forward, we expect the price of palladium to
Publisher, Passive Component Industry
drop sometime in April or May 2000 as the Russians bePresident, Paumanok Publications, Inc.
Publisher
30
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
Jan. ’00
May ’99
Sept. ’99
Jan. ’99
Sept. ’98
May ’98
Jan. ’98
May ’97
Sept. ’97
Jan. ’97
May ’96
Sept. ’96
Jan. ’96
Sept. ’95
May ’95
Jan. ’95
Sept. ’94
May ’94
Jan. ’94
Per Troy Ounce
Palladium Metal Price
The March Conferences
The Usual Suspects—John Denslinger (Murata Electronics NA,
Inc.); Steve Crow (Murata Electronics NA, Inc.); John Rector
(IBM Corporation); Glyndwr Smith (Vishay Intertechnology,
Inc.). EIA Spring Conference; Renaissance Mayflower Hotel,
Washington D.C.; March 14, 2000.
Photo by Dennis M. Zogbi (Paumanok Publications, Inc.) and
Les Rice (KOA Speer), who showed Mr. Zogbi how to work the
camera.
Jim Kaplan (CornellDublier Electronics) dancing to the music of the
Marine Corps Band. EIA
Spring
Conference;
Renaissance Mayflower
Hotel, Washington D.C.;
March 14, 2000.
Photo by Dennis M. Zogbi,
(Paumanok Publications,
Inc.), eating steak with his
right hand and snapping
pictures with his left.
Bob Willis and Pete Walsh of ECA/EIA promoting their new website Resource Central
at www.ec-central.org. Bob explained to
the Paumanok representatives that they
have the Internet on computers now.
Capacitor
&
Resistor
Technology
Symposium; Huntington Beach Waterfront
Hilton Hotel, Huntington Beach, Calif.;
March 7, 2000.
Photo by Sam Corey (Paumanok
Publications, Inc.).
Dennis M. Zogbi (Paumanok
Publications, Inc.) and Mike
Hurley (Access Corporation—
PAC Polymers Division) discussing tantalum powder
binders, modern hair styles
and the potential for surfing
the waves on Huntington
Beach. Capacitor & Resistor
Technology
Symposium;
Huntington Beach Waterfront
Hilton
Hotel,
Huntington
Beach, Calif.; March 7, 2000.
Photo
by
Sam
Corey
(Paumanok Publications, Inc.).
32
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
Glyndwr Smith (Vishay Intertechnology,
Inc.), the 007 of the passive component industry; shaken, not stirred—and
smiling about the Vishay stock price.
Capacitor & Resistor Technology
Symposium;
Huntington
Beach
Waterfront Hilton Hotel, Huntington
Beach, Calif.; March 7, 2000.
Photo by Sam Corey (Paumanok
Publications, Inc.).
MARCH/APRIL 2000
A rare photo of John Ekis (Ferro Corporation) in a suit and tie.
Please cut out this picture and pin to the wall. It’s like capturing
a rare Pokemon. The BEAS fund has
finally paid off (Buy Ekis A Suit).
Capacitor & Resistor Technology
Symposium;
Huntington
Beach
Waterfront Hilton Hotel, Huntington
Beach, Calif.; March 7, 2000.
Photo by Sam Corey (Paumanok
Publications, Inc.).
Our
new
friends from
Nabertherm,
(which is a
fun name to
say),Ralph
Marshall and
Carl Bode,
selling their
batch kilns to
the MLCC,
varistor and
thermistor businesses worldwide. Capacitor &
Resistor Technology Symposium; Huntington Beach
Waterfront Hilton Hotel, Huntington Beach, Calif.;
March 7, 2000. Photo by Sam Corey (Paumanok
Publications, Inc.).
The Terminators—Dick Wells and Dave Malanga of Heraeus,
the leader in supplying end termination metallization for the
MLCC, MLV and disc component industries worldwide.
Located in West Conshohoken (which is also fun to say).
Capacitor & Resistor Technology Symposium; Huntington
Beach Waterfront Hilton Hotel, Huntington Beach, Calif.;
March 7, 2000. Photo by Sam Corey (Paumanok
Publications, Inc.).
Everyone’s friend Roderick Hoppener of
HaikuTech, selling Keko equipment for
MLCC production. We have a rule at
Paumanok—anyone who is taller than their
display gets instant press coverage.
Capacitor
&
Resistor
Technology
Symposium; Huntington Beach Waterfront
Hilton Hotel, Huntington Beach, Calif.;
March 7, 2000.
Photo by Sam Corey (Paumanok
Publications, Inc.).
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
33
New Inductors/Transformers from Vishay Feature Noise-Minimizing Toroidal Design
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE:VSH), announced the release of three new series of
inductors/transformers in surface-mount, toroidal
packages. Offering designers a choice of Kool-Mu®,
powdered iron, or MPP cores, the new Vishay Dale LPT3535 series minimizes EMI radiation in dc-to-dc converter, common mode choke, and isolation transformer
circuits in a broad range of electronic systems. Typical
applications for the new components will include stand-
For more information, contact Mike Husman at
Vishay Intertechnology, 1505 E. Highway 50, P.O. Box
108, Yankton, SD 57078. Contact by telephone at
605-665-9301 or by email at ind@dtgnet.com
Pan Overseas Places $6 Million Order for ESI’s
MLCC Testing Systems
In March, Electro Scientific Industries Inc. announced that Pan Overseas Electronic Co. Ltd. has
placed an order in excess of $6 million for multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) testing and termination equipment. The order began shipping in February and will be
completed during the next four months.
Pan Overseas said the order will improve its ability
to address the worldwide demand for multilayer ceramic capacitors.
“ESI’s MLCC production equipment provides the
lowest cost-to-test and the flexibility to address multiple test processes,” said Mr. Wil-Lian Huang, president
of Pan Overseas. “ESI’s equipment costs less to operate,
and the company’s local application and service support
will enhance productivity.”
About Pan Overseas
alone power supplies, automotive, military and aerospace applications, consumer electronics, and test and
measurement devices.
With a diameter of 8.93 mm (0.35 inches) and a
height profile of 6.35 mm (0.235 inches), the new inductors/transformers offer designers a choice of 14 inductance values from 1 µH to 330 µH. DC resistance is
as low as 4mΩ for a 1-µH component with a powdered
iron core, with maximum current values as high as 6.45
A. Inductance tolerance is specified at ±15% for all devices.
“These new inductors/transformers are an excellent
choice for high-efficiency dc-to-dc converters in portable
products where their compact, toroidal design will save
space without compromising EMI/EMF performance,”
said Michael Husman, Director, Product Marketing.
Two separate windings on each component allow
connections to be made in series or in parallel. Half and
quarter-height devices, in addition to custom versions,
are available on request from Vishay.
A high-temperature shell design makes the new
LPT-3535 series ideal for infrared (IR) reflow applications, while pick-and-place-compatible tape-and-reel
packaging makes the new components easy to use with
high-speed assembly equipment.
Samples and production quantities of the new LPT3535 inductors are available now, with lead times of
eight weeks for larger orders.
34
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
Pan Overseas Electronic Co. Ltd. specializes in manufacturing a full series of ceramic disc capacitors,
MLCCs, safety standard recognized ceramic capacitors,
varistors, chip beads and chip inductors. These products
are being widely used in consumer electronics, data processing, telecommunication and industrial control
equipment. Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, Pan Overseas has factories in Tainan, Taiwan, and in Guang
Zhou, China.
About ESI
Electro Scientific Industries Inc., headquartered in
Portland, Ore., designs and manufactures sophisticated
products used around the world in electronics manufacturing, including laser manufacturing systems for semiconductor yield improvement; production and test
equipment for the manufacture of surface-mount ceramic capacitors; laser trim systems for precise electrical tuning of circuits; precision laser and mechanical
drilling systems for electronic interconnection; and machine vision systems. Electro Scientific Industries is
traded on the NASDAQ National Marketing System
under the symbol ESIO. ESI’s web site is www.esi.com.
Electrocube Offers Polystyrene
Replacement Capacitors
Electrocube, Inc., a leading manufacturer of USAmade precision capacitors and other passive components, is pleased to offer their Series 730 capacitors.
Newsmakers
The 730 Series is designed to replace hard-to-find and
obsolete older polystyrene film capacitors. Series 730
film capacitors are offered up to 200VDC and are produced in both round and oval axial lead styles. This
metallized combination series of flame-retardant, wrapand-fill capacitors exhibits similar properties as polystyrene capacitors.
Highlighted features and benefits are:
• Miniature replacement for polystyrene film
capacitors
• Ideal for high-density packaging applications
• Ultra-stable capacitance over temperature range of
0Cº to 45ºC
• Up to 200VDC; temperature up to 105ºC
• Meets or exceeds UL94VO flammability requirements
• Shortest leadtimes
• Competitive pricing
For additional information on Electrocube and their
Series 730 combination film capacitors, visit their website at www.electrocube.com or contact Ms. Gloria Snyder, National Sales Manager, Electrocube, 1307 S. Myrtle Ave., Monrovia, Calif. 91016. Contact by
phone 626-301-0122, by fax at 626-357-8099 or by
email at sales@electrocube.com.
Economically Priced Metallic Switch Protects
Against Vandalism and Abuse
Schurter’s new MCS 19 is an affordable alternative
to other vandal resistant switches, such as Piezo technology. The metallic design combines a durable outer
construction with a standard electro-mechanical
switch, able to withstand more than one million actuations. Its flat, low-profile actuator provides excellent
tactile feedback with an audible click. A mechanical end
stop withstands forceful hits from vandals or heavy use
and abuse, preventing the actuator from damaging internal contacts.
The MCS 19 occupies minimal space behind the panel, with a mounting depth of only 7.9 mm. Its nickelplated, die-cast zinc housing has an extremely low front
height of 1 mm. The switch is fastened to the panel or
enclosure with a nut (M19 x 0.75) and protected from
dust and water by a front sealing ring (IP65). Anti-ro-
tation protection is assured using a D-style panel cutout. The actuator’s metal end stop withstands constant
pressure up to 100N for one minute, according to
DIN/EN 50102 1K 05.
The MCS 19 is available with gold or silver terminal
pins, terminal pins with soldering aid, or with premounted screwing clip. Switching currents are rated up
to 80mA at 50mV to 24V DC (gold terminals) and up to
125mA at 4V to 48V DC (silver terminals). Optional
laser lettering is available on a stainless steel actuator.
Applications for the MCS 19 include doorbells, entry
control systems, vending machines, point of sale (POS)
terminals, test equipment, car washes and elevator systems. Pricing starts at $4.902 for 100 pieces. Delivery is
from stock to eight weeks.
DuPont Microcircuit Materials to Exhibit ThickFilm Materials at HD International Conference
At the MCM conference in Denver, Colo., on April 2629, DuPont Microcircuit Materials will exhibit thick
film materials including its CF Series buried resistors,
6453 co-fired Fodel® photoimageable Ag conductor, and
943 -A5 Low Loss
Green Tape™.
The CF Series
buried
resistors
are designed and
formulated to be
coprocessed with
951 Green Tape
laminates. The series comprise three
members ranging
from 100Ωto 10kΩ
per square. The adjacent series are
blendable
using
normal techniques,
and achieve intermediate values. The resistors can be processed to a tolerance of 20 to 30 percent, depending on the precision of
the printing process.
Also compatible with DuPont’s low-temperature cofired 951 Green Tape is the 6453 Fodel conductor, which
is a special formulated co-fired photoimageable Ag conductor. This material can be used for applications requiring high conductivity and fine line compatibility.
When used with the co-fired dielectric tape, 6453 offers
many benefits such as high reliability, low unit costs,
and high yields.
Also on exhibit will be 943-A5 Low Loss Green
Tape™, which is an Au- and Ag- compatible, lead-free
glass/ceramic tape. This material is ideal for applications that require low dielectric losses and high Q at
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
35
Newsmakers
frequencies in the 3 to 100 Ghz range, such as military
radar, wireless and mobile communications, and multichip modules for high-speed digital interconnects. This
Low Loss Green Tape possesses a low TCE and is fully
co-fireable with compatible metallizations (HF series).
For more information, call DuPont at 800-284-3382
and press 3, or visit the web site at
www.dupont.com/mcm.
Low-Profile, SMD Chip Fuse Protects Against
Fire During Freak Catastrophic Occurrences
Kamaya, the thick-film technology leader, has introduced a new line of very thin (0.6 mm) SMD fuses that
provide a 38% lower profile than competitive models.
The FCC series provides excellent circuit protection of
downstream devices at a low cost. Kamaya’s chip fuse is
made of inorganic materials, eliminating the potential
for smoke or flame, and is UL and cUL recognized (file
no. E176847). Applications include cellular phones, laptops, modems, power supplies, battery circuits, battery
chargers, and LCD drivers.
The FCC’s fusing characteristics enable it to withstand high in-rush currents, preventing undesired
openings. The FCC 20, available with rated current values of 0.5 to 2.5 A, is in an 0805 package with an interrupting rating of DC50V 50A. The FCC 32, also available with rated current values of 0.5 to 2.5 A, is in a
1206 package with an interrupting rating of DC63V
50A. “This chip fuse provides an inexpensive method of
protecting complex circuitry from being destroyed, especially today, since OEMs do not have control of the af-
ter-market chargers, etc., which might be used on their
products,” said Mike Liebing, Manager of Marketing &
Sales, North America.
Cost for 100,000 pieces of an FCC 20-501 AA T, tape
36
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
and reel is $150/thousand. Delivery is stock to eight
weeks. Data sheets and free engineering evaluation
samples are available. For further information call Kamaya at 219-489-1533 or visit their web site at
www.kamaya.com.
Vishay Intertechnology and TTI Broaden
Distribution Pact
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE: VSH), and TTI,
Inc., have broadened their distribution pact to include
the worldwide distribution of Vishay Telefunken discrete products manufactured by Vishay’s Opto and
Diodes, Rectifiers and Transistors Divisions. These
products include light-emitting diodes (LEDs), octocouplers, diodes, rectifiers, RF transistors, and bipolar power transistors.
The pact extends the existing relationship between
Vishay, a global leader in designing, manufacturing, and
marketing passive electronic components, discrete semiconductors, and integrated circuits (ICs), and Fort Worth,
Texas-based TTI, the nation’s leading distributor specialist of passive and connector products. The distribution
agreement between Vishay and TTI, which dates back to
the mid-1970s, includes a wide range of passive components, as well as Vishay Lite-On PSC active components.
In the words of Chuck Sizemore, Vishay’s Director,
Distribution Sales, the Americas, “TTI is recognized as
an industry leader in interconnect, passive, and electromechanical products. Their approach will help to provide the emphasis and growth we are looking for. We are
excited to have TTI now focused on the Vishay Telefunken line of products as well.”
“Vishay is streamlining its list of supply-chain partners and focusing on distributors with global capabilities,” said Chuck Kaufmann, Vice President of Worldwide Distribution Sales, Vishay. “I am happy to say that
our expanded relationship with TTI is a key component
of this important initiative.”
“Vishay continues to build on its strength as a
provider of total discrete component solutions,” noted
Dr. Felix Zandman, Vishay’s Chairman and CEO. “Our
relationship with TTI further enhances our ability to
meet the needs of customers in a broad range of industries worldwide.”
Added Mike Morton, TTI’s Senior Vice President,
Product Marketing, “The TTI/Vishay relationship has
grown rapidly in recent years, and the addition of
Vishay Telefunken products further solidifies that relationship.”
TTI is the nation’s leading distributor specialist of
passive and connector products with offices in 36 major
markets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. For additional product/service information, visit
the company’s web site at www.ttinc.com.
Newsmakers
Vishay Intertechnology and Avnet Sign
Worldwide Distribution Agreement
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE:VSH), and Avnet,
Inc. have announced the signing of a worldwide distribution agreement that covers Vishay’s full line of electronic components. This agreement extends the existing
relationship between Vishay, a global leader in designing, manufacturing, and marketing passive electronic
components, discrete semiconductors, and integrated
circuits (ICs), and Avnet, one of the world’s largest distributors of semiconductors, interconnect, passive and
electromechanical components, and computer products.
Noted Dr. Felix Zandman, Vishay’s Chairman and
CEO, “We have taken significant steps to strengthen
Vishay and leverage our broad range of products. The
agreement with Avnet increases our ability to serve our
customers by providing a single manufacturing source
for both passive and discrete semiconductor components.”
“This agreement with Avnet is an important part of
Vishay’s overall sales and marketing strategy,” said
Chuck Kaufmann, Vice President of Worldwide Distribution Sales, Vishay. “We are in the process of reducing
our total number of distribution partners and focusing
on companies with global supply-chain capabilities.
Vishay, Avnet, and customers will benefit from the new
agreement.”
“This new global agreement with Vishay will combine Avnet’s global capabilities and Vishay’s leading
line of technology products, providing customers with
the products and services they require and the same
level of service, whether they’re located in Seattle, Europe or Singapore,” said Tom McCartney, Senior Vice
President/Director, Avnet Electronics Marketing’s IP&E
product business group.
Phoenix-based Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), a Fortune
200 company with fiscal year 1999 sales exceeding $6.4
billion ($9 billion proforma, including recent acquisitions), is one of the world’s largest distributors of semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical
components and computer products from leading manufacturers. Serving customers in 60 countries, Avnet
markets, inventories and adds value to these products
and provides world-class supply-chain integration, engineering design and technical services. The company’s
web site is located at www.avnet.com. Vishay can be
found on the Internet at www.vishay.com.
Bourns Adds New SMD Trimmer to Popular Trimpot® Potentiometer Line
Bourns, Inc., a leading manufacturer of passive components, announced in January the addition of a new
surface-mount device (SMD) trimming potentiometer to
its popular Trimpot® product line. The Bourns Model
3361, an SMD variant of the widely used Bourns Model
3362 trimmer, has been designed especially for the
growing number of designers seeking a robust surfacemount trimmer suitable for applications where size is
not critical.
“Bourns has introduced the Model 3361 to meet a
growing industry need for rugged surface-mount trimming products that are able to withstand the rigorous
demands generated by modern board processing,” said
Darryl Craft, product line manager for Bourns. “This
durable and sealed SMD design provides the versatile
mounting options of a surface-mount product, while ensuring maximum reliability in high-temperature environments.”
The component features surface-mount lead configuration and a high-temperature plastic housing and rotor, enabling it to withstand infrared radiation (IR), convection solder reflow and high-pressure wash systems
used in modern electronics production. In addition, the
component’s rotor/adjustment slot has been designed
for high-speed automatic machine interface.
Available immediately, the Bourns Model 3361 is
priced at $0.44 per piece in quantities of 10,000.
For more information, contact Bourns’ corporate
headquarters at 1200 Columbia Avenue, Riverside,
Calif. 92507. Contact by phone at 909-781-5500 or by
fax at 909-781-5006, or visit the company’s website at
www.bourns.com.
ESI Receives Order in Excess of $5 Million From
Walsin Technology Corporation
In February, Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. announced a multiple-unit order for
its multilayer ceramic capacitor
(MLCC) production
equipment
from Walsin Technology Corporation (WTC). The
systems
are
scheduled to ship
to WTC’s facilities
in Taiwan during
the
next
six
months.
“ESI’s
Model
3300 gives Walsin
the capacity increases we need as
we expand to meet
our
customers’
needs,” said Peter
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
37
Newsmakers
Chu, WTC President. “ESI consistently delivers cost-effective production equipment as we move to new product
size and throughput requirements.”
The order includes ESI’s Model 3300 multi-function
MLCC tester, which will provide WTC added capacity for
the production of 0603 and 0402 parts.
About Walsin Technology Corporation
WTC has been involved in the research and development, manufacture and sale of passive components
since 1985. At present, Walsin is one of the major suppliers of surface-mount MLCCs and positive temperature coefficient resistors in Taiwan.
About ESI
ESI, headquartered in Portland, Ore., designs and
manufactures sophisticated products used around the
world in electronics manufacturing, including laser
manufacturing systems for semiconductor yield improvement; production and test equipment for the manufacture of surface-mount ceramic capacitors; laser
trim systems for precise electrical tuning of circuits;
precision laser and mechanical drilling systems for electronic interconnection; and machine vision systems.
Electro Scientific Industries is traded on the NASDAQ
National Market System under the symbol ESIO. ESI’s
web site is www.esi.com.
AVX’s New Worldwide Website: A Direct Link to
Passive Components
Passive component leader AVX has just released a new
web site based on the very latest Internet technology. The
AVX web site, accessed at www.avxcorp.com, provides a
user-friendly online resource for technical information,
with the key new features being an intelligent search
mechanism and fast download times.
This site offers detailed information categorized by
product type as well as product family, allowing users to
select and download information on individual products
as opposed to entire product catalogs. The navigational
functionality has also been improved enabling users to
move quickly between sections from anywhere in the
site.
AVX’s industry-leading spice model software applications are also available online, for accessing circuit
models and specific technical parameters of MLC,
RF/Microwave, SMPS and tantalum capacitors such as
ESR, ESL and impedance versus frequency. Users can
also download these programs and product datasheets,
catalogs and technical papers to their hard drives using
the popular Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, available free
from www.adobe.com.
The new AVX site contains detailed information on
the company’s broad range of MLC, tantalum and spe38
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
cialist capacitors, resistive devices, connectors, ferrites,
timing devices, and technology leading range of integrated passive components. Also included are the current AVX financial summaries and the corporate
overview detailing the history of AVX Corporation.
AVX Corporation is a leading international electronic supplier of components with worldwide manufacturing facilities, offering the world’s broadest selection of
passive electronic components.
KEMET Expects Record Sales and Earnings for
Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year 2000
KEMET Corporation announced on March 14 that
the robust growth in demand for its products experienced over the past two quarters, as reflected in increased net sales and average selling prices, has continued into its fourth fiscal quarter, which will end March
31, 2000. Based on preliminary estimates, these increases, coupled with improved manufacturing cost efficiencies, are expected to result in the company’s fourth
quarter earnings exceeding the current consensus estimate ($0.52 per share as reported by First Call) by at
least 40-45%. KEMET will announce fourth quarter
earnings on April 24, 2000.
KEMET’s common stock is listed on the New York
Stock Exchange under the symbol KEM. Company information is available via the Internet at
www.kemet.com.
Murata Electronics Introduces Next-Generation
Wireless Component With SWD Switch Connector
At the Wireless Symposium in San Jose in February,
Murata Electronics North America (www.murata.com), a
worldwide innovator in electronics, announced the avail-
ability of the ultra-miniature SWD switch connector. The
SWD is used in testing wireless equipment designed to
Newsmakers
operate in the licensed or unlicensed frequency bands
from DC to 6 GHz.
“The characteristics of the SWD connector make it a
good fit for portable applications, such as cellular/PCS
phones, two-way pagers and wireless modems,” said
Jerry Kolbe, Marketing Manager for RF & Microwave
Division for Murata Electronics North America.
“Through positioning between the antenna and front
end filter, the SWD facilitates automating the RF characteristic measurement process in production.”
The SWD system consists of an ultra-miniature, surface-mountable receptacle (3 mm square) with integrated mechanical switching function and a choice of test
probes. This system is ideally suited for use in troubleshooting RF circuits or performing automated system checks in a high-speed measurement process in the
factory. Features include:
• Low insertion loss (0.1 dB max. without adapter)
• Frequency range: DC to 6 GHz
• SMD, reflow solderable
• Available on tape and reel
• Low cost
• Easy to connect/disconnect on PCB with test probe
The SWD connector receptacle sells for $0.55 -$0.45
in moderate quantities (10,000 to 25,000). The SWD
also offers the capability of easy measurement of radio
board characteristics from outside the case of a portable
device.
Murata Offers Next-Generation EMI Filtering
Solution With Wire-Wound Common-Mode
Choke Coil
Murata Electronics North America (www.murata.com),
a world-leading innovator in electronics, has announced
the introduction of the PLW3216S Series – Wire-Wound
Surface Mount Common-Mode Choke Coil (EIA Size
1206). Currently available in mass production, the new
component provides an EMI filtering solution to manage the increased data transmission speeds necessary
for the next-generation electronics devices.
The new high-speed interfaces such as IEEE1394
(Firewire), USB, and LVDS are ideal for this surfacemount common mode choke coil. These recent innovations have enabled significant increases in data transmission speeds between digital consumer products (digital cameras, digital camcorders, set-top boxes, DVD
players) and personal computers.
Such transmissions generate EMI noise on the data
lines and requires filtering to meet Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements. The PLW3216
Series provides excellent EMI Suppression in a compact
1206 package size and enables Electromagnetic Compliance set forth by the FCC.
The Choke Coil utilizes Murata’s unique winding
technology that enables a high coupling coefficient and
excellent common mode noise suppression in the GHz
range. The PLW3216S Series is also a lead-free
product.
General Semiconductor and Yageo Corporation
Announce North American Marketing
Agreements
General Semiconductor, Inc. (NYSE:SEM), a leading
manufacturer of discrete semiconductors, and YageoCorporation (TSEC:2327), a leading Taiwan-based manufacturer of passive components, announced that they
have signed an agreement naming General Semiconductor as the primary sales channel for Yageo-branded
products in North America.
Under the terms of the agreement, Yageo’s broad line
of chip resistors, capacitors, inductors and other passives will be marketed in North America by General
Semiconductor’s sales network. Yageo currently has a
strong market share position in Asia Pacific and Europe, but its products are not currently marketed in
North America. This new agreement now gives the General Semiconductor North American customer base
greater access to Yageo’s product offering. General
Semiconductor has a strong sales presence in North
America, with approximately 28% of the corporation’s
1999 revenues of $417.1 million derived in this market.
Yageo’s products will also be integrated with GSRepNet™, further broadening its exposure in North America. GSRepNet™ is a custom Extranet developed by
General Semiconductor to serve its sales force and its
customers by providing immediate access to market
and order information.
“We are pleased and excited to be partnering with Yageo on this endeavor,” stated Ronald A. Ostertag, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Semiconductor. “We look forward to further development of our
relationship with Yageo, a company which is recognized
globally for its high-quality products. With the addition
of Yageo’s products to our North American offering,
General Semiconductor can now participate in the
rapidly growing market for passives. We look forward to
a long and profitable partnership with them.”
Pierre T.M. Chen, President and CEO of Yageo Corporation, expects “this synergistic alliance with General Semiconductor, Inc. (formerly known as General Instrument Inc.) to give Yageo the means of rapid
business expansion in the North American market.
Both companies are poised to reap continuous growth
from this marketing partnership in providing their customers with comprehensive product services facilitated
by General Semiconductor’s GSRepNet™.”
“Yageo is our first partner in a new program we have
developed to utilize the General Semiconductor sales inPASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
39
Newsmakers
frastructure and GSRepNet™,’’ added Vincent Guercio,
Senior Vice President of e-Business for General Semiconductor. “Not only does Yageo have an excellent passive product line that will provide immediate access to
North American accounts, they also have plans in place
to support the growth of the telecommunications, consumer and automotive markets.”
Yageo Corporation commands top market shares in
the world supply of SMD passive components, including
SMD chip resistors, chip capacitors (MLCC), electrolytic capacitors, chip inductors and coils. The company,
with the support of its manufacturing bases in Taiwan,
Singapore, Malaysia, China, Germany, and Portugal, excels in providing major businesses in computer, consumer, automotive, telecommunication and instrument
markets with complete lines of passive components via
efficient distribution facilities.
About General Semiconductor, Inc.
General Semiconductor, Inc. is a market leader in the
design, manufacture and distribution of discrete semiconductor components. The company provides customers with a broad array of power-management products including rectifiers, transient voltage suppressors,
small signal transistors, diodes and MOSFETs. Its global customer base includes original equipment manufacturers, electronic distributors and contract equipment
manufacturers. Key markets for its products include
automotive, computers, consumer and telecommunications equipment.
Visit General Semiconductor on the web at
www.gensemi.com. Visit Yageo on the web at
www.yageo.com.tw.
Thin Sensor Measures Interface Force
Distribution
Sensor Products Inc. introduces Pressurex, a tactile
force indicating sensor film. The sensor is useful in assessing compression magnitude and distribution between any two mating or impacting surfaces. Application for the product exists for both manufacturing
process control and machine/component inspection and
calibration.
Pressurex sensor film comes in the form of a large
thin sheet, actually a film. When placed in between impacting or mating surfaces, the sensor film instantaneously and permanently changes color. The intensity
of this color is proportional to the amount of force applied, allowing the user to actually quantify the stress
characteristics across the surface. Precise PSI (kg/cm2)
can be determined by comparison of the sensor film to a
color calibration chart (conceptually similar to interpreting Litmus paper), or by using one of several imaging systems that Sensor Products supplies.
40
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
MARCH/APRIL 2000
As the density of all chips increases, heat dissipation
becomes a primary concern in preventing device failure.
Pressurex force-indicating films aid significantly in performing thermal analysis between a heat sink (transistor) and heat source. Examining a typical heat
sink/heat source interface reveals microroughness and
planarity problems that cannot be detected by the human eye alone. Force-indicating films serve as a design
and quality control tool to ensure a perfectly uniform
interface surface. Since the force films are quantifiable,
an engineer can determine exactly how much pressure
is occurring at any point of the interface surface, helping balance the trade-off between greater thermal conductivity (more tension at the interface) and substrate
cracking due to overtensioning of the mounting bolts.
Finally, force films indicate how interface materials
compress and comply under load.
For more information or to obtain a free product
sample, please contact Bill Ebner by telephone at
973-884-1755 or by email at bebner@sensorprod.com.
Vishay New Surface-Mount Thin-Film Resistor
Networks for Industrial, Medical, Communications, and Computing Systems
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. has announced the release of three series of thin-film resistor network products that combine up to 23 resistors in a single, surfacemount package. The new devices will serve in a variety
of pull-up and pull-down applications for both analog
and digital circuits in industrial, medical, communications, and computing systems.
With a temperature coefficient ratio of ±100 ppm/˚C
and standard tolerances of ±5%, the resistor networks
offer designers a choice of package styles, schematic options, and standard resistance values. Package types include the 16-, 20-, and 24-pin TSSOP (VTSR), SSOP or
QSOP (VSSR), or the 16-pin narrow-body SOIC
(VSOR). Lead spacing of 50 or 25 mils is available.
Schematic options include isolated resistors or resistors with one pin in common, both with an available resistance range of 10Ω to 50kΩ, as well as dual-line terminator with pulse squaring or differential terminator
schematics, with a wide range of standard values available from stock.
The Vishay resistor networks are packaged in rugged
molded plastic packaging that offers superior environmental protection and consistent dimensions for ease of
placement with automatic SMT equipment. They reduce space requirements for analog and digital circuitry and dramatically lower assembly costs.
Samples and production quantities of the VTSR,
VSSR, and VSOR resistor networks are available now,
with lead times of stock to 10 weeks.
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