Bridging Domestic Supply and Performance Gaps

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