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Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2025: Revolutionizing PCB Manufacturing with Laser Technology from MKS' ESI
April 16, 2025 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOEstimated reading time: Less than a minute

In this interview, Barry Matties speaks with Casey Krueger from MKS' ESI. MKS' ESI focuses on laser-based micro machining for PCBs, especially in HDI and IC substrates. The Geode CO2 drilling system, launched in 2019, uses AOD technology to transform the market. Trends show a shift toward smaller vias for advanced packaging, with laser drilling concentrated in Asia. North America sees rising investments in laser tech, prioritizing quality, productivity, and energy efficiency, while AI integration boosts MKS's operations.
The 25th IPC APEX EXPO, March 18-20, 2025, at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, has concluded successfully. If you couldn’t make it to the show, don’t worry—the I-Connect007 team has coverage of the entire week’s events. Don’t miss our Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2025 video interviews with the movers and shakers of the electronics industry.
Suggested Items
New Podcast Series Launches: Optimize the Interconnect
07/10/2025 | I-Connect007I-Connect007 is excited to announce the debut of Optimize the Interconnect—a new podcast series featuring guest Chris Ryder, senior director of business development at MKS’ ESI. This insightful series explores how MKS’ ESI is rethinking microvia formation for today’s most advanced HDI PCB and substrate designs.
IEEE Study Describes Breakthroughs in Semiconductor Nanolasers for Ultra-Efficient Optical Technologies
06/25/2025 | PRNewswireA new wave of innovation is transforming the future of optical technologies, driven by rapid advancements in semiconductor nanolasers. These advances are essential for future applications such as on-chip optical communication and neuromorphic computing, which require compact, energy-efficient light sources.
Excellon Installs COBRA Hybrid Laser at Innovative Circuits
06/23/2025 | ExcellonExcellon is pleased to announce the successful installation of a second COBRA Hybrid Laser System at Innovative Circuits, located in Alpharetta, Georgia. The Excellon COBRA Hybrid Laser System uniquely combines both UV and CO₂ (IR) laser sources on a single platform—making it ideal for high-density prototype and production printed circuit boards (PCBs).
The Chemical Connection: Through-glass Vias in Glass Substrates
06/24/2025 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical ConnectionThis month’s theme is vias and how best to ensure via quality and reliability. I don’t have much expertise in this process area or much to contribute that most of you don’t already know. However, I’ve recently become peripherally involved in a via technology that may be of more than academic interest to some of us. It entails putting vias in a material not usually associated with PCB manufacturing: through-glass vias (TGVs) in glass substrates.
The Evolution of Picosecond Laser Drilling
06/19/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineIs it hard to imagine a single laser pulse reduced not only from nanoseconds to picoseconds in its pulse duration, but even to femtoseconds? Well, buckle up because it seems we are there. In this interview, Dr. Stefan Rung, technical director of laser machines at Schmoll Maschinen GmbH, traces the technology trajectory of the laser drill from the CO2 laser to cutting-edge picosecond and hybrid laser drilling systems, highlighting the benefits and limitations of each method, and demonstrating how laser innovations are shaping the future of PCB fabrication.