SMTA Ultra HDI Symposium, Day 2: Fragile Supply Chains, Fierce Innovation

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The Arizona weather yielded another beautiful day as we gathered for the second day of SMTA’s annual UHDI symposium. After the first full day discussing the role of AI in business and the how-tos of implementation, Avondale Mayor Mike Pineda kicked off day two, proud to showcase his city and to declare its important place in the continued development of the West Valley, an increasingly important area for tech and manufacturing.

NSWC Crane: A Fragile Defense Supply Chain

Andrew Alvarez and Jason Schipp, representing NSWC Crane, gave the first presentation, raising key issues that would enter other discussions throughout the day.

First, they discussed the keen interest of the defense and aerospace sectors in domestic electronics manufacturers. The Defense Production Act Title 1 (DPA) III has been invoked 33 times since its inception, most recently in 2023. With the military conflicts in Ukraine/Russia and Iran, Alvarez and Schipp said the U.S. government is asking itself: “If we become part of a more significant global conflict, could we produce the advanced electronics needed to make weapons and in sufficient supply to defend ourselves using only approved domestic sources?” In short, no.

Part of Crane’s PCB Indiana facility (one of the DoD’s two organic PCB facilities), they were represented by a DoD agent, PrCB EA, a group dedicated to guaranteeing the PCB supply chain for defense and security needs, including helping develop new technologies. They discussed legislation, funding, and where the opportunities and challenges lies regarding U.S. manufacturing capacity for defense, specifically:

• The Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act, up for consideration in Congress for the third time
• Title 10 U.S.C. 4873 (NDAA FY2022 Section 851) and its Jan. 1, 2027, deadline in which the U.S. Secretary of Defense “may not acquire a covered PCB by a covered nation (North Korea, China, Russia, Iran)
• IPC-1791, a list of U.S. trusted PCB fabrication facilities. There are currently 33 facilities certified to IPC-1791.

They also discussed government investment into the PCB sector: a $100 million DoD investment over the past five years TTM, Calumet, GreenSource Fabrication, and Averatek (now LQDX). They stated that more money is available to fabricators through the “Buffer” program ($20 million to $30 million) to fund truly novel initiatives, such as alternative products to Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF).

When Denkai, the U.S.’s last copper foil manufacturing plant, announced a year ago that it would close its doors, it was a wakeup call for the industry and supply chain fragility. The government has since stepped in and kept the plant open, now renamed as Camden Copper. NSWC is currently looking at Cu Foil, E-glass, and laminate.

Other Technology Developments

After Alvarez and Schipp, the presentations shifted to impressive technological developments. Carolyn Fries, co-owner of Guided Particle Systems with her husband, founder Dave Fries, said he started the company to solve his own supply problem. He couldn’t get the sensors he needed from the U.S. Navy, so he decided to create them himself. Guided Particle Systems is a digital print technology company working with all manner of materials (like photopolymers on glass), and has achieved pitch as low as 5-micron lines with 8-micron spaces.

Following Carolyn was Lisa Chen of Intel, representing her INEMI project team, who presented the results of their research on peel-strength testing of very fine features not covered by the IPC-TM-650 specification. Looking at how to measure adhesion via both peel and shear testing of features as low as 5 microns, their team’s new peel test standard will be published with SEMI as soon.

After breaking for lunch, the afternoon sessions kicked off with Doug Dixon of 360 Circuit, who presented the newest iteration of SMTA’s HDI Assembly Test Board, on behalf of himself and Chrys Shea of Shea Engineering. Doug took us through this illustrative test vehicle in detail, adding several challenges to this year’s revision.

The next two presentations were about stencils in assembly. As with all of parts of the supply chain, stencils have their own distinct challenges. Greg Smith of Stentech talked about the complexities around stencil making for UHDI designs, citing his paper submitted to APEX EXPO 2026 with Gayle Towell of AIM Solder, “Rethinking Aspect Ratio: A Physics-based Model for Predicting Solder Paste Efficiency for Thin Stencils.” The results confirmed that as stencils get thinner, solder transfer efficiency (TE) diminishes, thus indicating that it is time for a new formula to calculate accurate aspect ratios. He also emphasized the importance of nanocoating stencils and even next-gen laser drilling to achieve smoother stencil sidewalls for higher solder transfer efficiency.

Tony Lentz of FCT Assembly/FCT Solder, a self-proclaimed “solder-nerd” and chair of IPC-J-STD-005 and 004, discussed how HDI and UHDI circuit patterns require much smaller solder particles than has been traditionally used, citing Type 6 or smaller. The smaller your particles, the greater the chance of getting unwanted solder balls and gaps; the higher the surface area, the more prone it is to oxidation, often requiring the presence of nitrogen in the oven. But orienting your stencil with the direction of printing can make a positive difference.

We then moved from assembly to PCB fabrication, where John Johnson of ASC Sunstone Circuits began his presentation on solder mask strategies for miniaturization with a big smile and this proclamation: “This business is so exciting, you can’t walk away.” He kept it short and sweet but was vocal during several of the day’s presentations, helping spur a valuable interchange throughout.

John was followed by Steve Karas of GreenSource Fabrication, a name that had come up several times throughout the day as the recipient of significant DoD funding with a cutting-edge factory for UHDI/substrates. His presentation, “UHDI’s Impact on Materials,” was fitting to round out the conference. He took us through the most important considerations for UHDI-appropriate materials—high Tg, low CTE, smoother copper topography. “PCB datasheets are no longer just for fabricators,” he said. Steve emphasized, yet again, the fragility of the materials supply chain and the need for customers and fabricators to be able to qualify new materials quickly. Good supplier partnerships and communication will be key to successfully navigating the material supply minefield.

We ended both the morning and afternoon sessions with panels featuring all the speakers, which proved to be an excellent way to pull it all together and provide an open forum. Attendance was somewhat lighter than in past years but the group of about 25 made for an active, ongoing discussion that wouldn’t typically take place in a larger group. In all, SMTA’s Tara Dunn and Ryan Flaherty put on an excellent and enjoyable event. I am already looking forward to next year’s Arizona Tech Week and the SMTA UHDI Symposium 2027.