Marcy’s Musings: The Power of the Electronics Ecosystem
Powering the Future: Performance Is Won in Assembly
One of the most common questions I receive from aerospace and defense customers has nothing to do with dielectric constant, dissipation factor, or thermal performance. Instead, the conversation often starts with a simple question: "If we design this material into our platform today, will it still be available in 30 years?"
For engineers working on long-life aerospace and defense programs, it's a legitimate concern. Unlike consumer electronics, where products may be redesigned every few years, many military, aerospace, and industrial platforms remain in service for decades. Once a material is qualified and designed into a program, changing it later can trigger significant costs, testing, and risk.
The challenge, of course, is that no material supplier can realistically guarantee what the electronics industry will look like 30 years from now. Markets evolve, technologies change, and customer requirements shift. So how can OEMs evaluate the long-term viability of a PCB material before committing to a design?
One indicator I often point to is sustained customer adoption. When a material gains traction in the marketplace year after year, it creates a strong incentive for ongoing manufacturing support, capacity investment, technical resources, and product development. In other words, products that continue to grow are more likely to remain strategically important to both customers and suppliers.
Figure 1. Ten-year production growth for Isola's high-speed digital and RF product families. Sustained growth reflects continued customer adoption, manufacturing investment, and long-term market relevance.
The production growth trends shown here tell an important story. Over the past decade, materials such as Tachyon® 100G and I-Tera® MT40 have demonstrated consistent expansion in production volume, reflecting broad adoption across high-speed digital applications. Astra® MT77 has shown even more dramatic growth, driven by increasing demand in RF and microwave markets.
While production growth alone does not guarantee future availability, it provides valuable insight into market momentum. Products experiencing sustained adoption are typically supported by continued investment in manufacturing infrastructure, process optimization, inventory planning, and customer support. Simply put, growing products tend to remain relevant products.
Conversely, materials experiencing declining demand may face greater long-term uncertainty. This doesn't mean they disappear overnight, but it does mean OEMs should understand the trajectory of the products they are considering for long-life programs.
When evaluating a PCB material, engineers often focus on electrical and thermal performance characteristics. Those factors are certainly important, but they are only part of the decision. Understanding a material's adoption trend can provide a valuable perspective on its long-term viability.
The next time you're evaluating materials for a program expected to remain in service for decades, consider looking beyond the datasheet. Ask about customer adoption, production history, and growth trends. These factors can help paint a clearer picture of how a material is positioned for the future.
No one can predict the next 30 years with certainty. However, sustained market adoption and continued production growth remain among the strongest indicators that a material will continue to receive the support and investment required to serve long-life applications well into the future.
Laura Martin is director of strategic markets at Isola.
