There are several testing methods used for certifying that the circuit board meets its defined quality level and intended functional criteria. Multilayer circuit boards have become increasingly complex: finer conductor line definition, blind and buried microvia interface, and smaller, finer-pitch SMT land pattern geometries. Visual assessment using automated optical inspection (AOI) is adopted to check all circuit layers prior to lamination and as a final examination of the end product.
Informal information exists within most companies and distilling this knowledge into tools is not an easy task—maybe even an impossible one. But what’s most important in maximizing this informal information is to have a good communication network, those “go to” people for a particular purpose. It is important that the company promotes a culture of openness and sharing, or knowledge has a risk of being ring-fenced and locked away.
Many electronics engineering groups have a hierarchical structure, with senior-, mid-, and junior-level engineering personnel possessing various depths of subject matter expertise. The head of an engineering group is usually one who...
The ongoing retirement of many of our colleagues has cast a spotlight on this month’s topic: tribal knowledge. As designers and engineers with 30 or 40 years of experience start pricing condos in Boca Raton, the entire industry...
Electrical characterization of high frequency circuit materials can be done in a variety of ways. Some characterization methods use a fixture to test the raw dielectric material, while other methods use circuits. The Dk and Df results...