About Author

Happy Holden

Happy Holden is retired from GENTEX Corporation (one of the U.S.'s largest automotive electronics OEM. He was the Chief Technical Officer for the world’s biggest PCB Fabricator-HonHai Precision Industries (Foxconn) in China. Prior to Foxconn, Mr. Holden was the Senior PCB Technologist for Mentor Graphics; he was the Advanced Technology Manager at NanYa/Westwood Associates and Merix Corporations. He retired from Hewlett-Packard after over 28 years. His prior assignments had been as director of PCB R&D and Manufacturing Engineering Manager. While at HP, he managed PCB design, PCB partnerships, and automation software in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Happy has been involved in advanced PCB technologies for over 47 years. He has published chapters on HDI technology in 4 books, as well as his own book, the HDI Handbook, available as a free e-Book at http://hdihandbook.com and de recently completed the 7th Edition of McGraw-Hill's PC Handbook with Clyde Coombs.

Recent Articles

Weekly Digest: Preparing for IPC-6012E

Weekly Digest: Preparing for IPC-6012E This week HDI expert Happy Holden reported on an important issue related to the upcoming IPC-6012E, Qualification and Performance Specification for Rigid Printed Boards in his article, The IPC Warning About Microvia Reliability for High Performance Products. Learn more about this warning regarding field and latent failures of high-profile HDI boards and what you can do if you want to get involved or get more information. Access Happy’s article Read Article

The IPC Warning About Microvia Reliability for High Performance Products

The IPC Warning About Microvia Reliability for High Performance Products Hopefully, by now, you have read the full Press Release from the IPC on March 6, 2019, about the warning of field and latent failures of high-profile HDI boards. IF not, the complete press release is available on I-Connect 007. [1] What you may have seen is the warning statement which the IPC will be including in the upcoming IPC-6012E, Qualification and Performance Specification for Rigid Printed Boards: “There have been many examples of post Read Article

Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFM/A) or Predictive Engineering

Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFM/A) or Predictive Engineering Advances in interconnection technologies have occurred in response to the evolution of component packages, electronic technology and increasing complex functions. The printed circuit, therefore, has become the most popular and cost-efficient way to physically execute an electronic circuit. Fabrication, assembly and test technologies have responded by making their technologies more complex. The increased complexity and capabilities have made Read Article

Problem Solving Methodology for PCB Designers

Problem Solving Methodology for PCB Designers One of the skills that is useful when working in a high-technology industry like electronics is problem- solving. If you are an engineer, then this is one of your key focuses in your career. Even if you are not, having good problem-solving skills is always useful. In electronics manufacturing today, problems in production will involve numerous ‘cause-factors’, many of which are design created. PCB designer communication is essential. The timing Read Article

HDI Quality and Acceptability Requirements

HDI Quality and Acceptability Requirements The very nature of microvias’ small size makes the acceptability criteria difficult to define. Most HDI Quality and Acceptability requirements are still OEM defined. The IPC has IPC-6016 as part of the IPC-6012, the generic QUALIFICATION AND PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS (6010 SERIES). These specifications only cover the build-up HDI layers and not the core, which is covered by their own IPC specifications. IPC-6016 Qualification and Performance Read Article

Competition for HDI: VeCS

Competition for HDI: VeCS Vertical Conductive Structures or VeCS is almost as dense with the ability to route 5-tracks between the vertical connections. Read and learn more about VeCS from HDI expert Happy Holden. Read Article

Printed Electronics a Technology of the Past and Future

Printed Electronics a Technology of the Past and Future Printed electronics (PE) is a new, rapidly growing interconnect business. It has its origin in printed-flexible keyboards for appliances and for the expanding technologies in fancy magazines and literature. The irony of PE is that the technology was probably the first employed during WWII and all printed circuits owes it origin to PE. APPLICATIONS The most exciting thing about PE is all the new applications and markets that it will open. In Read Article

Get to Know Microvia Manufacturing Processes and HDI Substrates

Get to Know Microvia Manufacturing Processes and HDI Substrates Initial HDI Fabrication High Density Interconnect printed circuits actually started in 1980, when researchers started investigating ways to reduce the size of vias. The first innovator is not known, but some of the earliest pioneers include Larry Burgess of MicroPak Laboratories (developer of LaserVia), Dr. Charles Bauer at Tektronix (who produced photodielectric vias), [1] and Dr. Walter Schmidt at Contraves (who developed plasma-etched vias) Read Article

11 HDI Materials You Need to Know

11 HDI Materials You Need to Know Happy Holden shows us some of the important materials used to produce high density interconnect PCB designs. Read Article

Introduction to High Density Interconnects and the Evolution of Electronics

Introduction to High Density Interconnects and the Evolution of Electronics The Evolution of Electronics Electronics is a relatively new industry, since it has been only 65 years since the transistor was invented. The radio tube was developed nearly 100 years ago but blossomed in WWII, with communications, radar, ammunition fusing (especially the radar-altimeter electronic fusing for the first atom bomb) and has evolved into the world largest industry. All electronic components must be interconnected and assembled to Read Article