Occam™ Portfolio

Overview

• Solder and the PCB have been the electromechanical interconnect paradigm for over 60 years;  however, the strict dimensional requirements imposed by modern lithographies and GHz speeds have exceeded the physical capabilities of solder/PCB technology.
• With the lead-free mandate compounding the problem, solder/PCB technology has become the limiting factor for product reliability, price and performance in electronic circuits.
  
• Occam dramatically increases reliability and lowers the cost of electronic assembly by eliminating solder … and can be implemented using existing process equipment.
• Occam completely eliminates solder-related and PCB–related issues plaguing the industry;  such as tin whiskers, high process temperature, PCB warpage, open/short circuits, coplanarity, material waste, and moisture level sensitivity.
• The Occam Process offers simplified, reliable, clean and green electronic production that even cuts the cost of shipping and production cycle time by merging assembly and PCB manufacturing.

Technology & Applications

The Occam Portfolio technology will likely emerge as the standard for addressing the problems related to lead-free solder assembly.

Occam teaches how, using packaged ICs, to “build up” electronic assemblies in reverse order, thus eliminating the need for a separate PCB (as well as for solder).

Initial target applications include LED Assembly since the Occam substrate naturally dissipates heat, and since flexible LED arrangements are enabled.  Combined with “rigid flex,” Tape-and-Reel LED subassemblies also become a reality.  In addition, circuits assembled with Occam Process can be direct printed (enabling super-rapid-prototyping, and highly adaptive and customizable production), and are impervious to reverse engineering.  Since solder-related issues account for 62% of board defects, many companies including Samsung, Sony, Casio, Panasonic, ITRI, Tessera, Bosch and Foxconn are already investing or have expressed interest in solder-free assembly technology.
See the Occam Portfolio Lifecycle Chart.

Occam Innovator

Joe Fjelstad, the recipient of prestigious awards including the IPC President’s award, has been recognized as one of the most influential persons in the printed-circuit industry.

Founder of Verdant Electronics, Mr. Fjelstad has been involved in electronic interconnection technologies for more than 4 decades, and is an international authority and innovator in the field of electronic interconnection and packaging technologies with more than 200 U.S. patents.

He is the author of Flexible Circuit Technology and author, co-author or editor of several other books including Chip Scale Packaging for Modern Electronics.  He has also authored numerous technical papers and articles.

He has been tapped to give keynote presentations at conferences in the North America, Europe and Asia and has presented numerous seminars on PCB, flex circuit and chip scale packaging technologies at industry conferences over the years.

Occam Innovator’s recent activity