A new printed circuit board (PCB) design technology proposed by our country has entered the final stage of international standard approval.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's National Institute of Standards and Technology (President Jin Jong-wook) announced that the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC/TC 91) meeting on electronic assembly technology will be held for five days from the 6th to the 10th at the Jeju Ocean Suites Hotel, with the participation of approximately 50 standards experts from nine member countries, including the U.S., Germany, Japan, and China.

The IEC TC91 General Assembly for Electronics Assembly Technology is an international standards meeting that aims to expand the standards activity network in the field of Electronics Assembly Technology (IEC TC91) and play a leading role in the development of international standards.

The field of electronic assembly technology encompasses a wide range of areas, including packaging of semiconductor chips and components, printed circuit board (PCB) materials, and bonding technology.

At this international conference, follow-up discussions will be held on the international standard for ‘cavity (=home for component joining) substrate design technology’ developed by our country.

This standard is a technology for forming a groove (cavity) on a substrate to miniaturize semiconductor packages. It is currently in the final approval stage for international standards, and if published as an international standard, it is expected to contribute to the expansion of the market for our companies that are preparing to commercialize related technologies.

Our country is also proposing a new international standard for ‘laser bonding technology.’ The proposed standard contains criteria for laser scanning time and intensity for bonding electronic components and printed circuit boards.

Recently, as electronic products become smaller and lighter, the demand for ultra-small semiconductor chips is increasing. Laser bonding technology is evaluated as a technology that can reduce warpage and energy loss by utilizing lasers compared to the traditional method of heating the entire substrate. The standard will be approved by more than 2/3 of the relevant technical committee members in the future, and discussions on standard development will proceed.

Jin Jong-wook, head of the National Institute of Technology and Standards, said, “Electronic assembly technology has a wide range of applications, from personal smartphones in everyday life to high-performance artificial intelligence computing equipment,” and added, “We will actively support a wide range of international standardization activities so that our companies can expand their global markets.”