Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - 'Shocking' Development: Sanmina-SCI Partners to Embed ESD Protection

SAN JOSE -- Sanmina-SCI andShocking Technologies will jointly develop Shocking's specialty polymers for embedding ESD protection into internal layers of PCBs. The companies will work together to formulate voltage switchable dielectric materials for inclusion in Sanmina-SCI's PCB structures.

VSDM are specialty polymers that instantaneously change from insulators to conductors when a pre-programmed bi-directional voltage is applied.

"ESD is a hot topic in the electronics business today," said George Dudnikov, Sr. VP and CTO for Sanmina-SCI's PCB and Backplane Divisions. "Many companies are faced with the challenges of protecting their expensive components from damage caused by voltage or current transients. On-chip ESD protection is available but hampers chip design and performance. Discrete devices are also effective but consume valuable surface real estate and do not protect every component. Sanmina-SCI has been studying different approaches to utilize the PCB as a platform for providing ESD protection to these chips."

"There is a lot of talk regarding PCBs as commodities," added Dudnikov. "Here is an example of an application that will provide value-added performance to the PCB. Both Shocking and Sanmina-SCI have IP in the area, and this partnership will elevate the circuit board as a critical component in electronic assembling."