Amphenol to Acquire AdvancedPCB

WALLINGFORD, CT – Amphenol has signed a definitive agreement to acquire AdvancedPCB, a leading US manufacturer of printed circuit boards for the defense and industrial markets.

Colorado-based AdvancedPCB is expected to have full-year 2026 sales of approximately $270 million and will be included in the company’s Harsh Environment Solutions segment post-closing. Amphenol and AdvancedPCB combined will have estimated printed circuit board sales of about $500 million.

The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. Amphenol, which is also buying Dexgreen, Empire Electronics and Humanetics Sensors, said the aggregate price paid for all the companies will be $1.6 billion.End of article content 

PCB Technologies to Acquire Gorilla Circuits for $120M

SAN JOSE, CA – PCB Technologies Ltd. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Gorilla Circuits for an enterprise value of $120 million, financed by credit facilities from two Israeli banks.

Gorilla has operated in San Jose for more than 20 years and employs more than 320 people. It provides high-mix, low-volume PCB fabrication and assembly to more than 700 active customers, mainly in semiconductor test, technology and aerospace and defense.

TTM Technologies Completes $1.1B Acquisition of Epiq

SANTA ANA, CA – TTM Technologies has completed its acquisition of Epiq Design Solutions LLC for $1.1 billion in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments.

Epiq supplies open-architecture, AI-enabled software-defined radios, high-performance RF products and radiation-tolerant space compute products for signals intelligence and electronic warfare. The business complements TTM’s RF and mission systems portfolio and supports its vertical integration strategy across land, air, sea and space applications in the aerospace and defense market. 

Kyzen Opens Southeast Asian Headquarters in Penang

PENANG, MALAYSIA – Kyzen has opened a Southeast Asian headquarters and production facility in Penang.

The site is designed to increase production capacity, improve delivery times and expand technical support for customers in Malaysia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. It also adds administrative space and strengthens the company’s regional supply chain.

Toppan Opens First Overseas FC-BGA Substrate Plant

SINGAPORE – Toppan has established its first FC-BGA substrate production site outside Japan at Advanced Substrate Technologies Pte. Ltd. (AST) in Singapore, with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board and Broadcom. An opening ceremony was held on Sept. 29.

The plant has about 95,000 sq. m. of total floor area, with about 70,000 sq. m. in phase 1. It will focus on large, high-layer-count substrates for generative AI, machine learning and large-scale network switches. Operations are set to start in December, and the site had 315 employees as of the end of September.

Toppan previously concentrated FC-BGA production at its Niigata plant in Japan. The company aims to raise its FC-BGA production capacity to at least 2.5 times its fiscal 2022 level by the end of fiscal 2027.End of article content 

Rapidise to Invest $22M to Quadruple Manesar Capacity

MANESAR, INDIA – Rapidise will invest about $22 million over three years to quadruple its electronics manufacturing capacity in Manesar.

The expansion adds a 120,000-sq.-ft. facility in Sector 8 to the company’s existing 40,000-sq.-ft. site in Sector 3. The plan includes 10 SMT lines along with automated manufacturing systems and digital production tools. A newly commissioned dual-lane SMT line brings total placement capacity to about 800,000 components per hour.

The company serves automotive, consumer electronics, telecom, security, networking, healthcare and agriculture customers. It plans to expand into server and AI hardware, defense and railways, and expects the expansion to create about 1,000 direct and indirect jobs during fiscal 2027.End of article content 

Amazon to Invest Nearly $50M in Gold Circuit Electronics

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Amazon.com will invest about $50 million in Taiwanese PCB manufacturer Gold Circuit Electronics through a private placement approved by the Gold Circuit board on Sept. 29.

Amazon, already a Gold Circuit customer, will buy about 1.86 million newly issued common shares at NT$856 each. Gold Circuit makes high-end multilayer PCBs for servers and counts Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Google among its customers.

Gold Circuit’s board also approved a $7.9 billion budget for land and a new plant, to be invested in stages starting in the fourth quarter and funded by convertible bonds.End of article content 

CSI Sud-Ouest Inaugurates Rebuilt Toulouse PCB Plant

TOULOUSE, FRANCE – CSI Sud-Ouest, a subsidiary of Cimulec, inaugurated its rebuilt PCB plant in Toulouse on Sept. 29, two years after an arson fire destroyed much of the site.

The July 2024 fire destroyed 2,000 sq. m. of the site along with its production equipment. Reconstruction cost €25 million ($28 million), with the French government and the Occitanie region covering about €5 million left uncovered by insurance through the France 2030 program.

Wistron Approves $150M Investment in US Subsidiary

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Wistron’s board of directors has approved an additional $150 million capital injection into its wholly owned subsidiary Wistron InfoComm (USA) Corp.

The funds will cover facility improvements, machinery and equipment at the company’s Westport (D2) plant in Texas, with capital expenditure capped at $146 million.

The board also approved up to $59.1 million for facility upgrades and equipment at Wistron InfoComm (Vietnam) to support its server business, plus a Dallas facility lease for subsidiary SMS Infocomm to support after-sales service.End of article content 

ICTC Acquires Trinity Manufacturing

BROOKSVILLE, FL – Interconnect Cable Technologies Corp. has acquired Trinity Manufacturing Corp., a cable and wire harness manufacturer based in Bradenton, FL.

The acquisition expands ICTC’s domestic manufacturing footprint and US production capacity. It also strengthens its ground support wire harness and electronic box-build capabilities. ICTC is a global contract manufacturer of cable and wire harnesses, PCB assemblies and electronic box builds. Terms were not disclosed.End of article content 

Draper Breaks Ground on Microelectronics Center

LOWELL, MA – Draper broke ground Oct. 6 on a 111,000-sq.-ft. building that will house its Integrated Microelectronics Production & Advanced Chip Technology (IMPACT) Center.

The center is in the Hamilton Canal Innovation District, part of the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC) linking the UMass Lowell campus with downtown. It will provide high-mix, low-volume manufacturing, including advanced chip packaging and precision navigation and timing systems.

The project is expected to create more than 100 jobs and is supported in part by state and local funding. Wexford Science & Technology is the developer.End of article content 

Xi Electronics Acquires C.J. Rogers Electronics

ORANGE, CA – Xi Electronics LLC has acquired C.J. Rogers Electronics, a Southern California contract electronics manufacturer.

C.J. Rogers operated for more than 50 years under founder Carol Rogers, who is retiring. The company will operate as Xi Electronics, and the C.J. Rogers team will remain.

Xi Electronics provides SMT and through-hole PCB assembly, mixed-technology assembly, prototyping, NPI support and production manufacturing. The company plans to invest in advanced equipment, automation, quality systems and expanded manufacturing capabilities.End of article content 

SEL Invests $25M to Expand West Lafayette Operations

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories will invest $25 million to expand manufacturing at its West Lafayette facility in the Purdue Discovery Park District, with completion expected in March 2027.

SEL will add SMT, electronic assembly and conformal coat production lines, bringing PCB assembly capabilities to the site. The expansion will raise recloser control production capacity by more than 35% and create about 130 jobs.

The project is part of more than $500 million SEL plans to invest in US manufacturing from 2026 to 2028, including more than $70 million for a new 305,000-sq.-ft. electronic device manufacturing facility in Moscow, ID.End of article content 

Samsung to Invest $4B in Vietnam Chip Testing

THAI NGUYEN, VIETNAM – Samsung Electronics plans to invest about $4 billion in memory chip testing facilities at Yen Binh Industrial Park in northern Vietnam. The first production line is set to start in the fourth quarter of 2027, with another planned for 2028.

The facilities will perform final testing of DRAM and NAND chips packaged at Samsung’s Cheonan plant in Korea and will not make wafers. About 63% of the funding will come from reinvested profits of Samsung’s Vietnamese operations.

Separately, Samsung Electro-Mechanics plans to invest $4.7 billion in FC-BGA substrates. That total includes $2.9 billion in Sejong, Korea, targeting mass production in September 2028, and $1.7 billion in Vietnam, targeting June 2030.End of article content 

Amber Subsidiary Takes Full Ownership of Ascent Circuits

BANGALORE, INDIA – IL JIN Electronics (India), a subsidiary of Amber Enterprises India, has agreed to acquire the remaining 1.5% stake in PCB maker Ascent Circuits, making Ascent a wholly owned subsidiary.

Founded in 1999, Ascent makes single-sided, double-sided, multilayer and RF PCBs for aerospace and defense, medical, automotive, telecom and data center markets. IL JIN raised its Ascent stake from 60% to 98.5% in June.End of article content 

Microart Consolidates Markham Operations in Expanded Facility

MARKHAM, ON – Microart Services has consolidated its Markham operations into an expanded 100,000-sq.-ft. facility. As part of the move, Microart added SMT buffers and an additional wave-soldering system.

Microart provides electronics manufacturing services. It previously operated a 42,000-sq.-ft. main facility and a 20,000-sq.-ft. support building in Markham.End of article content 

Microscreen Opens Baltimore Manufacturing Facility

BALTIMORE, MD – Microscreen has opened a manufacturing facility in Baltimore, its third US manufacturing site and its second new location this year.

The facility will produce laser-cut production and step stencils and offer MicroGlide and MicroGlide Platinum nanocoatings. Equipment includes Watt Laser Nevis and SE12 systems and a proprietary robotic nanocoating system.

Amber Takes Full Control of Power-One Micro Systems

BANGALORE, INDIA – IL JIN Electronics (India), a subsidiary of Amber Enterprises India, has agreed to acquire the remaining 40% stake in Power-One Micro Systems, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.

Power-One makes solar inverters, UPS systems, battery energy storage systems and EV chargers. It joins PCB assembly and bare-board operations in Amber’s electronics business as the group moves beyond air conditioner boards into higher-value electronics.End of article content 

AI’s PCB Boom is Running Into a Capacity Wall

TAIPEI – The PCB industry’s biggest problem right now is that it can’t build fast enough. At the TPCA Show on Oct. 20, Unimicron chairman S.C. Chien gave numbers that should worry anyone planning 2027 builds. Lead times for some key equipment have stretched to as long as 30 months. More than 80% of equipment now takes longer to arrive, and over 20% is running at more than double the original lead time. Low-CTE glass cloth, copper-clad laminate and ABF are all tight, and critical materials could fall 20% short of demand in 2027.

Unimicron also warns that the scramble for AI capacity is leading customers to double-book orders. Anyone who lived through the 2021 component crunch knows how that ends. Order books look stronger than real demand, until they suddenly don’t. Zhen Ding, the world’s largest PCB maker, says it expects no near-term relief.

The demand side isn’t in doubt. AI servers, larger substrates and higher layer counts are real, and they’re profitable. The risk is in reading the signals. When lead times run longer than product cycles, and buyers order twice to be sure of getting served once, bookings stop being a clean measure of demand. Fabricators, EMS providers and OEMs will spend 2027 figuring out how much of the current backlog is real.

Selecting Via Protection for PCB Design and Manufacturing

Selecting the right via protection method requires balancing design requirements, material properties, assembly reliability and manufacturing costs.
by Akber Roy

When applying IPC-4761 via protection in PCB design, understanding the standard’s seven protection types is only the starting point. Designers must also determine which protection method best suits a particular PCB and why. A via near a component pad may require different protection than a conventional routing via, while high-density layouts, ball grid array (BGA) patterns, via-in-pad structures and sequential lamination introduce additional requirements.

Via protection involves more than appearance. IPC-4761 identifies several practical benefits, including preventing contamination and corrosion, reducing solder migration and solder balling, improving vacuum handling and in-circuit testing, supporting planarity for subsequent dielectric processing, and preventing adhesives or encapsulants from entering vias. However, protection methods also introduce fabrication, assembly, reliability, material and cost considerations.

The appropriate method depends on board layout, circuit density, assembly processes, electrical testing requirements, operating conditions, material compatibility, manufacturing capabilities and cost. Rather than selecting the most elaborate protection method, designers should choose one that meets performance requirements while supporting consistent fabrication and assembly.

Layout and Connector Footprint Strategies for Industrial EMC and Signal Integrity

Connector footprint design plays a critical role in electromagnetic compatibility and signal integrity, with return paths, shielding and grounding strategies helping ensure reliable performance in industrial electronics.
by Dennis Chiang

Industrial controllers, PLCs, machine vision systems and automation electronics move data through electrically noisy environments: near motor drives, contactors, welders and dense cabinets of switch-mode supplies. When fieldbus communication becomes unstable or a product fails a radiated-emissions test, the investigation usually starts at the transceiver or the cable. In many cases, the weak point is much narrower: the transition between the PCB and the external cable, the connector footprint and the centimeter of routing on either side.

Connectors are selected for pin count, current rating and mechanical fit, then dropped onto the layout as a land pattern. Electrically, that footprint is part of the transmission path.

No connector, however well made, fixes an EMC problem by itself. Failures rarely originate in a single component; they appear where PCB layout, connector interface, cable routing, shielding, grounding strategy and mechanical integration meet.

Stackup Decisions That Prevent EMI Problems Later

A seemingly harmless low-speed feedback trace caused an 18dB emissions failure, demonstrating why stackup reviews must account for high-impedance nets and return paths.
by Ujjwal Datt Sharma

Designers make stackup decisions during the initial stages of PCB layout, but the consequences often emerge later in the electromagnetic interference (EMI) laboratory. Layer count, copper weight and component placement rank among the most expensive design elements to change after fabrication.

This article examines an early design mistake on a high-speed PCB. The engineering team evaluated the design during planning, but the board ultimately failed electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) pre-compliance testing. The root cause offers a lesson for high-speed design engineers who may overlook a fundamental principle while managing competing design and debugging tasks.

The board was a typical server-grade motherboard of the kind high-speed design engineers encounter regularly. It included a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), CPU, Ethernet switch application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), multiphase voltage regulators and low-dropout regulators (LDOs).

Embedded Die Substrate Technology

Embedded die substrate technology combines thick copper heat spreaders, sintered silver die attach and copper microvias to improve thermal management, reduce parasitic inductance and increase switching performance in wide-bandgap power electronics.
by Chris Parker

GaN and SiC transistors switch at high speeds, enabling smaller passive components, higher power density, and improved efficiency. However, the packages, interconnects, and PCB traces surrounding these devices introduce parasitic inductance into the power loop. Even small amounts of inductance can cause voltage overshoot and limit switching performance.

Studies of conventional wire-bonded power modules report loop inductances ranging from 6.7 to 15nH. Reducing loop inductance can decrease voltage overshoot, improving efficiency and reliability. As switching speeds continue to increase, package and layout design can become limiting factors rather than the transistors themselves.

Thermal management presents a similar challenge. Traditional power modules conduct heat through multiple layers, including die attach, substrate, baseplate, thermal interface material (TIM), and heat sink. Each layer adds thermal resistance, while FR-4 circuit boards further restrict heat flow because of their low thermal conductivity.

Manufacturing’s Next AI Wave: Notes from the Frontier

See how the emerging AI manufacturing landscape could transform electronics manufacturing operations through intelligent automation, data integration, and decision-making tools.
by Shirin Khanna

I’ve spent the last few months talking with founders building AI for manufacturing, from pre-seed teams to growth-stage companies. As an operator at a contract electronics manufacturer, I wanted to understand where AI moves the needle on the shop floor and on the P&L. I came away with a clear view: This is one of the most underrated spaces in AI right now, and the next wave will look very different from the current one.

Most conversations about AI in manufacturing today focus on robots. Robotics startups pulled in over $10 billion in venture capital in 2025. Mind Robotics, a Rivian spinout, crossed $1 billion in cumulative funding inside a year.

Robots are easy to film and easy to fund. That’s why they get the headlines.

For most operators, though, robots represent only part of the manufacturing AI landscape. The other part lives in supplier inboxes, RFQ spreadsheets, bills of materials (BoMs) with 300 line items, ERP screens, CAD files, and shop-floor dashboards. That’s the part I want to talk about.

The Electron: A Biography, Part 2: From the Vacuum Tube to the Data Center

From early radio and television assembly to surface mount technology and AI data centers, the evolution of electronics manufacturing reveals how innovation, miniaturization and automation have transformed the industry.
by Ronald C. Lasky, Ph.D.

Last time (with a lot of help from my student researcher Rishaan Nalwar), I left off with a bit of an irony: engineers had been soldering telegraph wires, running telephone lines and lighting up entire cities with electrons for the better part of eighty years before physicists like J. J. Thomson and Robert Millikan actually proved what an electron was. Science had finally caught up with engineering. Now it was time to put this newly confirmed little particle to work in a whole new way.

As electric lights and appliances became more common, radio was emerging. Initially, hobbyists used lead sulfide (galena) crystals to catch weak radio signals drifting through the air. The crystal needed no amplification, but the signal was so faint that you needed headphones pressed right to your ear to hear anything at all. Lee de Forest’s triode vacuum tube, shown in Figure 1, changed everything: those whisper-quiet signals could now be amplified enough to drive a speaker, and the whole family could gather around and listen together. Surprisingly, radio did not take off overnight. It took nearly a decade for anyone to realize that advertising, not subscriptions, would pay for it all.

In Case You Missed It

Additive Manufacturing

“Ultrafast Laser Direct Writing of Highly Conductive Copper Micropatterns”

Authors: S.Y. Xue, et al.

Abstract: Copper (Cu) interconnects are fundamental to advanced optoelectronic systems. Femtosecond laser direct writing (FsLDW) employing particle-free Cu ion inks provides a compelling “cold processing” approach; however, it frequently results in porous, high-resistivity structures caused by disordered grain growth and solvent-induced micro-explosions. Here, the authors report a high-precision FsLDW strategy utilizing a specifically formulated metal-organic complex ink. By decreasing the reduction energy barrier and regulating crystallization via a composite amine complex, combined with a pre-baking step to suppress micro-explosions, the authors achieve Cu micropatterns with a highly dense surface morphology under ambient conditions. The resulting structures demonstrate a minimum resistivity of 9.34μΩ·cm (approximately 5.5 times that of bulk Cu) while maintaining sub-10μm linewidths. Moreover, this method exhibits broad processing adaptability and substrate compatibility, facilitating reliable metallization on flexible substrates, macroscopic wafers and curved surfaces. The fabricated Cu interconnects function as stable signal and power transmission pathways within a fully FsLDW-patterned UV photodetector. This study establishes a practical route for deploying high-performance conductive networks in advanced electronic systems. (Opto-Electronic Manufacturing, vol. 1, article 260002, 2026, https://doi.org/10.29026/oem.2026.260002)