ECTC at 75: Pioneers Reflect on Packaging's Past and Future

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What happens when you gather 75 years of packaging innovation under one roof? The Electronic Component Technology Conference (ECTC) has transformed from a modest gathering of 300 electronics professionals to a powerhouse event attracting over 2,500 industry leaders, researchers, and visionaries. This remarkable journey reflects how advanced packaging has evolved from supporting technology to the driving force behind modern electronics.

In this special episode, we speak with three generations of ECTC committee members: Pat Thompson (with 41 years of ECTC experience), Przemek Gromala (10 years), and Florian Herault (since 2010). They share fascinating insights into how the conference has tracked—and often predicted—the industry's most significant shifts. From the days when Ball Grid Arrays were cutting-edge to today's excitement around hybrid bonding and chiplets, ECTC has been the barometer for packaging innovation.

The conversation reveals how technologies that once caused standing-room-only excitement have either become industry standards or faded into obscurity. Remember 450mm wafers? That path was abandoned in favor of panel-level packaging. Through-silicon vias struggled with cost issues for years before finding their sweet spot in high-performance applications. And the longstanding debate between System-on-Chip and System-in-Package approaches has evolved into today's heterogeneous integration paradigm.

Looking forward, our guests highlight the challenges driving tomorrow's innovations: thermal management for power-hungry AI chips, specialized edge computing architectures, and adapting advanced electronics to automotive and other harsh environments. As Host Françoise von Trapp observes, "It's a great time to be a nerd," with abundant technical challenges ensuring exciting work for packaging professionals for decades to come.

Don't miss our upcoming episode featuring ECTC keynote speaker Sam Naffziger discussing responsible AI implementation and the critical role of packaging in creating energy-efficient high-performance devices!

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