Insights

Advanced Manufacturing Series: High-Density Interconnect (HDI) Blind and Buried Vias Process Limits and Design Pitfall Guide

To pack circuit boards into increasingly thin and light servers, smartphones, or security equipment, "High-Density Interconnect (HDI) technology" achieves ultimate space utilization through microscopic laser blind vias and internal buried vias. However, this technology is a "money-burning monster" in PCB manufacturing. With every additional stage (build-up) of blind/buried vias, the number of lamination cycles and manufacturing risks increase exponentially. If R&D engineers do not understand the factory's process capability boundaries during layout, it will not only cause manufacturing costs to spiral out of control but also likely lead to frequent delamination (board bursting) or via-barrel cracking during mass production. Today, we will fill in the blind spots in HDI design that aren't written in datasheets but cause daily headaches for fabrication houses.