Panasonic Licenses ALIVH Technology to Develop Next-Generation Circuit Boards

Panasonic Electronic Devices Co., Ltd., a Panasonic Group company specialized in manufacturing advanced electronic components, and Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft (AT&S), a European market leader and one of the largest printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers in the world, announced that they have reached an agreement, under which Panasonic will license its unique multi-layer resin board technology called ALIVH (Any Layer Interstitial Via Hole) to AT&S. The two companies will also build up collaborative relationships with an eye to developing next-generation circuit board technology in order to accelerate business expansion in mobile devices, such as smartphones.

Panasonic's continually evolving ALIVH multi-layer resin board technology

What is ALIVH (Any Layer Interstitial Via Hole)?

ALIVH boards developed and commercialized by Panasonic are the world's first multi-layer resin boards with an IVH structure in all layers. In October 1996, using ALIVH boards, Panasonic (then known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.) developed a mobile phone that was the lightest and smallest in the industry at that time with less than 100 g in weight and less than 100 cc in volume. Since then, ALIVH boards have been widely used in Japan and overseas, and the global shipments are expected to exceed 400 million units (in terms of mobile phones) at the end of March 2011. In Japan, ALIVH PCBs are supplied by Panasonic and CMK Corporation, a major Japanese PCB manufacturer, with which Panasonic formed a business partnership in October 1997.

What makes ALIVH important?

Panasonic's advanced printed circuit board solutions.

The global mobile phone market is seeing a dramatic shift to smartphones from regular mobile phones. The introduction of Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication services and the anticipated full-fledged spread of e-books are expected to spur the growth of the market. High-density and multi-layer circuit boards play a key role in smartphones, which require high-speed processing of ever more increasing amount of signals.

In particular, Panasonic's ALIVH multi-layer resin board technology enables an IVH structure in all layers to make PCBs suitable for high-density and multi-layer applications. The company places high priority on ALIVH products that are essential for the further evolution of sophisticated mobile terminals, such as smart phones. Panasonic has been and will continue to accelerate the global development of this business.

AT&S is also well positioned worldwide in the high-tech market segment for HDI microvia printed circuit boards. With this new technology AT&S further underlines its clear strategy as technological and innovation leader and holds a cutting edge for the next generation of PCBs especially for mobile devices like smartphones or tablet PCs. The new technology offers its customers shorter lead time and environmental friendlier processes (less need of water, power and CO2 saving). The PCBs can become even thinner and enables more complex chip fanout, in line with customer requirements and the overall trend of miniaturization, AT&S is also planning to accelerate its growth strategy by making use of the unique manufacturing improvements offered by the innovative ALIVH technology.