High Density Interconnect

With the proliferation of smart technology in healthcare devices, more and more medical equipment requires circuit boards with high-density interconnect. This technology can help keep device size down and performance up while still providing the advanced features that medical professionals need.

The power and data-transmission capabilities of these devices are essential in enabling healthcare professionals to do their job efficiently, effectively, and safely. The interconnect solution is a crucial part of the overall design of an energy-driven (“electrical”) medical device, connecting and unifying multiple separate circuit board components into a single, functional piece of equipment that can deliver the proper treatment for a patient.

To achieve higher density and smaller boards, designers must use specialized techniques to reduce component size while maintaining signal integrity. These include microvia drilling, which allows for smaller vias (conductive pathways) between layers of a high density interconnect PCB, and sequential lamination, which involves layering thin sheets of insulating material and conductive copper foil to form a multi-layer stackup. Both processes require a precise and delicate balance to ensure that the result meets stringent industry standards for quality and reliability.

How High Density Interconnect Can Be Used in Medical Devices

These technologies have also enabled new, innovative medical devices to make an impact in people’s lives. From portable pulse oximeters to wireless blood glucose meters, these devices allow healthcare professionals to monitor patients in the comfort of their homes and even on the go. The result is more accurate record keeping and access to a patient’s health history, which can assist in diagnosing and treating diseases.

While many of these medical devices are primarily electronic, others such as surgical tools and diagnostic imaging equipment rely on HDI circuit boards to fit their small sizes while providing the necessary performance to perform their function. In addition to making these devices smaller, HDI technology can make them more powerful, allowing medical practitioners to diagnose and treat a patient more quickly and accurately.

Whether you need an 8 layer through-hole or a 4 layer HDI microvia PCB, you must be careful to choose a fabricator with the right manufacturing process. This is because you will be relying on a number of complex manufacturing steps, including photoresist deposition and exposure, etching, and cleaning, via definition and drilling, and metallization. You will also need to use a set of routing tools that can route impedance controlled traces while meeting your fabrication partner’s DFM requirements.

At Mistral, we offer cost-effective PCB Custom Design Services, including high-density designs that utilize microvias, blind and buried vias, fine lines and spaces, and sequential lamination to reduce the size of your board while ensuring that it’s up to spec. Our expert engineering team can help you develop a circuit board that is both reliable and high-performance. To get started, contact us today for a free quote!