Fine pitch high lead count integrated circuit packages represent a dramatic change from the conventional methods of assembling electronic components to a printed interconnect circuit board. To some, these FPTpackages appear to bean extension of the assembly technology called surface mount or SMT. Many of us who have spent a significant amount of time developing the process and design techniques for these fine pitchpackages haveconcluded that these techniquesgobeyondthose commonly useed for SMT. In 1987 the presentauthor, convincedofthe uniqueness ofthe assembly and design demands ofthese packages, chaired ajoint committee where the members agreed to use fine pitch technology (FPT) as the defining term for these demands. The committee was unique in several ways, one being that it was the first time three U. S. standards organizations, the IPC (Lincolnwood, IL), theEIA(Washington, D. C. ),and theASTM (Philadelphia),cametogether tocreate standards before a technology was in high demand. The term fine pitch technology and its acronym FPT have since become widely accepted in the electronics industry. The knowledge of the terms and demands of FPT currently exceed the usage of FPT packaged components, but this is changing rapidly because of the size, performance, and cost savings of FPT. I have resisted several past invitations to write other technical texts. However, I feel there are important advantages and significant difficulties to be encountered with FPT.

As in the First Edition, each chapter in this new Second Edition is authored by one or more acknowledged experts and then carefully edited to ensure a consistent level of quality and approach throughout. There are new chapters on passive devices, RF and microwave packaging, electronic package assembly, and cost evaluation and assembly, while organic and ceramic substrates are now covered in separate chapters. All the hallmarks of the First Edition, which became an industry standard and a popular graduate-level textbook, have been retained. An Instructor's Manual presenting detailed solutions to all the problems in the book is available upon request from the Wiley Makerting Department.

This handbook provides a consolidated, comprehensive information resource for engineers working with mission and safety critical systems. Principles, regulations, and processes common to all critical design projects are introduced in the opening chapters. Expert contributors then offer development models, process templates, and documentation guidelines from their own core critical applications fields: medical, aerospace, and military. Readers will gain in-depth knowledge of how to avoid common pitfalls and meet even the strictest certification standards. Particular emphasis is placed on best practices, design tradeoffs, and testing procedures. - Comprehensive coverage of all key concerns for designers of critical systems including standards compliance, verification and validation, and design tradeoffs - Real-world case studies contained within these pages provide insight from experience