Strategy and Ecosystem for Microelectronics Assembly in the United States

Abstract

In the 1980's the US based electronics manufacturing and ecosystem witnessed a significant shift from manual operations to automated assembly to enable high volume, lower cost products. The maturation of surface mount technology and the introduction of organic semiconductor packaging were key drivers and enablers during this era. The 1990's brought about the shift from the OEM microelectronics innovation & assembly ecosystem to the outsourced model as OEM's tried to stay ahead of the cost reduction curve during this dotcom era. The end result was a short lived US based model for outsourced volume microelectronics assembly that crashed with many of the other startups in the early 2000's. The severity of the downturn not only affected the volume assembly service model but, more importantly the innovation and development opportunities for microelectronics as well. With the recent renewed emphasis on innovation, security, reshoring and manufacturing job creation the opportunity to create a new model for microelectronics assembly in the US has successfully emerged.