The CALCE Electronic Packaging Research Center (EPRC) at the University
of Maryland is a research, technology transfer, and educational organization
that provides a resource base to support the development of competitive
electronic products and systems in a timely manner. The Center receives
the majority of its support from seven sources, which are shown above and
explained below.
- CALCE EPRC Consortium -
The Consortium consists of thirty-five organizations that support and share
all the results of CALCE core proprietary projects. Key projects include
parts/supplier selection and management, commercial insertion into high-reliability
applications, using components outside their rated limits, physics-of-failure
modeling, design guidelines, accelerated testing, and thermal management.
- Power Electronics Building Blocks
- The Office of Naval Research supports this effort to develop smart power
electronics and advanced packaging technologies leading to intelligent,
programmable, multifunctional, modularized power systems capable of controlling
up to 250 kW. These systems will be used in surface and underwater vessels
and in commercial vehicles. CALCE is responsible for developing packaging
and reliability assessment software to make these systems a reality.
- High Temperature Electronics Consortium
- A 14-member DARPA consortium supports the development at CALCE
EPRC of distributed control system that can operate without cooling. These
are essential to next generation automotive and aerospace systems because
of their potential to reduce the cost, size, and weight of electronics
systems while increasing performance, reliability, and maintainability.
The high-temperature electronics work dovetails with (or focuses on) the
CADMP-II research described below.
- CADMP-II Alliance - This
consortium of component manufacturers and users is dedicated to enhancing
physics-of-failure reliability assessment software at the component, MCM,
and hybrid packaging levels. Current research includes developing an extensive
electronic materials database, a failure mechanism database, and advanced
methods for reliability assessment.
- Manufacturing Consortium -
This consortium is a DARPA supported program to improve manufacturing competitiveness
through innovative education, and courseware development. Manufacturing
Consortium is integrating novel teaching methods and tools to prepare students
and engineers for 21st century design and manufacturing.
- Workforce 2001 - This program
is developing an educational curriculum focused on life cycle design, manufacturing,
and usage of electronic systems and products. The program involves transferring
expertise in critical 21st century electronics manufacturing technologies
to graduate students and engineering and technical professionals through
workshops, books, regular and short courses, videos, and websites. This
has resulted in 12 books, including one on high-temperature electronics
and a book series on the Southeast Asian electronics industry.
- Non-core projects - CALCE
EPRC remains committed to assisting companies in focused, proprietary research
and development activities through non-core research projects.
