CHANDLER, AZ — A new certification program from Isola Group permits US printed circuit board fabricators to demonstrate the ability to process the company's high-speed digital materials. The firm also announced that APCT, the first candidate accepted for qualification in the program, successfully manufactured high-layer count PCBs using various styles of Isola' materials.

To be considered for the program, a fabricator must meet strict quality standards and demonstrate the ability to meet the more demanding manufacturing expertise required to process high-speed digital laminate and prepreg materials, Isola said.

In a statement, Isola CEO and president Ray Sharpe said, “We are pleased to roll out this certification program following the initial success with APCT. During the qualification process, APCT successfully manufactured high-layer count PCBs using I-Speed and I-Tera MT laminates in both pure and hybrid multilayer packages.”

As part of the certification program, qualifying participants will have access to direct factory support, product training and immediate access to Isola’s entire product inventory. The program also provides for co-op marketing initiatives with Isola.

“As Isola introduces new materials to support emerging markets and applications, OEMs may require additional technical support to migrate to these new materials," Sharpe said. "OEMs will be able to rely on the expertise and advanced understanding of PCB fabricators that have completed Isola’s certification program.”

Vice president of sales and technical services, Americas Saeed “Sy” Sardar said, “Isola takes pride in developing long-term relationships with its worldwide customer base of PCB fabricators, such as APCT. We understand that time-to-market is a critical factor for their success and the success of the OEMs that rely on their efficiency and expertise. Certification in this program will provide fabricators with a competitive advantage in production scale-up of new products through early sampling, 24/7 technical support and shortened leads times.”