AT&S

AT&S is a leading global supplier of high-end printed circuit boards and IC substrates. AT&S industrializes future-oriented technologies for its core business areas of mobile devices, automotive, industrial and medical.

By combining the core business with new technologies and entering a new level of the value chain, AT&S is developing from a circuit board manufacturer to a connection solution provider, creating sustainable growth and positioning itself for future market opportunities. By providing innovative solutions, the company enables new technologies such as 5G networks, IoT, autonomous driving, or artificial intelligence.

AT&S has a global presence with production sites in Austria (Leoben, Fehring) and plants in India (Nanjangud), China (Shanghai, Chongqing), and Korea (Ansan near Seoul). The company employed around 12,000 people in the 2020/21 financial year and generated sales of more than 1.2 billion euros.

AT&S offers innovative circuit board and connection solutions for use in a wide variety of high-tech areas. The applications range from mobile communication and high-performance computers to modern driver assistance systems and industrial applications to medical technology products.

New dimensions for miniaturized PCBs

To enable patients to live as comfortably as possible, medical applications have to become smaller and smaller – and with increased functionality. The first step for this is the miniaturization of the printed circuit board, which can only be implemented with the help of innovative PCBs and interconnection solutions.

AT&S supports leading global manufacturers of medical technology products with state-of-the-art solutions in this area. Manufacturers of medical technology devices are increasingly required to accommodate more and more functions in ever-smaller spaces. For patient monitoring, for example, the device should work best directly in the body without the wearer noticing. The order of the day in this context is miniaturization.

There are many ways to downsize medical applications and present developers and manufacturers with numerous new challenges. The highest possible stability and reliability must be guaranteed, as well as the lowest possible energy consumption and the fastest possible transmission of data. The high degree of complexity is not only to be found in the product itself. When trying to meet these challenges, modern printed circuit board and connection processes from AT&S create added value that offers several advantages for both producers and users.

By combining different production technologies and processes, the circuit board itself becomes a high-tech component that is much more than just a carrier for microchips and sensors. By involving circuit board experts at an early stage, manufacturers can significantly shorten the development process and save costs. And thanks to the increased connectivity options, the end application offers more functionality, more security, and more quality of life.

Flexible and rigid-flexible printed circuit boards

Thin, flexible circuit boards with a large surface are used to create enough space for SMT assembly (surface mount technology). During the installation process, these circuit boards are folded together so that there is enough space in the smallest of spaces.

Embedded component packaging

Components that previously had to be placed on the surface of the circuit board “disappear” in an inner layer of the circuit board. As a result, there is space for more components on the circuit board while the size of the terminal remains the same, thus allowing increased functionality or, with the same scope of functions, lower space requirements.

Modified Semi-Additive Process (mSAP)

With the use of this new production technology, conductor tracks can move closer together, making it possible to reduce the space required – without changing the design. Instead of creating the conductor pattern using an etching process, as in conventional circuit board production, the copper is built up on the circuit board with the help of mSAP technology (mSAP = modified semi-additive process) where it specifies the conductor pattern. As a result, the edge of the conductor run drops vertically and no longer has a radius, as is the case with conventional etching methods.

Press Releases

Rice-sized innovation

With the help of a super-thin AT&S PCB substrate, LG Innotek developed the world’s smallest Bluetooth module

AT&S technology enables the world’s smallest digicam

1mm2 in size and 1 gram in weight

White Papers

How to solve miniaturization issues in the medical industry