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The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel method for the manufacture of aluminum rigid‐flex circuit assemblies without the use of solder.

The approach involves the use of an aluminum base material and the embedding of components, while avoiding the use of solder in the assembly process.

The new methods and proposed structures address the key manufacturing problems that have vexed users for many years, while simultaneously addressing the challenge of thermal management. They also offer the advantage of enhanced reliability by avoiding the need for high temperatures used in soldering.

While examples of the process and its benefits have been demonstrated, further work is ongoing to expand applicability.

The paper begins with an overview of previous work in this area and then moves on to what is currently being implemented via the new technology. A novel method is described for the creation of potentially more cost‐effective and reliable rigid flex assemblies, which would be suitable for use in a wide range of products, from consumer to high‐reliability automotive, military and aerospace.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical perspective and framework for appreciating the evolution of 3D interconnection technologies from past to present.

A literature and patent search was performed to find the origins of 3D interconnections to find and credit work that was performed in the early electronics industry which presaged the development of the current generation 3D solutions.

The origins of 3D interconnections have roots that date to the beginnings of electronic interconnections if the earlier solutions are viewed in proper perspective. For example, early telegraphy and telephony interconnections strung from pole to pole across large expanses of terrain were clearly 3D interconnections on a very macro scale but those solutions scaled down are not that dissimilar to what is being done today in some advanced interconnection technologies.

The pioneers of the electronics industry broke a trail which has been widened, paved and branched by all who have followed them. Granted that the branches have led to new high‐worth discoveries but acknowledging the past and taking instruction from it is important, even necessary, to assure that future developments do not continually “reinvent the wheel”.

The paper traces, in brief fashion, the history of 3D interconnections providing examples of solutions which predate some of the current generation solutions which appear, in some cases, quite similar to those developed or proposed nearly half century ago. Knowing the past is vital to understanding and shaping the future.