Optimize the Interconnect:
When Optimization Becomes a Discipline

Author: Ryan Wagner
Released: August 18, 2026

Reliability is often evaluated at the end of the manufacturing line, when plated vias are cross‑sectioned, tested, and stressed. But from Chris’s perspective, that mindset is backward.

The defining decisions for via reliability are made during drilling, not after plating.

When a laser drills a microvia, it doesn’t simply remove material. It alters copper morphology, creates thermal zones, leaves behind residue, and defines the surface conditions that all subsequent wet processes must work with. The plating chemistry isn’t starting from a clean slate—it’s inheriting whatever physics left behind.

The result wasn’t theoretical improvement. It was measurable, repeatable reliability.

OTI also changes how innovation is evaluated.

Chris openly acknowledges that laser manufacturers sometimes develop impressive capabilities that struggle to find real‑world adoption. Square vias are a perfect example. The capability existed—but plating them reliably was a barrier no one could ignore.

Once chemistry and laser engineering began evolving together, that barrier disappeared.

By aligning via geometry with plating strategies, square vias transformed from an academic possibility into a tool for real applications—particularly thermal management, where increased copper mass inside the same footprint delivers tangible performance benefits.

OTI doesn’t invent new ideas. It makes them usable.

One of the most persistent myths in advanced manufacturing is that productivity and reliability are opposing forces. Push one too hard, and the other suffers.

OTI challenges that assumption directly.

By characterizing how oxide treatments absorb laser energy—and then deliberately tuning those treatments—MKS teams found ways to reduce the required laser energy per via. Fewer pulses. Less thermal damage. Faster drilling. Cleaner results.

Productivity improvements emerged not from brute force, but from understanding how chemistry and photonics amplify one another when aligned.

As via sizes shrink and aspect ratios increase, the margin for error disappears. Ultra‑HDI technologies don’t tolerate folklore‑based process tuning.

Chris makes it clear: OTI is not just about improving today’s HDI yields—it’s about enabling what comes next. By lowering energy requirements, improving surface conditions, and expanding process windows, OTI directly supports the transition toward UHDI fabrication.

This isn’t about forcing customers to redesign layouts or change CAD methodologies. It’s about giving them headroom—more flexibility inside existing constraints.

Perhaps the most important clarification Chris offers is what OTI is not.

It is not an attempt to override customer process knowledge. World‑class PCB and substrate manufacturers already operate at extremely high levels.

OTI exists to accelerate learning cycles, reduce redundant experimentation, and free customer teams to focus on innovation rather than firefighting. When suppliers can deliver integrated insight instead of isolated components, everyone moves faster.

Episode 2 makes one thing unmistakably clear: Optimize the Interconnect is not a technology launch. It’s a discipline that demands coordination, shared understanding, and a willingness to question long‑standing assumptions.

Reliability improves because physics and chemistry are tuned together. Productivity increases because energy is applied deliberately. New applications emerge because barriers between processes fall away.

And this is only the beginning.

The next chapter takes OTI deeper—down to the microscopic realities of nano‑voids, crystallization, and predictability, where chemistry speaks back to the process in ways most engineers never get to see.

🎧 Listen to the deeper technical story

Next in the series: When Chemistry Gets a Seat at the Table (Episode 3)