Spirit: Behind the Screen

Commercial manufacturers are already pushing toward the DDR5, but with the military transition to DDR4, memory's performance in the field is essential.    In this episode, Spirit VP Zef Malik talks with Marti about why memory speed needs to be faster and why it buys critical minutes in the military mission. In applications when multiple memory devices are used in tandem and you have one weak link...

With TSMC moving to Phoenix, the tech industry is booming right in Spirit's back yard. This has meant rising demand for both experienced employees and houses for them to live in.   Buying and selling homes has been a challenge nationally, but Marti talks with local real estate investor Preston Tribble of the Ellens Team about the unique perks and challenges we're seeing in the Phoenix area.   From...

Wherever you are this weekend, we hope you will join us in honoring our service members who have sacrificed their lives for our nation.   Our nonprofit foundation Spirit Gives also recognizes the family members that share in this sacrifice by supporting gold star families who have lost a loved member in service.   As a veteran-owned business , Spirit is deeply connected to our military background,...

ELES is an Italian manufacturer of test equipment and systems that exercise and qualify semiconductors around the world. Marco Paolucci is the sales and business development director delivering the ELES zero defect goal to Spirit and the US.   ELES uses a process called "RETE," Reliability Embedded Test Engineering, which translates from Italian as "net." Marco explains how the ELES approach is a...

Marti sits down this week with Peter Hancock, president of Focused Test , a design and manufacturing company for automatic test equipment for power discrete devices and power management ICs.   With market changes to meet the growing use of GaN and SiC technology, on top of the impact of the pandemic, Peter discusses what challenges are facing the test equipment supply chain--along with opportuniti...

How do you find a minute but costly void in wafer bonding when it may be less than 0.1 micron in size? Sonix has spent the past 3 decades developing ultrasonic testing equipment for nondestructive testing to achieve this level of inspection. Sonix acoustic imaging can analyze products to avoid failures with increasing efficiency and at smaller microscopic resolutions.   Marti talks with sales and...

Spirit's Quality Manager Estefania Altamirano recently completed Lead Auditor Certification for AS9100. As quality manager, she oversees many of Spirit's compliance programs, as well as functions like our business procedures, corrective action and continual improvement, and internal audit program.   Quality Analyst by day, Podcast editor by night Alyssa Marquez interviews Estefania about the train...

EPC Space is a joint venture company between EPC Corp and VPT Inc. focused on providing Gallium Nitride (GaN) power devices for space applications.   In this episode, EPC Space CEO Bel Lazar talks with Marti about the company's product lines and applications, as well as the ability of GaN devices to withstand radiation and harsh environmental conditions in space.   Can your device make a satellite...

How do you take the lead in a competitive market? Tracey Latham talks with Marti about what gives her company, Latham Industries, their competitive edge in contract manufacturing. Catch a preview of Spirit's new partnership with Latham Industries.   You can jump to these timestamps to hear about: (1:10) Quality production and equipment (4:13) Latham Industries team and experience (6:00) Manufactur...

What's new for memory applications and trends in 2021? Micron memory products from DRAM to SSDs have a legacy of market leadership, but you need Micron's forward-thinking product quality and development to stay ahead of the explosive growth of data and the Internet of Things (IoT).   Marti talks with David Henderson and Scott Schaefer at Micron about the new market demands they see in industrial a...

Alex Lidow discusses EPC's test-to-failure method in improving gallium nitride (GaN) devices.   According to Alex, testing to failure has allowed EPC to tease out the exact stressors that cause failure and improve EPC's GaN devices 10-100 times the reliability of commercial devices, and even 100 times reliability in space applications.   Alex and Marti discuss (1:30) Why test to fail (4:14) Learni...

This episode is truly "behind the screen" with Spirit. Marti shares some of our wins and lessons learned in 2020 as well as a preview for our facility expansion, test services coming soon, hiring openings, and what our customers can expect in 2021.   Want to jump to a topic? 2:15 Building Expansion 3:15 Lessons Learned 7:30 Team Growth and Hiring 11:00 New Testing Services Coming in 2021 15:20 Tes...

Spirit Gives Foundation is a 501C3 charitable foundation created by Spirit Electronics in 2020. As a veteran-owned, woman-owned small business, Spirit wants to give back to our veterans and military families. During the holidays, Spirit Gives sponsored 5 military families who have lost a loved one in military service through Arizona Survivor Outreach Services.   This episode is a message of thanks...

As a value-add distributor, Spirit supports a dynamic supply chain between the manufacturer and our customer. Zef describes how the manufacturer's goal is to build and design quality into their product, while the customer may have more demanding specs and tests to meet for military verification. Our role as a distributor in product screening is to bridge that gap between manufacturer and customer....

In Part 1, Marti and Zef talked about the DDR4 and the market's advancement toward the DDR5. But as memory and chips are making quantum leaps in innovation, the equipment used to screen and test these products also has to keep up. Zef dives into the challenge of staying current with rapidly evolving technology.   While buying the latest and greatest cutting-edge test equipment is important, Marti...

When you have the 40 years of industry experience Zef brings to the table, the DDR4 conversation is a technical treasure trove where experience meets innovation. Commercial manufacturers are already pushing toward the DDR5, but with the military transition to DDR4, memory's performance in the field is essential.   In this episode, Zef talks with Marti about why memory speed needs to become faster...

What should you do as a leader when your business is in a time of transition? Marti McCurdy sits down with Jackie Mattox of Women in Electronics Radio for an interview about how to double down and chase your goals. Whether during a company acquisition or the uncertain pandemic economy, Marti talks about why it’s important to invest in your team. Get to know Marti and what motivates her leading int...