Spirit: Behind the Screen

May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month, and Catherine Ivy joins Marti to share her story and the Ivy Brain Tumor Center's work toward effective brain tumor treatment.

Catherine Ivy is the founder of the Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation and the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ. The Ivy Brain Tumor Center has pioneered Phase 0 Clinical Trials to redesign the process around researching effective treatment for brain tumors.

Catherine shares the story of her husband's diagnosis and the devastating discovery that treatment was limited and challenging. The Ivy Brain Tumor Center Phase 0 Clinical Trial program is accelerating the timeline.

This informational and moving episode is about spreading awareness. For more resources and information, visit the Ivy Brain Tumor Center awareness month page. To help further the cause, the Ivy Center is hosting their annual Dine & Donate program throughout May.

In celebration of Earth Day 2023, Spirit is highlighting all of the ways that we have been pursuing sustainable operations. Even as a small business, we believe that every little action adds up.

Green-minded Director of Technical Sales Sean Macdonald joins Marti for this episode on Spirit's Sustainable small business activities. From growing and harvesting an employee garden to automating our facility and composting paper towels, listen for ideas on how even small changes can support a sustainable supply chain and team well-being.

For more about Spirit's sustainability program, visit our sustainability page. Follow us on LinkedIn as we celebrate EarthDay.

In this bonus episode, Marti & Alyssa talk about the ongoing Spirit Gives Foundation basket fundraiser. Donations allow us to hold community building events and support local children year-round.

Spirit Gives has the perfect gift for your spring holiday. Whether it's Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduation, teacher appreciation or your own special occasion, Spirit Gives is offering high-end pampering gifts baskets in appreciation for donations. You can preview baskets and donate today at https://spiritgives.org/form/.

Zef Malik returns for an ASIC dive discussing the process and benefits to electrical test programs for ASICs. With the design access and knowledge in already part of an ASIC program, testing and qualifying an ASIC can quickly deliver ASIC devices ready-to-use with reliability.

Listen to Zef and Marti discuss:

(2:24) Benchmarking an ASIC

(6:01) The System on a Chip Market

(7:10) How ASIC Electrical Test Fits in the Full-Turnkey Screen & Qual

(11:00) Burn-In, Qualification Challenges, and Simplifying Test Programs

(14:00) Cost Improvement with ASIC Testing and Wafer-Level Test

(16:00) Product Roadmap and the Return of US Manufacturing

For more info about ASIC management through Spirit Electronics, visit spiritelectronics.com/services/asic.

Spirit VP Zef Malik remembers the early days of the ASIC industry. While the FPGA and international manufacturing moved aerospace and defense away from ASIC programs, Zef sees ASIC programming growing and changing as domestic manufacturing returns.

Listen to Zef and Marti discuss the technological ASIC advantages and how to maximize these benefits through foundry services and packaging selection.

(1:55) ASICs in the Early Years

(4:35) ASIC Design Compatibility & Foundry Selection

(8:25) Silicon Valley Memory Lane & Return to Domestic Design

(12:30) ASICs, Power & Performance Advantages

For more info about ASIC management through Spirit Electronics, visit spiritelectronics.com/services/asic.

Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) can combine multi-functional components into a single chip. With long lead times and rising prices across the industry, you can own your custom IC, shorten lead times and reduce long-term costs.

Spirit's expertise helps you through the up-front design and engineering to make a full ASIC program possible. In this episode, Marti covers the steps and benefits to running an ASIC program.

Hear about:

(1:30) Types of ASICs

(4:57) Engineering & design support

(8:05) Foundry & fabrication

(11:10) Substrate & packaging

(11:50) Testing the full range of an ASIC

(14:05) Storage & banking

For more information about ASIC programs, visit spirielectronics.com/services/asic.

The CHIPS ("Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors") Act passed in July authorizes more than $200 billion in federal funds and incentives to encourage semiconductor manufacturing in the United States.

While the main goal is manufacturing, the CHIPS Act also addresses the services, labor and supply chain that support semiconductor production. Spirit CEO Marti McCurdy discusses in this episode what areas of the supply chain could see additional investment and support.

Also critical to supporting semiconductor manufacturing are resources like substrate manufacturing and testing services. Marti discusses how Spirit is positioned to help customers stay ahead of these unexpected constraints.

Find out more about Spirit's testing services at spiritelectronics.com/test.

Our JD Edwards Oracle enterprise resource planning software is a big system for a small business. Used by Fortune 500 companies, it can manage manufacturing, materials, work, and finances. But when Spirit Electronics implemented it several years ago, our processes only used maybe 5-10% of the program's capabilities.

With investment and Megan's studied expertise, JDE has given Spirit's processes electronic automation above and beyond what most small business achieve. JDE touches all our departments and workflows and has been a cornerstone in Spirit's team and business  growth.

In this episode, find out how Megan's programming has helped automate the business and secure resources and data in the aerospace & defense supply chain.

Learn more about how Spirit can automate your inventory and offer just-in-time delivery for your supply chain.

The chambers are whirring and ovens firing in Spirit's on-site test lab. What's the buzz around adding so many options for testing under the same roof as authorized electronic component distribution and circuit board assembly?

Marti McCurdy covers the order flow at the Spirit Electronics facility, including:

(2:47) The "umbrella" of services Spirit offers

(6:00) Value-added test services compared to longer testing programs

(7:20) System-level testing 

(8:10) Electrical and environmental testing

(8:50) Radiation testing

Marti explains the critical piece of managing complex test programs is understanding the customer requirements. Schedule a call with Spirit to see how we can build a custom program to bring your electronics supply chain under one roof.

Spirit Gives is our nonprofit foundation working to give local kids quality childhood experiences and support.

CEO Marti McCurdy covers our current mission and successes and the next big events lined up for this fall 2022.

Find out more about how to support through volunteering, gift basket purchases, and ticket teasers for our Halloween Boogie Bash.

For our calendar or opportunities, visit SpiritGives.org. Follow the action on Instagram and social media @spiritgivesfoundation.