Electronics Chemistry
May 30, 2013
Imaging fine lines is easy; developing fine spaces is hard.
With the standard circuit resolution quickly moving below 5 mil lines and spaces, pressure mounts on the developing process, challenging manufacturers to find new ways to keep consistent quality and high yields.
March 30, 2013
My outer layer resist stripper process works fine until I run jobs with very fine lines and spaces. The dry film sometimes gets trapped between circuits causing etching problems. How can this situation be avoided?
February 4, 2013
The trend to finer lines and spaces continues to challenge processors of innerlayer material. With thinner core laminate and thinner copper foil, mechanical cleaning — the cleaning method of choice for years — is no longer an option.
January 21, 2013
Antifoam is unfortunately a necessary evil for developing and resist stripping spray processes. I say unfortunate because antifoams are typically petroleum- based products that we do not want on the panel.
However, the surfactants which are in the resist are dissolved into the developer or resist stripper bath and must be controlled. If this foaming isn’t controlled, it can lead to not only a mess, but a loss of spray pressure, due to pump cavitation.
January 13, 2013
Hey Rob, my tin stripper works great most of the time. However, when I run high aspect ratio boards greater than 8:1, I am seeing tin in the hole. What’s wrong?