MCP-PAL At Productronica

The MCP-PAL got its first European airing at Productronica 2003 and succeeded in attracting the attention of potential customers from 20 different countries.

... And there was more on show at Productronica too!

The latest developments in Via Fill technology formed the basis of PAL’s display at Productronica 2003. Their innovative solution to this challenge drew visitors from all over the world to their stand to discuss the merits, not only of installing new lines featuring the innovative PAL system, but also of retrofitting to existing equipment.

Over 30 years experience in building innovative electroplating equipment lie behind PAL’s NewTech Department’s sound reputation for researching and developing elegant solutions to industry challenges. The demonstration unit on the PAL stand had "patent pending" on key elements, proof that they had been hard at work ?this time on the all important issue of Via Filling technology.

"It’s all a matter of real estate," explained PAL Europe’s Managing Director, Bruce Norsworthy. "Using conventional plating methods, the chip has got further and further away from other layers. Using Via Fill as a solution, there is no need to spread out ever further. High speed microprocessors, that require ever more I/Os to the circuit board, can be accommodated in less space on the circuit board using Via Fill te chnology. This allows a sequential build up of conducting paths vertically within the circuitry. This technique allows for high density BGA mounting of the devices in the smallest possible space. The copper ‘column?acts as a valuable heat sink avenue, as well as the normal electron conducting path. This also allows the components to be brought closer together, thus facilitating higher speed processors to be designed into the electronic circuitry. Thus the circuits are faster, and occupy less real estate!

"Our Via Fill technology consistently fills up to and over 85-90 per cent at a variety of hole depths and aspect ratios, differing sizes of Blind Vias and at different speeds, without compromising the quality of neighbouring holes and tracks on the panel.

We have two solutions to the challenge ?conventional in-tank plating with a reciprocating sparger system; and the MCP-PAL vertical continuous plating in both cases using the specially developed JFA (Jet Flow Attenuation) sparger system."

Increasingly, the challenge of Via Filling on conventional vertical PAL machine, was an issue, and PAL’s NewTech Department came up with the an answer that involves a special moving sparger system (patent filed September 2003) to replenish the plating solution at the PCB face. An existing PAL customer is currently testing this in real time with a PAL conventional vertical plating machine in Northern Europe and consistently good results are being achieved. Currently the customer is testing a variety of different types of laminate with random glass and this is faring particularly well. It is not the sparger system alone that holds the "secret of success", the chemistry used too is important. In the above case Rohm And Haas chemistry was selected.

"A specialised additive, carefully controlled Copper concentration and good solution exchange are all key," explains Bruce Norsworthy. "One interesting by-product of the system, is that regeneration of the system’s brightener is needed to achieve the continuous Via Fill capability. It requires its own small dummy plate out cell, and this, it turn, needs a small Copper Replenishment System (CRS), since the procedure results in loss of copper, as this is plated out simultaneously during the regeneration procedure. Inert anodes are used to assist the process, hence the chemical balance is maintained by the CRS system. The solution is returned to the plating bath in a controlled way to keep the level of additives at an optimum level for Via Fill and routine plating performance.