Desmear and metallization
Integrated wet chemical process and equipment solutions for package substrates and printed circuit boards (HDI/MLB and Flex/Flex-Rigid)
Quick facts
- Global market leader for horizontal high end HDI manufacturing
- Worldwide market reference for desmear processes in all market segments
- Over 100 vertical and 230 horizontal lines are running in mass production with our electroless copper processes
Applications
- Horizontal electroless copper
- Vertical electroless copper
- Desmear
- Direct plating
- Metallization of transparent substrates
Product portfolio
Horizontal electroless copper
Very good coverage and throwing power despite challenging geometry of the BMV
- Printoganth® P2: the latest update to the Printoganth P series and improves over the current Printoganth P Plus process with an increased throwing power and a wider compatibility to via fill electrolytes.
- Neoganth® E Activator: specifically designed to operate at a minimal Pd content with excellent coverage performance. Achieving a high activator bath stability dramatically reduces Pd precipitation and sludge formation, ensuring that Pd loss is kept to a minimum, but more importantly, the Pd remains in solution where it needs to be to ensure excellent dielectric and glass coverage. Suitable for all horizontal applications where cost control is critical, the Neoganth® E Activator system is ideally suited for low and high volume PCB production. Neoganth® E Activator HP: the next generation of high volume horizontal activation. Neoganth® E Activator HP has been optimized for use on challenging dielectric materials and ensures excellent adsorption and electroless copper coverage on both the resin and glass fibers.
- Neoganth® W PreDip: when used in combination with the Neoganth® Activators, this unique PreDip enables a very high activator bath stability, which significantly reduces Pd precipitation and sludge formation and reduces process cost of ownership.
- Printoganth® U NF2: with increasing concerns around the use of nickel in many applications, Printoganth® U NF2 extends the market leading Printoganth® U series of electroless copper, and offers all the performance of the previous generations but in a nickel-free format.
- Printoganth® U Plus: ideally suited for the production of high layer count PCBs utilizing multiple inner layers and advanced HDI any-layer, or ELIC technologies. As the market leading high reliability electroless copper process Printoganth® U Plus produces excellent copper to copper interconnections resulting in the best reliability performance even under severe thermal shock conditions. With over 80 installations, and an installed capacity in excess of 25 million m²/year Printoganth® U Plus has an unrivalled customer base within leading global HDI PCB manufacturers.
- Printoganth® T1: meets the needs of advanced HDI applications using amSAP production technologies. Offering exceptional throwing power and coverage of challenging blind microvias, in combination with optimized copper thickness uniformity, Printoganth® T1 enables sub 30µm features when used with pattern plating electrolytes. Compatible with a wide range of dielectric materials, including BT and PI, and with an optimized internal stress level, Printoganth® T1 exhibits best in class copper adhesion making it the ideal electroless copper process for next generation mobile device PCBs.
- Printoganth® P Plus: offers very good adhesion and no blistering even on the smoothest substrates due to its controlled internal stress characteristics. It is therefore the best choice for flex / flex-rigid production and MLB / HDI manufacturing on demanding base materials such as PTFE or BT.
Vertical electroless copper
Printoganth MV TP1
- Printoganth® MV TP2: optimized to give high throwing power into blind micro vias, including the wedge, while its low deposition thickness enables fine lines and spaces of 10 μm and less. With a low bath initiation and dummy requirement, in combination with a viable stable analysis method for enhanced process control, makes Printoganth MV TP2 the only solution for high volume SAP applications, or manufacturers where the ability to switch between amSAP and full SAP is desirable.
- Printoganth® PV G2: the second generation of the Printoganth® PV series has been optimised for high performance applications where enhanced throwing power and consistent coverage on challenging dielectrics is a must. Designed to be compatible with a wide range of via fill electrolytes, Printoganth® PV G2 is the ideal electroless copper process for vertical multilayer, HDI and advanced HDI (mSAP) production.
- Noviganth® LS Plus: mass production proven vertical electroless copper process that has been optimized as a robust and cost effective solution for low to medium technology vertical MLB / HDI customers. Combined with our dedicated vertical desmear processes, Noviganth® LS Plus offers maximum performance at minimized cost.
- Noviganth® AF 76: the latest edition of the Noviganth series and combines a low Pd bearing activator system in combination with a high build, “self-accelerated” electroless copper bath. Its production is proven in the USA on rigid, flex and flex-rigid PCBs.
- Pallaganth® and Noviganth® BV: Pallaganth® BV is a Pd/Sn based activation system meeting the demands of todays high volume PCB production. When used in combination with the Noviganth® BV electroless Copper bath, they offer a stable and robust low build vertical electroless copper process solution for high reliability applications.
Direct plating
Propagation test for Viaking
- ViaKing®: cost-effective, enhanced graphite metallization process ideally suited for flex, flex rigid and multilayer PCBs using exotic or mixed dielectric materials. Designed to accommodate a low etch rate, in combination with a graphite step that can operate at a higher temperature and pH, ViaKing® provides excellent stability, conductivity and electrical integrity for market leading high yield electrolytic plating.
- Ecopact® CP: well-established conductive polymer based direct metallization process that is suitable for both vertical and horizontal application. It is environmental friendly because of low consumption and waste water generation and no use of harmful substances like cyanide or formaldehyde. Thus, Ecopact® CP is often considered as the “green” alternative to electroless copper processes for HDI, MLB and flex-rigid production.
- Neopact®: an organic-stabilized and palladium based technology. It has an unparalleled ability to adhere to almost any type of base material. Even on Teflon, Neopact® achieves excellent plating results. This makes it the ideal choice for HDI, MLB and flex applications with “exotic” laminates. The easy to handle process is based on environmental friendly chemistry making Neopact® a future oriented alternative to the classical electroless copper process. It is applicable in horizontal and vertical mode.
Desmear
Ajinomoto bare laminate: Prior and after desmear (magn. 1000x)
- Securiganth® MV: enables outstanding cleaning and roughening performance, and provides the industry standard desmear process for bare laminates utilized in high-end IC Substrates based on Semi-Additive Process (SAP) technologies.
- Securiganth® E & Securiganth® NX: perfectly suited to HDI, multilayer and flex-rigid production, the Securiganth® E and Securiganth® NX product families position Atotech as the leading supplier of horizontal and vertical desmear systems.
- Oxamat: Atotech production proven regeneration system Oxamat significantly reduces the sludge of manganate dioxide (MnO2) that is formed during the desmear process. The Oxamat system regenerates manganate to permanganate, thereby preventing the accumulation of sludge and related additional chemical dosing. Additionally, the Oxamat cuts maintenance time in half as less extensive cleaning cycles and make-ups are needed.
Metallization of transparent substrates
Top: Copper feature as received, bottom: Copper feature blackened by TeloTech® TS Black
- CupraTech® TS and TeloTech® TS Black: Metallization of touch sensors based on copper mesh: ITO (Indium-Tin-Oxide) based transparent conductive films are the state of the art technology that is applied in most touch sensors manufactured worldwide. Recently, several competing technologies emerge to enable flexible and large size touch sensors – not possible with the ITO based technology. MKS Atotech is providing chemical solutions for one of the most promising technologies based on copper mesh as conductive layer. CupraTech® TS is enabling electroless copper deposition on seed different seed layer whereas TeloTech TS Black is minimizing the visual perception of conductor tracks on substrates.
- CupraTech® GI M: Metallization of glass: In order to meet the growing interest for the integration of glass cores into advanced PCB designs, and specifically designed for use with our unique Vitrocoat® GI process, the CupraTech® GI M electroless copper process is ideal for deposition of metallization layers directly onto glass substrates. As a wet chemical replacement for costly and limiting vacuum deposited seed layers, the CupraTech® GI M process enables high aspect ratio through holes in glass substrates as well as uniform surface copper deposits which allows for current fine line feature formation.
Featured products
Printoganth® MV TP2
Next generation electroless copper for fine line SAP applications
Printoganth® P2
Universal high throw, horizontal electroless copper process for advanced dielectrics
Printoganth® U Plus
Market leading horizontal electroless copper for highest reliability and ELIC applications
ViaKing®
Our enhanced graphite based direct metallization process
ViaKing®
Superior graphite based direct metallization product
ViaKing® our superior graphite based direct metallization process that has been designed specifically as a short horizontal process solution for flex, flex-rigid, multilayer and HDI printed circuit board manufacturing.
Uniplate® P/LB
Cutting edge mass production equipment for desmear and electroless copper process in horizontal transportation mode
The Uniplate® P/LB system is the market leading production equipment for high-end HDI as well as IC substrates manufacturing.
- Uniplate® P – reliable and stable desmear performance of through holes and BMVs with the same process conditions for each treated panel.
- Uniplate® LB – uniform electroless copper deposition and excellent throwing power performance due to the unique flooding device systems for optimized solution exchange.
