Laser imaging of printed circuit patterns without using phototoo

Details Laser imaging of printed circuit patterns without using phototoo Laser imaging of printed circuit patterns without using phototoo

1997-06-24

1999-04-20

Powell, William

Etching a substrate: processes

Forming or treating electrical conductor article

216 47, 216 51, 216 65, 428209, B44C 122

Patent

active

058955810

ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a conducting pattern on a non-conducting substrate, that leads to a printed circuit board (PCB). The method obviates the use of phototools and is known in the art as "direct write" (DW). It is achieved by coating the copper cladding of an insulating laminate with one or more very thin (1 to 10 micron) metallic layer or layers, that can act as copper etch-resists, when top-coated with at least one laser-imageable polymeric layer, where the principal function of the laser-defined polymeric coating is to achieve high resolution imaging, leaving the major "burden" of copper etch resistance to the metallic coating(s) that are exposed, bared following the laser imaging operation. The substantial advantage of this invention is that the etch resistance is principally achieved by the metal-bearing layer or layers underneath the organic areas that are left on the copper cladding following laser patterning. As a result, the PCBs prepared according to the present invention can use extremely thin layer(s) of laser-imageable organic coatings, and thereby achieve fast scanning speeds or low laser energies, since the organic/polymeric imaging resist is not relied-upon (exclusively) for etch resistance. Thus, the present invention teaches the concept that the polymeric, laser-definable resist has a dual function. The major one being image definition, and not copper etch resistance.

REFERENCES:
patent: 4842677 (1989-06-01), Wojnarowski et al.
patent: 5505320 (1996-04-01), Burns et al.

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