Photoelectrochemical fabrication of electronic circuits

Details Photoelectrochemical fabrication of electronic circuits Photoelectrochemical fabrication of electronic circuits

1995-11-17

1997-01-21

Bell, Bruce F.

Electrolysis: processes, compositions used therein, and methods

Electrolytic coating

Utilizing electromagnetic wave energy during coating

205 92, 205123, 205137, 205157, 427 98, 427305, 427437, C25D 500, C25D 502, C25D 712, B05D 512

Patent

active

055956378

ABSTRACT:
A photoelectrochemical method and apparatus are disclosed for fabricating electronic circuits. An electroplating solution is applied to the surface of a reverse biased p-type semiconductor material, such as NiO. The solution-covered NiO surface is illuminated with a light beam directed by computer aided design data to photoelectrochemically deposit a seed layer of metal in an electronic circuit pattern. The seed layer may be thickened by further deposition in a plating bath to form metallic circuit traces on the NiO. If desired, the metallic circuitry may be transferred from the NiO to an alternate substrate having a low dielectric constant. The porosity of the NiO surface can be adjusted to optimize the metallic circuit adhesion for image retention or ease of transfer. The metallic traces may also be treated to reduce adhesion of subsequently deposited metal that can be transferred readily. If sufficient residual metal remains on the NiO surface after circuit transfer, the trace can be rethickened to transfer multiple circuits of the same pattern without reimaging. An old metallic image can be electro-dissolved by changing the bias of the NiO with respect to the plating bath, thereby erasing the old image so that a new circuit pattern can be formed by photoelectrochemical deposition. The process can be performed on a rotating cylinder so that electronic circuits can be produced in a continuous process of photoelectrochemical deposition, seed metal thickening, adhesion reduction, circuit transfer, and image erasure that provides advantages in cost, circuit resolution, and environmental protection.

REFERENCES:
patent: 4430165 (1984-02-01), Inoue
patent: 4608138 (1986-08-01), Kobayashi
patent: 5206102 (1993-04-01), Tench
Inoue et al., "Photoelectrochromic Characteristics of Photoelectrochemical Imaging System with a Semiconductor/Solution (Metallic ion) Junction", J. Electrochem. Soc., pp. 1582-1588.

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