Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1038326
OCTOBER 2018 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 43 is not your typical mixture in most PCB man- ufacturing sites. What Alex has done is marry the two to gain the maximum flexibility. That's how I would summarize GreenSource's advan- tage. Holden: One of the things that Alex pioneered on the first generation was removing the need for cleaners or acid dips because there was no time for oxidation and no handling. Foley: Alex uses the cleaner on his standard production when it's coming directly from the drill. Before ENIG, they'll remove the solder mask organic contamination with the Bond- Film LDD SR equipment. Holden: Which of the processes have automatic technical control analysis and dosing? Foley: All of our horizontal systems have auto- matic dosing; it's standard on our horizontal line except the ENIG line, which is chemical- ly controlled by the laboratory through daily analysis for additions. The electroless copper and reduction chemistry has automatic control- lers built into the line do- ing continuous analysis. The acid copper platers have this as well. Atotech will supply some unique acid coppers to use for the Ludy system, which is vertical equipment, al- though I'm not 100% sure how that system is set up. Another difference in all the Atotech lines is that water on/off is done by conductivity con- trol rather than creating a steady flow of a cou- ple liters a minute. This provides water conserva- tion—another one of Al- ex's green features. If you look, you'll see a motor turning in that plastic cas- ing. That's our patented edge split-filter system (ESF). It's a self-cleaning metal-mesh filtration system. When the permanganate is pumped to the holding tank, it's constantly running through a filtration system while in the unit. You can't do that with standard filters. We're extending the life of the bath and reducing par- ticles that could affect line and space. Next is the BondFilm LDD SR. The chemis- try is peroxide-sulfuric with a different organic. The "SR" part stands for splash reducer, refer- ring to laser drill splash. When you laser drill, you get splash around the area of the hole. The LDD SR reduces that splash and cleans the cap- ture pad for microvia production. In the LDD SR, the panels go through the alkaline cleaner rinse to the BondFilm stage, and then a rinse before it goes into the next line—desmear or offload. Once it's through desmear, it's ready for elec- troless copper or a conductive polymer. The next line is what we call the standalone low- build (LB) electroless copper, which would be very little copper and you would strike plate afterward. More accurately, we're putting on a Figure 6: Working together, pumps and condensers provide the Atotech lines with precise, dynamic chemical recipe control and fume capture. Both features are key to achieving zero effluents and any-panel lot sizes.