Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1507822
SEPTEMBER 2023 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 73 For our customers, several key factors usu- ally drive the decision to install MKS' Atotech equipment lines. ese include our long his- tory as a reputable global solutions pro- vider and proven record of successful instal- lations worldwide. Today, we have delivered and installed more than 2,150 horizontal PCB systems for surface treatment, desmear and metallization, copper electroplating, and final finishing of printed circuit boards and IC sub- strates, of which more than 1,000 are horizon- tal copper platers. ey are well known for their outstanding repeatability of copper deposition uniformity and pure copper plating results. With the shi toward increased investment in local manufacturing in the U.S., our system solutions are appreciated as high-quality prod- ucts to support manufacturing demand now and in the future. With our long history in the Americas, we are happy to see this develop- ment and are excited to provide the best pos- sible technical support to our customer base, which is growing, especially with the trend of opening new, innovative PCB plants. MKS' Atotech Uniplate® PLBCu6 and Uniplate® Cu18 Uniplate PLBCu6 is an inline wet-to-wet hor- izontal equipment for desmear, electroless cop- per, and flash copper plating. Uniplate Cu18 is a conformal plating and copper filling line for vias or through-holes. Both lines can be configured and connected with each other for a high level of flexible production set-ups. Customers can choose to run the lines separately or connect them with inlet and outlet stations in-between to create an inline process flow for enhanced plating performance. is allows customers a high level of flexibility and automatic line adjustment, depending on various PCB batches and their processing needs. For example, panels can be run twice through the desmear process, if required, or taken out aer the flash copper plating for dry film pretreatment if the pattern plating process needs to be run subsequently. Alternatively, the processes can be run com- pletely inline from PLBCu6 to Cu18 if confor- mal plating or copper filling of vias or through- holes in panel plating mode is required. Figure 1: Uniplate® Cu18 for advanced conformal plating and copper filling of vias and through-holes.