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JULY 2024 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 51 ing vertical cells for each process step: Developing is a cell, etching is a cell, oxide is a cell, etc. We then break up the process into three vertical hoist lines. One line does inner layer processing with an inert carrier, one does most additive and semi-additive steps with a galvanic flight bar, and one does immersion/electroless fin- ishes with a laminar flow basket. We even inte- grate UV bumps, plasma cleaning, and bakes directly into the line to control the timing of these important steps. e combined cost of the equipment is simi- lar to a horizontal wet process kit from China. Still, the system complexity is much lower, and the process capability is much higher for high- mix applications. We have about three times the number of controls vs. any horizontal process as well. is vertical equipment also has less than 1% of the number of physical parts compared to the equivalent horizontal equipment and a much lower risk of failure/maintenance downtime as a result. Additionally, it can all be directed from one central position managing the panel han- dling for all three lines. Finally, due to the batch nature of the process, the chemical controls and repeatability are far higher. ese new systems leverage established product technology already qualified for UHDI and substrate applications at defense primes in the U.S. e innovation lies not in the technol- ogy itself, but in how it is combined to achieve single-piece flow efficiency. Diverse Application Laser Drilling Very recently, if you wanted to do 25–50-micron laser vias, 300-micron laser vias/trenches, cavity/flex routing, and a wide range of materials (all of which can be seen across the defense and aerospace product portfolio), you would have needed two to four different laser drill machines—each with a dif- ferent combination of laser source and opti- cal path technology—to get the job done. We are happy to report that all these applications have been consolidated into a single tool. By merging pico-green and CO 2 sources into a s ingle platform with beam expanders to adjust