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42 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2026 vertical plating lines, offering flexibility and optimal process control. This case study examines the throwing power (TP) results from recent sample plating at a customer facility employing GSE's modular vertical electrolytic copper plating tool. Included in the results are aspect ratios of between 16:1 and approxi- mately 50:1, hole diameters of 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, and 0.3 mm, and panel thicknesses of 3.2 mm, 3.8 mm, 4.5 mm, and 7.4 mm. The results are taken from pre-trials prior to plating the champion panel for the potential customer's internal evaluation. Testing activities conducted on the customer's production plating line are significantly constrained by operational and process qualification limitations. The GSE team was unable to utilize the optimum plating parameters required for effective evaluation of the sample work panels because the line was operating under active production conditions. Since the process chemistry and operating windows had already been qualified for customer manu- facturing, chemical concen- trations, current density, and additive balance could not be adjusted to levels consid- ered technically optimal for the trial work. As a result, the testing was performed using production- approved settings rather than the preferred devel- opment parameters identi- fied by the GSE team. This introduced substantial limi- tations in the ability to fully assess plating performance, process capability, and defect sensitivity under ideal operating conditions. Any deviation from the qualified process settings would have Table 1: Pre-processing conditions for champion test panels Figure 1: The mean throwing power results from the sample.