IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1546580
54 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2026 fill the holes without a seed layer. Then we planarize the bottom and the top, and it's finished. We are currently running panels for a customer in China, but for our lab on a scale of a dozen panels. Scaling is always a great challenge, but we will get there soon. Where is SCHMID in the development of this ad- vanced manufacturing equipment with customers? We are in the final stages of developing these new tools, and we continue to work on making them fully automated. Our lab is full of samples, some of which are 100% void-free in the glass vias. It is very promising. What other partnerships are involved? We are experimenting with some companies on plating chemistries to reduce the required plating time, currently estimated at 24–30 hours for holes with a 1:50 aspect ratio. Wow, 1:50 aspect ratio is difficult to imagine. Now we are working to scale this bottom-top plater. The design is defined, and the first equipment will be delivered during the second quarter of 2027. When it comes to materials, and other than glass, are there other alternatives to ABF that you are aware of? Yes, other players are coming into that market Figure 2: How the surface looks after the plating process and before chemical mechanical planarization (CMP).