EP0171630A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System for producing high resolution circuit lines on a printed circuit board
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1985-07-16
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2005-07-16
Abstract
Abstract A photohardenable element or structure (9) having a protective cover sheet (14), a substantially clear support layer (10) disposed beneath the cover sheet layer, and a photoresist layer (12) sandwiched therebetween. The protective cover sheet layer is removed, and the remaining two layers of the photohardenable element are laminated onto a plating substrate (16) to form a panel. Artwork is provided in contact with the support layer (10); the artwork and panel are exposed through the support layer to radiation; the support layer (10) of the photohardenable element is removed; and the panel is developed. Finally, the panel is plated with an electrical conducting substance to adhere to the plating substrate (16) to form electrical conductors and the photoresist (12) is removed. In another embodiment, the protective cover sheet layer (14) of the photo-hardenable element (9) is removed, and the remaining two layers of the photohardenable element are laminated onto a plating substrate (16) covered with a thin layer of copper (18). to form a panel. Artwork is provided in contact with the support layer (10); the artwork and panel are exposed to radiation; the support layer of the photohardenable element is removed; and the panel is developed. Next, the panel is plated with an electrical conducting substance and then with tin. The photoresist (12) is removed. Finally, the thin copper layer (18) is etched in areas where printed circuit lines are not desirable and the tin is removed.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael J. Canestaro
- 👤 Ralph E. Parsons
- 👤 John A. Welsh
- 👤 Nimrod N. Mesley
- 👤 John G. Stephanie
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 16:09
CPC Classifications
H; H05; H05K; H05K3/00; H05K3/0073; H05K3/0082; G; G03; G03F; G03F7/00; G03F7/16; G03F7/161; H05K2201/00; H05K2201/01; H05K2201/0104; H05K2201/0108; H05K2203/00; H05K2203/06; H05K2203/066; H05K2203/11; H05K2203/1152; H05K3/10; H05K3/108
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 25
Claim 1
Independent Claim
68 words
A photohardenable element (9) for use in the manufacture of a substantially defect-free fine line printed circuit board comprising: a) a support layer (10); b) a removable protective cover sheet layer (14) disposed beneath said support layer and c) a photoresist layer (12) sandwiched between said support layer and said cover sheet layer; characterized by said support layer (10) being substantially clear to decrease diffraction during radiation exposure.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
68 words
A photohardenable element (9) for use in the manufacture of a substantially defect-free fine line printed circuit board comprising: a) a support layer (10); b) a removable protective cover sheet layer (14) disposed beneath said support layer and c) a photoresist layer (12) sandwiched between said support layer and said cover sheet layer; characterized by said support layer (10) being substantially clear to decrease diffraction during radiation exposure.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The element in accordance with claim 1 wherein said support layer has a Gardener haze meter value of less than 2X.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
15 words
The element in accordance with claim 1 or 2 wherein said support layer comprises Mylar.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
The element in accordance with a previous claim wherein said removable protective cover sheet layer comprises polyethylene.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
The element in accordance with a previous claim further comprising: d) a nonconductive plating substrate (16) disposed beneath said photoresist layer (13), after said protective cover sheet layer (14) is removed.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
52 words
The element in accordance with any of claims 1-4 wherein said removable protective cover sheet layer (14) is matted to prevent air entrapment when said photohardenable element (9) is rolled and to decrease static electricity when said photohardenable element layers (12, 10) are separated and placed on said nonconductive plating substrate (16).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
13 words
The element in accordance with claim 5 wherein said substrate (16) comprises glass.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
13 words
The element in accordance with claim 7 wherein said substrate further comprises epoxy.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
23 words
The element in accordance with claim 5 further comprising; e) an electrically conductive material layer (18) disposed on said nonconductive plating substrate (16).
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
14 words
The element in accordance with claim 9 wherein said electrically conductive material comprises copper.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
152 words
A method for manufacturing a substantially defect free fine line printed circuit board, the steps comprising: a) providing a photohardenable element (9) comprising: i) a support layer (10), ii) a protective cover sheet layer (14) disposed beneath said support layer, and iii) a photoresist layer (12) sandwiched therebetween; b) removing said protective cover sheet layer; c) laminating the remaining two layers of said photohardenable element onto a plating substrate (16) to form a panel; d) providing artwork proximate said support layer of said photo- hardenable element; e) exposing said artwork and said panel to radiation; f) removing said support layer (10) of said photohardenable element from said panel; g) developing said panel; h) plating said panel with an electrical conducting substance to form lines of electrical £onductors; and i) stripping said photoresist layer (12) from said panel; characterized by said support layer (10) being substantially clear to decrease diffraction during radiation exposure.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
152 words
A method for manufacturing a substantially defect free fine line printed circuit board, the steps comprising: a) providing a photohardenable element (9) comprising: i) a support layer (10), ii) a protective cover sheet layer (14) disposed beneath said support layer, and iii) a photoresist layer (12) sandwiched therebetween; b) removing said protective cover sheet layer; c) laminating the remaining two layers of said photohardenable element onto a plating substrate (16) to form a panel; d) providing artwork proximate said support layer of said photo- hardenable element; e) exposing said artwork and said panel to radiation; f) removing said support layer (10) of said photohardenable element from said panel; g) developing said panel; h) plating said panel with an electrical conducting substance to form lines of electrical £onductors; and i) stripping said photoresist layer (12) from said panel; characterized by said support layer (10) being substantially clear to decrease diffraction during radiation exposure.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method in accordance with claim 11 wherein said plating substrate comprises a copper foil-clad laminate (16, 18).
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method in accordance with claim 12, the steps further comprising etching said plating substrate prior to performing step (c).
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method in accordance with claim 13, the steps further comprising seeding said plating substrate and/or treating it with a protective material prior to performing step (c).
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method in accordance with claim 11 wherein said support layer (10) of said photohardenable element has a Gardener haze meter value of less than 2%.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method in accordance with claim 11 or 15 wherein said support layer of said photohardenable element comprises Mylar.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method in accordance with claim 11 wherein said protective cover sheet (14) of said photohardenable element (9) is patterned to prevent air entrapment when said photohardenable element is rolled and to decrease static electricity when said photohardenable element layers are separated and placed on said plating substrate (16).
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method in accordance with claim 11 wherein a hot roll laminating device (20, 22) is used to laminate said photoresist layer and said support layer of said photohardenable element (9) to said plating substrate (16).
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method in accordance with claim 11 wherein said artwork is connected to said support layer of said photohardenable element during exposure to radiation.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method in accordance with claim 11 wherein said radiation is light in the ultraviolet range.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
47 words
The method in accordance with any of claims 11-20, the steps further comprising laminating a conductor comprising a microthin copper layer (18) bonded to a carrier layer with a hardened dielectric material layer (16) prior to step (c), and removing said carrier layer prior to step (c).
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method in accordance with claim 21, the steps further comprising roughening the surface of said microthin copper (18) prior to step (c).
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method in accordance with claim 21 or 22, the steps further comprising applying an adhesion promoter prior to step (c).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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