DEDICATED TO MY FRIEND SOFTER FRAME WHOSE ONE STATEMENT HAS CHANGED

MY ENTIRE LIFE
Before Getting In…

My dear friends! PCB manufacturing is one of the most practical subjects of

our syllabus.
This is a must-know subject in the course of Electronic Engineering. Its style
of studying is a bit different. Fortunately, we have a complete set of PCB
manufacturing devices and machines in our PCB LAB. I have compiled this
report in order to give you a preview of what we do in our PCB LAB. This
report is written about the processes which come after Cutting and Drilling
of PCBs. So remember, that I have assumed that you have already cut and
drilled your PCB. In this report, I have tried to be as simpler as possible,
even then you may require some technical guidance from your subject
teacher. Diagrams are given to illustrate almost every aspect that is written
in this report. Remember, that this report was first written by me as a
description of what I saw and experienced in my session of PCB LAB. This
report is the revised version of the same report with some more figures and
details about the processes. Furthermore, this report is the blend of my
personal research and the lessons of my teachers. Most of the pictures here
are made by me and some of them are taken from various websites. I would
like to thank my PCB teachers Sir Ghous Baksh and Sir Babar Ali Shah for
teaching me so effectively that today im able to write this report. I will
appreciate if you will report me any mistake in this report if found. I am
confident that this report will serve its purpose Insha Allah.

Enjoying Reading Fabrication !!

Prepared By
Shaiq Bashir
Student of Electronic Engineering (Batch 2004-2005)
NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi

Reviewed By
Syed Muhammad Babar Ali
Department of Electronic Engineering
NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi
Copper Plating

Ok guys! Now you have a PCB Board in your hand, which may be drilled or
undrilled. But as you can see that it is made up of a material that cannot conduct
electricity. So, how we are going to make it for conducting electric current. Well
that is the reason why a PCB is copper plated. In this process, we intend to plate
the board from both sides with copper. And this will make the whole board
conducting.

The machine that we use in our lab for Copper Plating is called:

Bungard Compacta L30 ABC

The reason for which it is called COMPACTA is due to its small size and high
intelligence. This machine offers a complete GALVANIC PLATING SYSTEM for a
maximum board size of 210 x 300 mm. Lets have a look at some of the features of
this machine:

• The speed of board movement is adjustable as required.

• That ensures a good chemical flow and excellent chemical contact
especially in the drilled holes of the PCB.
• There are thermostat controlled baths with large surface teflon heaters for
gentle temperature adjutments.
• Digital timers are available with each bath with countdown, accoustic end
signals and auto reset functions.
• There is a feature of bath circulation by air injection which is also
available.
 • Rectifieres with low residual ripples, and with constant current and
constant voltage output are given on the machine.
• There are large analog Amperes and Voltage displays present.
As you can see in the figure, the treatment baths that are given in the machine. It
is very important to understand the sequence and purpose of each of these baths.

There are total 6 baths that are provided in this machine. Lets first have a quick
look at these baths:

Bath 1: Cleaner Conditioner

Bath 2: Pre-Dip
Bath 3: Catalyst
Bath 4: Intensifier
Bath 5: Spare Bath
Bath 6: Copper Plating

Before discussing these baths in detail, we must know about the rinsing facility
provided in this machine. COMPACTA L30 ABC provides two types of rinsing baths:

1. Static Rinsing
2. Spray Rinsing

Rinsing is usually done with water. We will rinse our board after each step except
for Pre-Dip.

Now lets discuss these baths in detail:

Bath 1 (Cleaner Conditioner):

Chemical Code name: DS270

Time: 7 min
Temperature: 65-70 degree celsius
Rinsing: Static Rinsing (1min), Spray Rinsing (1min)

This is the first bath in the machine. We dip our PCB board in this bath containing
the above mentioned chemical. DS270 is basically an alkaline cleaner-conditioner
that is used for cleaning and conditioning of PCB substrates. It contains certain
conditioning agents that have the ability to activate glass fibres and dielectric so
that a proper and reliable absorption of the catalyst is possible.

Bath 2 (Pre-Dip):

Chemical Code name: DS400

Time: 1 min
Temperature: 20-25 degree celsius
Rinsing: Not Required

The second bath contains a chemical called Pre-Dip. This chemical has a special
additive which prepares the panerls for the activation process step and it protects
the catalyst (which will be used in the next step) from harmful drag-in
(contaimination). This ensures superior performance and extends the life of
catalyst.
Bath 3 (Catalyst):

Chemical Code name: DS500

Time: 7 min
Temperature: 20-25 degree celsius
Rinsing: Static Rinsing (1min), Spray Rinsing (1min)

This is the third bath and the chemical that is used here is called Activator DS500.
It is a low acid colloidal Palladium catalyst that is specially formulated to seed the
non-conductive surfaces of PCBs for complete and uniform desposition of copper. It
actually creates a dense, uniformed distribution of drill hole activation necessary
to achieve the highes conductivity and consistent perfect coverage.

Bath 4 (Intensifier):

Chemical Code name: DS650

Time: 4 min
Temperature: 45 degree celsius
Rinsing: Static Rinsing (1min), Spray Rinsing (1min)

This fourth bath contains a soultion which is called Intensifier DS650. It is also
called an Accelerator. Its important function is to modify absorbed catalyst to allow
quick and uniform metal desposition of copper. It strongly improves board
platibility by creating a conductive metallic layer inside the holes. It promotes
Cu-Cu bonds and protects the copper from potentially harmful catalyst drag-in.

Bath 5 (Spare Bath):

Well, this bath can be used for other spare purpose.

Bath 6 (Copper Plating):

Chemical Code name: CU400

Time: 24 min
Temperature: 20-25 degree celsius
Rinsing: Static Rinsing (1min), Spray Rinsing (1min)

This is the last bath in this machine and the most important one. Here, actually
your board gets plated with copper. It is extremely important to understand this
bath. CU400 is the chemical that is contained in this bath. This chemical produces
highly levelled, bright smooth copper deposits on properly prepared and conductive
PCB at both high and low current density levels.

There are two copper anodes in this bath which are enclosed in bags. The mixture
is agitated by the injection of air. Please keep this thing in your mind that
COMPACTA L30 ABC machine has the capability to plate a board at a speed of
0.7 um/min at 3A/dm2 of current settings. This will take almost 24min to plate a
board of size 210 x 300mm as mentioned above.
Photo-Plotting

You have prepared the layout in any software like OrCAD, P-CAD, Allegro and etc.
So now its time to get this artwork printed on your PCB. But for that you have to
get this artwork in hard form, i.e. from the screen of your monitor to some
photographic film. And this is done through Photo-Plotter.

Well! My dear friends! For photo-plotting, we use obvioulsy a Photo-plotter and

that one is present in our PCB lab is:

Bungard Filmstar Photo-Plotter

As far as its specifications are concerned, you can read them from the manual
provided. Let’s get straight back to the point. This photo-plotter comes with three
software packages:

1) GERB2BITMAP-----used to covert the GERBER and EXTENDED GERBER files

into high resolution Bitmap format which serve as FPF (Foto-Plotter Files).
2) VIEW MATE------used to view your artwork.
3) RUN_PLOTTER-----used to export the bitmap file to the photo-plotter for
the plotting purpose.

Let’s come back to the plotter. Now you have to use a photographic film which is
manufactured by many graphic industries like Agfa, Kodak and Bungard too. When
you will have a close look at this film, you will find that its one side is dull and
other is shiny than full side. The dull side EMULSION side, you have to put this
emulsion side down when placing it around the drum of the plotter. You can use the
adhesive paper tape in order to ensure perfect contact between the surface of the
drum and the film. The paper tape also makes it possible to eliminate any inclusion
of dust particles in between surfaces. Now move your drum back to the initial
position. This is determined by the two white markers, out of which, one is present
on the fixed body of the plotter and the other on the drum. When these two
markers coincide, it means that this is the starting position of the drum. Now close
the cover and come back to your computer.

So here is what the simple procedure you will follow:

 1) Import you GERBER or Extended GERBER file in GERB2BITMAP and then
export it into the bitmap format or FPF format.
2) Use Run_PLOTTER to import these bitmap/FPF files. In this software, you
can vary the intensity of the laser light to be used in the plotter as well as
you can select X-resolution of the four that are provided. Remember that
Y-resolution is fixed here. And finally you export the file to the plotter for
plotting the artwork.

Warning! Remember that our Plotter is connected with a parallel port with the PC.
After plotting, we open the cover and take the film out.

Now its time to develop our artwork. Remember the following configuration for
developing the artwork.

1) Developing
2) Rinsing
3) Fixation
4) Rinsing
5) Drying

Now remember one thing here, for the first three steps, it is more effective to use
vertical treatment tanks, but that doesn’t mean that horizontal ones can not be
used. We have used horizontal treatment tanks for these processes. we will use
three trays actually. The first one is filled with the “Developer” solution, the
second one is filled with Water, and the third one is filled with “Fixer”. We will
pass our plotter mask (the film containing that artowork) through each of these
trays and our image will be developed and become visible. Remember one point
here, all this photo-plotting and developing is done in a Dark Room with GREEN
safe light.

Now remember that two types of Plotter mask can be prepared:

1) Positive Art Work-------It contains tracks and conductive paths in black

color and other non-conductive areas in transparent.
2) Negative Art Work------It contains tracks and conductive paths in
transparent and the other non-conductive areas in black color.

Remember this difference with full clearity because this concept will be much used
in the later sections of PCB manufacturing. Here I have given two example figures
to illustrate this difference.
Lamination

Before understanding Lamination Process, it is better to know that what actually

the lamination is?

Lamination means “to bond some layers together” and the sheet which is used in
this process is called a “Laminate”

Photo-Resist Laminates (for PCB only) are basically of two types:

1. Photo-resist Laminate blue Etch Resist

2. Photo-resist Laminate Solder Mask (Also available in different colours)

Now a laminate is composed of three layers. These are

1) Peel Sheet
It’s a transparent Polyester covering sheet which covers the laminate sheet
inside. It is removed automatically by the laminator during lamination.

2) Resist Film
This is the main laminate sheet. It is sensitive to light, can be developed in the
solution called “Developer” and possess a very high viscosity.

3) Cover Sheet
This is a heat-resistant sheet. Its main function is to block oxygen from
effecting the laminate inside. It is not removed by the laminator so it stays
there after lamination. It is removed just before developing the board after
exposing.

Since by know we have discussed that what basically a laminate is. So its time to
discuss the lamination process. In our lab, the machine that we are using for the
lamination is called
Bungard RLM 419-P Laminator
In this laminator, you can adjust Pressure, Transport Speed and Temperature with
the help of separate controlls given on it. Its maximum throughput is 20 square
meters per hour.

It looks like a Plastic Coating machine, you have to insert the board from one side
and the board gets out from the other. It has got rollers that contain the laminate
sheet on them. One of two protective coverings of the laminate sheet is stripped
off by the laminator itself. Look for its roller diagram in the manual provided.
Remember that since the photo-sensitive material is used as the laminate
therefore, this process is carried out in the dark room with yellow safe light. We
used a 30 sec time for our double sided PCB. The PCB is entered and we get a fully
coated PCB (coated from both sides) in our hands from the other side of the
laminator. Temperature settings proposals are:

105 degree celsius for Photo-Resist Lamination

115 degree celsius for Solder Mask Lamination

Now you may get one question in your mind that what will happen when the
temperature will get lower or higher than the proposed settings: The answer is
pretty simple:

If the temperature will be too low then the laminate sheet will not stick to the
PCB.

If the temperature will be too high then the laminate sheet will produce vapors
because it will become too hot. Further, it can loose its sensitivity and can get
damaged.

Exposing

Now, after applying this lamination, we head towards another prcoess which is the
exposing process. In this process we expose our PCB towards UV light. Now have a
look at the state of our PCB just before Exposing!

Now you can easily see that what is now present on the copper plated PCB right
now. There is a laminate sheet above which there is the 2nd protective covering
present. Now its time to expose the board. But remember that we will not remove
this top protective covering before exposing. The reason; I have already discussed.

Now my dear friends! Let us suppose that we have applied the Photo-resist
laminate during the lamination process. This photo-resist is sensitive to light. We
will make use of this property of photo-resist in order to print our artwork on the
PCB. But before that, it is very necessary that you should know some basics about
the Photo-resist films.

Remember that there are two types of Photo-resist Films:

1) Positive Photo-resist
2) Negative Photo-resist

Now you already know that there are two types of Plotter Mask:

1) Positive Plotter Mask

2) Negative Plotter Mask

I have already discussed the plotter masks in details so now lets move towards the
details of photo-resists films.

Positive Photo-resist

When UV light falls on a positive photo resist film, the underlying material gets
removed.

This thing must be kept in the mind, the positive photo-resist film will be used
when you want to remove the material from those areas where the light is falling.
Now can you answer me one question:

Tell me which type of plotter mask will be used with a Positive Photo-resist
laminate?

Ans: Positive Plotter Mask

The reason is very simple, in positive plotter mask you have you tracks in black
color, so they will block the UV light to pass through them. As a result the photo-
resist film beneath them will remain as it is and will not be removed by the
developer. While those areas which are transparent, light will pass through them
and hence the photo-resist beneath them will be removed by developing. That is
the main thing to understand.

Chemistry of Positive Photo-resist Film

The positive photo-resist consists of a polymer called “Novolak”, which is a

polymer made up of Phenols. Being Phenols, it is soluble in water but with a very
low dissolution rate. That is whty a small amount of diazonapthaquinone is
dissolved in Novolak as an additive. When the resist is exposed to light,
diazonapthaquinone produces Carboxylic acid which is more soluble than the
Novolak, thus increasing its rate of dissolution. This leads to a Positive Photo-resist
Film.
Negative Plotter
Mask

when UV light falls

on a negative
photo resist film, the underlying material gets harder and difficult to be
removed.

This thing again must be kept in the mind. The negative photo-resist film will be
used when we want to remove those areas which are not exposed to UV light. So
what sort of plotter mask will be used with this film. That’s right a negative
Plotter Mask.

Chemistry of Negative Photo-resist Film

Actually the negative photo-resist consists of Poly (vinyl cinnamate). The
cinnamate groups undergo [2+2] cycloaddition when exposed to light, leading to a
cross-linked polymer and hence becomes extremely difficult to dissolve. This leads
to a negative Photo-resist Film.

Remember the following configuration

for printing the artwork on the PCB:

Positive Photo-resist Film works with

Positive Art Work
Negative Photo-resist Film works with
Negative Art Work
Now we should move towards the topic of Exposing:
Exposing in our lab is done through the machine called

Bungard Hellas Exposure Unit

Have a look at this machine:

this machine, you have an “Emission Control Display” which keeps you informed
about the condition of the UV lamps. There is an integrated timer also given which
makes it very easy to select exposure timings. There is a vacuum pump also
provided with the ability of creating a strong vacuum within a few seconds which is
essential for ensuring a good contact between the artwork and the PCB surface.
There is a vacuum frame also given which is transparent and can be used to check
the position of the board containing artwork before starting exposing. There is an
integrated fan also given which keeps the body of the machine cooled. UV light is
used for exposing.

Right now, it is assumed that we have used positive Photo-resist and Positive
Plotter Mask. All the next processes will be described keeping this assumption
under consideration.
Let’s have a look at the state of our PCB just after the exposing process:

Developing

After exposing, you will get a PCB like the fig above. Now you can see that there
are both exposed and unexposed Photo-resist films present and Cu is present all
over the PCB. Now remember that the Cu under the unexposed Photo-resist is the
one which would be later converted into tracks. i.e. The required areas of Cu. But
those Cu areas which are present beneath the exposed Photo-resist are unwanted
Cu areas and should be removed. It is to remember that Cu should be present on
the tracks and conductive paths of our circuit not on the whole PCB. So let’s have a
look at the areas that we now have on our PCB after the process of exposing:

1) Exposed Photo-resist
2) Unexposed Photo-resist
3) Cu under Exposed Photo-resist
4) Cu under Unexposed Photo-resist

Now my dear friends! Out of these four areas, we want only one to remain on our
PCB and that is Cu under unexposed photo-resist. The reason you know very well
now. It means that the remaining three areas are to be removed. Now these three
areas will be removed by three separate processes, each process will remove one
of them. Lets first have a look at these processes:

1) Developing--------------------to remove the exposed Photo-resist

2) Etching------------------------to remove the Cu under exposed Photo-resist
3) Caustic Soda Operation-----to remove the unexposed Photo-resist
Remember that these processes will be carried out in the same sequence as
described above.

So now, let’s discuss the Developing Process!

As I told you already that developing is done in order to remove the exposed photo-
resist film so that Cu beneath it (i.e. unwanted Cu) should be uncovered. This will
allow the etchant in the next process should be able to remove it. One thing you
must remember and that is to never match this developing with the developing of
the Plotter Mask.

The machine that we used in our PCB lab for the developing is called:

Bungard Splash

Splash is a machine that can be used for

both developing and etching purposes. It
contains a bigger tank which has the
capacity of about 24 litres and inside this
tank a chemical called “developer” is
sprayed from two sides on the PCB.
Remember that vertical spraying is done
in this machine because research shows
that the vertical spraying is very
effective in developing. Then you can
take your PCB out with the help of stand.
Rinse it in a treatment tank given on the
right side of the machine. This tank has
the capacity of around 10 litres. On the
bottom side of the machine there are
some valves given which ensure safe
discharge of fluids. There is a timer also
given which helps you to select the
spraying time according to the
requirements.
So now let’s have a look at the PCB after developing:

As you can see that the developer has only removed the exposed Photo-resist film
areas. So now the Cu beneath them is uncovered and can be removed by etchant in
the next process.
Etching

Etching is the process which is used to remove the unwanted Cu areas. The
chemical that we used in this process as an etchant is Ferric Chloride. It directly
attacks on Cu and removes it. Now one may ask a question here that why only
unwanted Cu it removes, why not the wanted one as well. The answer is very
simple, the unwanted Cu areas are uncovered and open but wanted Cu areas are
still covered with unexposed Photo-resist which was unable to be removed by the
developer. That is the reason that makes it impossible to the etchant to remove
the wanted Cu areas.

Now let’s talk about the machine which in our lab is used for etching purposes. This
machine is called:

Bugard Splash Center

It is important to clearify here that Splash and Splash center are two different
discrete machines. Some students take them the same but these are two different
machines. Let’s have a look at the difference which these two have:

1) Splash has only two tanks, one spraying tank and the other treatement tank
2) Splash Center has got five tanks, one spraying tank, and the other four are
treament tanks.

Let’s talk about these tanks first.

The first one is a vertical spraying tank; exactly the same is the one in Splash. The
working is same spraying of fluid from two sides. But mind it this time the fluid
used is Ferric Chloride which serves as an etchant.

Then it come the remaining four treatment tanks. Remember this configuration;
this is the one which we used in our lab:

1) the first treatment tank is for the Pre-rinse

2) The second treatment tank is for both spray and static rinse
 3) The third treatment tank is for the Caustic soda operation (will be discussed
later)
4) The fourth treatement tank is for the Chemical Tinning.

Besides these, there is a drying roller present for drying up the PCB and the same
sort of timer that you have seen in splash is also given to control the etchant-
spraying time.

The procedure is very simple. First you put the PCB in the spraying tank; etchant
will remove the unwanted Cu areas, and then let the residue to drip off. But why
we allow this residue to drip off?

B e
cau s
e

this minimizes the amount of rinsing water needed. Then put the PCB In the pre-
rinse tank, then in Spray and Static rinse tank. So after that, your PCB will be of
something like this:

So this is what the etchant has done. Now look at your PCB, only one of the three
wanted are remaining and that are UNEXPOSED PHOTO-RESIST. So its time to
remove that as well! and this can be removed by using Caustic Soda. I m giving
here two diagrams that will summarize the processes that we have discussed so far.
They will also prove to be helpful to describe the difference between the positive
and negative films.
Caustic Soda Operation

Remember that caustic soda operation is not a very special type of proces that will
require a separate machine for it. Infact, we use the same machine called Splash
Center, and this is the time to use its third treatment tank which contains Caustic
Soda. Just Drop your PCB in that tank, and take it out after the required time by
pulling the handle of the basket type tray. Then pass it through the spray and static
rinsing steps, and here you are. Let’s have a look at the PCB after this:

So now its almost done. Now your PCB is free from all those unwanted areas. You
can see that only the Cu that you wanted as tracks and conductive patterns is now
present. But still there are some steps to be followed: let’s quickly summarize
these steps.

1) Chemical Tinning----To protect the Cu circuitry from being etched.

2) Solder Mask Application-----------To save your PCB from being damaged from
solder.
3) Silk Screen Application------------The wirtings and component references.

We also apply in the last a coating LACKER solution on our PCB in order to protect
it from oxidation.

Finally, your PCB is ready, its time to put on the components and enjoy the
electronic creation.

-The End-