Plating process (1)

The substrate electroplating process consists of three stages: desmear, chemical electroplating, and electroplating.

 

In this session, we will focus on the first stage, the desmear process.

 

Desmear:

The process of removing smear generated during laser processing to clean the holes.

 

Smear is composed of polymer resin residues and carbides formed due to the heat generated during drilling (CNC or Laser).

 

Smear needs to be removed as it can degrade the reliability of electrical connections through copper.

 

Conditions must be set based on the material's characteristics as the effectiveness of epoxy resin removal varies with the material.

 

Factors such as chemical temperature, concentration, and processing time play a crucial role.

 

There are two types of desmear processes: dry desmear (Plasma Desmear) and wet desmear.

 

This post will only cover wet desmear. We will provide information on Plasma Desmear in a future post.