1 1999 Pollution Prevention Internship Final Report Project Title: Developing a new copper plating technique Intern: Sarah Collette Home phone: 603-868-5236 4616 Granite Square Station Durham, NH 03824 e-mail: collette@hopper.unh.edu Facility: Teledyne Halco 8 Delta Drive Londonderry, NH 03053 Contact Person: Marc Filipowicz Manager, Human Resources Phone: 603-889-6191 Fax: 603-882-4457 Table of Contents Executive summary Introduction Goals Approach Chemical Usage Waste Management Accomplishments Pollution Prevention Benefits Recommendations References 2 Executive SummaryTeledyne Halco is currently working on a new horizontal copper plating technique for the printed circuit board industry. The goal is to use electroplating to plate 1 mil. of copper in the holes of a printed circuit board in 10 minutes. A concept validation apparatus was created so those tests could be run to evaluate the potential of the new copper plating technique. Being unique, the combination of mechanical and chemical aspects of the process needed to be explored to allow for optimization. Trials were run at different conditions and the results were recorded. The thickness of the through-hole copper deposit was measured by preparing micro sections. Based on results from the trials, mechanical and chemical adjustments were made. The data obtained was used to define our next steps. I was required to keep a lab notebook. Everyday I documented test activities, any conditions/adjustments that were made to the machine, trials that were run observations, and results. This allowed us to keep our research organized so that we were able to look back on previous changes that were made or trial results. Given the machine is still in the R&D phase, I can not provide design details, talk about specific parameters, or show drawings/pictures of the actual machine. In addition, specific details about the data that we have obtained are not available. IntroductionTeledyne Halco designs and constructs machines for use in the circuit board 3 manufacturing industry. Teledyne is currently working on a new horizontal plating process that will reduce the time need to achieve standard through hole copper thickness. In the printed circuit board industry copper is applied to circuit boards to interconnect component holes. Copper is the most commonly used metal for the construction of a printed circuit board because of its conductivity, strength, ductility and low cost. Electroplating is the production of adherent deposits of metals on a conductive surface by the passage of an electric current through a conductive metal bearing solution. It is the most prevalent method used to plate copper on a circuit board. The copper plating process is one of the most time consuming stages of PWB production. Currently a typical plating process takes about 70 minutes to obtain the desired 1 mil of copper in the hole. This process is performed by dipping boards vertically into a set of tanks. The deposit thickness depends on the processing time and on Faraday?s Law which governs the current that is being impressed on the surface. GoalsThe goal of my internship was to provide technical support to successfully research and develop a new horizontal copper plating technique. This new technique will take less time to plate the required amount of copper, reducing the production time. 4 The machine will use less volume of plating solution and have a smaller footprint than the current methods. The system will be computer controlled, reducing hands on labor and process contact. The objective of the new copper plating technique is to plate one mil of copper in each hole of a printed circuit board in 10 minutes. The machine is intended to provide selective plating, a method by which more copper is plated in the hole than on the surface of the board. The quality of the copper deposit must meet relevant printed circuit industry specifications for purity, percent elongation and tensile strength (IPC and ASTM specifications). The copper has to be securely attached to the wall of the hole, it must be uniform from top to bottom of the hole and void free (no holes in the copper). The appearance of the board is also important; to be acceptable the board must be shiny and burn (surface roughness) free. For the past year Teledyne has been researching and testing their new copper plating technique on a prototype machine that was designed and constructed in their Halco facility. The observations and results from previous tests using different iterations of the prototype machine are currently helping the engineers in designing the Alpha version. This version will eliminate compromises that were made in the prototype and incorporate the product of test evaluations. The design efforts for the Alpha model are being worked on at the current time, scheduled to be fabricated by the end of October. Future, more demanding testing will be performed on the Alpha model, and any deficiencies that arise will be addressed through re-engineering. The data obtained from testing done on the Alpha will be used to construct the Beta model. The Beta differs from the Alpha in that the Alpha will remain within the Teledyne organization for controlled testing whereas the Beta will be placed at a Customer facility 5 for use in daily manufacturing. This will afford an opportunity to obtain ?real world? performance data. If all goes as planned and the performance goals are met, the machine will then be ready for production and made available for sale to the printed circuit board industry. ApproachTeledyne Halco created a prototype machine that allowed them to validate the potential of this unique copper plating technique. There were many fundamental electroplating concepts that needed to be taken into consideration, and satisfied, to achieve the theorized results. The chemical composition of the acid copper sulfate bath used in the new plating process had to be analyzed and maintained within certain specifications, but first those specifications had to be determined. The specific types and sizes of power supplies had to be evaluated. Appropriate materials of construction had to be selected to resist the harsh chemical environment. Since no one had ever plated copper using this technique, all of the parameters for the process needed to be determined by research and development. This summer I helped Teledyne further investigate the capabilities of the prototype device by varying key parameters, evaluating test samples and organizing the results so that we could see how different conditions affected the process and what configuration of the machine yielded the best results. The acid copper sulfate plating bath contained de-ionized water, copper sulfate (pentahydrate), sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid and organic proprietary additives. The organic additives consisted of a carrier, which helped the overall uniform plating over the board, and a brightener that made the copper topography smooth and shiny. There 6 are a variety of organic additives that could be used in the acid copper-plating bath. We worked with a specific chemical suppler that helped us to determine which organic additives would be suitable for our conditions. The chemicals that made up the additive and carrier were proprietary which made it difficult to understand how they might react in the bath. There was also no easy way to determine the concentration of the additives. The concentrations of the bath components need to be optimized to achieve optimum results. The copper, sulfuric and chloride concentrations were analyzed through titrations and Hull cells. A Hull cell is a miniature plating bath that allowed us to quickly evaluate the bath, at various current densities, prior to running a board through the machine. A copper plate is put in the Hull cell and a controlled amount of amps is run through the solution. Depending on if the appearance of the plate is dull, matte, or shiny, each condition gives us a general idea about what needed to be added to the bath. The extent of visible burning allowed us to determine how many amps the bath could handle. At the beginning of my internship, the copper sulfate plating bath seemed to be out of our control. We believed that something in the bath was changing and over time the plating rate in the holes was decreasing. It was thought that possibly the organic additives were the problem, maybe they had reacted or broken down into other components. Another possibility was that certain materials that were used in construction of the model machine could have contaminated the bath. To remove the organic additives, the bath was exposed to activated carbon in a re-circulating mode. Looking for assistance with the bath chemistry, we met with a different chemical supplier in the hope of identifying a new additive that would be better suited for our 7 process. They recommended revised specifications for the bath component concentrations. They also recommended that a heating/cooling loop be added to control the temperature of the bath more closely. This would allow us to eliminate another potential variable. The bath chemistry was set to their recommendations with the exception of carrier and brightener, neither was added to the bath. The bath was established and maintained at a ?high? acid level and a ?low? copper level. The high sulfuric acid helps to increase the conductivity of the bath while the low copper improves the throwing power (propensity for hole plating). To further improve the machine and determine what the optimum operational parameters needed to be, many trials were run in the prototype machine while varying conditions. The results of copper thickness and quality testing were closely monitored. To run a trial, a board was mounted to a platform that went into the machine and came back out the same side (FILO). The system was computer controlled with the board length and the dwell time entered by keypad at the start of the trial. Two rectifiers supplied the electric current to the bath and were controlled semi-automatically. After leaving the plating machine the board is run through a rinse to remove any excess solution. Each trial, a variable was changed and compared to previous trials to see what affect it had on the plating rate. Boards were run at various amp settings. The results were used to determine what the optimum amps needed to be. Boards were also run at different dwell times. After a board was run micro-sections (metallurgical cross sections) were used to measure the through-hole copper thickness and the surface copper thickness. To prepare a micro-section two holes on the board were cut out using a punch machine. 8 The section was then set in an acrylic solution that would harden and hold it in place. Once it was dry the micro-section was ground down and polished so that only half of the hole was left. The section was then looked at under a microscope. The copper thickness in the hole and on the surface was measured through the microscope. The uniformity (top to bottom, side to side) and quality of the copper was also looked at. A CMI, non-destructive test device which operates on an eddy current system, was used as a quick estimate of the through-hole copper thickness. To use the CMI, a probe is placed in a hole and the copper thickness is displayed on the screen. I devised and performed an evaluation that tested how accurate the CMI unit was compared to a micro-section. I found that the CMI unit was conservative, it always read less than the actual copper thickness, generally accurate to within 0.1 to 0.2 mils and would be valid if used only as a quick estimate. At one point this summer the machine was disassembled for a few week while we were waiting for new parts to arrive. No trials could be run. Old results were organized and studied. The fluid supply system and the application of the fluid were analyzed to see how they changed. The supply system experienced dimensional changes with use. The same was true of the applicators. The applicators are used to wet the board with plating solution. If the dimensions of the applicators are not consistent they might not evenly wet the surface of the board which could cause problems. At the end of my internship this was one of the variables that was being looked into but an alternate way to apply the fluid had not yet been found. Towards the end of the summer the machine was reassembled with new parts. Many things were changed from the previous phase. A heating/cooling loop was installed to better control bath temperature. A larger pump was installed to increase the 9 fluid flow. The fluid delivery manifolds were redesigned and new fluid applicators were mounted to give a more uniform flow throughout the system. When the machine was back together trials were run again. The parameters were set and a board was run to give a base line to compare future tests to. One variable at a time was changed and tests were run. I made up data sheets to consistently record the conditions of the trials and what results they yielded. Based on the results of the trials both mechanical and chemical adjustments were made in the hope of optimizing the copper plating in the hole. The data that was gathered helped us to decide our next step. Chemical UsageThe copper plating bath contains de-ionized water, sulfuric acid, copper sulfate, hydrochloric acid and organic additives. The copper, sulfuric and chloride concentrations were determined by performing titrations. In the copper analysis a bath sample is mixed with DI water, sulfuric acid, and potassium iodide and then titrated with sodium thiosulfate. The sulfuric concentration is calculated by mixing a bath sample with DI water, bromphenol blue and then titrating with sodium hydroxide. The chloride analysis mixes a bath sample with DI water, nitric acid, and silver nitrate and then titrates with mercuric nitrate. When preparing micro-sections an acrylic mounting solution and an acrylic mounting powder were used. 10 Waste ManagementThe bath has never been completely replaced so there is no waste to dispose of. Teledyne Halco has an electrowinning based wastewater treatment system at their facility for treatment of metals bearing solutions. If a sample was taken and it was contaminated and could not be returned to the plating bath it was put into the wastewater treatment. The sink drain in the lab was also hooked up to the wastewater treatment system. The cooling water for the plating system was used as rinse water for another machine after it left the plating machine. The boards that we ran trials with were recycled when they were no longer needed. There was no waste that was generated by the plating machine. AccomplishmentsIn the year that Teledyne has been working with the prototype copper plating device, a number of key elements have been identified and addressed: Characterization of uniform solution flow patterns Impact on amperage on plating rates Characterization of plating rate as related to Faraday?s Law, and how this differs from traditional technologies Relationship of fluid and current delivery to plating uniformity and rate At this time, testing is ongoing, but progress continues to be made each day. Each trial that was run gives us more information to help us understand what is happening in the overall process. Although we were not able to consistently produce the same results time after time, from the data obtained, we were able to make adjustments to the machine that improved the plating performance. Teledyne is continuing to run tests trying different 11 configurations. The engineers have been very successful in designing the Alpha model, with construction to start in the next couple of weeks. The actual results of the trials that were run, and more specific accomplishments can not be shared at the current time. Likewise, the improvements that were made to the design of the machine for incorporation in the Alpha system can not be divulged. Pollution prevention benefitsThe new plating process will use less volume of plating solution per board run. The system will be computer controlled so that the bath should age at a predictable rate allowing it to be carbon treated when a new bath is necessary. Therefore, the bath would never have to be completely replaced so there would be no waste to be disposed of. The machine will take up less space than the current methods. It will also be more electrically efficient than the current method. Recommendations for future effortsIn the future new fluid applicators might need to be used in the machine. The current fluid applicator change dimensions over time. The acid levels in the plating bath are too high for the current material that is being used. Alternative fluid applicators need to be tested. ReferencesCommunication with Joe Webb, project manager Teledyne Halco. Joe Webb?s laboratory notebook. Communication with Gerry Cooper, Teledyne Hudson. 12 Communication with Steve Glassman, CFC. 13