High resolution copper ink printing for electronic interconnects
Today, the vast majority of integrated circuit boards are manufactured by applying the functional materials everywhere and then removing by means of a mask or etchant, the areas not required.
The most commonly used material combination for electronic circuits is copper on FR4 laminate and in many cases up to 75% of the copper is etched back off to produce the desired base circuitry. Although further processing steps such as nickel and gold coating are additive in nature, the passive, active and MEMs devices that populate such base boards to produce final integrated electronic circuit devices are also up to 50% subtractive in nature. The adoption of additive manufacturing could potentially save up to 25-50% of material component costs.
Read the full article on page 20 of our September digital edition.
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
