Research of micro removing copper foil of FCCL assisted with laser

Flexible copper clad laminate (FCCL) mainly consists of conductive material (like copper foil) and insulated basilemma (such as PET). It is widely used in Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) to produce various electronic products. The thickness of copper differs according to its application. In this paper, the FCCL with 18μm copper foil plated on 70μm polyester film is used to prepare the design patterns without any damage to polyester film by removing surface copper film selectively. Because the melting point of polyester and copper varies considerably, it is difficult to remove the copper directly by laser ablation without harming polyester base. This paper presents the test results of using laser to remove copper membrane directly. A method of laser irradiation and then removing copper through wet etching is introduced at last Better design of micro removing copper film without damaging polyester base is obtained.