A novel green technology for the plated through hole process

Electroless copper has long been the dominate process for plated through hole (PTH) metallization. The technology is widely used by printed circuit board fabricators and driven by a long standing acceptance by OEMs. However, this established technology has many drawbacks that have a direct impact on our environment. Namely, it contains a known carcinogen, consumes a lot of water and is inherently unstable leading to increased demands on waste treatment operations. Through the years there has been significant work done in this area of the manufacturing process to overcome the challenges associated with electroless copper technologies. The ultimate goal being an environmentally friendly PTH process that maintains well established performance and reliability standards. In recent years, we have developed and perfected a carbon-based direct plate PTH technology that successfully eliminates the use of hazardous chemicals, drastically reduces water consumption, and decreases the burden on industrial wastewater treatment systems. This innovative technology offers the same performance as electroless copper with the added benefits of less cost, less space, reduced labor requirements and a better working environment for the operators. Our efforts on improving conductivity, copper cleaning and product reliability have yielded an incredible process for the manufacture of printed circuit boards.