Study of chemical-free trough-hole plating technology for prototyping of power converters

Chemical-free trough-hole plating process LPKF ProConduct® allows significantly decrease the time of rapid PCB prototyping; this technology is well tested by prototyping a wide spectrum of weak signal and digital electronics boards. Current work presents tests of LPKF ProConduct® technology on applicability for prototyping of power converter boards. This paper describes theory and experiment setup. The results show the specifics of the technology. Maximum safe current of vias, their thermal resistance and optimal diameter for high current boards are found. Recommendations for successful application of LPKF ProConduct® technology is given.