Toner News Mobile › Forums › Latest Industry News › *NEWS*EPSON’S AWSOME INKJET TECHNOLOGY
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AnonymousInactiveEPson Prints 20-Layer Board with Inkjet
TechnologyAt long last inkjet printing technology
has matured to the point where volume production seems possible. In November
2004, Seiko Epson Corp of Japan announced the successful application of inkjet
technology in the manufacture of polyimide substrates, prototyping a board with
20 circuit layers (see Fig), and ultra-thin modules with surface-mounted
passives and integrated circuits (IC). These prototypes were disclosed to the
public.The firm also announced that it would “Volume produce 2-layer
chip-on-film substrates using the new technology in 2007, for use in Seiko Epson
display products.” This marks the first clear date for practical application of
inkjet circuit printing technology by a major manufacturer.Seiko Epson
positions the prototypes as “the first implementation of multi-layer circuit
boards, which have only been on the wish list until now.” The 20-layer board
used inkjet printing not only for the interconnects, but also for the dielectric
film between them. Interconnects and vias connecting layers were formed with an
organic material using Ag microparticles. Total board thickness is only 240um,
including 40um thick polyimide substrate. The polyimide substrate is first
printed with a dielectric film, making it possible to strip off the circuits and
recycle the boards separately if needed.Keys to Implementation
The key point to implementing
the multi-layer boards is the ability to use inkjet technology to print
dielectric films of any pattern, absorbing height differences on the bottom
layer caused by vias, interconnects and other features. For sections with vias
and interconnects, the thickness and pattern of the dielectric film are changed
to ensure a flat upper surface. This minimizes the effects of lower layers on
higher layers, and makes it possible to print 20 or more layers, the firm
explained.The other key point in commercial implementation was using a
multi-head printer comprising multiple consumer-spec print heads, thereby
boosting productivity. Just like line printers, which print an entire line at
once, the new printer is capable of printing all the circuits across the entire
width of the board, at once. This approach also eliminates the need for
alignment in the “line” direction. Because the heads are not moved in the line
direction, there is a problem in that each head nozzle can only draw one thin
line at a time. Seiko Epson resolved this problem by moving the heads back and
forth for each layer to overprint as needed.There is some expectation
that boards made with inkjet technology can be used in radio frequency
identification (RFID) tags and similar applications, but the necessary
conductivity to high-frequency currents has yet to be verified. Seiko Epson uses
Ag microparticles coated with an organic material to print interconnect patterns
on the dielectric film, then bakes the boards at 150 to 200*C to create the
interconnects. Normally Ag interconnects formed through this method lack
sufficient line width uniformity, raising the possibility of soaring impedance
under high-frequency current flow. A spokesperson at Seiko Epson commented:
“True, resistance is two to three times higher than bulk Ag. It is no better
than bulk, but all we need is for the results to be within the permissible
range.” -
AuthorJune 10, 2005 at 10:20 AM
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