2. The quality control of etching process
After etching, the precision control of line width is very important to the quality of the PCB.Therefore in the process of PCB etching, how to control each parameter and etching solution that influences the quality of etching, is the key.
2.1 Effect of etch parameters for PCB Pattern accuracy
There are many kinds of etching solution used on etching process. For our common used alkaline etching solution.The factors that influence the teching effect are copper ion concentration, pH, chlorine ion concentration and temperature, etc. Concentration of Cu ion in Etching liquid , pH, concentration of NH4Cl and temperature of etching fluid, they all influence the etching rate.To ensure the good quality of etching, we need to control the above factors.
2.1.1 copper ion concentration
Cu ion in etching liquid plays an oxidant effect. Its concentration is the main factor that influence the etching rate.In the process of PCB etching, with the melting of copper, the proportion of solution will continue to rise.The practice has proved that etching rate gradually ris with the increase of copper ions concentration, but copper ions in the solution increases to a certain degree , etching rate declines.By controlling the proportion, to ensure the concentration of copper ion in etching liquid.The best concentration of copper content is from 90 g/l to 125 g/I.
2.1.2 pH
Because the concentration of ammonium hydroxide directly affect the pH value of etching liquid, so the pH effect is the influence of the concentration of ammonium hydroxide.Usually control the etching liquid pH value between 8.3 and 8.8. If PH is less than 8.0, the etching rate slows, which has an impact on layers of metal corrosion ;And etching liquid is prone to precipitation, which blocks the nozzle.So etching becomes difficulty.When PH value is higher than 9.0, the etching rate becomes fast, which influence the etching precision.
When PH keeps between 8.3 and 8.8, the etching rate is more ideal, and won’t make tin black.
2.1.3 the Chloride iIon
Chloride ions is in the form of ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) to join in the etching liquid.As the etching proceeds,etching salt must be constantly added. Its main composition is NH4Cl. To ensure the content of Cl ion is to prevent the etching rate reduced.But the content of Cl ion is too high, and can cause metal corrosion resistant layer by erosion.The test show that, the content of Cl ion is between 160 g/L to 175 g/L, the etching rate is better;When less than 140 g/L, the etching rate is slow.
2.1.4 The temperature
Generally speaking, the etching rate along with the rise of temperature is accelerated, and for lateral erosion and stability of pH value, low temperature is favorable.But below 40 ℃, the etching rate is too slow, and will increase the lateral erosion, which influence the etching precision.If PCB etching general temperature keeps in 45 ℃ to 50 ℃, etching rate is fast, and the effect is ideal.But for etching of fine lines, it should be kept in 42 ℃ – 46 ℃.Above 50 ℃ , due to the evaporation of solution quickly and accelerated escape of ammonia, which makes the etching liquid unstable.At the same time,the content of the copper and chloride ion increases, and the pH value decreases
2.1.5 The etching way
The quality of the PCB etching is close to the the way of etching of selected equipment .Common etching method is spray etching. Convulsions speed of the equipment, adding discharge system,the shape of the nozzle and spray pressure, they all have influence on etching effect .For small batch printed circuit board or PCB prototyping of high pricision conductive patterns, single side etching method can be used.
2.2 The etching liquid maintenance
Etching is REDOX reaction.Etching liquid will consume ammonia when etching. When PH reduces,the etching liquid will lost etching ability, and clog the nozzle. So to maintain the etching liquid , replenishing ammonia keep PH of its solution between 8.0 and 9.0.
By maintaining the etching liquid,make it always in a better state of etching. On PCB manufacturing etching prcess, we should minimize lateral erosion, corrosion, and improve the etching rate and the quality of the graph of PCB etching.
2.3 The lateral erosion control
In addition to the board itself quality requirements, to ensure the accuracy of the graph line making, before the light painting photographic negatives, on the graph line of light painting,do the process compensation according to the requirements of the use of materials and design precision ,to make up for reducing the width of line and welding ring which cause by lateral erosion.
After etching, PCB widespreadly has lateral erosion.It is common situation that lateral erosion causes line thinner. Production process adopted that doing a treatment with line in drawing process.According to the experience of many experiments, to so the compensation by widening the line 0.03 mm to 0.05mm , makes lateral erosion get some conpensate in etching. After etching the board line width is close to the specified value.
2.4 The etching equipment maintenance
As we all know, the position of the equipment during the process is quite high. Quality control of etching process is related to strip-film machine, etching machine etc.
From inspection of stripping film, the bad receding membrane can cause line coarse after etching and connection in small spacing PCB , etc., which influence the etching precision and quality of graphics. About the machine, such as strip film machine, etching machine, according to the running status,regular cleaning and maintenance should be done,especially the nozzle cleaning.
2.5 The attention to etching
When etching, we must stick to the first processing.Through the first processing to determine the etching parameters (speed, temperature, etc.), determine the PCB after etching process ,its precision of graphics and line width is in line with the requirements .After approval of first article , then to batch processing.
Etching section configured the inspection tool :scale microscope, to strengthen the inspection for before and after etching.Using scale microscopy to inspect the line width of PCB can find the problem in time, and improve the quality of machining and inspection.
During etching process, we should always check the etching machine, and check the state of the spray nozzle. Pay attention to the nozzle blockage and the conveyor belt is normal operation, to prevent the etching of mechanical failure, chafed lines and scrap board.
3, conclusion
High precision PCB production involves multiple aspects. The production capacity is not only a measure of production equipment and the level of technology and material, but also reflecting the quality of employees and comprehensive level of process control and production management. How to improve the qualified rate of high-precision PCB production, only all aspects have done well, we wan product reliable and high quality PCB.
iFastPCB as a professional PCB prototype manufacturer, we always try our best to improve our PCB manufacturing process and capabilities. learn more please visit http://www.ifastpcb.com/capabilities.html