How Picosecond Laser Micromachining is Vital for Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Drilling

The movement in the development of the Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) towards smaller features at high densities is necessary to serve the fast-growing demand for high-tech consumer goods. This includes new laser processing technology using PCB drilling machines.

PCB drilling systems are a modern generation of drilling machines that use a high-power picosecond laser to create high-quality and higher throughput processing of blind holes in PC-Boards.

How the system functions

The PCB drill system uses a short delay pulse with a high power level to rapidly provide energy to the substrate, allowing the material to melt and vaporize. The higher the pulse strength, the more material it is melted and vaporized.

Vaporization can enable the amount of material in the drilled hole to rise rapidly, resulting in high pressure. This will allow the vapor pressure to force the molten material out of the cavity.

Modern picosecond lasers enable the processing of a broad range of substrates with a fundamental wavelength of 1330 nm. Multiphoton absorption occurs using a peak power of more than 40MW and an amplitude of several GW / cm2. The nonlinear absorption allows the laser to process even highly transparent materials with very low optical penetration depth.

The PCB drill machine has to make through holes (vias), and blind holes have to be drilled into the Printed Circuit Board (PCB), which acts as the interconnections between the layered systems. Both the holes should have straight walls. Percussion drilling with the use of picosecond laser is a method of choice for most of the PCBs drilling.

They reach very high drilling rates of several thousand holes per second and can drill diameters as small as 75μm. The use of picosecond laser micromachining makes it possible to drill smaller diameters, which is crucial for various industries.

The experts at Laserod Technologies have been performing high-quality laser machining of various substrates for over 20 years. Our quality and turn-times are among the best presented at very competitive prices, and the laser systems we supply are reliable, dependable, and highly productive. For projects and inquiries, call our experts at 1-310-340-1343/ 1-888-991-9916.