EMT126/2 ENGINEERING WRITING I

PROCESS DESCRIPTION OF DEVELOPING A PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD (PCB).

Introduction
Printed circuit board (PCB) is a component made of one or more layers of insulating material with electrical conductors. The insulator of the board is usually made of the base of fiber reinforced resins, ceramics, plastic, or some other dielectric materials that is able to withstand heat. The conductor in the board is used to replace connecting wire in the normal circuit connection. These conductors are usually made of copper but aluminum, chromium and nickel can also used as they are also conductive. During manufacturing of this PCB, the portions of conductors that are not needed will be etched off. This leaves only the printed circuits that connect electronic components on the board.

Description
Laminating Laminating is a process whereby a layer of dry film photoresist is laminated on the PCB. The dry film photoresist is semi-solid film coated onto a polyester substrate. The dry film photoresist is applied on the copper PCB board surface by using the laminator. The laminating process need to be processed as slow as possible because a slower process can guarantee a better quality lamination. No bubble should exist in the surface of the board after lamination as the bubble will bring damage to the PCB board. After lamination, the PCB is further developed with exposing it under UV ray. Exposing Exposing process is a process that is done to harden the photoresist. Place the film toner on the laminated PCB board, facing downward. Next, by using transparent tape, hold the film in position and make sure that the orientation of the film with the board is accurate. After that, place the PCB board in a vacuum UV exposure unit and run it for 20 seconds. The UV light in the UV exposure unit should be approximately 90 joule and have intensity of almost 2kW. The resist of the dry film that is exposed to UV will be harden when the UV light hits the panel. Before proceeding to the next process, the negative film and protective film needs to be removed from the board. With the removal of these films, the PCB can now advance to the developing stage.

EMT126/2 ENGINEERING WRITING I

Developing Developing is the process to remove the unexposed photoresist dry film. The process starts by leaving the exposed PCB board in the developer conveyor and ends when it exit the machine. Potassium carbonate solution that is inside the machine is used to develop the unexposed dry film photoresist. The areas of PCB board that have been exposed to UV light has been hardened and therefore, cannot be removed by the developing solution. Only the areas that are not exposed to the UV light will be developed in this step. Then, remove the PCB board from the conveyor of the developer machine. Wash it under the running tap for a while before starting the etching process. Etching Etching process is an important step in the developing of PCB as it is the step to remove the exposed copper. Ferric chloride used in the etching machine is to remove unwanted copper except for those copper that is on the design track, protected by dry film photoresist. Leave the developed PCB board into the etching machines conveyor until it exit the machine. The dry film photoresist will protect the copper circuitry from being etched. Again, wash the PCB board under tap for a while after taking it out from the conveyor belt of the etching machine. Then, continue with the next process. Solvent resist stripping Solvent resist stripping is a highly recommended way to remove photoresist from the surface of a PCB. Leave the PCB board into photoresist stripper tank. This process continues until all the photoresist film is removed. The photoresist stripper tank contain a type of water-soluble solvent that will remove all the dry film photoresist that can be found in the PCB board. Upon leaving the stripper tank, take out the PCB board and spray wash it. Continue washing the board under tap with scotch brite. The scotch brite is used to remove any dirt that might be stuck in the surface of the board. For drying purpose, put the PCB board through a bench top drying machine. The board can then progress to the next step once it is dry.

EMT126/2 ENGINEERING WRITING I

Electroplated coating Electroplated coating is a process done to put extra protection on the PCB. Start this process by putting the PCB board into the flux tanks. In this step, make sure that the whole board surface is fully covered with flux. Next, plat all the circuit design pattern on the PCB with tin or better known as stannum (Sn), the scientific name. Tin is used as it can prevent the copper tracks on the board from oxidization.

Conclusion
The steps in developing a printed circuit board can be divided into 6 important steps. The whole process starts with laminating the PCB with a layer of dry film photoresist. This step needs to be carried out cautiously because the board will be considered to be as an defected boards if any bubble was to be formed on its surface after lamination. The step that follows after laminating is exposing the laminated board under the UV light. The resists on the board will be hardened if the UV light strikes it. The PCB is then developed using the potassium carbonate solution and etched with ferric chloride. Developing and etching process is done to serve the purpose of removing unexposed photoresist and exposed copper respectively. After removing these elements, the photoresist on the surface of the board also needs to be stripped off. In doing this, a water-soluble solvent resist stripping is used. As the photoresist is eliminated, the PCB will undergo the electroplated coating. Once the coating is done, the PCB is now ready to be used by inserting the parts and soldering it.

Reference:
1. Sabri Bin Zakaria, Halim Bin Harun, Shahrul Fazly bin Sulaiman, Lab Module ECT 200 PCB fabrication, Engineering Center UniMAP, 2010, pp 3 17. 2. Bold Technologies Inc, Solvent resist strip, 2000. [Online]. Available: http://www.bold-tech.com/technical/solvent_strip.html [Accessed on March 23, 2011]