Development of Copper Electro-Plating Technology on a Screen-Printed Conductive Pattern with Copper Paste

Abstract

An electro-plating technology on a cured isotropic conductive pattern with a hybrid Cu paste composed of resin matrix, copper, and solder powders has been developed. In a conventional technology, Ag paste was used to perform a conductive pattern on a PCB or silicon substrate. From previous research, the electrical conductive mechanism and prin- ciple of the hybrid Cu paste were concisely investigated. The isotropic conductive pattern on the PCB substrate was per- formed using screen-printing technology. The optimum electro-plating condition was experimentally determined by processing parameters such as the metal content of the hybrid Cu paste, applied current density, and time for the electro- plating in the plating bath. The surfaces and cross-sections were observed using optical and SEM photographs. In con- clusion, the optimized processing conditions for Cu electro-plating technology on the conductive pattern were a current density of 40mA/cm 2 and a plating time of 20min on the hybrid Cu paste with a metal content of 44 vol.%. More details of the mechanical properties and processing conditions will be investigated in further research.