← Back to Patent Explorer
US5049221A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Process for producing a copper-clad laminate

Assignee: Meiko Electronics Co Ltd
•
Filing: 1989-05-01
•
Granted: 1991-09-17
•
Expires: 2009-05-01
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract A process for producing a copper-clad laminate, which comprises a step (S2) of forming a copper foil of at least several micrometers on a planar conductive substrate by electrolysis, a step (S3) of roughening the surface of the copper foil, a step (S4) of laminating the copper foil together with the conductive substrate on an insulating substrate and tightly integrating the assembly by applying pressure and heat, and a step (S5) of separating only the conductive substrate. A metal film may exist between the conductive substrate and the copper foil. When the metal film has a thickness of 0.1 to 3 μm, only the conductive substrate is separated with the metal film being firmly adhered to the copper foil surface and, when the metal film has a thickness of 70 to 250 μm, it is separated together with the conductive substrate after the lamination. The copper foil formed by high-speed plating under the conditions of 6 to 12.0 m/sec in solution contact speed and 0.8 to 4.0 A/cm 2 in current density has about the same flexibility as that of rolled and annealed copper. Thus, ultrathin copper-clad laminates with a copper foil of 10 μm or less suited for flexible circuit boards can be produced in a short time using small equipment.

Inventors

  • 👤 Tatsuo Wada
  • 👤 Keizo Yamashita
  • 👤 Tasuku Touyama
  • 👤 Teruaki Yamamoto

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-24 22:23
CPC Classifications
B; B32; B32B; B32B15/00; B32B15/20; B21; B21B; B21B31/00; B21B31/08; B21B31/12; B21B35/00; B32B15/01; B32B38/00; B32B38/0012; B32B38/10; H; H05; H05K; H05K3/00; H05K3/02; H05K3/022; H05K3/025; B32B2307/00; B32B2307/20; B32B2307/202; B32B2307/206; B32B2457/00; B32B2457/08; H05K2203/00; H05K2203/01; H05K2203/0147; H05K2203/0152; H05K2203/03; H05K2203/0307; H05K2203/0361; H05K2203/07; H05K2203/0703; H05K2203/0723; H05K2203/0726; H05K3/38; H05K3/382

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim 279 words
A process for producing a copper-clad laminate, comprising the steps of: providing a planar cathode comprising an electrically conductive substrate and a metal film 70 to 250 μm thick plated onto a surface of said electrically conductive substrate; said metal film being a two-component alloy layer consisting essentially of 60% to 80% by weight of nickel and 20% to 40% by weight of cobalt; forming a copper foil having a thickness of not more than 10 μm directly on the surface of said metal film at a deposition speed of 25 to 100 μm/min, by electroplating under the conditions that said planar cathode is spaced from a planar anode at an interelectrode distance of 3 to 30 mm from each other, from a copper sulfate plating solution at a temperature of 45° to 70° C. supplied such that said plating solution comes into contact with the electrodes at a solution contact speed of 6.0 to 12.0 m/sec and applying a current density of 0.8 to 4.0 A/cm 2 , said copper plating solution comprising from 0.2 to 2.0 mol/l of copper, from 50 to 220 g/l of sulfuric acid and from 30 to 800 ppm of chloride ion, said copper foil adhering to said metal film with a force of adhesion smaller than that between said cathode and said metal film; roughening the surface of said copper foil; laminating and bonding together an insulating substrate, and said planar cathode, with the thus formed copper foil therebetween, by applying heat and pressure; and separating only said copper foil and said insulating substrate together from said planar cathode so that said metal film remains on the surface of said conductive substrate.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 279 words
A process for producing a copper-clad laminate, comprising the steps of: providing a planar cathode comprising an electrically conductive substrate and a metal film 70 to 250 μm thick plated onto a surface of said electrically conductive substrate; said metal film being a two-component alloy layer consisting essentially of 60% to 80% by weight of nickel and 20% to 40% by weight of cobalt; forming a copper foil having a thickness of not more than 10 μm directly on the surface of said metal film at a deposition speed of 25 to 100 μm/min, by electroplating under the conditions that said planar cathode is spaced from a planar anode at an interelectrode distance of 3 to 30 mm from each other, from a copper sulfate plating solution at a temperature of 45° to 70° C. supplied such that said plating solution comes into contact with the electrodes at a solution contact speed of 6.0 to 12.0 m/sec and applying a current density of 0.8 to 4.0 A/cm 2 , said copper plating solution comprising from 0.2 to 2.0 mol/l of copper, from 50 to 220 g/l of sulfuric acid and from 30 to 800 ppm of chloride ion, said copper foil adhering to said metal film with a force of adhesion smaller than that between said cathode and said metal film; roughening the surface of said copper foil; laminating and bonding together an insulating substrate, and said planar cathode, with the thus formed copper foil therebetween, by applying heat and pressure; and separating only said copper foil and said insulating substrate together from said planar cathode so that said metal film remains on the surface of said conductive substrate.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 33 words
The process according to claim 1, wherein said metal film comprises a two-component alloy plated layer essentially consisting of nickel and cobalt, and a chrome layer formed on said two-component alloy plated layer.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 18 words
The process according to claim 2, wherein said chrome layer has a thickness of 0.05 to 3 μm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 24 words
The process according to claim 1, wherein said cathode and said anode are both fixed, and said plating solution is supplied between these electrodes.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 23 words
The process according to claim 1, wherein said cathode is rotated so that said solution contact speed of said plating solution is obtained.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 85 words
The process according to claim 1, wherein said surface-roughening step is a step of plating the surface of said copper foil so that a deposited film thickness of 2 to 5 μm is obtained from an acid plating solution containing copper ions and nitrate ions, at a current density of 0.25 to 0.85 A/cm 2 , a solution contact speed of said acid plating solution with respect to the electrodes ranging from 0.1 to 0.8 m/sec, and an interelectrode distance of 26 to 50 mm.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 22 words
The process according to claim 1, wherein said copper sulfate plating solution is at a temperature of from 60° to 65° C.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 22 words
The process according to claim 4, wherein said copper sulfate plating solution is at a temperature of from 60° to 65° C.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 22 words
The process according to claim 5, wherein said copper sulfate plating solution is at a temperature of from 60° to 65° C.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 22 words
The process according to claim 6, wherein said copper sulfate plating solution is at a temperature of from 60° to 65° C.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 195 words
A process for producing a copper-clad laminate, comprising the steps of: forming a copper foil having a thickness of not more than 10 μm directly on the surface of a planar, electrically conductive substrate at a deposition speed of 25 to 100 μm/min, by electroplating under the conditions that said conductive substrate serving as a cathode is spaced from a planar anode at an interelectrode distance of 3 to 30 mm from each other, from a copper sulfate plating solution at a temperature of 45° to 70° C. supplied such that said plating solution comes into contact with the electrodes at a solution contact speed of 6.0 to 12.0 m/sec and applying a current density of 0.8 to 4.0 A/cm 2 , said copper plating solution comprising from 0.2 to 2.0 mol/lit of copper, from 50 to 220 g/lit of sulfuric acid and from 30 to 800 ppm of chloride ion; roughening the surface of said copper foil; laminating and bonding together an insulating substrate and said conductive substrate, with the thus formed copper foil therebetween, by applying heat and pressure; and separating said copper foil and said insulating substrate together from said conductive substrate.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 195 words
A process for producing a copper-clad laminate, comprising the steps of: forming a copper foil having a thickness of not more than 10 μm directly on the surface of a planar, electrically conductive substrate at a deposition speed of 25 to 100 μm/min, by electroplating under the conditions that said conductive substrate serving as a cathode is spaced from a planar anode at an interelectrode distance of 3 to 30 mm from each other, from a copper sulfate plating solution at a temperature of 45° to 70° C. supplied such that said plating solution comes into contact with the electrodes at a solution contact speed of 6.0 to 12.0 m/sec and applying a current density of 0.8 to 4.0 A/cm 2 , said copper plating solution comprising from 0.2 to 2.0 mol/lit of copper, from 50 to 220 g/lit of sulfuric acid and from 30 to 800 ppm of chloride ion; roughening the surface of said copper foil; laminating and bonding together an insulating substrate and said conductive substrate, with the thus formed copper foil therebetween, by applying heat and pressure; and separating said copper foil and said insulating substrate together from said conductive substrate.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 85 words
The process according to claim 11, wherein said surface-roughening step is a step of plating the surface of said copper foil so that a deposited film thickness of 2 to 5 μm is obtained from an acid plating solution containing copper ions and nitrate ions, at a current density of 0.25 to 0.85 A/cm 2 , a solution contact speed of said acid plating solution with respect to the electrodes ranging from 0.1 to 0.8 m/sec, and an interelectrode distance of 26 to 50 mm.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US1589564A Cited
US4053370A Cited
US4240894A Cited
US4503112A Cited
US4715116A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1994-09-16 1995-03-18 1995-09-17 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1998-09-16 1999-03-18 1999-09-17 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2002-09-16 2003-03-18 2003-09-17 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag