Laser micromachining and Nickel-plating of high aspect ratio structures in polymer molds

This paper presents the results of our investigations on the laser micromachining of structures in a dry film photoresist polymer (Dynachem, Laminar AX dry film) laminated on a copper clad Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and (100) Silicon wafer coated with Ti (15nm)/Cu (100 to 4000 nm) and copper seed layers. This study concentrated on investigating and comparing the effect of laser fluence (0.01 to 2 J/cm(2)) and number of shots (1 to 1000) on the etch characteristics of the Laminar AX dry film on both substrates. The other important aspects that were studied include the minimum required seed layer thickness for electroplating. The removal of the residual polymer layer at the end of the laser micromachining process and its effect on plating characteristics has been studied. The surface quality and roughness of the laser micromachined sites and their effect on the plated Nickel structures have also been investigated. The laser fluence and the number of shots used at this stage affected the conditions of the seed layer, which in turn influenced the plated film growth kinetics. The seed layers with thicknesses less than or equal to 0.8 mum were completely removed when high fluence (> around 1 J/cm(2)) was used. The seed layer surface after micromachining was characterised using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Xray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and profilometer. High Aspect Ratio Structures (HARS) of Nickel were fabricated using the Laminar AX moulds. The highest aspect ratio achieved so far in this work is 6. The characteristics of these structures are discussed in detail.