Numerical simulation and experiments to improve throwing power for practical PCB through-holes plating

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the synergism of convection, current density distribution and additives by numerical simulation and electrochemical experiments for good throwing power (TP) of copper electro-deposition in printed circuit board (PCB) manufacture. Design/methodology/approach The flow field of THs and current density distribution on various AR of THs are calculated and analyzed. Meanwhile, corresponding simulation is used to study the performance of plating electrolytes on TP. Two electrochemical parameters, overpotential ( η ) and potential difference (△ η ), are chosen to evaluate the electrochemical properties of different plating solutions by galvanostatic measurement and potentiodynamic cathode polarization at different rotating speeds. Findings By combining both the results of simulation and practical plating, these two electrochemical properties of electrolytes exhibit significant impact to the system at varied conditions. Especially, the electrolyte with higher polarizing η and △ η values lead to the elevated TP for AR of more than 2:1. Originality/value The harring cell model is built as a bridge between the theoretical and experimental study for control of uniformity of plating THs in PCB manufacturing. This dual-parameter evaluation is validated to be a promising decisive method to guide the THs plating with particular AR in industry.