Vapour Phase Curing of PTF Inks — A Commercial Reality?

Abstract

The use of vapour phase heating as a rapid and uniform method of heat transfer is widely established in the electronics industry for reflow soldering of surface mounted devices. This technique has been extended to the curing of polymer thick film inks, an important and growing technology within the electronics industry. The availability of perfluoropolyether vapour phase fluids with boiling points from 130°C to 265°C now enables this technique to be used with a variety of different substrate materials, e.g., thermoplastic, paper phenolic and glass epoxy. This paper will examine the general benefits to be gained by curing PTF inks by vapour phase with respect to speed of cure, conductivity, resistor stability and solderability. It will discuss in detail a specific application for vapour phase curing using thermoplastic 3‐D printed circuit board where temperature of cure was of paramount importance. An outline of the production process will be given together with the results of a series of comprehensive electrical and long‐term life testing on the cured conductors and resistors. These will be compared with conventional methods of cure and the benefits of using vapour phase will be highlighted.

Citation

Briggs, R.S., Newton, P. and Srinivasan, P. (1989), "Vapour Phase Curing of PTF Inks — A Commercial Reality?", Microelectronics International, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 42-46. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb044358