With the recent development of industry and science and technology, for high precision printed circuit boards, conventional drilling technology can no longer meet its needs. Laser drilling provides a new way. It is used to drill PCB micro holes and can ensure the accuracy of the holes.

What is PCB laser drilling?

Laser is a powerful beam of light that is excited when the “rays” are stimulated by an external stimulus and the energy is increased. Laser drilling was the first laser processing technology to reach practical use and is one of the main application areas of laser processing.

It is becoming increasingly important as it is commonly used for HDI printed circuit board microvias. IPC defines microvias with dimensions equal to or less than 0.006 inches (0.15 mm). In this case, mechanical drilling is no longer sufficient, and laser drilling provides good control of accuracy and controlled depth.

Mechanical Drilling V.S. Laser Drilling

Mechanical drilling

-Causes drill vibration

-Unsuitable for holes less than 6 mil in diameter

-Not suitable for precise depth control drilling

-Takes a long time and is expensive

-Requires manual adjustment

Laser drilling

-Vibration-free drilling (non-contact)

-High accuracy

-High aspect ratio

-Multifunctional (laser machines can also perform processes such as welding and cutting)

Different types of laser drilling

-Single pulse laser drilling. It is a type of drilling where both the laser source and the working material remain stationary and emit a single laser beam

-Percussion drilling. Sends a series of laser pulses that can create deeper and smaller holes

-Treoanning. The laser beam is guided around a predetermined trajectory.

-Helical drilling. The laser beam follows a spiral path while rotating around its own axis

Two laser technologies are available for laser fine drilling of circuit boards in the drilling process of the PCB manufacturing process.

1. CO2 laser wavelength in the far infrared wavelength band. (currently more widely used)

• UV laser wavelength in the ultraviolet wavelength band.

Summary

The best choice of laser drilling for making micro holes, KingPCB, as one of the leading PCB manufacturers in China, has a wealth of experience in PCB manufacturing and assembly, and is committed to providing the best PCB manufacturing services to our customers.

If you have any questions, contact us to get more information!