Photoplotter

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A photoplotter is a specialized electro-opto-mechanical machine that exposes a latent image on a medium, usually high-contrast monochromatic (black-and-white) photographic film, using a light source under computer control. [1] Once the film has been exposed, it must be processed before it is ready for use.

Contents

Photoplotters are used primarily for industrial production of printed circuit boards (PCB) and integrated circuit (IC) packaging. In the PCB industry, photoplotting is the first step of making photolithography masks for printed circuit boards. These masks are called photoplots and are limited in resolution by the technology in use; in 1998 photoplots with resolvable details of 2.5 μm or more were possible. [2] Integrated circuits are made in a similar fashion utilizing photomasks with sub-micrometer feature sizes; photomasks are traditionally made by photoreducing photoplotter output. [3]

Other application of photoplotters include chemical milling and specialized graphic arts. [4]

History

The first photoplotter was introduced by Gerber Scientific, Inc. in the 1960s. [5] [6] :17- The company's file standard, the Gerber format for PCB files, eventually became an industry standard for describing the printed circuit board images such as the copper layers, solder mask and legend. [7] [8] :244-

Early machines used a xenon flash lamp, and projected an image mounted in a rotating aperture wheel onto the photosensitive surface of the film or glass plate. [9] :54 The imaging head assembly traversed over the surface of the media without touching it to produce draws and flashes. Draws are vectors or arcs created by continuous illumination as the imaging head moves over the photosensitive surface. A flash creates a single simple graphic in a location by shining light through an aperture of the appropriate shape at a fixed location. [8] :234

Modern photoplotters are generally raster-scan devices that use a laser beam focused to one or more spots, modulated at multi-megahertz rates to form the image. [6] :283-

The most recent development related to photoplotting is laser direct imaging (LDI) which utilizes a high-power laser or xenon lamp to directly expose photoresist on a coated substrate instead of exposing photographic film. This eliminates the handling of photographic film. [9] :6-

The input of photoplotters is a vector graphics file, typically in Gerber format. [6] :235-

Manufacturers of photoplotters include Gerber Scientific, Orbotech and Ucamco.

Related Research Articles

Photolithography is a process used in the manufacturing of integrated circuits. It involves using light to transfer a pattern onto a substrate, typically a silicon wafer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screen printing</span> Printing technique

Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh apertures with ink, and a reverse stroke then causes the screen to touch the substrate momentarily along a line of contact. This causes the ink to wet the substrate and be pulled out of the mesh apertures as the screen springs back after the blade has passed. One colour is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multi-coloured image or design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Printed circuit board</span> Board to support and connect electronic components

A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a medium used to connect or "wire" components to one another in a circuit. It takes the form of a laminated sandwich structure of conductive and insulating layers: each of the conductive layers is designed with a pattern of traces, planes and other features etched from one or more sheet layers of copper laminated onto and/or between sheet layers of a non-conductive substrate. Electrical components may be fixed to conductive pads on the outer layers in the shape designed to accept the component's terminals, generally by means of soldering, to both electrically connect and mechanically fasten them to it. Another manufacturing process adds vias, plated-through holes that allow interconnections between layers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flash synchronization</span> Synchronizing the firing of a photographic flash

In photography, flash synchronization or flash sync is the synchronizing the firing of a photographic flash with the opening of the shutter admitting light to photographic film or electronic image sensor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flashtube</span> Incoherent light source

A flashtube (flashlamp) is an electric arc lamp designed to produce extremely intense, incoherent, full-spectrum white light for a very short time. A flashtube is a glass tube with an electrode at each end and is filled with a gas that, when triggered, ionizes and conducts a high-voltage pulse to make light. Flashtubes are used most in photography; they also are used in science, medicine, industry, and entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Integrated circuit layout</span> Representation of an integrated circuits components as planar shapes

In integrated circuit design, integrated circuit (IC) layout, also known IC mask layout or mask design, is the representation of an integrated circuit in terms of planar geometric shapes which correspond to the patterns of metal, oxide, or semiconductor layers that make up the components of the integrated circuit. Originally the overall process was called tapeout, as historically early ICs used graphical black crepe tape on mylar media for photo imaging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photomask</span> Photolithographic tool

A photomask is an opaque plate with transparent areas that allow light to shine through in a defined pattern. Photomasks are commonly used in photolithography for the production of integrated circuits to produce a pattern on a thin wafer of material. In semiconductor manufacturing, a mask is sometimes called a reticle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerber format</span> Standard file format used for designing printed circuit boards

The Gerber format is an open, ASCII, vector format for printed circuit board (PCB) designs. It is the de facto standard used by PCB industry software to describe the printed circuit board images: copper layers, solder mask, legend, drill data, etc. The standard file extension is .GBR or .gbr though other extensions like .GB, .geb or .gerber are also used. It is documented by The Gerber Layer Format Specification and some related extensions such as XNC drill files and GerberJob to convey information about the entire PCB, as opposed to single layers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enlarger</span> Specialized transparency projector

An enlarger is a specialized transparency projector used to produce photographic prints from film or glass negatives, or from transparencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photogram</span> Photographic technique

A photogram is a photographic image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of a light-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light.

Masklesslithography (MPL) is a photomask-less photolithography-like technology used to project or focal-spot write the image pattern onto a chemical resist-coated substrate by means of UV radiation or electron beam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stepper</span> Photolithographic Tool

A stepper or wafer stepper is a device used in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). It is an essential part of the process of photolithography, which creates millions of microscopic circuit elements on the surface of silicon wafers out of which chips are made. It is similar in operation to a slide projector or a photographic enlarger. The ICs that are made form the heart of computer processors, memory chips, and many other electronic devices.

A via is an electrical connection between two or more metal layers, and are commonly used in printed circuit boards (PCB). Essentially a via is a small drilled hole that goes through two or more adjacent layers; the hole is plated with metal that forms an electrical connection through the insulating layers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer to plate</span> Imaging technology used in printing

Computer-to-plate (CTP) is an imaging technology used in modern printing processes. In this technology, an image created in a desktop publishing (DTP) application is output directly to a printing plate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selective soldering</span>

Selective soldering is the process of selectively soldering components to printed circuit boards and molded modules that could be damaged by the heat of a reflow oven or wave soldering in a traditional surface-mount technology (SMT) or through-hole technology assembly processes. This usually follows an SMT oven reflow process; parts to be selectively soldered are usually surrounded by parts that have been previously soldered in a surface-mount reflow process, and the selective-solder process must be sufficiently precise to avoid damaging them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solder mask</span> Layer of polymer applied to printed circuit boards

Solder mask, solder stop mask or solder resist is a thin lacquer-like layer of polymer that is usually applied to the copper traces of a printed circuit board (PCB) for protection against oxidation and to prevent solder bridges from forming between closely spaced solder pads. A solder bridge is an unintended electrical connection between two conductors by means of a small blob of solder. PCBs use solder masks to prevent this from happening. Solder mask is not always used for hand soldered assemblies, but is essential for mass-produced boards that are soldered automatically using reflow or wave soldering techniques. Once applied, openings must be made in the solder mask wherever components are soldered, which is accomplished using photolithography. Solder mask is traditionally green, but is also available in many other colors.

Heinz Joseph Gerber was an American inventor and businessman. An Austrian-born Jewish Holocaust survivor who immigrated in 1940, he pioneered computer-automated manufacturing systems for an array of industries. Described as the "Thomas Edison of manufacturing", he was one of the first to recognize and develop the productivity-enhancing potential for computer automation in skill-intensive industrial sectors.

Stencil printing is the process of depositing solder paste on the printed wiring boards (PWBs) to establish electrical connections. It is immediately followed by the component placement stage. The equipment and materials used in this stage are a stencil, solder paste, and a printer.

A contact copier is a device used to copy an image by illuminating a film negative with the image in direct contact with a photosensitive surface. The more common processes are negative, where clear areas in the original produce an opaque or hardened photosensitive surface, but positive processes are available. The light source is usually an actinic bulb internal or external to the device

Reverse engineering of Printed circuit boards is the process of generating fabrication and design data for an existing circuit board, either closely or exactly replicating its functionality.

References

  1. Raymond H. Clark (6 December 2012). Handbook of Printed Circuit Manufacturing. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 17–. ISBN   978-94-011-7012-3.
  2. Electronic Products. United Technical Publications. 1989.
  3. Electronic Packaging and Production. Cahners Pub. 1987.
  4. Carill Sharpe (1994). Kempe's Engineers Year-book. Morgan Bros.
  5. David J. Gerber (2015). The Inventor's Dilemma: The Remarkable Life of H. Joseph Gerber. Yale University Press. pp. 167–. ISBN   978-0-300-12350-0.
  6. 1 2 3 Chris Schroeder (1998). Printed Circuit Board Design Using AutoCAD. Newnes. ISBN   978-0-7506-9834-4.
  7. Jorge L.C. Sanz (1 December 1988). Advances in Machine Vision. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 196–. ISBN   978-0-387-96822-3.
  8. 1 2 R. S. Khandpur (2005). Printed Circuit Boards: Design, Fabrication, Assembly and Testing. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN   978-0-07-058814-1.
  9. 1 2 Kraig Mitzner (28 May 2009). Complete PCB Design Using OrCAD Capture and PCB Editor. Newnes. ISBN   978-0-08-094354-1.