Meniscus coating: a low-cost polymer deposition method for system-on-package (SOP) substrates

Meniscus coating is a low-cost deposition method that can be used to apply polymers in solution as thin films to the surface of electronics packaging substrates or flat panel displays. Most Roadmaps in electronics packaging project 6 to 8 μm lines and spaces for next generation high density printed wiring board (PWB) substrates in the year 2006, which would require coating thickness of similar magnitudes for manufacturing fine lines with higher yield. Meniscus coating can be an enabling deposition method that can provide finer yet uniform coating on large area substrates which would translate to patterning finer copper traces, thereby increasing the wiring density. This paper reports preliminary results on coating thickness that can be achieved with photoresists, dielectrics, and solder masks which are the integral parts of the sequential build up multi-layer process for the system-on-package substrates.