Laser segmentation of plated through-hole sidewalls to form multiple conductors

摘要

A method for generating multiple conductor segments within a plated through hole of a printed circuit board. The method utilizes laser light to define the segmented surfaces bounding a hole in a circuit board. Two embodiments of this method are a subtractive process and an additive process. The subtractive process starts with a plated through hole and uses a laser to removes vertical strips of the PTH conductive lining to form the multiple conductive segments. The additive process applies a seeding material to a bare hole in a circuit board, removes vertical strips of the seeding material via laser scanning, and applies an electrically conductive material to the seeded surfaces to form the multiple conductive segments.