Advanced
Stencil Manufacture to Meet Consumer Demand for
Tomorrow’s Gadgets
Dr Robert Kay, CTO of MicroStencil Ltd commented
that “Without the joint multidisciplinary
collaboration from academia and industry such
a novel solution to next generation electronic
packaging and assembly requirements would
probably not have been developed.” |
There is an ongoing consumer demand for small, lightweight
portable electronic devices, which require increasingly
advanced electronic packaging solutions. To address
these industry needs requires low cost electronic
packages with finer pitch sizes.
Stencil printing has significant commercial prospects
in this sector and is capable of displacing traditional
semiconductor manufacturing processes with a lower
cost alternative. This technology, alongside inkjet
printing technology also addresses the requirements
of flexible electronics manufacturing and has been
defined as the third electronics revolution.
Prof Marc Desmulliez at the James Watt Institute
for High Value Manufacturing undertook a project
with the aim of creating a low cost, low risk and
low temperature bonding technology for Microsystems.
Manufacture of new stencils using the UV-LIGA technique
began, and an electroplating technique was developed
that allowed the manufacture of world-leading electroformed
stencils.
The end result is a superior electroformed stencil,
in terms of surface quality and fine pitch with
unparalleled product developed. The technology breakthrough
permitted the creation of a spin-out company, MicroStencil
Ltd from Heriot-Watt University. MicroStencil Ltd
is a technology based manufacturing company focused
on the production of precision electroformed components,
addressing markets such as Electronics, MEMS and
Life Sciences. The company created a new manufacturing
facility in Scotland and received significant funding
to commercialise the technology.
MicroStencil has recently moved to Singapore to
be closer to its customer base and entered a partnership
with DEK Printing Machines Ltd, a world leading
stencil printing equipment manufacturer, to produce
a new brand of stencils. In January last year, MicroStencil
developed a new double layer stencil which has been
used with great success by the Photovoltaic Industry.
Moreover, the research persuaded Merlin Circuit
Technology Ltd (manufacturers of flex, flexi-rigid,
PTH and multilayer printed circuit boards) to invest
heavily into advanced electroplating lines and manufacture
enhanced Printed Circuit Boards for the high-end
market. The results of this work also provided significant
benefit to a number of other industrial partners
who covered the remainder of the supply chain: Alfra-Fry
Technologies (CSPM), Hewlett Packard and Celestica.
For more information contact:
Contact: Marc Desmulliez, m.desmulliez@hw.ac.uk,
+44 0 131 451 3340
misec.eps.hw.ac.uk/
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