Current challenges in printed circuit board (PCB) assembly require high-resolution deposition of ultra-fine pitch components (<0.3 mm and <60 μm respectively), high throughput and compatibility with flexible substrates, which are poorly met by the conventional deposition techniques (e.g., stencil printing). Laser-Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) constitutes an excellent alternative for assembly of electronic components: it is fully compatible with lead-free soldering materials and offers high-resolution printing of solder paste bumps (<60 μm) and throughput (up to 10,000 pads/s). In this work, the laser-process conditions which allow control over the transfer of solder paste bumps and arrays, with form factors in line with the features of fine pitch PCBs, are investigated. The study of solder paste as a function of donor/receiver gap confirmed that controllable printing of bumps containing many microparticles is feasible for a gap < 100 μm from a donor layer thickness set at 100 and 150 μm. The transfer of solder bumps with resolution < 100 μm and solder micropatterns on different substrates, including PCB and silver pads, have been achieved. Finally, the successful operation of a LED interconnected to a pin connector bonded to a laser-printed solder micro-pattern was demonstrated.
Keywords: Laser-Induced Forward Transfer; PCB assembly; lead-free solder paste; printed micropatterns.