Method for forming a back-drilled plated through hole in a printed circuit board and the resulting printed circuit board

• US 7,337,537 B1
• Filed: 02/15/2006
• Issued: 03/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Smetana, Jr., Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Arbes, Carl J.
• Application Number:
  US11/354,526
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• Field of Search: 298/25, 298/46, 298/52, 427/97.1, 427/97.2
• US Class Current: 29/852
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/09845 Stepped hole, via, edge, bump or conductor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/0207 Partly drilling through substrate until a controlled depth, e.g. with end-point detection
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/0242 Cutting around hole, e.g. for disconnecting land or Plated Through-Hole [PTH] or for partly removing a PTH
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/0047 Drilling of holes
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/429 Plated through-holes specially for multilayer circuits, e.g. having connections to inner circuit layers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49155 Manufacturing circuit on or in base
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49165 by forming conductive walled aperture in base

Abstract

A method for forming a back-drilled plated through hole in a printed circuit board and the resulting printed circuit board are described herein. In the preferred embodiment, the printed circuit board includes a via extending through a plurality of stacked layers. The via includes a plated through hole and a back-drilled hole. The plated through hole is located within a predetermined number of the stacked layers and the back-drilled hole is located within the remaining stacked layer(s). The plated through hole without an electrically conductive material located on walls therein has a diameter that is substantially the same size or smaller than the diameter of the back-drilled hole.

Claims

1. A method for forming a plated through hole in a multi-layered printed circuit board, said method comprising the steps of:

drilling a first hole having a first diameter through said printed circuit board;

drilling a second hole having a second diameter concentrically around and through a predetermined depth of said first hole in said printed circuit board;

plating said second hole and a remaining portion of said first hole in said printed circuit board; and

back-drilling a third hole having a third diameter concentrically around and through the remaining portion of said plated first hole to remove that portion of said plated first hole and leave said plated second hole which forms the plated through hole in said printed circuit board.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said second diameter of said second hole is substantially the same size or smaller than said third diameter of said third hole.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of plating includes applying a layer of conductive material on walls of said second hole and on walls of the remaining portion of said first hole and on predetermined areas on a top surface and bottom surface of said printed circuit board.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said printed circuit board has a plurality of said plated through holes formed therein.