Hewlett-packard Company

Albert Ott

Wilhelm Tamm

Steffen Laur

Werner Motz

Werner Kornmayer

Volker Harr

Michael Moser

An adapter arrangement for electrically testing printed circuit boards consists of two probe adapters with a uniform grid separation of the probes and two translator foils on whose sides facing the probe adapters there are contact areas with the pitch of the probe adapter. On the sides facing the printed circuit board, the arrangement of the contact areas and the contact points located thereon is the same as the grid on the printed circuit board under test. Between the translator foils a vacuum is generated with the help of rubber seals, a through hole, a valve and a suction hose. This vacuum creates a rigid package which permits good contact with the probes on both sides. The inserted support layers, which can be conventional printed circuit boards, prevent the translator foils from buckling. The various types of extremely complex printed circuit board can be electrically tested rapidly and cheaply using this arrangement. The arrangement can be employed on both double-sided and one-sided electrical test installations.

Adapter arrangement for electrically testing printed circuit boards

A method of manufacturing printed circuit boards is disclosed wherein metallic conductive structures are produced in a desired pattern on a carrier board of isolating material. The method begins with the provision of a carrier board having a metal foil laminated to its surface and thereafter forming conductive traces on the carrier board, deactivating the carrier board to remove substantially all substances deposited on the carrier board other than the conductive traces and forming final conductive structures by electroless chemical metal deposition on the pattern of conductive traces. Circuit boards manufactured in accordance with such a method will have final conductor structures with base layer portions of the original laminated metal foil. In a preferred embodiment, the step of deactivating the carrier board involves rinsing the carrier board with hydrochloric acid. The method can be used for manufacturing single-layer or multilayer printed circuit boards with or without through-holes and permits the formation of conductor structures in the range of 50 micrometers or less.

Method of manufacturing printing circuit boards

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Bissingen/Teck, Germany

Albert Ott