• Electroforming/Electroplating: 1, 2, 3 & 4 Cell Rotating Head Combinations
• Electroforming/Electroplating: 12”² up to 2M²-circulation (non rotating head)
• Electrocleaning: 9 various configurations
• 1, 2 & 3 Cells, with integrated Electroclean positions
• Spin Dryers
• Spin Coaters
• Waste Treatment (Heavy Metal Recovery) Water Systems
• Pure (De-ionized) Water Systems
• Thickness (TTV) Profiler Gauges
• Silver Spray Booths
• Dip Tanks
• Mounting Tables
• Spray-Wash Down Systems

Equipment that we distribute:

• Anode Cleaners
• Ultra sonic Hand-held measuring systems
• All related chemicals & test kits
• All related lab ware (glass, beakers, pipettes)

Electroformed & Electroplated Harder Metals, Can Create New Opportunities:

As Digital Matrix entered into new industries developing equipment for specific requirements, we have been asked to create harder and stronger metals. Dr. Kuzmin, Senior Chemical Engineer for Digital Matrix has years of R&D experience in metrology and semiconductors. His expertise has allowed us to explore and advance into the following industries:

• Hybrid Semiconductors
• Thin Circuit Boards
• Interfacing Metals in 3 or 4 layers
• Manufacturing of harder Micro/Nano Parts
• Ability to Grow Stronger and More complex parts, that can withstand constantly changing forces
• Electroformed/Electroplated Molds, last two to three times as long during hot or cold embossing processes

With our high speed plating and advanced technologies, using our rotating head plating system and advanced Ni, NiCo & Cu processes, we can achieve the following:

• Plate to exact height of the structure +/- 1 to 3µm
• Plate without voids and defects
• Plate in corners and sidewalls of high aspect posts
• Plate to a rear side mirror finish
• No tensile or brittle structures
• Plate 20µm above photoresist-straight up
• Plate exact thickness through Diameter +/-1 to 3µm
• Adjust the distance from the Cathode to Anode
• Plate in a fraction of the time of your previous cycle

Digital Matrix, produce Workholders for High Speed Electroforming/Electroplating using Rotating Heads:

Specially engineered workholders, which are designed to stay on the shafts during production part changes. This allows quicker part changes, without the need to spend time unscrewing and then screwing the workholder back onto the shaft. Other benefits of this feature are:

• The ability to maintain exact anode to cathode distancing, allowing the technician to plate with precise repeatability
• Eliminates the on-again off-again damage to the shaft, and the metallic screw thread particles that can contaminate the bath
• Eliminates the drag out and replacement of expensive solutions
• Ensures the cleanliness of the working environment

Cell geometry is highly important in the successful Electroforming/Electroplating of uniform parts. A Patented feature of our systems is the ability to adjust the cathode to the anode distance. This gives our systems a 3 dimensional adjustment capability (X,Y & Z direction), which allows much more flexibility when optimizing the uniformity of parts. The workholder is designed to rotate parallel to the baffle assembly and titanium anode basket. The anode materials are easily accessible to allow agitation between parts.

We have a workholder designed specifically for Micro and Semiconductor applications and structures. Ours differ from the workholders others use, which are designed for the Optical Disc plating process only. We tailor our workholders to specific products.

Our workholders are machined with one of the strongest known aerospace plastics. They can withstand the required process temperatures without warping or leeching, thus eliminating the need for replacement of highly expensive hardware on a regular basis.

Other Plating and Electroforming Features:

Our plating process programs are written specifically for custom applications requested by the customer. You have the ability to decide if you would like each cell to have its own sump, separating the common solution from the other cells, or one sump, allowing the ability to work on maintenance of one cell whilst the others are in process. It also allows you to run different chemicals in adjoining baths. Nickel, Nickel Cobalt and Copper can be run in separate sumps and cells built into one system, and controlled with one computer and touch screen monitor.

Our “Spaffle”, is a baffle that sparges solution evenly and directly on the plating area. This technique helps to plate evenly and into obscure structures.

Our plating solution is maintained through a 2-stage filtering process that aids in the longevity of the bath. Regular replacement of solution is not required. Some of our plating baths have been around for over 20 years. (Filters are easily accessible in the front of the SA system.)

Information on some of the industries we serve:

MEMS/Nano-High-Aspect-Ratio Structures can now be plated with a +/- 1 micron differential. E.g. for a structure 250 microns wide and 55 microns high, you can plate a variable of +/-1 micron. This is obtained with a rotating head that spins the nickel ions into any obscure areas, and a digital rectifier that is programmed to ramp up the amps in small increments, discharging the nickel ions at a rate that is more conducive to this type of plating.

Large Flat Panels can now be produced economically, because manufacturers can produce a shim with the exact thickness and variations across the entire surface. This allows shims/plates to last longer in a hot Embossing Process. There are no high areas of the shim that will wear faster. It also enables the use of a more complex refractory panel, giving the screens a brighter and true-to-life image. A high-speed shim of 1M² x 300µm thick, can be plated in 3 to 4 hours.

Our Hologram Systems are used for authenticating Passports, Driver’s Licenses, Bank Notes, Currency (Euro €) Stamps. High Priced Goods and Materials can now target specific pixels to encode text or image. With the flatness maintained across the entire shim, pixel wear is no longer a factor, allowing production runs off of one shim to extend to more than double the previous life span. Most Important is consistent thickness. If your shim is requiring a 290µm thickness, you want to plate 290µm (+/- 5 microns).

Most recently, Semiconductor industries are interested in our Cu technologies and equipment. Presently, fabricators:

• Plate per cell: 1x100 µm thick wafer every 12 hours
• Need to Slurry to achieve exact thickness & polish backside
  Rough backside requires over-plating
• Achieve Cu hardness of 150 HV
• Have questionable stress on a high percentage of wafers
• At the end of the week, send chemicals away to be recycled

What Digital Matrix technologies can do:

• Plate 1x100µm part in one hour. Application dependant
• No Slurry needed, plate to exact thickness +/- 1 to 2 microns
• Can achieve a mirror finish without the aid of organics
• Can produce soft or hard parts
• Negligible or no internal stress
• Chemicals continuously re-cycled within the system

Electrochemical technologies have been around for years. It is the optimization of these technologies that has changed the way Electroplating/Electroforming is viewed today. The hurdles or problems needed to be overcome in this industry are:

• Equal deposition over complete surface with margins of +/- 1 micron
• Plating hardness up to 650 HV without stress
• Plating with exact thickness, relative to the structural requirements without the need to slurry or back sand
• Nickel Ions attracting to tight corners and obscure angles, such as posts and gear teeth, with equal deposition
• Need for equal conductivity over plating surfaces, so that the Nickel deposition is uniform
• Ability to control backside roughness/smoothness
• Speed, flatness, hardness, the list goes on and on……

Manufacturers of Micro and Nano structures, as well as FPD’s and Holograms, need to be aware of the advances made in the Electroplating/Electroforming processes. With this knowledge, they can find the way to mass produce, improve technologies, produce parts cheaper, better and faster.