PRODUCTION

OVERVIEW

Ceramic hybrids, flexible circuits, printed circuit boards and fine pitch detectors based on these technologies are made by the TS-DEM-PMT production facility. The service is optimised for prototype quantities and can also organise the outsourcing of productions.

As a CERN core value, the facility can produce non-standard circuits (notably hybrids and low-mass high-definition circuits used in particle detectors) that are not feasable to make in industry, either because of the technical complexity or of the price.

In-house capabilities

  • Preparation and generation of films
  • Special printed circuit boards
    • high-definition circuits (traces and isolation 5 to 10 mm)
    • low-mass circuits with Alu layers
    • multi-layer boards with integrated metal or pyrolytic carbon heatsink
    • flex-rigid boards
  • Standard printed circuit boards
    • double-sided boards with metalised vias
    • multi-layer boards (upto 14 layers, class 6)
    • flexible circuits (kapton)
    • subcontracting of series production
  • Chemical treatment
    • treatment of thin sheets of metals like copper, stainless steel, nickel, aluminium and titanium
    • ENIG (Electroless Nickel/immersion Gold) finish of all PCBs
  • Thick-film hybrids
    • electrical circuits created by seriegraphy of conducting paste on ceramic substrates (aluminium, aluminium nitride, berilliumoxide)
  • Services
    • expertise of printed circuits
    • validation of circuit manufacturers
    • validation of production processes


Removal of photosensitive layer from gold-plated
ceramic hybrid

Printed circuit board production is a challenge because of its complexity. Multiple technologies and skills - mechanics (drilling), photolithography (exposure), wet processing, engineering and above all environmental aspects - are needed to produce PCBs with high qualities and yields.

How to use the manufacturing service

When the DEM-BE design office has drawn your board or hybrid you will automatically use this service. In case you have made your own design, you can enter directly the DEM-PMT section (R. De Oliveira). In some cases the design office will verify if the manufacturing rules are met. 

For prototype production outside CERN we have negotiated contracts with several companies. Those contracts are based on a large volume and have followed the official CERN tendering procedures. Please contact B. Magnin to get details about how to make use of those contracts. 

As the PMT section has a vast knowledge of materials, they can also help you with the selection for your detector or circuit. Concerns like heat conduction, thermal coefficiencies, mass, manufacturability and cost can all be taken into account.

Next steps

After your design is manufactured, the DEM-WS assembly workshop (B. Magnin) can mount the components on your board. To make use of this service, you should provide us with the components that are not existing in the CERN stores; there is no need to provide standard resistors and capacitors (SMD or radial). For the bonding of chips or detectors, you may contact the PH bonding lab.

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