A major cost driver for PCB manufacturers with horizontal plating lines is the palladium consumed within the activation step. Atotech developed a new activation system, Neoganth X Activator, which runs at a very low palladium set-point and can offer a clear cost saving in palladium compared to conventional processing.
Neoganth X Activator vs Neoganth U Activator: Coverage performance comparison on three different base materials
Neoganth X Activator
¡°The new activator has been designed to ensure a comparably excellent palladium absorption and coverage on a wide variety of different base materials to its predecessor, the de-facto industry standard Neoganth U Activator,¡± explains Lars-Eric Pribyl, Product Manager at Atotech¡¯s plating through hole (PTH) business technology team. ¡°Neoganth U Activator runs at a palladium bath concentration of 225 ppm. The standard set-point of Neoganth X Activator is only 80 ppm enabling significant cost savings.¡±
Neoganth X Activator is for horizontal multi-layer and HDI manufacturing, ideally in Uniplate plating equipment. The easy drop-in solution is perfectly suitable for all existing Uniplate® LB lines, and fully compatible to all Neoganth Pre Dips B, U and W. It further fulfills all standard reliability requirements such as solder shock tests, thermal cycle test and interconnect stress test.