A method for milling flex foil includes providing a web of flex foil including a substrate; a first conductive layer arranged on one surface of the substrate; a second conductive layer arranged on an opposite surface of the substrate; a first insulating layer arranged adjacent to the first conductive layer; and a second insulating layer arranged adjacent to the second conductive layer. The method includes dry milling one side of the web using a first clich pattern including raised portions and non-raised portions to selectively remove at least one of the first conductive layer and the first insulating layer. The method includes dry milling an opposite side of the web using a second clich pattern including upper raised portions, lower raised portions and non-raised portions to selectively remove the second insulating layer.

Provided are an electronic component manufacturing method by which even a platable layer made of a difficult-to-plate material can be easily plated with good adhesion without using a special chemical solution or a photolithography technique, and an electronic component which has a peel strength of 0.1 N/mm or greater as measured by a copper foil peel test. A picosecond laser beam having a pulse duration on the order of a picosecond or a femtosecond laser beam having a pulse duration on the order of a femtosecond is emitted at a surface of a platable layer (2) in order to roughen the surface, a wiring pattern is formed using a mask (13), and a plated part (12) is formed on the surface of the wiring pattern.

A method for milling flex foil includes providing a web of flex foil including a substrate; a first conductive layer arranged on one surface of the substrate; a second conductive layer arranged on an opposite surface of the substrate; a first insulating layer arranged adjacent to the first conductive layer; and a second insulating layer arranged adjacent to the second conductive layer. The method includes dry milling one side of the web using a first clich pattern including raised portions and non-raised portions to selectively remove at least one of the first conductive layer and the first insulating layer. The method includes dry milling an opposite side of the web using a second clich pattern including upper raised portions, lower raised portions and non-raised portions to selectively remove the second insulating layer.

Disclosed is a wiring substrate including: a first wiring layer, a second wiring layer disposed on the first wiring layer interposed by an insulating film, and a via conductor passing through the insulating film in a thickness direction, the via conductor electrically connecting the first wiring layer and the second wiring layer. The second wiring layer and the via conductor include a second sintered metal layer and a first sintered metal layer arranged to surround the second sintered metal layer, and an average particle diameter of first metal particles forming the first sintered metal layer is smaller than an average particle diameter of second metal particles forming the second sintered metal layer.

A component carrier including an electrically insulating core, at least one electronic component embedded in the core, and a coupling structure with at least one electrically conductive through-connection extending at least partially therethrough and having a component contacting end and a wiring contacting end. The electronic component directly contacts the component contacting end. The wiring contacting end is directly electrically contacted to the wiring structure. The exterior surface portion of the coupling structure has homogeneous ablation properties and surface recesses filled with an electrically conductive wiring structure. A method includes embedding an electronic component in an electrically insulating core, providing a coupling structure with a conductive connection having a component end and a wiring end, connecting the electronic component directly to the component end, providing a surface portion of the coupling structure with homogeneous ablation properties, patterning the surface portion with recesses and filling the recesses with a wiring structure such that the wiring end is contacted directly.

A method for manufacturing a substrate structure is provided. The method includes the following steps. A substrate is provided. The substrate has a patterned first metal layer, a pattern second metal layer and a through hole. After that, a first dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer are formed at a first surface and a second surface of the substrate, respectively. The second surface is opposite to the first surface. Then, the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer are patterned. After that, a first trace layer is formed at a surface of the patterned first dielectric layer. The first trace layer is embedded into the patterned first dielectric layer and is coplanar with the first dielectric layer. Then, a second trace layer is formed on a surface of the second dielectric layer.

Embodiments describe the selective electroless plating of dielectric layers. According to an embodiment, a dielectric layer is patterned to form one or more patterned surfaces. A seed layer is then selectively formed along the patterned surfaces of the dielectric layer. An electroless plating process is used to deposit metal only on the patterned surfaces of the dielectric layer. According to an embodiment, the dielectric layer is doped with an activator precursor. Laser assisted local activation is performed on the patterned surfaces of the dielectric layer in order to selectively form a seed layer only on the patterned surfaces of the dielectric layer by reducing the activator precursor to an oxidation state of zero. According to an additional embodiment, a seed layer is selectively formed on the patterned surfaces of the dielectric layer with a colloidal or ionic seeding solution.

Disclosed are apparatus and methods for embedded high voltage transformer components. Industrial applications require transformers that provide high voltage isolation. The laminate materials used for fabricating Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) are very good insulators and PCB transformers can provide higher voltage isolation than traditional wire wound devices. There are a variety of PCB laminate materials with different properties for voltage breakdown. FR-4 laminate is commonly used and has voltage breakdown properties exceeding 10 kV/mm. To produce PCB transformers with breakdown voltages exceeding 5 kV, it is beneficial to use laminate with much higher breakdown voltages. Generally, the materials with high breakdown voltage cost more. High voltage isolation can be achieved at a moderate cost by mixing low cost FR-4 laminate with high voltage dielectric materials.

A component carrier for carrying electronic components includes an at least partially electrically insulating core, at least one electronic component embedded in the core, and a coupling structure with at least one electrically conductive through-connection extending at least partially therethrough and having a component contacting end and a wiring contacting end. The at least one electronic component is electrically contacted directly to the component contacting end. At least an exterior surface portion of the coupling structure has homogeneous ablation properties and is patterned so as to have surface recesses filled with an electrically conductive wiring structure, and the wiring contacting end is electrically contacted directly to the wiring structure.

Disclosed are apparatus and methods for embedded high voltage transformer components. Industrial applications require transformers that provide high voltage isolation. The laminate materials used for fabricating Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) are very good insulators and PCB transformers can provide higher voltage isolation than traditional wire wound devices. There are a variety of PCB laminate materials with different properties for voltage breakdown. FR-4 laminate is commonly used and has voltage breakdown properties exceeding 10 kV/mm. To produce PCB transformers with breakdown voltages exceeding 5 kV, it is beneficial to use laminate with much higher breakdown voltages. Generally, the materials with high breakdown voltage cost more. High voltage isolation can be achieved at a moderate cost by mixing low cost FR-4 laminate with high voltage dielectric materials.