CFRC｜An R2R Coating Platform Built for Consumer Electronics Flexible Printed Circuit Mass Production

An R2R Copper Foil Coating Platform Built for Consumer Electronics FPC Mass Production

.Flexible Printed Circuits (FPC) are indispensable core components of modern consumer electronics — smartphones, tablets, wearables, camera modules, and automotive electronics all use large quantities of FPCs internally to connect their functional modules. As consumer electronics markets continue to expand and product cycles continue to shorten, the industry places increasingly stringent core requirements on PET copper-clad laminates: high-volume mass production, high yield, high consistency, and low cost.

The Dah Young Vacuum CFRC (Copper Foil R2R Coater) is a large-width R2R sputtering system optimized for PET-based flexible copper-clad laminate mass production. The CFRC employs a seed layer + bulk copper layer two-stage sputtering architecture, HiPIMS high-power impulse enhancement technology, and precise multi-cathode design — delivering industry-leading PET copper-clad laminate mass production solutions for FPC manufacturers, consumer electronics module makers, camera module makers, and automotive electronics manufacturers.

HiPIMS High-Power Impulse | Breakthrough Adhesion on PET Substrates

Conventional sputtered copper on polymer substrates such as PET polyester film commonly faces an adhesion bottleneck — insufficient adhesion directly causes delamination problems during downstream etching, peel testing, and long-term use, severely impacting FPC product yield and reliability. Conventional solutions rely on complex chemical pre-treatment or specialty coatings — process-intensive and costly.

The CFRC comes standard-equipped with HiPIMS (High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering) high-power impulse power supply. Through high-ionization-rate metal plasma, sputtered particles bombard the substrate surface with high kinetic energy — forming atomic-level dense interfacial structures on polymer substrates such as PET. The copper film deposited via HiPIMS achieves industry-top adhesion, passing rigorous peel strength testing and environmental reliability validation, fully meeting the demanding standards of consumer electronics FPC, automotive electronics, and camera module mass production applications.

Seed Layer + Bulk Copper Layer Two-Stage Architecture | Comprehensive FPC Process Coverage

The standard process architecture for FPC copper-clad laminate is a seed layer + bulk copper dual-layer structure — the seed layer provides adhesion transition and diffusion barrier between the PET substrate and the copper layer; the bulk copper layer provides primary conductive function and can be further thickened via downstream electroplating to the required μm-scale thickness.

The CFRC employs a multi-cathode design, completing both seed layer precision sputtering and bulk copper layer thick-film deposition within a single machine — substantially simplifying the customer's production workflow. Seed layer thickness is precisely controlled at 10–50 nm, ensuring adhesion and downstream etching process compatibility; bulk copper layer thickness reaches 100–500 nm, suitable for direct end-product use or for combination with downstream electroplating to thicken to customer-required dimensions.

Ultra-Thin PET Substrate Adaptation | Addressing Consumer Electronics Miniaturization

Smartphones, wearables, and other consumer electronics products continue advancing toward thinner and lighter designs — driving demand for thinner FPC substrates that enable denser circuit layouts and smaller component volumes. The CFRC employs Dah Young's proprietary high-precision tension control system, stably handling ultra-thin to medium-thickness PET substrates from 12.5 μm and above. Even under large-width mass production conditions, it maintains substrate shape stability and thickness uniformity.

The CFRC offers five web width options (900 / 1100 / 1300 / 1700 / 2000 mm) — matching the FPC industry's mainstream mass production specifications. From medium-volume smartphone FPC production to large-scale automotive electronics FPC mass production, the CFRC delivers complete R2R PET copper-clad laminate mass production solutions, helping customers achieve optimal balance across cost, quality, and capacity.