Progress Report on Next-Generation Coating Technology "MAP Project"

Qualtec Inc. (Headquarters: Sakai City, Osaka; President: Tomohiro Yamaguchi; hereinafter "the Company") announces the details of the development theme for the "MAP (Mist-Assisted universal Plating) Project," a development of new coating technology through universal plating, which is being jointly pursued with Professor Isao Takahashi of the Ritsumeikan University Research Organization of Science and Technology.

■ About the MAP Project

Against the backdrop of challenges such as soaring precious metal prices and international environmental regulations, this project is advancing research and development to establish a new coating technology using universal plating as a low-cost, environmentally friendly technology with a stable supply. Last September, our company opened a research and development base at the Ritsumeikan University Biwako-Kusatsu Campus Techno Complex Industry-Academia Collaboration Laboratory. (September 25, 2025, see PRTIMES) Now that the research and development environment is established, we have set a development theme to address the aforementioned issues.

■ Development Theme

"Practical Development of Glass Core Substrates for Next-Generation Semiconductors Using Low Environmental Impact Universal Plating"

While conventional plating technology made it difficult to directly plate copper onto glass, an insulator, our company has developed a technology to form a low-resistance metallic copper film on glass using "universal plating," a new film formation technology applying Mist CVD. This technology can be applied to glass core substrates and interposer substrates used in next-generation semiconductor packages, leading to higher semiconductor performance. Furthermore, if a technological shift from plating progresses, it will be possible to reduce the amount of harmful chemicals used in large quantities in the plating process to less than 1/100th, significantly reducing the environmental load.

・Features of Universal Plating

Universal plating allows for the coating of a copper film regardless of the substrate type because metallic copper adheres to the substrate surface by evaporating a liquid in which copper is dissolved. Figure 1 shows a photograph of an actual coated component; a film can be formed even on the surface of mirror-polished, highly flat quartz glass or sapphire substrates for semiconductors. When these samples undergo an adhesion test for plating (compliant with JIS H 8504), a film is formed where the copper film and the substrate are so well adhered that they pass the inspection. Another advantageous feature is the ability to uniformly form a film on the inner wall of a glass tube, which is extremely difficult with conventional methods. This feature allows for the creation of long glass tubes with conductive properties.