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.