Top Laser Devices for PCB Manufacturing

Circuit boards are becoming more difficult to manufacture as their dimensions shrink and their electrical demands rise. AI servers, optical modules, automotive electronics, smartphones, and wearable devices all require denser interconnections, smaller vias, and more consistent processing across increasingly complex material stacks.

In this environment, drilling a small hole is only part of the challenge. A production system must remove copper and dielectric materials without excessive carbonization, delamination, glass-fiber protrusion, irregular taper, or damage to the underlying copper layer. It must also repeat that result across an entire panel and through long production runs.

These requirements make laser devices highly application-specific. High-frequency rigid PCBs made from low-loss composite materials do not behave like flexible circuits made from copper and polyimide. 

OJ MICRO, a subsidiary of JPT, addresses these different manufacturing needs with the best laser devices for PCB manufacturing: the Golden Gun-U.

Top Laser Devices for PCB Manufacturing: OJ MICRO Golden Gun-U 

OJ MICRO’s Golden Gun-U, model LDS-HH-3000, is designed for PCB applications. It is an ultrafast laser drilling system developed for M9 Plus high-frequency materials and 1.6T-class optical-module PCBs. Its main purpose is to produce blind and buried vias while controlling heat, hole geometry, and damage to the underlying copper.

Ultrafast Laser Source: 15W or 30W

The Golden Gun-U is available with 15W and 30W ultrafast laser configurations.

Ultrashort laser pulses remove material within a very short interaction period, limiting the amount of heat transferred into the surrounding PCB structure. This cold-processing characteristic is especially useful for low-loss M9 composites containing copper, resin, glass reinforcement, and ceramic fillers.

Its principal processing benefits include:

1. Reduced heat-affected zones

2. Lower risk of dielectric carbonization

3. Less thermal stress around the via

4. Reduced risk of separation between copper and dielectric layers

5. Better protection of the material’s high-frequency electrical properties

The 15W option can support precision-focused production requirements, while the 30W configuration provides additional processing capacity for applications requiring higher output.

Minimum Hole Diameter: 35μm

The Golden Gun-U supports microvia diameters of 35μm and above. This capability is suited to high-density blind- and buried-via structures used in high-frequency PCBs and optical-module boards. Smaller vias allow PCB designers to create denser interconnections and preserve more routing space for high-speed signal channels.

OJ MICRO’s laser device uses multi-pass scanning and helical drilling strategies to form the hole progressively. Compared with an uncontrolled single-point energy input, this approach provides greater control over:

1. Hole diameter

2. Hole verticality

3. Sidewall taper

4. Entry and exit geometry

5. Interaction with the bottom copper layer

This is particularly important for high-speed boards, where the finished via must meet both mechanical and electrical requirements.

Positioning Accuracy: ±20μm

The Golden Gun-U provides a disclosed positioning accuracy of ±20μm across its processing area.

Positioning accuracy determines how closely each drilled hole matches the coordinates defined by the PCB design. This becomes increasingly important as pad dimensions shrink and interconnection density rises.

Accurate placement helps reduce the risks of:

1. Misalignment between the via and capture pad

2. Incomplete electrical connections

3. Uneven annular rings

4. Damage to neighboring traces

5. Variation in high-frequency signal paths

For M9 Plus and optical-module PCBs, the accuracy of Golden Gun-U supports consistent via placement across complex, high-density layouts.

Repeat Positioning Accuracy: ±1μm

For the repeat positioning accuracy, the Golden Gun-U reaches ±1μm. While overall positioning accuracy describes closeness to the target coordinates, repeat positioning accuracy indicates how consistently the system can return to the same position. This is important when a hole requires multiple lasers passes or a helical scanning path.

The ±1μm specification supports:

1. Consistent multi-pass drilling

2. Repeatable hole diameters

3. Stable taper control

4. More uniform results across a PCB panel

5. Reduced variation during continuous production

This level of repeatability helps transfer a qualified drilling recipe from process development into volume manufacturing.

Hole Roundness: More Than 90%

The Golden Gun-U specifies drilled-hole roundness above 90%.

Roundness affects the distribution of deposited copper during subsequent metallization. An irregular hole may produce uneven copper thickness, create weak points, or increase the risk of connection failure.

By combining beam control with repeated scanning or helical drilling, the system is designed to produce a more regular hole profile. Its hole-quality controls focus on:

1. Smooth hole walls

2. Consistent hole shape

3. Reduced glass-fiber protrusion

4. Controlled taper

5. Reliable preparation for chemical copper deposition

The result is not merely a small opening, but a microvia prepared for downstream metallization.

Processing Area: 550 × 650mm

The Golden Gun-U provides a 550 × 650mm processing area and uses vacuum adsorption to secure the workpiece.

The relatively large working area allows the system to process production-size PCB panels while maintaining stable positioning. Vacuum fixation helps keep the panel flat and reduces movement during precision drilling.

This combination is particularly valuable when processing large panels containing a high number of densely arranged vias.

Material-Specific Process Control

M9 composite materials present a difficult laser-processing problem because copper, resin, glass fiber, and ceramic fillers respond differently to laser energy.

The Golden Gun-U addresses this through material-specific process recipes. The drilling sequence can be adjusted to:

1. Penetrate the upper copper foil.

2. Remove the composite dielectric.

3. Clear residual resin or glass reinforcement.

4. Stop at the lower copper layer.

5. Limit damage to the bottom capture pad.

Laser energy, repetition rate, scanning path, and the number of passes must be coordinated to balance complete material removal against the risk of overprocessing.

This recipe-based approach is one of the Golden Gun-U’s most important advantages for M9 Plus and other advanced high-frequency substrates.

What are the Best-Fit Applications of Golden Gun-U?

OJ MICRO Golden Gun-U is best suited to:

1. M9 Plus high-frequency and high-speed PCBs

2. 1.6T-class optical-module PCBs

3. AI-server communication boards

4. High-density rigid PCBs

5. RF and microwave circuit boards

6. Products requiring blind or buried vias in low-loss composite materials

Its principal strengths are ultrafast cold processing, controlled hole formation, bottom-copper protection, and compatibility with complex high-frequency material stacks.

Laser Drilling in AI-Hardware PCB Micro-Hole Applications: Why It Matters More Than Ever?

The clearest reason micro-hole capability is worth investing in right now is what AI hardware is doing to the boards underneath it. AI accelerators, high-bandwidth memory, and the packages that tie them together have made interconnect density. And that pressure lands directly on the PCB and substrate as a demand for more precise holes, smaller and more accurately placed.

Higher Data Rates Make Via Quality More Important

Modern AI infrastructure relies on high-bandwidth connections between processors, switches, network interfaces, and optical modules. NVIDIA’s current optical-interconnect portfolio includes systems operating at up to 1.6Tb/s, making signal integrity an increasingly important PCB manufacturing consideration. NVIDIA’s optical-interconnect overview identifies bandwidth, latency, reliability, and power efficiency as key constraints in scaling AI infrastructure.

At these transmission rates, a via is part of the electrical signal path. Its diameter, position, taper, roundness, and plating quality can influence impedance continuity and overall channel reliability.

The Golden Gun-U addresses this requirement through more than 90%-hole roundness, ±20μm positioning accuracy, and ±1μm repeat positioning accuracy. Its multi-pass scanning and helical drilling functions also help control via taper and verticality. These features reduce the manufacturing variations that may affect the performance of high-speed PCB channels.

Advanced Materials Require Controlled Laser Processing

M9-class high-frequency PCBs contain copper, resin, glass reinforcement, and ceramic-filled dielectric materials. Because these materials respond differently to laser energy, the drilling process must remove each layer without causing excessive carbonization, thermal stress, or damage to the bottom copper.

Research into ultrashort-pulse microvia drilling shows that pulse duration, repetition rate, laser fluence, and heat accumulation can affect via taper, glass-fiber protrusion, and internal copper damage.

The Golden Gun-U uses a 15W or 30W ultrafast laser source to provide a cold-processing effect. Its material-specific recipes coordinate laser energy, scanning path, repetition rate, and the number of passes to penetrate the upper copper, remove the dielectric, clear residual reinforcement, and stop at the lower copper layer.

This controlled process helps protect both the physical structure and the high-frequency electrical properties of M9 materials.

Consistency Is Essential for Volume Production

AI-related PCBs may contain large numbers of densely arranged blind and buried vias. A process that produces one acceptable hole must be repeatable across an entire production panel.

The Golden Gun-U combines a 550 × 650mm processing area with vacuum workpiece fixation, controlled scanning paths, and material-specific recipes. These functions help maintain panel stability and transfer an optimized drilling process from development samples to volume manufacturing.

Conclusion

PCB laser drilling is moving from a supporting manufacturing step to a process that can directly influence electrical performance, product reliability, and production yield. This is especially true in AI servers, high-speed networking equipment, optical modules, flexible electronics, and other applications where interconnection density continues to rise.

As one of the subsidiaries of JPT, OJ MICRO addresses this challenge. The Golden Gun-U is one of the best laser devices for PCB manufacturing, especially in the era of AI.  Its ultrafast processing to M9-class high-frequency materials and optical-module PCBs, the Golden Gun-U emphasizes cold ablation, controlled hole geometry, and protection of complex composite layers. 

Contact JPT today to get more information about this solution!