Comparison of R2R sputtering and conventional electroplating

Roll-to-roll sputtering and traditional electroplating are both common coating processes in the industry. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Here are some process characteristics comparison tables for reference by R&D personnel and end customers.

TOP Nanometal Corp. is a roll-to-roll sputtering electronic material manufacturer. In addition to its own products, it also provides roll-to-roll sputtering services to assist customers in mass production of flexible electronic thin film products or cooperate with customer RD in early development (MOQ=1 roll). If you have any needs, please contact us.
 

Evaluation Dimensions	Roll to Roll Sputtering	Traditional electroplating	Remarks
Process principle	Physical vapor deposition (PVD) Ions bombard the target material to deposit thin films in a high vacuum environment	Chemical electrolytic deposition, which forms a coating by reducing metal ions through electric current	--
Environmental protection	No chemical waste liquid, waste is mainly waste target material (solid), which can be recycled and reprocessed	Contains heavy metal wastewater/waste liquid (such as chromium VI), which requires complex and proper treatment	Sputtering is better
Coating thickness	Thinner, usually nanometer to micrometer level (0.1-3um), requires multiple layers of deposition to thicken * Nanoscale is easier, while micron thickness varies depending on substrate and equipment characteristics	Flexible, usually micron level (1-100um), suitable for thick coating requirements	Electroplating is better
Uniformity/precision	High uniformity (vacuum environment control, film thickness deviation <±5%)	Affected by the electric field distribution, the uniformity of edges/complex structures is low	Sputtering is better
Material compatibility	Wide (metals, alloys, support for high melting point materials)	Limited (depends on electrolyte, difficult to plate high melting point metals)	Sputtering is better
Production mode	Continuous roll-to-roll production, suitable for large quantities	Batch processing, less efficient	Sputtering is better
Equipment cost	High (vacuum system, target material)	Low (tank, power supply)	Electroplating is better
Technology maturity	Mature in the field of flexible electronics/solar energy	Mainstream process for traditional heat sink manufacturing
Environmental regulations adaptability	Fully compliant with strict standards such as RoHS and REACH	Facing the risk of environmental regulations being upgraded (such as heavy metal ban)	Sputtering is better
Typical application scenarios	Ultra-thin heat sinks, flexible electronic components, high-precision requirements (such as 5G chip cooling)	Thick layer heat sinks, large-size structural parts (such as CPU cooling base)	Scenarios complementarity
Core challenges	Thickening technology bottlenecks, high-cost equipment and targets	Environmental compliance pressure, difficulty in improving uniformity	--