Additive Preparation of Conductive Circuit Based on Template Transfer Process Using a Reusable Photoresist

Abstract

To solve the problems of a conventional subtractive process for preparing conductive circuits, numerous alternative additive processes have been investigated, such as screen or inkjet printing, selective electroless plating, laser-induced forward transfer, etc. They all lead to a simpler procedure, less pollution, and finer line width but are still faced with difficulties like low conductivity and thickness, poor adhesion, and high cost. PDMS is a kind of material with low surface energy, leading to low adhesion with adhesive. Under these circumstances, a simple template transfer process for additively preparing conductive circuits is reported. The process to form the template includes the preparation of a photolithographic mask on the carrier copper foil and adsorption of PDMS anti-adhesion coating. Followed by metal deposition through electroplating on the template, the conductive circuits are transferred to the target substrate. Thus, the designed conductive circuits on various substrates including paper and cloth are formed. The template can be used again after being reimmersed into PDMS anti-adhesion coating. The components and the concentration of the coating are carefully discussed, and the mechanism of anti-adhesion is also researched by EIS and XPS. The copper circuits show a line width of 10 μm, a peeling strength of 7.11 N/cm, and a resistivity of 1.93 μΩ·cm, which is similar to that of bulk copper. With low pollution and cost, high versatility, and good electrical and adhesion performance, the template transfer process shows a good application prospect in the large-scale production of flexible electronics like sensors, RFID tags, etc.

Autocatalytic Laser Activator for Both UV and NIR Lasers: Preparation of Circuits on Polymer Substrates by Selective Metallization

“…In the past decades, the selective metallization technology has attracted enormous attention due to its wide applications in communication equipment, − electronic devices, − medical appliance, energy storage devices, , light-emitting displays (LED), and wearable devices . At present, the commonly used metallization methods include photolithography, − ink printing, − micro-contact printing, screen printing, and laser-induced selective metallization (LISM). LISM is the technology that uses lasers to activate the polymer surface and then conducts electroless plating to deposit the metal layer on the activated area.…”

Template‐Electrodeposited Plasmonic Metasurfaces for High‐Sensitivity Biomolecular Detection

“…Templated electrodeposition is a fast, high‐throughput, and high‐resolution technique, and has been successfully deployed in the fabrication of micromesh transparent electrode, [ 47 ] disordered nanowire electronics, [ 48 ] and conductive circuits on flexible substrates. [ 49 ] Hence, the introduction of templated electrodeposition in plasmonic metasurfaces fabrication may lead to a new avenue for high‐efficiency and cost‐effective production of plasmonic metasurfaces. However, few studies have been reported templated electrodeposition in plasmonic metasurfaces, thus it still needs intensive investigation to be successfully employed.…”

Efficient and Simple Fabrication of High-Strength and High-Conductivity Metallization Patterns on Flexible Polymer Films

“…In terms of selective metallization, photolithography can prepare large-area high-precision metal patterns, but it requires masks and clean rooms, increasing production costs. − The ink printing method is relatively simple and economical, while fabricating a conductive pattern based on ink printing requires printing and subsequent sintering, including thermal sintering, electric sintering, microwave sintering, flash lamps, and laser sintering . All these methods possess both merits and drawbacks.…”