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

Abstract

Conductive metal circuits, as a cornerstone of flexible electronics, are increasingly becoming an important integral part of modern industry. Herein, the metallized patterns and circuits with high strength and high conductivity were fabricated using efficient and simple laser technology. The laser activated polyimide film by a 1064 nm near-infrared (NIR) laser was metallized by the electroless copper plating (ECP) process. Moreover, on the basis of the ECP process, the electroless nickel plating (ENP) reaction and electroless gold plating (EGP) reaction are further carried out. The adhesion performance of the obtained copper layer on the PI film could reach the ASTM D3359-17 4B-5B level. In addition, the thickness of the prepared copper circuits on the PI film was around 4.8 μm, and the corresponding resistivity was calculated as 3.6 ± 0.2 μΩ•cm. Based on this laser-induced selective metallization (LISM) technology, the flexible electronics of electric heaters, ultraviolet light-responsive devices, wireless charging, and integration of microsupercapacitors (MSCs) were also explored. Therefore, this LISM technology exhibits great potential in the large-scale manufacturing of flexible electronics.

Splashing‐Assisted Femtosecond Laser‐Activated Metal Deposition for Mold‐ and Mask‐Free Fabrication of Robust Microstructured Electrodes for Flexible Pressure Sensors

“…Cu could be chemically deposited on the laser scanning trajectory as reported in previous work because organocopper compounds could be decomposed into catalyzing Cu particles for ELD with laser irradiation. [ 30,34–36 ] Interestingly, in this work, Cu layers were grown on both laser‐irradiated grooved areas and unirradiated convex areas from the middle image of Figure 1c, forming microstructured surface covered completed by Cu. To investigate the causes of Cu deposition beyond the irradiated region, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to characterize the morphology and composition of the PDMS/CuAc 2 film after femtosecond laser activation and ELD.…”

Absorption-Dominant mmWave EMI Shielding Films with Ultralow Reflection using Ferromagnetic Resonance Frequency Tunable M-Type Ferrites

“…According to ASTM D3359 Method B cross-cut adhesion test, the Cu grid has 4B/5B adhesion with the composite layer, which meets the standards of practical industrial applications (Fig. S2) [ 86 ]. Since the shielding film is sub-millimeter thin and TPU-based, the film is quite flexible and still intact even after folding and rolling (Fig.…”

Laser-Induced Selective Metallization on Polymers for Both NIR and UV Lasers: Preparing 2D and 3D Circuits

“…In the past decade, laser-induced selective metallization (LISM) on polymers has received extensive attention, − which is widely used in communication equipment, − electronic skin, decorative patterns, , and testing equipment, , and has potential applications in energy storage equipment − and triboelectric nanogenerators. − Compared to other metallization methods on polymers, such as photolithography, − inkjet printing, − microcontact printing, and screen printing, LISM owns the advantages of low cost, high time efficiency, and no mask. The main steps of LISM are to make a device by mixing the polymer with laser sensitizers, and then, after laser activation and electroless plating, metal patterns (or circuits) are successfully prepared at the laser-activated surface of the device .…”