Laser-Assisted Selective Fabrication of Copper Traces on Polymers by Electroplating

Abstract

The selective deposition of metals on dielectric materials is widely used in the electronic industry, making electro-conductive connections between circuit elements. We report a new low-cost laser-assisted method for the selective deposition of copper tracks on polymer surfaces by electroplating. The technique uses a laser for the selective modification of the polymer surface. The electrical conductivity of some polymers could be increased due to laser irradiation. Polyimide samples were treated using nanosecond and picosecond lasers working at a 1064 nm wavelength. An electro-conductive graphene-like layer was formed on the polymer surface after the laser treatment with selected parameters, and the copper layer thickness of 5–20 µm was deposited on the modified surface by electroplating. The selective laser-assisted electroplating technology allows the fabrication of copper tracks on complex shape dielectric materials. The technology could be used in the manufacturing of molded interconnect devices (MID).

A comprehensive review on surface modifications of polymer‐based 3D‐printed structures: Metal coating prospects and challenges

“…A new, inexpensive laser‐assisted technique for selectively depositing copper on polymer surfaces was created by Ref. 121, enabling the creation of electro‐conductive connections in electronic manufacturing. The technique used lasers to modify the polymer surface, with picosecond lasers proving more effective than nanosecond lasers.…”

A non-linear triangular split-ring based metaresonator for targeted scanning at 1.5T MRI

“…For electrical characterization of the substrate, circular-disc shaped samples covered with silver coating would be used [28]. The copper patches can be fabricated on the ceramic block by laser direct structuring (LDS) or laser induced surface activation (LISA) [29]. Switching diodes will be soldered between the copper conductors for introducing dynamic characteristics in the metaresonator.…”

Laser-Induced Graphene in Polyimide for Antenna Applications

“…LIG can be produced, when the graphene oxide (GO) reduction process induces the removal of oxygen-containing groups from the GO matrix, the resulting conductive multilayer graphene matrix [9][10][11][12][13][14]. Furthermore, LIG formation can be performed on organic materials such as paper, wood, and food products and various polymers such as PDMS, polyimide, and PEI [5,6,[15][16][17][18][19][20]. In addition, various groups have already applied the LIG process on various materials using different laser sources, such as pulsed 1064 nm, 532 nm, and 355 nm laser irradiation and CO 2 lasers [20][21][22][23][24].…”