Effects of chemical etching and functionalization times on the properties of Cu/Polyimide films

We fabricated flexible Cu/Polyimide (PI) films by electroless- and electro-Cu plating on surface modified PI via chemical etching and functionalization, and investigated the effects of the modification time on the contact angle, surface energy and morphology, Pd catalyst amount on PI, and resultant peel strength between Cu/PI layers. Chemical etching and successive functionalization were performed on PI surfaces for 0 - 10 min, followed by electroless- and electro-Cu plating. Chemical etching effectively modified the PI surface from a hydrophobic to a hydrophilic state. In addition, chemical functionalization significantly increased the amount of Pd absorption on PI, which consequently enhanced the peel strength between Cu/PI. The peel strength of the resulting Cu/PI film processed by both chemical etching and functionalization for 5 min increased to 5.08 N/cm, which was 4.2 and 2.8 times higher than films processed with functionalization and etching alone, respectively. The highest strength that was achieved was a result of the combined effects of the increased work of adhesion and the increased Pd amount for both treatments; however, the amount of Pd was likely to be the more critical factor for the high level of adhesion between Cu/PI, rather than the work of adhesion.