ABSTRACT
The past two decades have created a huge demand for metallized polymers for a wide variety of industrial products. This has resulted in tremendous changes in manufacturing equipment, processing conditions, production rates, and demands for improved performance specifications. In general, sophisticated analytical techniques have been available for many years to provide the detailed technical information to keep pace with these products and changes, but more often than not, analytical investigations have not been sufficiently utilized. Although one of the most common metallized systems is copper (Cu) on polyimide (PI) used in flexible circuits, many other systems have been developed including polycarbonate rigid disks, metallized decorative parts for automotive and recreational vehicles and appliances, and most electronic devices. This paper briefly discusses analytical information available from ISS, SIMS, ESCA, Auger, and EDS that has been very productive toward improved understanding of metal / polymer bands, guiding development of improved products and eliminating costly failures and manufacturing problems. Detailed information about interfacial chemical bonding will be illustrated along with industrial applications.
