ABSTRACT

Polymers are playing an increasingly important role in the protection and interconnection of a variety of electronic components. One class of polymers that has been increasingly used in many areas of electronics is polyimides. Polyimides are characterized by the presence of the phthalimide structure in the polymer backbone. 1 The unique features of polyimides are high thermal stability ( 400 to 450°C) and processibility. Although there are other polymers that have high thermal stability in the range similar to that of polyimides, these polymers, unlike polyimides, are generally insoluble, intractable, and lack processibility. Polyimides, through a two-step process, solution'coating of the polyimide precursor poly(amic acid) and subsequent curing, 2 can be deposited in thin-film form by spin or spray coating and, therefore, are suitable for microelectronic applications.