ABSTRACT
Polyimide adhesion to a silica surface is initially good even without an adhesion promoter; however, its reliability is poor. The reliability of its adhesion to silica has been significantly improved by the use of an aminosilane adhesion promoter. The favorable chemical interactions at both polyimide–aminosilane and aminosilane–silica interfaces result in strong covalent bond formation. The peel locus of failure in samples with and without an adhesion promoter is always in the polyimide. Peel adhesion data analysis combined with locus of failure studies suggest that the improved peel adhesion is due to a change in polyimide mechanical properties in the interfacial region. This paper explores the interplay of chemical and physical factors in the adhesion of polyimide to the silica surface.
