Plasma and VUV Pretreatments of Polymer Surfaces for Adhesion Promotion of Electroless Ni or Cu Films

This paper is relative to the electroless deposition of nickel or copper films on polyimide and polytetrafluoroethylene substrates. First, it is presented an original approach of the electroless process which consists in grafting nitrogenated functionalities on the polymer surfaces via plasma or VUV-assisted treatments operating in a nitrogen-based atmosphere ($NH_3$, $N_2$), and then in catalysing the grafted surfaces in an aqueous tin-free, Pd(+2)-based solution. Adhesion of the Pd(+2) catalytic species on polymer surfaces is explained by the formation of strong covalent bonds between these species and the grafted nitrogenated groups. Second, it is show how a fragmentation test performed in conjunction with electrical measurements can be used to characterize the practical adhesion of the electroless coatings deposited on flexible polymer substrates, and to evidence the influence of some experimental parameters (plasma treatment time and nature of the gas phase).