Effect of plasma treatment times on the adhesion of Cu/Ni thin film to polyimide

This study represents the results of the peel strength and surface morphology according to the preprocessing times of polyimide (PI) in a Cu/Ni/PI structure flexible copper clad laminate production process based on the polyimide. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopywere used to analyze the surface morphology, crystal structure, and interface binding structure of sputtered Ni, Cu, and electrodeposited copper foil layers. The surface roughness of Ni, Cu deposition layers and the crystal structure of electrodeposited Cu layers were varied according to the preprocessing times. In the RF plasma times that were varied by 100-600 seconds in a preprocessing process, the preprocessing applied by about 300-400 seconds showed a homogeneous surface morphology in the metal layers and that also represented high peel strength for the polyimide. Considering the effect of peel strength on plastic deformation, preprocessing times can reasonably be at about 400 seconds.