Inductively Coupling Plasma (ICP) Treatment of Propylene (PP) Surface and Adhesion Improvement

Study on increasing the roughness of the polymer substrate surface to enhance the adhesion with the copper layer in an inductively coupling plasma (ICP) process was carried out. The microstructure of the polymer substrate surfaces, which were exposed to different kinds of plasma treatment, was identified by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) analysis, peel strength of the copper coating and water surface contact angle. The adhesion of the substrate was largely enhanced by plasma treatment and the copper deposited coating reached a value of 7.68 kgf/m in verifying the adhesion of the copper coating with polymer material. The quality of the line/space 50/50 μm produced in the laboratory was examined by the pressure cooker test and proved to meet the requirement.