Mechanism of Bonding Electroless Metal to Organic Substrates

Abstract
The use of electroless metal bonded organic substrates has many possible applications. The present state‐of‐the‐art is limited to a few organic substrates. Initial studies included the mechanism of bonding electroless copper to acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene and to polysulfone. This was investigated by using a scanning electron microscope to view the interfacial surfaces of substrates subsequent to chemical processing and electroless and electrolytic plating. The examination revealed that interlocking surfaces were present which permitted mechanical interaction at the copper‐organic interface. When these surfaces were replicated on epoxy, bonding between this surface and electroless copper was obtained.