The Influence of Surface Chemistry on the Adhesion of Copper Deposited on Plastic Substrates

Abstract

Polystyrene is selected as a suitable substrate material for investigating chemical adhesion to electroless copper plating. The choice of surface geometry is discussed. Peel adhesion results are shown for natural, carboxylic and nitro-derived surfaces. Finally it is shown that there exists a difference in the ability of surface groups to provide chemical interaction with the copper plating.