Investigation in the interface adhesion strength between SU-8 photoresist and metal substrate by ultrasonic treatment

During the fabrication process of metal microstructures and microdevices by ultraviolet Lithographie Galvanoformung Abformung technology of SU-8, it is common for interface separation and bind failure due to the poor adhesion strength between SU-8 photoresist and metal substrate. In this paper, ultrasonic wave was introduced into the lithography process to improve the interface adhesion strength. Scratch test method was adopted to measure the interface adhesion strengths between SU-8 photoresist and metal substrate without ultrasonic treatment and with ultrasonic treatment under different ultrasonic conditions. The effects and corresponding mechanisms of ultrasonic time and ultrasonic power on the interface adhesion strength between SU-8 photoresist and metal substrate were investigated. The results showed that due to the input of the ultrasonic vibration, the crosslink network characteristics of SU-8 photoresist were changed. The internal stress in SU-8 photoresist was reduced and the interface adhesion strength was improved. The interface adhesion strength firstly increased and then decreased with the increase of ultrasonic time. The maximum interface adhesion work was 0.427 J/m² at an optimized ultrasonic time of 10 min, which was higher than that of the sample without ultrasonic treatment by 39.5 %. Besides, in the experimental conditions, the interface adhesion strength first increased and then decreased with the increase of the ultrasonic power and the maximum interface adhesion strength attained at the ultrasonic power of 352 W. The ultrasonic treatment method can effectively improve the interface adhesion strength, so as to increase the product yield and performance.