| Abstract: | An aqueous method for chemically pretreating polyetherimide substrates to promote adhesion to electrolessly deposited copper or nickel is described. The process consists of cleaning the polymer surface followed by surface normalization and debris removal. In contrast to previously developed processes, no separate adhesion promotion step is required. Peel strengths between 150-250 and 120-150 g/mm were achieved for copper and nickel, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were utilized to investigate changes in the polymer surface morphology and chemistry during processing. Possible candidates for the different steps are presented, as are analyses of the failure loci following peel strength assessment. |
