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Photopolymerized Conducting Polymers:  Applications in the Electronics
Industry.

High-quality, electronically conducting organic polymer films can be made
by a new photopolymerization process. This results in a new additive
direct metallization process which has a number of potential applications
in the electronics industry:

* A new additive, or partially additive, method for printed wiring board
(PWB) manufacturing;
* Formation of passive elements such as resistors and resistor networks
in PWB and MCM industry, and;
* Repair of damaged, or addition of new, conducting patterns on finished
electronics products.

Photopolymerization Process

The process utilizes a simple ink-like formulation that consists of a pure
monomer (pyrrole, aniline), a salt and a solvent. The salt serves both as
an electron acceptor for oxidation of the monomer and as a dopant to
preserve electroneutrality in the oxidized polymer. A novel
photolithographic method for the synthesis of conducting polymer films
uses UV lamp flood exposure, argon-ion laser or electron beam as the
driving force to induce electron transfer from monomer species in a cast
solution film to the electron acceptor, also present in the formulation.

The photopolymerization process does not require a conducting
substrate for deposition to take place, and conducting polymer films
and/or lines of various thickness can be readily photopolymerized on
typical printed wiring board (PWB) substrates (fiberglass/epoxy,
polyimide) and multichip modules (MCM) substrates (alumina) as well as
on metals, silicon, GaAs, glass, paper, Teflon, Mylar and polystyrene
substrates.

The photopolymerization process can be easily modified to yield
conductive polymer films with controlled resistivity by varying the
composition of the photopolymerizable solution. Polymer adhesion,
flexibility, and speed of curing can be adjusted by incorporating additives
into the photopolymerizable solution, such as flexibilizers, photoinitiators
and adhesion promoters.

PWB and MCM Metallization

The photopolymerization method for the preparation of conducting
polymer films can be applied to PWB manufacturing as an additive direct
metallization process. The process eliminates environmentally
undesirable electroless copper plating and significantly
reduces the number of PWB manufacturing steps. The developed direct
metallization process is highly efficient and has the potential to satisfy
the criteria required for designing future PWBs:

(i) environmentally conscious manufacturing, and
(ii) high-resolution conductor line imaging.

A proprietary electroplating apparatus has also been developed for
electroplating developed conducting polymer patterns which can also
find applications in other direct metallization processes. This method
allows for electroplating and not only electroless plating in direct
metallization processes.

The developed metallization process is capable of simultaneously plating
through-holes and conducting patterns on PWB (or MCM) substrates.

Formation of Passive Electronic Elements

The main advantage of the photopolymerization process for the
preparation of conducting polymers is that it allows the properties of
conducting polymer films to be easily modified by optimizing the starting
photopolymerizable formulations.  The conductivity of the polymer films is
controlled by varying the amount of the electron acceptor (silver nitrate)
and co-monomers, e.g., aniline, present in the formulations. The
resistivity of the conducting polymer films can be changed over several
orders of magnitude by simply varying the concentration ratio of starting
components in the formulation.

The work toward optimization of the formulations and achieving resistors
with low values in the range 10 - 1,000 ( is in progress.

Benefits and Advantages

* Photopolymerized conducting polymer films with properties that  can be
easily adjusted to improve the PWB metallization process and quality of
resistors.
* Minimization of hazardous chemicals and copper plating solutions;
* No environmentally problematic electrodless-copper plating and etching
process needed;
* Significant reduction in the number of PWB or resistor manufacturing
steps;
* Industrially scaleable processing method that readily lends itself to
automated manufacturing; and
* Cost-effective and environmentally benign technology.



For additional Information: http:/monica.usc.edu/reviews.htm

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