John C. Coburn

Internal Stress Development In Spin Coated Polyimide Films

The effect of processing on the development of internal stresses in spin coated polyimide films was investigated. The internal stresses are a result of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between the polymer and the substrate. Birefringence and CTE were used to characterize the in-plane molecular orientation. In-plane orientation was shown to be sensitive to processing conditions. Increasing the spin speed results in higher in-plane orientation as observed by an increase in birefringence and a corresponding decrease in CTE. Heating rate during cure was observed to have a significant effect on in-plane orientation. Faster heating rates during cure resulted in a lower birefringence. The lower birefringence is attributed to relaxation effects that can occur during a rapid cure. The decrease in orientation was accompanied by an increase in internal stress.

The Effect of Photoreactive Substituents on the Morphological Structure and Properties of BPDA-PPD Based Polyimides

Adding photoreactive substituents onto a biphenyldianhydride (BPDA) and p -phenylene diamine (PPD) poly(amic acid) precursor influences the onset of imidization and the development of anisotropy and crystalline morphology during processing and the resulting morphology and properties of the fully cured films. Amine salts shift the imidization to lower temperatures while the covalently bonded esters shift the imidization to slightly higher temperatures. Anisotropy of the photosensitive polyimides develops at higher cure temperatures compared to the poly(amic acid). The photoreactive substituents do not affect the crystal structure, but do influence the crystallite orientation and morphology. Out-of-plane coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs), calculated from the volume expansivities of these systems, are an order of magnitude larger than the in-plane CTEs.