Willard T. Grubb

Characterization of Surface Modifications during Metallization of Polyetherimide

The chemical and compositional modifications of a polyetherimide surface during metallization processes have been monitored using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The following aspects will be discussed: 1) detection of contaminants on the polymer surface and the effectiveness of various cleaning agents; 2) determination of the degree of imide hydrolysis; 3) quantification of the coverages of metallization catalysts using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) as a calibration method; 4) measurement of the changes in catalyst composition (colloidal Pd/Sn) during sensitization and acceleration steps; and 5) verification of the cause of leakage current between isolated conductor runs.