Plasma Surface Modification of Poly(aryl ether ether ketone) and Surface Metallization using Copper Metal

Abstract

The surface of poly(aryl ether ether ketone) (PEEK) was modified using oxygen plasma treatment to improve the adhesive strength at Cu/PEEK interfaces. It is well known that plasma treatment results in etching and introduces functional groups to polymer surfaces. The effect of plasma treatment methods, which were ordinary plasma treatment and pulsed plasma treatment, on the adhesive strength was evaluated. The following three points were revealed ; (1) oxygen plasma treatment enhanced the adhesive strength at Cu/PEEK interfaces ; (2) oxygen plasma treatment introduced oxygen functional groups and produced an etching action at the interfaces. This etching action certainly contributed to the adhesive strength among these actions ; (3) introduction of oxygen functional groups might also produce a synergetic effect with an etching action and this might result in stronger adhesion.

Strategies for Improved Wettability of Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) Polymers by Non-Equilibrium Plasma Treatment

“…Results similar to those of Inagaki et al [ 4 ] were reported by Narushima and Ikeji [ 11 ], except that they used a temporal afterglow instead of the flowing afterglow. The temporal afterglow was obtained by pulsing the RF generator operating at the frequency of 13.56 MHz and the power of 50 W. The oxygen pressure was set to 13 Pa.…”

“…Taking into account these values, the density of neutral radicals was almost constant over the treatment time of 1 min, but the charged particles and VUV radiation were applied in pulses. The surface finish, as reported by Narushima and Ikeji [ 11 ], was independent of the treatment mode (continuous or pulsed). In both cases, the concentration of C−O functional groups as deduced from XPS spectra increased from 20 to 25%, and C=O from 5 to 6%.…”

“…The method introduced by Kim et al [ 17 ], therefore, enabled moderate hydrophilicity of PEEK surfaces. It is better than treatment with oxygen plasma, as reported by Inagaki et al [ 4 ] and Narushima and Ikeji [ 11 ], but not as effective as irradiation with VUV radiation, as reported by Arikan et al [ 13 ]. Both energetic Ar + ions and VUV radiation from the Xe excimer lamp are capable of breaking bonds in the surface film, but the energy of ions is much larger than the photon energy, so the thermal effects cannot be excluded when using Kim’s method, which is illustrated in Figure 3 .…”

“…Namely, the low-frequency capacitively coupled discharge operates at the voltage of several 100 V. Self-biasing occurs on the surface of samples placed on the powered electrode, so the samples are bombarded with O 2 + (and perhaps also O + ) ions of several 100 eV kinetic energy. The rather large discharge power—as compared to [ 4 ] and [ 11 ]—of 200 W may also assure for rather extensive radiation in the VUV range. The synergy between ions and VUV radiation may lead to significant surface structural modifications.…”

In situ X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy Analysis of Aromatic Polyester Surface Treated with Argon Plasma

“…on a POCO surface. 1,2) For surface modification, for the purposes described above, mere modification of surface characteristics is necessary without modifying interior (bulk) properties or characteristics. Plasma surface modification is an actively studied method [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] by which surface conditions alone are modified without modifying the fundamental bulk characteristics.…”