Abstract of the final report: “Nickel-free metallization systems on 3D MID substrate materials” (NiMm3)
The aim of the NiMm3 research project was to identify nickel-free metallization systems with a low tendency to crack and suitability for assembly and connection technology on polymer 3D circuit carriers. In order to achieve this goal, a comprehensive test plan was drawn up. This was divided into two test runs. The first involved the optimized laser structuring of various substrate materials, their subsequent electroless metallization with copper and the characterization of the samples with regard to substrate-copper interaction.
In the second test run, different nickel-free surface finishes were primarily compared with each other. The test specimens were subjected to flexural fatigue and thermal shock tests in order to induce and evaluate failures due to accelerated ageing. The test specimens were characterized in detail before and after the tests. These included adhesion strength measurements and shear tests. All test specimens for this test run were processed with the same laser and metallization parameters for each substrate material so that the influencing parameters could be correlated.
From the tests carried out, it was found that, depending on the substrate material used, some nickel-free coating systems exhibited comparable to significantly superior performance to Cu/Ni/Au. Cu/Pd/Au, Cu/DIG and Cu/Ag in particular showed consistently good results, Cu/OSP is not fully recommended on all substrate materials and Cu/Sn is not recommended. These findings enable SMEs in particular to produce high-quality MIDs with increased reliability and also expand the field of application in the HF sector.
Research Institutes
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Department Maschinenbau, Lehrstuhl für Fertigungsautomatisierung und Produktionssystematik (FAPS)
- Hahn-Schickard Stuttgart
Further information about the project NiMm3
