Journal Article

A Composite of Polyether Ether Ketone and Silica‐Coated Copper Particles for Creating Tailored Conductive Tracks via Laser Printing

Schnettger, Alexander, Maier, Hans J., Holländer, Ulrich

2024

Overview

Conventional substrates for optoelectronic systems include inorganic or organic carrier materials; however, these systems are typically subjected to environmentally harmful multistep processes to prepare printed circuit boards. To mitigate these issues, the present article reports a polyether ether ketone (PEEK)‐based composite densely filled with copper microparticles, prepared using a simple, cost‐effective, and sustainable synthesis method. The material exhibits high thermal conductivity but is electrically nonconductive prior to undergoing laser treatment. To prevent the composite from exhibiting electrical conductivity, the copper particles are coated with a thin silica layer through a sol–gel reaction. The thermal stability of PEEK and the Cu–PEEK composites with Cu contents of up to 70 vol%, which are prepared via heat melding, is investigated by thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy to clarify the manner in which copper affects the chemical structure of the polymer. The developed composite exhibits a significantly higher thermal conductivity than that of the unfilled PEEK polymer. This paper also describes the effects of laser treatment on the surface morphology. Overall, this study suggests that conductive tracks with low electrical resistance can be created on electrically insulating substrates with high thermal conductivity. This article reports an electrically insulating and thermally conductive metal–thermoplastic composite of polyether ether ketone and copper particles. The copper particles are encapsulated in a silica shell through a sol–gel reaction to achieve insulating behavior. The high copper content of the composite allows laser‐treatment‐based selective metallization of the surface for creating conductive tracks.

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc,Wiley-VCH
• Subject: Circuit boards / Copper / Differential scanning calorimetry / Electrical conductivity / Electrical resistivity / Fourier transforms / Heat conductivity / Heat transfer / Infrared analysis / Infrared spectroscopy / Ketones / laser direct structuring / Lasers / Microparticles / Optoelectronics / polyether ether ketone / Polyether ether ketones / Polymers / Silicon dioxide / Sol-gel processes / sol–gel / Substrates / Thermal conductivity / Thermal stability / Thermogravimetric analysis