Formation of Fine Metal Patterns by Selective Electroless Plating on Cyclic Olefin Polymer using Vacuum Ultra Violet Light Surface Modification

Cyclic olefin polymer（COP）has been applied as a high performance resin material in diverse fields. Ultraviolet（UV）modification treatment and an electroless plating method are effective for metallization on the COP surface. As described in this paper, vacuum UV（VUV, wavelength < 200 nm）exposure through a photomask was used for selective modification on the COP surface. Surface properties of the surface modification were evaluated using surface energy analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FT-IR）and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）. VUV exposure was expected to cause polymer chain cleavage and to increase oxidized moieties. Some of the oxidatively cleaved material of lower molecular weight might then be extracted from the modified layer by alkaline treatment. Palladium（II）-amino acid complex as a catalyst for electroless plating was adsorbed selectively onto a VUV-modified layer of the COP surface. Consequently, the electroless plating reaction progressed on the modified area. Finally, the deposited metal patterns with line width of a few micrometers on the COP surface were formed through photomasking.