Structures having selectively metallized regions and methods of manufacturing the same

• US 10,197,708 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2014
• Issued: 02/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HRL Laboratories LLC (The Boeing Co.)
• Original Assignee: HRL Laboratories LLC (The Boeing Co.)
• Inventors: Hundley, Jacob M., Eckel, Zak C., Yang, Sophia S., Jacobsen, Alan J., Carter, William
• Primary Examiner(s): Yuan, Dah-Wei D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Law, Nga Leung V
• Application Number:
  US14/462,306
• Publication Number:
  US 20150176132A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,632 Days
• Field of Search: 427304, 427306, 4274431, 427 988, 427307
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/12 by surface treatment, e.g. by irradiation
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/14 Protective coatings, e.g. hard coatings
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/136 by etching
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/138 by using polymerisation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24149 Honeycomb-like

Abstract

Methods of manufacturing a structure having at least one plated region and at least one unplated region. The method includes plating a metal on a polymer structure having a first region accepting the metal and a second region unreceptive to the metal plating. The first region may include fully-cured polymer optical waveguides and the second region may include partially-cured polymer optical waveguides. The first region may include a first polymer composition and the second region may include a second polymer composition different than the first polymer composition.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a structure having at least one plated region and at least one unplated region, the method comprising:

plating a metal on a polymer structure having a first region accepting the metal and a second region unreceptive to the metal,

wherein the first region comprises fully-cured, cross-linked polymer optical waveguides, and the second region comprises partially-cured polymer optical waveguides, the partially-cured polymer optical waveguides inhibiting the plating of the metal on the partially-cured polymer optical waveguides of the second region.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plating of the polymer structure comprises:

conditioning the polymer structure;

etching the polymer structure;

neutralizing the polymer structure;

catalyzing the polymer structure;

immersing the polymer structure in an accelerator; and

immersing the polymer structure in an electroless bath.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

irradiating a volume of a photo-monomer with a plurality of light beams to form the partially-cured polymer optical waveguides; and

irradiating regions of the partially-cured polymer optical waveguides with light beams to form the fully-cured, cross-linked polymer optical waveguides.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first region comprises a first polymer composition, and the second region comprises a second polymer composition different than the first polymer composition.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising etching the polymer structure, the first region of the polymer structure etching at a first rate and the second region of the polymer structure etching at a second rate different than the first rate.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming the polymer structure by irradiating one or more photo-monomers with a plurality of light beams, wherein the polymer structure comprises a plurality of interconnected polymer optical waveguides arranged in a unitary lattice structure.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming the polymer structure by irradiating a volume of a first photo-monomer with a plurality of light beams to form the first region of the polymer structure and irradiating a volume of a second photo-monomer with a plurality of light beams to form the second region of the polymer structure.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming the polymer structure by an additive manufacturing process selected from the group of processes consisting of stereolithography, digital light processing, fused deposition, and selective laser sintering.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the plating the metal on the polymer structure comprises simultaneously applying the metal to both the first region and the second region.

9. A method of manufacturing a selectively plated structure, the method comprising:

irradiating a volume of a first photo-monomer with a plurality of light beams to form a first region of a polymer structure;

irradiating a volume of a second photo-monomer different than the first photo-monomer with a plurality of light beams to form a second region of the polymer structure coupled to the first region of the polymer structure,

wherein one of the first and second regions of the polymer structure accepts metal plating and the other one of the first and second regions of the polymer structure rejects metal plating,

wherein the one of the first and second regions comprises fully-cured, cross-linked polymer optical waveguides, and the other one of the first and second regions comprises partially-cured polymer optical waveguides, and

plating a metal on the one of the first and second regions of the polymer structure that accepts metal plating, the partially-cured polymer optical waveguides inhibiting the plating of the metal on the partially-cured polymer optical waveguides of the other one of the first and second regions.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

lifting the first region of the polymer structure out of a reservoir containing an unpolymerized volume of the first photo-monomer;

filling the reservoir with the second photo-monomer; and

lowering the first region of the polymer structure into the reservoir to contact the second photo-monomer before the irradiating of the second photo-monomer with the light beams.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

removing an unpolymerized volume of the first photo-monomer from a reservoir containing the first region of the polymer structure;

filling the reservoir with the second photo-monomer to a height greater than a height of the first region of the polymer structure; and

wherein the irradiating of the second photo-monomer comprises directing the light beams through the first region of the polymer structure such that the second region of the polymer structure extends upward from an upper end of the first region of the polymer structure.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

removing an unpolymerized volume of the first photo-monomer from a reservoir containing the first region of the polymer structure;

filling the reservoir with the second photo-monomer such that at least a portion of the first region of the polymer structure is submerged in the second photo-monomer; and

wherein the irradiating of the second photo-monomer comprises directing the light beams through the first region of the polymer structure to form a plurality of thin polymer shells on the portion of the first region of the polymer structure submerged in the second photo-monomer.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the first and second photo-monomers are immiscible monomers, and the first photo-monomer is layered on top of the second photo-monomer.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

removing the one of the first and second regions of the polymer structure by etching to form a plurality of interconnected hollow struts.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the irradiating of the first photo-monomer comprises directing the light beams through a plurality of apertures defined in a first mask; and

the irradiating of the second photo-monomer comprises directing the light beams through a plurality of apertures defined in a second mask.