Additive printed circuit process
First Claim
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1. A method for forming an electrical conductor in desired areas of a substrate, comprising the steps of:
- preparing an ink composition having finely-divided nickel powder in a polymer ink;
adjusting the amount of finely-divided nickel powder to comprise at least 80%, by weight, of the ink composition when that composition is cured;
applying the ink composition in a desired design to a surface of a substrate;
curing the ink composition; and
contacting the cured ink composition design with a metal salt solution in which the metal cation is more noble than the finely-divided nickel and the anion of the metal salt forms soluble salts with the cation and the finely-divided nickel, to form a contiguous layer of the metal on the ink composition design by a combination augmentative-replacement and electroplating reaction.
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Abstract
Electrical conductors having enhanced resolution/spacing and adhesion characteristics are prepared by applying a mixture of a carbonyl-processed nickel powder and a polymer to a substrate, curing the polymer, and immersing the cured polymer pattern in an augmentative-replacement/electroplating bath, to effect an augmentative replacement reaction to form a contiguous layer of conducting metal on the substrate and thereafter electroplating an additional metal layer on the contiguous layer.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method for forming an electrical conductor in desired areas of a substrate, comprising the steps of:
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preparing an ink composition having finely-divided nickel powder in a polymer ink; adjusting the amount of finely-divided nickel powder to comprise at least 80%, by weight, of the ink composition when that composition is cured; applying the ink composition in a desired design to a surface of a substrate; curing the ink composition; and contacting the cured ink composition design with a metal salt solution in which the metal cation is more noble than the finely-divided nickel and the anion of the metal salt forms soluble salts with the cation and the finely-divided nickel, to form a contiguous layer of the metal on the ink composition design by a combination augmentative-replacement and electroplating reaction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification