Polymer comprising silicone and metal trace

• US 7,871,707 B2
• Filed: 08/17/2006
• Issued: 01/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Doheny Eye Institute, Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. (Vivani Medical, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. (Vivani Medical, Inc.)
• Inventors: Laude, Lucien D., Greenberg, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): PENG, KUO LIANG
• Application Number:
  US11/506,617
• Publication Number:
  US 20070104944A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,615 Days
• Field of Search: 428/450, 524/588
• US Class Current: 428/450
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 2383/04 Polysiloxanes
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 7/12 Chemical modification
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1608 from pretreatment step, i.e. selective pre-treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1612 through irradiation means
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1657 Electroless forming, i.e. substrate removed or destroyed at the end of the process
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/204 Radiation, e.g. UV, laser
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/206 Use of metal other than noble metals and tin, e.g. activation, sensitisation with metals sensitising with tin C23C18/285, sensitising with noble metals C23C18/30
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0133 Elastomeric or compliant polymer
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0162 Silicon containing polymer, e.g. silicone
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0209 Inorganic, non-metallic particles
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0236 Plating catalyst as filler in insulating material
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/107 Using laser light
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/1105 Heating or thermal processing not related to soldering, firing, curing or laminating, e.g. for shaping the substrate or during finish plating
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/185 by making a catalytic pattern by photo-imaging
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/28 Applying non-metallic protective coatings H05K3/0091 takes precedence; methods for intermediate insulating layers for build-up multilayer circuits H05K3/4673
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/387 for electroless plating H05K3/4661 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/26 Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or component, the element or component having a specified physical dimension
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31663 As siloxane, silicone or silane

Abstract

A flexible electrode array of silicone containing oxide particles of SiO₂, TiO₂, Sb₂O₃, SnO₂, Al₂O₃, ZnO, Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, talc, hydroxyapatite or their mixtures and at least one metal trace in a silicone-containing polymer.

Claims

1. A flexible electrode array comprising silicone containing oxide particles of SiO₂, TiO₂, Sb₂O₃, SnO₂, Al₂O₃, ZnO, Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, talc, hydroxyapatite or mixtures thereof and at least one metal trace embedded in said flexible electrode array;

wherein

said oxide particles are between 0.5 μ

m and 100 μ

m in diameter.

2. The flexible electrode array of claim 1 further comprising a flexible circuit cable and an interconnection pad.

3. The flexible electrode array of claim 1 comprising SiO₂.

4. The flexible electrode array of claim 1 wherein said flexible electrode array comprising silicone is an elastomer formulation, silicone craft polymer, silicone copolymer, silicone-silicone copolymer, silicone-hydrocarbon copolymer, silicone block polymer, silicone block copolymer, silicone rubbers or mixtures thereof.

5. The flexible electrode array of claim 1 wherein said oxide particles are silica structures, silica foam, fumed silica, polycrystalline, fibers, fiber pieces or mixtures thereof.

6. The flexible electrode array of claim 1 wherein the proportion of said oxide particles contained in said flexible electrode array is between 1 and 50 vol. % or 1 and 30 wt. %.

7. The flexible electrode array of claim 1 comprised of a first polymer layer coated with said oxide particles and a second polymer layer coated on said first polymer layer containing no oxide particles.

8. The flexible electrode array of claim 1 comprising metal traces of one or more of the following metals titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, technetium, rhenium, iron, ruthenium, osmium, cobalt, rhodium, iridium, nickel, palladium, platinum, copper, silver, or gold, or an alloy of two or more metals, or a combination of two or more alloys or metal layers thereof.

9. The flexible electrode array of claim 1 comprising one or more of the following metals titanium, tantalum, chromium, iridium, palladium, platinum, silver, or gold, or an alloy of two or more metals, or a combination of two or more alloys or metal layers thereof.

10. The flexible electrode array of claim 1 wherein said trace is 5 μ

m to 50 μ

m wide.

11. The flexible electrode array of claim 1 wherein said trace is 10 μ

m to 20 μ

m wide.

12. The flexible electrode array of claim 1 wherein the distance between said traces is 5 μ

m to 50 μ

m.

13. The flexible electrode array of claim 1 wherein the distance between said traces is 10 μ

m to 20 μ

m.