DOE OSTI · 3014263
Adhesively Bonded Copper and Polyimide for Flexible Printed Circuit Boards: A Data-Driven Degradation Study Under Accelerated Aging
Abstract
The long-term durability of polyimide laminated adhesive based flexible printed circuit boards (PCBs) is critical to the microelectronics industry. The interface of the adhesive layer binding the polyimide and copper layers is particularly vulnerable since decreased bonding strength can lead to deadhesion, performance loss, and premature device failure. Here, in this study, adhesive-bonded polyimide and copper samples are subjected to 1000 h of damp heat exposure (85 °C/85%RH) to evaluate the impact of moisture and copper inclusion on the adhesive bonding performance. Significant copper diffusion through the adhesive layer is observed, which, combined with moisture uptake, is found to substantially weaken interfacial adhesion in copper-containing samples, thereby reducing device lifetime. Observed surface and bulk material changes are correlated to adhesion strength using the network structural equation modeling (netSEM) approach, resulting in a robust predictive model of performance degradation based on measurable materials properties.
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Jo, Yea Jin [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)], Lininger, Andrew [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000164017301), Gezelter, Jonah [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000235213335), Lin, Ravi A. [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)], Tran, Quynh D. [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0009000640251834), Gee, Richard Hayes [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)], Bora, Mihail [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)], Martin, Ina T. [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000194523299), Bruckman, Laura S. [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)]. 2025-11-12. Adhesively Bonded Copper and Polyimide for Flexible Printed Circuit Boards: A Data-Driven Degradation Study Under Accelerated Aging. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaelm.5c01780
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