ULTRA-THIN, REMOVABLE, CATALYTIC FILM FOR LASER DIRECT STRUCTURING (LDS) ON A BLACK OR OPAQUE SUBSTRATE AND THE PROCESS THEREBY
A process of forming an article utilizes an ultra-thin, removable, catalytic film for Laser Direct Structuring (LDS). The process includes forming a film from a laser-activatable material, the film exhibiting thickness of less than 100 μm; applying the film to a black or opaque substrate to form a film-substrate element; applying a laser to the film-substrate element; removing a portion of the film from the film-substrate element; and applying metal plating to a portion of the black or opaque substrate. Removal of the film from the film-substrate element may follow metal plating of the black or opaque substrate. An article formed by the process may be useful in a computer device, electromagnetic interference device, printed circuit, Wi-Fi device, Bluetooth device, GPS device, cellular antenna device, smart phone device, automotive device, medical device, sensor device, RF antenna device, LED device, RFID device, or a component of a cell phone antenna.
1 . An article formed from a process comprising:
(a) forming a film from a laser-activatable material, the film having a thickness of less than 100 μm;
(b) applying the film to a black or opaque substrate to form a film-substrate element;
(c) applying a laser to the film-substrate element;
(d) removing at least a portion of the film from the film-substrate element; and
(e) applying a metal plating to at least a portion of the black or opaque substrate, wherein step (d) may be performed prior to or after step (e).
2 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the step of applying the film on the black or opaque substrate to form the film-substrate element comprises at least one of hot stamping or electrostatic absorption.
3 . The article of claim 2 , wherein the film is applied to the black or opaque substrate by hot stamping at about 100° C. to about 150° C. for from about one minute to about five minutes at a pressure of from about 5 bar to about 50 bar.
4 . The article of claim 3 , wherein the hot stamping is performed by one of a tablet press machine or a plate vulcanization machine.
5 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the laser-activatable material comprises a polymer.
6 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the laser-activatable material comprises polycarbonate.
7 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the film has a thickness of about 5 μm to about 15 μm.
8 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the step of forming a film from a laser-activatable material comprises extruding film from pellets.
9 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the article is one of a computer device, electromagnetic interference device, printed circuit, Wi-Fi device, Bluetooth device, GPS device, cellular antenna device, smart phone device, automotive device, medical device, sensor device, security device, shielding device, RF antenna device, LED device and RFID device.
10 . The article of claim 1 , wherein the article is a component of a cell phone antenna.
11 . A method comprising:
(a) forming a film from a laser-activatable material, the film having a thickness of less than 100 μm;
(b) applying the film to a black or opaque substrate to form a film-substrate element;
(c) applying a laser to the film-substrate element;
(d) removing at least a portion of the film from the film-substrate element; and
(e) applying a metal plating to at least a portion of the black or opaque substrate, wherein step (d) may be performed prior to or after step (e).
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of applying the film to a black or opaque substrate to form the film-substrate element comprises at least one of hot stamping or electrostatic absorption.
13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the film is applied to the black or opaque substrate by hot stamping at about 100° C. to about 150° C. for from about one minute to about five minutes at a pressure of from about 5 bar to about 50 bar.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the hot stamping is performed by one of a tablet press machine or a plate vulcanization machine.
15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the material comprises a polymer.
16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the material comprises polycarbonate.
17 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the film has a thickness of about 5 μm to about 15 μm.
18 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the article is one of a computer device, electromagnetic interference device, printed circuit, Wi-Fi device, Bluetooth device, GPS device, cellular antenna device, smart phone device, automotive device, medical device, sensor device, security device, shielding device, RF antenna device, LED device and RFID device.
19 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the article is a component of a cell phone antenna.
20 . A method comprising:
(a) forming a film from a laser-activatable material, the film having a thickness of less than 100 μm;
(b) applying the film to a black or opaque substrate to form a film-substrate element;
(c) applying a laser to the film-substrate element;
(d) applying a metal plating to at least a portion of the film-substrate element; and
(e) removing at least a portion of the film from the film-substrate element, wherein step (d) may be performed prior to or after step (e).