Direct Patterning of Copper on Polyimide by Site‐Selective Surface Modification via a Screen‐Printing Process

We demonstrate a simple route to fabricating copper circuit patterns on the surface of polyimide film. The copper pattern can be obtained in three steps: 1) Formation of partially potassium hydroxide modified pattern via a screen‐printing process, 2) formation of macromolecular metal complex with copper, and 3) copper metallization by DMAB reduction. The morphologies of these copper patterns are determined by cross‐sectional transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Furthermore, the growing process of the metallic copper film is investigated. The direct patterning of copper patterns onto polyimide substrates is promising for use in electronics industry as a large‐area and low‐cost processing technique.