Method of metallizing a silicone rubber substrate

Abstract

A method of metallizing a silicone rubber substrate, the method comprising the steps of (i) depositing a primer layer of aluminum on a surface of a silicone rubber substrate, and (ii) depositing a layer of a ductile metal on the primer layer of aluminum, wherein the ductile metal is selected from gold, platinum, palladium, copper, silver, aluminum, and indium.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to methods of metallizing silicone rubber substrates, and more particularly, to methods of metallizing silicone rubber substrates using a primer layer of aluminum on the surface of the substrate. Background technique [0002] Ductile metals such as gold often exhibit poor adhesion to glass or resin substrates. One method of improving adhesion involves depositing a primer layer of metals, such as chromium, nickel, platinum, palladium, and titanium, to nanometer-scale thicknesses on the substrate prior to depositing gold. Although these metals can improve the adhesion of gold to hard materials with low thermal expansion, such as epoxy resins, they are often too brittle to be used on materials with high thermal expansion, such as silicone rubber. As a result, using these metals as a primer layer over silicone rubber often results in the formation of cracks within the gold layer. [0003] Another method of improving adhesion...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, unlike conventional methods that use primers such as chrome that are too brittle and cause cracks in metal surface coatings, there is still a need for methods of improving metal-to-silicone rubber adhesion that reduce cracking