Porous Copper Foil via Electroless Plating
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing ultrathin copper foils are costly and inefficient, as they use thick copper foils as carriers and leave residual metal components from sputtering, and there is a need for copper foils with controlled porosity for improved electromagnetic shielding and heat dissipation.
Innovation Solution
A method involving electroless copper plating and copper electroplating to form a porous copper thin layer on a metal carrier, which can be easily peeled off, allowing for controlled thickness, porosity, and pore size, and further applied to create a polymer resin sheet with surface irregularities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If sputtering is used as pretreatment for electroplating to produce ultrathin copper foil, then the copper foil can be formed on the carrier, but metal components from sputtering remain and are difficult to remove after patterning
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the harmful sputtering pretreatment step from the process. Instead of using sputtering followed by electroplating, the invention directly applies electroplating to the aluminum carrier surface, thereby removing the source of residual metal contaminants while maintaining the ability to produce ultrathin copper foil with controlled thickness
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a disposable aluminum carrier that is discarded after the copper foil is peeled off. This eliminates the need for complex carrier cleaning and recycling processes, and avoids contamination from repeated carrier usage and pretreatment operations
2Manufacturing precision
If thick copper foil is used as carrier to produce ultrathin copper foil, then the copper foil can be transferred to resin, but the production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention inverts the traditional approach by making the aluminum carrier the permanent substrate and depositing the copper foil as a thin layer on it. Instead of using thick copper as carrier and peeling off thin copper, the invention peels off the entire copper layer from the aluminum carrier, thereby minimizing copper consumption while maintaining product quality
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the thickness parameter of the copper layer from thick (carrier material) to ultrathin (deposit layer), enabling precise control of copper foil thickness in the range of micrometers and sub-micrometers, thereby reducing copper consumption while maintaining mechanical integrity
3Reliability
If conventional copper foil is used for electromagnetic shielding and heat dissipation, then the basic function is provided, but the surface area is limited and efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies porous copper foil with controlled pore structures that increase the surface area by several times compared to conventional dense copper foil. The porous structure maintains electrical conductivity for electromagnetic shielding while providing enhanced heat dissipation capacity through the increased surface area and improved thermal pathways
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the production of porous copper foils with controlled properties, facilitating their use in electromagnetic shielding and heat dissipation, and producing polymer sheets with enhanced adhesion and strength.
Implementation Method 1
growing copper islands on the metal carrier formed with the release layer by electroless copper plating
Implementation Method 2
forming a porous copper thin layer by copper electroplating
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a method for producing a porous copper foil. The method includes forming a release layer on a metal carrier, growing copper islands on the metal carrier formed with the release layer by electroless copper plating, forming a porous copper thin layer by copper electroplating, and peeling off the porous copper thin layer from the release layer.