Series 1000 Functional Thin Films — Direct Deposition on Plastic Substrates
Overview
Series 1000 functional thin films provide highly effective metal coatings for a variety of applications including EMI shielding for medical device plastic enclosures, opticelectronic connectors, military electronics, consumer electronic devices, and industrial and scientific equipment. The coating process used is physical vapor deposition (PVD) using the thermal evaporation method. This process allows for the creation of conductive coatings ½ microns to 6 microns thick that do not chip, peel, or flake. The process is also called vacuum metalization or direct deposition. The benefits of thin film functional coatings lend themselves to today technological needs for superior performance.
Technical Data (108 KB)
| Test |
Method |
| Crosshatch Adhesion |
ASTM D3359 |
| Coating Adhesion |
ASTM D 3359/Internal |
| Surface Resistivity |
4-point probe |
| Temperature/Humidity |
Internal |
| Attribute |
Benefit |
| PVD process |
Coatings do not peel, chip or flake
Entirely green (no toxic by-products)
Compliant with RoHS |
| Multi-material and multi-layer coatings |
Unique functional properties
High E-Field EMI shielding |
| Nickel and stainless steel materials |
H-Field (magnetic) shielding
Corrosion resistance |
High Technical Performance
Series 1000 functional coatings can be accomplished in a variety of metals and in multi-layer, multimaterial combinations that allow the coating system to have unique tailored EMI shielding properties in both electric (E) and magnetic (H) fields. Low surface resistivity in a coating system is achieved by the addition of more layers of high conductivity material such as copper or aluminum as illustrated in the table. The coating systems shown represent a few of the many that have been developed over the years.
| |
Adhesion |
Resistivity |
Thickness |
| Coating* |
Process # |
Notes 1,2 |
mΩ/sq.* |
µm |
| AL/AL |
1010 |
Excellent |
122 |
1.6 |
| SS/CU/CU/SS |
1020 |
Excellent |
32 |
4.2 |
| AL/SS |
1040 |
Excellent |
377 |
1.2 |
| CU/CU-SN |
1050 |
Excellent |
28 |
4.5 |
| CU/NI |
1060 |
Excellent |
73 |
2.1 |
| SS/CU/SS/NI |
1070 |
Excellent |
163 |
2.7 |
| AL |
1080 |
Excellent |
410 |
0.8 |
| CU/AL |
1090 |
Excellent |
64 |
2.6 |
| NI/AG |
11000 |
Excellent |
249 |
0.9 |
| SS/CU/CU/NI |
11100 |
Excellent |
31 |
4.2 |
"/" indicates next deposited layers. "-" indicates break vacuum.
(1) Passes ASTM D 3359-02destructive crosshatch test with 5B or better.
(2) Passes proprietary non-destructive adhesive tape test.
*Resistivity is inversely proportional to thickness for a given material. |
Satisfaction of European Union RoHS Directive
| Substrate Material |
| ABS/PC |
| Cycoloy |
| PVC |
| PET |
| PBT |
| PEEK |
| ULTEM |
A wide variety of plastic substrate materials can be metalized; however, the arrival of
the European Union Restriction on the Use of Certain Hazardous Substance (RoHS) in
2006 requires plastic resin suppliers to eliminate the brominated chemicals historically
used to achieve flame retardancy. Some plastic materials, such as Cycoloy, contain a
myriad of highly volatile chemical substances to achieve flame retardancy. Often,
these added chemicals make the plastic non-plateable (e.g., poor coating adhesion).
In response, WaveZero has developed proprietary processes and methods that enable
the thin vacuum metalized coatings to overcome the deleterious effects of the internal
contaminants used for flame retardancy. As the coating materials and systems used
by WaveZero are completely compliant with RoHS, WaveZero is able to offer providers
of electronic product enclosures and equipment the opportunity to achieve RoHS
while retaining all the performance benefits of the metal coating.
Environmental Stability and Performance
Certain vacuum metalized coatings, such as aluminum, nickel, and stainless steel are very stable in both cold and hot/wet environments. For example, as shown at right for a very thin layer (e.g., 0.5 µm) of pure aluminum, the surface resistivity is nearly unchanged after enduring a long cycle of cold (-40 °F) followed by hot/wet (85 °F/85%) testing.
Aluminum samples (0.5 µm) also demonstrate excellent shielding effectiveness over a wide range of frequencies with virtually no diminution of shielding effectiveness after cycling through cold and hot/wet environments.
In general, vacuum metalized coatings provide highly effective thin functional films for EMI shielding purposes. Multi-layer, multi-material coating systems can provide additional protection from the environment.
Green Processes
Vacuum metalization processes used by WaveZero are intrinsically green. No volatile organic compounds are
used or emitted. No toxins or hazardous chemicals are used or released into the environment. WaveZero is
compliant with all local and global environmental and regulatory requirements.
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