Process chains for the manufacturing of molded interconnect devices

Moulded interconnect device (MID) can be defined as an injection-molded plastic part that incorporates both electrical and mechanical functionalities in a single device. It is a relatively new area with enormous potential for industrial applications. At present, there are a number of available process chains for the manufacturing of MIDs. This paper presents a comparison among the MID manufacturing process chains, and it presents experimental results based on two of the most industrially adapted processes. Experiments with two-component (2k) injection molding and subsequent selective metallization show the dilemma between the polymer-polymer bond strength and selective metallization. Two new pairs of commercial polymer materials are introduced which are suitable for selective metallization and have the potential for industrial applications. Experiments with the laser direct structuring (LDS) process show that the success of the process is heavily dependant on the choice of material. It presents how the surface topographies are varied as a function of laser type and material choice. The amount of seed metal particles in the plastic material is a crucial factor that controls laser-induced metallization.