SBIR Phase II: An Economical Continuous Metal Coating Method for Electronic and Other Applications

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目将进行研究，以开发一种新的方法，在大面积移动的基板上连续快速地涂覆金属。目前，由于美国的环境法规，这些类型的涂层是电化学镀的，导致运营成本较高。这增加了美国电子金属涂层行业不断下降的世界市场份额。因此，该技术的第一阶段结果引起了商业部门的兴趣，需要为已确定的客户进行原型演示。该方法既适用于导电衬底，也适用于非导电衬底，也适用于刚性衬底和柔性衬底。在这个第二阶段的项目中，将开发一种用于电子应用的连续涂覆非导电基板的原型。然后以比传统方法更快的速度沉积金属涂层。将进行进一步的研究，以满足客户对涂层质量和工艺经济性的期望。此外，通过为确定的客户运行设备，将确保工艺的可重复性。最后，确定涂层价格，并进行成本效益分析。建议的方法有可能大幅降低预期涂层作业的操作成本。在多种电子和汽车应用中，铜、镍和其他金属涂层被广泛地镀在非导电基板上。典型的应用包括手机中的EMI/RFI屏蔽，计算机和平板显示器中使用的印刷线路板中的导线，以及汽车中的装饰性装饰。即将开发的方法可以为当今使用的传统方法提供一种成本更低的替代方案，并使美国。涂料行业在国际市场上更具竞争力。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will conduct research to develop a new approach to coating metals continuously and rapidly on large areas of moving substrates. Currently, these types of coatings are electrochemically plated resulting in higher operating costs due to environmental regulations in the U.S. This has added to the declining share of the world market for the U.S. electronic metal-coating industry. Consequently, the Phase I results on the technique have generated interest in the commercial sector and a prototype demonstration is needed for the identified customers. The proposed method is suitable for coating conductive as well as nonconductive substrates, and rigid as well as flexible substrates. In this Phase II project, a prototype will be developed for continuously coating nonconductive substrates used in electronic applications. Then metal coatings will be deposited at a rate better than that of the conventional methods. Further research will be conducted to meet customer's expectations of the coating quality and process economics. In addition, process repeatability will be assured by running the equipment for the identified customers. Finally, the coating price will be determined and a cost benefit analysis will be performed. The proposed method has the potential to reduce operating costs in the intended coating operations substantially. Copper, nickel and other metal coatings are widely plated on nonconductive substrates in several electronic and automotive applications. Typical application include EMI/RFI shielding in cellular phones, conductor lines in printed wiring boards used in computers and flat panel displays, and decorative trims in automobiles. The method to be developed could provide a lower-cost alternative to the conventional methods in use today and make the US. coating industry more competitive in the international market.