A technique that bonds a polymeric film to glass, in a way that means it can be ‘easily’ removed by applying heat, has been developed by the Suga Laboratory of the School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo. The research may be used to lower the cost of flexible substrate production.
When a polyimide (PI) film (a material used for flexible substrates) is formed on a glass plate for support, a laser must be used to remove it. Yield rate is lowered and cost is raised in the process.
Using Suga’s technology, an Argon (Ar) ion beam is applied to the surface of the glass carrier and PI film. Oxide and adsorption (atoms, ions and molecules adhering to the surface) films are removed and the surface is flattened in the process. Next, a 5-20mm-thick silicon intermediate layer is formed via ion beam sputtering. An iron nano adhesion layer, around 1mm thick, can be added to strengthen the silicon layer. The final step is to pressure-bond the iron or silicon layers, with a pressure of about 2.5 megapascals (MPa), to strengthen the bond. The sputtering and pressure bonding takes around 50
