Analysis of Tempering Effects on LDS-MID and PCB Substrates for HF Applications

Mechatronic Integrated Devices or Molded Interconnect Devices (MID) are three-dimensional (3D) circuit carriers. They are mainly fabricated by laser direct structuring (LDS) and subsequent electroless copper plating of an injection molded 3D substrate. Such LDS-MID are used in many applications today, especially antennas. However, in high frequency (HF) systems in 5G and radar applications, the demand on 3D circuit carriers and antennas increases. Electroless copper, widely used in MID, has significantly lower electrical conductivity compared to pure copper. Its lower conductivity increases electrical loss, especially at higher frequencies, where signal budget is critical. Heat treatment of electroless copper deposits can improve their conductivity and adhesion to the 3D substrates. This paper investigates the effects induced by tempering processes on the metallization of LDS-MID substrates. As a reference, HF Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) substrates are also considered. Adhesion strength and conductivity measurements, as well as permittivity and loss angle measurements up to 1 GHz, were carried out before and after tempering processes. The main influencing factors on the tempering results were found to be tempering temperature, atmosphere, and time. Process parameters like the heating rate or applied surface finishes had only a minor impact on the results. It was found that tempering LDS-MID substrates can improve the copper adhesion and lower their electrical resistance significantly, especially for plastics with a high melting temperature. Both improvements could improve the reliability of LDS-MID, especially in high frequency applications. Firstly, because increased copper adhesion can prevent delamination and, secondly, because the lowered electrical resistance indicates, in accordance with the available literature, a more ductile copper metallization and thus a lower risk of microcracks.