Adhesion characteristics of silver tracks screen-printed on polyimide with an environmental reliability test

Printable and flexible electronics are increasingly being used in numerous applications that are miniaturized, multi-functional and lightweight. Simultaneously, reliability issues of the printed and flexible electronic devices are getting more attention. The adhesion of screen-printed silver (Ag) tracks on a polyimide (PI) film was investigated after two kinds of the environmental reliability test: a constant-temperature storage test, and a steady-state temperature and humidity storage test. Atmospheric-pressure plasma (APP) was adopted on the PI film surface to improve the poor adhesion derived from the inherent hydrophobicity. The Ag tracks constructed via screen printing were sintered at 250 degrees C for 30 min in air using a box-type muffle furnace. Some samples were exposed under 85 degrees C and 85% relative humidity (RH) for various durations (24, 72, 168 and 500 h), and others were aged at 85 degrees C with same durations to compare the influence of moisture on the adhesion. The adhesion of the screen-printed Ag tracks was evaluated by a roll-type 90 degrees peel test. The peel strength of the screen-printed Ag tracks decreased by 76.74% and 69.88% after 500 h run of the 85 degrees C/85% RH test, and the aging test, respectively. The weakest adhesion was 4.98 gf/mm after the 500 h run of the 85 degrees C/85% RH test. To demonstrate these experimental results, the microstructural evolution and chemical bonding states of the interfacial surfaces were characterized using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS), respectively.