CHEMICAL-ANALYSIS OF THE INTERFACE BETWEEN AL THIN-FILMS AND POLYMER SURFACES PRETREATED WITH KRF-EXCIMER LASER-RADIATION

KrF-excimer laser irradiation of polyimide (PI) and polybutylene terep hthalate (PBT) at fluences near and below the material removal thresho ld epsilon(t) causes oxygen depletion, with the effect being much more pronounced for PI. In the case of PI there is also a slight nitrogen depletion, an opening of the imide ring al the N atom, and the formati on of doubly bonded nitrogen, probably in an isoimide structure. Alumi nium films on PI exhibit significantly more interfacial Al3+ after irr adiation near epsilon(t), indicating an enhancement of the metal/polym er binding, in spite of the reduced oxygen content in such surfaces. I n contrast, irradiated PBT surfaces show little change in the amount o f interfacial aluminium species compared to unirradiated surfaces.