Summary for polyimide seed layer plating Discussion
The thread asks for a reliable way to metallize smooth polyimide films such as Kapton with a chemical or electroless seed layer of Pd or Au, then photoresist-pattern and electroplate a few microns of gold before microetching the seed without damaging the plated gold. The poster, Paul, says standard suppliers such as Uyemura, MacDermid, Metalor, Atotech, DuPont, RBP, and Technic do not offer a ready-made solution, and early trials have shown poor adhesion and skip plating. The excerpt provided does not include any technical replies or vendor recommendations, so no consensus solution is shown here. The page mainly documents an open request for a process or supplier that can handle smooth polyimide rather than common plastics like ABS.
Q. Hi, I’m having trouble locating suppliers that can provide chemical/electroless deposition method of metallizing smooth polyimide films (e.g. Kapton).
I need to find a chemical deposition method that can catalyze and electrolessly plate a thin seedlayer of either Pd or Au. After that, we will apply/pattern photoresist & through-mask electroplate a few um of Au (creating pads & conductor lines) then microetch the seed layer away. Ideally, the seed layer microetch would not attack/roughen the electroplated Au surfaces.
Does anyone have suggestions for vendors to contact or plating systems that work best? I’ve already explored our standard suppliers (Uyemura, MacDermid, Metalor, Atotech, Dupont, RBP, Technic) and none have a ready-made solution for depositing Pd or Au on polyimide. I’ve tried a couple options and both have major issues (low initial and/or retained adhesion, skip plating defects, etc.). Most have well developed options for plating on ABS & other plastics, but not smooth polyimide.
Paul
Process Development Engineer – MN USA
September 26, 2025
Ed. note: This RFQ is outdated, but technical replies are welcome, and readers are encouraged to post their own RFQs. But no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?).