Patent ID: 7033648

Claim:
The method of metallizing a polymer substrate surface using an electroless process comprising: (a) forming a composite film by coating a polymeric substrate selected from the group consisting of polyimides, polyetherimides, polyamides, polyisoimidazole, polyisoindoloquinazolindione and polyimidazopyrrolones with a water insoluble imageable resist polymer selected from the group consisting of poly(methymethacrylate), poly(alpha-methylstryrene), poly(ethylene carbonate), poly(propylene carbonate) and poly(ethylene-co-propylene carbonate) capable of being totally volatilized upon to a volatilizing temperature, wherein the composite film consists essentially of said polymeric substrate and said resist; (b) patterning by exposing said imageable resist polymer composite film using laser energy with a wavelength of between about 230 nm and 360 nm sufficient to ablate said imageable resist polymer at a location where subsequent electroless metal deposition is desired, thereby exposing said polymeric substrate and thereby forming an ablated composite film; (c) immersing said imageable resist polymer composite film into an alkaline solution selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide then exposing said ablated composite film to water vapor plasma forming reactive OH − and —COOH ions to provide reactive OH − and —COOH groups on the surface of said exposed polymeric substrate by reacting said plasma ions from said water plasma with said exposed polymeric substrate; (d) seeding said exposed surface of said polymeric substrate surface with a catalytically active metal salt selected from the group consisting of palladium, platinum, nickel or rhodium which is capable of forming a bond with said polymeric substrate; (e) contacting said seeded polymeric substrate surface with an electroless metal bath which contains a metal selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, gold and cobalt-phosphorus to deposit said from said bath thereon; and (f) heating said composite film treated as defined above for such time and at such temperature to anneal said electrolessly deposited metal and to volatilize completely the remaining resist polymer.