The inkjet printing of catalyst Pd ink for selective metallization apply to product antenna on PC/ABS substrate

In this paper, a simple and effective method to fabricate conductive antenna metal pattern on plastic substrates PC/ABS (poly(carbonate/Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene)) is described. This methods involves inkjet printing of copolymer/noble metal nanopartical-based ink on a PC/ABS substrate to create the catalyst site, onto which is subsequently deposited by an electroless plating method, to obtain metal pattern. The main challenge in electroless plating on plastics is to establish a good adhesion between the substrate and metallic film. The PC/ABS substrate was etching by environmental friendly etching solution, after printing, the plastic were immersed in an electroless plating bath to deposition Ni-P pattern. The prepared nickel film thickness is 11μm, which is excellent adhesion of the deposited Ni-P coating to the substrate according to ASTM D3359-78. Finally, a WWAN antenna was formed then test the Radiation characteristics.