VESTAMID®—for winners in a small world

© LPKF Laser & Electronics AG

Components keep getting smaller while their functionality increases, and this trend remains uninterrupted. Injection-molded three-dimensional interconnect devices (3D-MIDs) can be used for a wide range of applications in the electrical industry and are distinguished by high functional integration. The metallic track conductors are applied directly onto the surface of the 3D-MID. The process used here is laser-direct structuring (LDS), which allows miniaturization, precision, and freedom of design in electronic components such as cell phone antennas, computer hardware, and parts for medical technology and automotive electronics.

Special VESTAMID^® HTplus molding compounds are precisely customized to the requirements of laser-direct structuring. With their very high thermal resistance, they are particularly suitable for use in lead-free soldering processes.

The molding compounds, which are reinforced with glass fibers and mineral fillers, are offered as 50 percent bio-based PA10T with a particularly wide process window and very low water uptake, and as PA6T/X, which has higher thermal resistance. Both grades feature excellent resistance to chemicals. The good processability and excellent thermomechanical properties of the materials ensure cost-effective production of high-quality components.

Laser-direct structuring

In the LDS process, an infrared beam produces on the surface of the interconnect device a preliminary structure, corresponding to the subsequent layout of the traces, as a microscopically rough surface and produces chemical and physical activation in this area. This activation is made possible by means of a special additive in the plastic. In the subsequent metallization, traces are selectively generated that are firmly anchored to the surface. The production of the interconnect device by the injection molding process guarantees optimal freedom of design.