Deposition of copper thin films by plasma enhanced pulsed chemical vapor deposition for metallization of carbon fiber reinforced plastics

Metallization of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) materials is a critical issue for protection against environmental attack and improvement of their electrical conductivity. In practice, the process should be preferably carried out below 150 °C to avoid epoxy resin decomposition. This work investigated a plasma enhanced pulse chemical vapor deposition process for copper thin film deposition at a temperature as low as 50 °C. Copper(I) di-isopropylacetamidinate was used as Cu precursor with high reactivity to H2 plasma at low temperature. At certain experimental conditions (10 s Cu precursor pulse and 10 s H2 plasma pulse, 100 °C), the Cu films deposited on CFRP were pure, continuous, with the resistivity of 4.4 μΩ cm. The influence of the deposition temperature on copper characteristics has been investigated.