Adhesion and vacuum forming properties of tin–zinc thin films deposited on polyester film substrate

Sn–Zn alloy thin films were deposited on a polyester (PET) film substrate by co-evaporation and evaluated their surface, tensile and adhesion properties with a vacuum forming test and pull test.Relationship between the surface roughness and elemental composition of these thin films was evaluated. The surface roughness decreased with increase of the Sn content.The tensile property was estimated by observations of micro-cracks of the thin films due to a vacuum forming test. Sn–Zn alloy thin film, whose elemental composition is 85:15 (wt%), had high vacuum forming durability.The adhesion strength between the Sn–Zn alloy thin films and PET substrate was measured with a pull test apparatus. The pull strength decreased with increase of the Sn content.