CHANGES OF CONDUCTIVITY AND ELECTROCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYPYRROLE BY ION-IMPLANTATION

The modification of properties of conducting polymers by ion bombardment offers interesting possibilities for their application in the microelectronics field. Therefore, samples of an intrinsically conducting polymer (polypyrrole) were modified by ion implantation in the keV range. The modified foils having lower conductivity show different electrochemical features compared to the untreated polymers; the observed current densities are smaller by two orders of magnitude depending on the ion dose. Using the multi-sweep mode the modified layer is removed step by step. The conductivity of the pristine foil is sufficient (sigma = 100 S/cm) for galvanic copper deposition. The modification induced by ion implantation causes an inhibition of electrochemical copper deposition. By using masks lateral structures in the range below 20 mu m can be produced. The structural changes induced by ion implantation and electrochemical treatment were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.