Microwave Curing of Anisotropic Conductive Film: Effects of Principal Parameters on Curing Situation

Anisotropic conductive film (ACF) contains many conductive particles embedded in the epoxy-based matrix to produce electrical conductivity in one direction (Z-axis). The function of the epoxy-based matrix is to cause adhesion between the conductive components and the base substrate; it can also prevent corrosion of the conductive particles from the outside environment.
In this paper, two principal parameters, the curing time and the power of microwave, are investigated to compare the relative curing degree of the ACF. Experimental results show that the curing degree of ACF depends on these two parameters. If the microwave power is not strong enough, the ACF will not be cured and the curing degree no longer depends on the curing time. The results indicate that the high microwave power and fast curing time were both very important for obtaining a high curing degree of ACF. As all of the conducting particles had metallic coating on the surface and were embedded in the epoxy matrix, a Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to study the arcing effect in the epoxy matrix of the neighboring conducting particles.