Radio frequency plasma pre-treatment for selective electroless Ag coating of three dimensional SU-8 microstructures

Abstract

Three dimensional metamaterials are fabricated using direct laser writing in SU-8 polymer followed by an electroless coating process. A method has been developed to allow for selective electroless plating of SU-8 microstructures with a smooth conformal coating of Ag. The process utilizes radio frequency plasma pretreatment to modify the SU-8 surface so that Ag ions can nucleate on the surface, leaving the substrate uncoated. An array of split ring resonators and other 3D microstructures are used to demonstrate how the technique can be applied to metamaterials applications. © 2012 SPIE..