Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
A thin Cu film(400 Å) was deposited on a smooth polyimide(PI) substrate. Ar+ ion implantation onto the Cu/PI film has been shown to mix Cu and PI and to modify the impact-abrasive wear property. Ar+ ions with energies of 200 keV, and dosage between 1015 to 4×1016 ions/cm2 were used. The surface analyses were carried out with RBS, X-ray and Optical Microscope. The wear properties of the Cu-PI system were determined by a newly constructed Impact-Abrasive Wear Tester. An X-ray diffraction study shows an increase in Cu( 111 )peak with Ar+ ion dosage. The wear property was found to be a function of ion energy, ion dosage, crystallinity of Cu, the amount of mixing of Cu and PI, and the damage of PI substrate due to ion implantation.