Philips Research - Technologies
Polymer Materials and Microstructures |
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The cluster of activities related to Materials and Microstructures has the goal to develop integrated components and the associated technology making use of the freedom of shape and low-cost processing technology of polymers. Function integration can be achieved in a single polymer, for instance optical and mechanical requirements can be met with amorphous thermoplastics, but very often the integration of inorganic materials is a functional requirement. In that case replication of reactive resins on inorganic substrates gives the optimum mix of shape freedom and low-cost technology with high stability and increased functionality (e.g. integrated electronics). With reactive resins a broad range of properties can be accessed, e.g. high refractive index or anisotropic refractive index in the case of optical properties, but also electro-active polymers can be integrated. For larger structures and the combination of micro-and macro worlds injection molding of thermoplastics is a powerful technology. Also there integration of inorganic substrates is possible when the challenges of thermal expansion mismatch and adhesion have been addressed successfully. In all cases a profound knowledge of the materials and the processing-property relationships is essential for a successful implementation. |
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