Microwave cure of metal-filled electrically conductive adhesive

Microwave (MW) as a heating source to cure polymer and polymer-based composites significantly speeds up the curing process. Electrically conductive adhesive (ECA), however, normally excludes the use of MW because of the possible arcing effect when metal particles are exposed to MW. A new technology named Variable Frequency Microwave (VFMW) has been recently developed, with which the arcing effect is avoided, thus providing us with a rapid process for curing ECA. In this paper, several adhesive samples were cured with VFMW. We have analyzed the effect of polymer material, the percentage of the metal particles in the ECAs, geometric size and shape of the metal particles, as well as the physical parameters of the VFMW on the heating rate. Both experimental and theoretical result have demonstrated that the VFMW technology is applicable in curing the electrically conductive adhesives.