Adhesion and Electrical Insulation of Thin Polymeric Coatings Under Saline Exposure

Abstract

AbstractA study was made of the adhesion of insulating polymer coatings under long term exposure to electrical bias. Since a common mode of failure in implanted devices is the penetration of water into poorly adhering insulation/conductor interfaces followed by electrolytic degradation, development of processes, primers, and insulators with good adhesion that resist the effects of water were sought. Polyimide coatings were tested for their ion barrier properties by immersion of insulated comb patterns in saline with 9 V D.C. bias between the comb fingers. Leakage currents, measured over three years exposure, increased from several picoamps initially to several nanoamps in surviving specimens. Subsequent studies showed that dramatic improvements in the moisture durability of the adhesion could be obtained using Hitachi's aluminum chelate type primer. Whereas the peel strength of polyimide on unprimed platinum fell more than 90% after several hours of boiling saline exposure, the peel strength of polyimide coatings on primed surfaces remained at over 80% of their initial values. ESCA analysis of the peel interfaces showed that both aluminum oxide and polyimide remain on the substrate after peeling back the polyimide. This suggests a combination of cohesive and adhesive failure at the primer/polyimide interface. The effects of exposure of the polymer/substrate interfaces (edges) to saline and electrochemical stress were examined by patterning circular openings in the polyimide. A 10 V anodic potential was found to damage adhesion to titanium as far as 75 microns away from the edge. Pulsing at 500 Hz, 1 V peak to peak was found to have no measurable effect in the short term.