Process for the formation of real images and products produced thereby
AssigneePhotocircuits Division of Kollmorgen Corporation
InventorsJoseph Polichette, Edward J. Leech
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Non-conductive real images are formed on substrates by depositing reducible metal salt compositions thereon and exposing the coated substrates to radiant energy or a chemical reducing agent to reduce the metal salt to metallic nuclei and to produce a real image of metal, which is made clearer and built up by electroless metal deposition. The metal salt composition can either be selectively deposited and then exposed, or uniformly deposited and then selectively exposed, to produce the real image.
Claims21
In a process for selectively metallizing insulating substrates with real images, the steps which comprise depositing on said substrate a layer of a reducible metal composition by treating the substrate with a solution comprising a reducible salt of a non-noble metal, thereafter drying said layer, and exposing said dried layer to contact with a solution of a chemical reducing agent for the metal in said salt for a period sufficient to darken said layer and to reduce said metal salt to metallic nuclei thereof and wherein at least one of said treating and exposng steps is restricted to a selected pattern on said substrate to produce a non-conducting real image of said metallic nuclei in said selected pattern and capable of directly catalyzing the deposition thereon of metal from an electroless metal bath.
A new article of manufacture comprising a non-metallic substrate and in selected areas on or in said base a layer, said layer being in the form of a real image comprising reduced non-noble metal nuclei and on said image a layer of electroless metal or a layer of electroless metal on top of which is layer of electroplated metal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.