Electromechanical Behavior of Nanoscale Silver Coatings on PET Fibers

Plasma-assisted deposition of silver films on PET mono- and multifilament fibers provides conductive fibers for wearable electronics. The nanoscale films were prepared in a continuously running low pressure plasma process using an ICM design for sputtering from a silver target combined with a prior RF cleaning step. The electrical resistance of the as-deposited layers was measured in situ enabling an immediate feedback of the electrical properties, the film quality, applied Ag mass, and film thickness. The deposited quantity of Ag mass on the PET fibers was investigated by ICP-OES and was correlated with the electrical resistance of the film. The metallized fibers showed excellent mechanical proper-ties for wearable electronics as demonstrated by tensile properties measurement.