metallilisi

Metallilisi, also known as metallization, is the process of applying a metal layer to a non-metallic substrate to modify surface properties. It enables electrical conduction, reflectivity, hardness, wear resistance, and barrier properties. The term is used across materials science, electronics, and packaging.

Metallisi can be achieved by various deposition techniques, broadly categorized as physical deposition (such as sputtering, thermal evaporation, and electron-beam evaporation), chemical deposition (electroless plating and electroplating), and vapor-phase chemical routes (chemical vapor deposition, including atomic layer deposition). The choice of method depends on substrate material, desired film thickness, adhesion, and surface roughness. Substrate pretreatment and adhesion-promoting layers are often required to ensure uniform coating and long-term stability.

Common metals include copper, nickel, chromium, gold, silver, aluminum, and tin; alloys and multilayer stacks are used for specific properties. Applications range from electronic interconnects and contact metallization in integrated circuits, to reflective coatings for optics, corrosion-resistant coatings for metals and polymers, conductive tracks on flexible electronics, and metallized packaging materials such as foil and films in food and electronics.

Challenges include achieving strong adhesion to diverse substrates, preventing diffusion and intermetallic formation at elevated temperatures, controlling stress and cracking in thin films, and ensuring environmental sustainability and cost control. Characterization methods include thickness measurement (profilometry, ellipsometry), composition analysis (X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive spectroscopy), and adhesion tests.

See also: electroplating, sputtering, and thin-film deposition.