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Figure 1. The conductivity spectrum, showing different surface resistance regions for plastics parts to
be antistatic, ESD or EMI/RFI shielding. Lower resistance means higher electrical conductivity.
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The Electronic Industries Association (EIA) Standard 541 classifies conductive plastics with respect to their
ability to protect against either electrostatic discharge (ESD) or electromagnetic interference/ radio frequency interference (EMI/RFI). Materials with a
measured surface resistivity between
105-1012 ohms/sq. provides adequate
ESD performance, with lower conductivity products acting as antistatic products. Plastics with surface resistivity of
<105 ohm/sq. could be used as EMI/RFI
shielding materials (Figure 1).
Conductive fillers
Plastics can be made conductive, rendering them electrostatic dissipative
or EMI/RFI shielding, by adding conductive fillers or additives or a combination of both. High-aspect ratio fillers
(whose length-to-diameter ratio is
much greater than unity) excel in forming conductive networks at minimum
loadings, preserve properties and keep
surfaces smooth, while being conductive enough to meet specifications.
Commonly used fibrous fillers include
carbon fibres, metal fibres, and metalcoated fibres. Other types of fillers such
as carbon powders and metal flakes
0034-3617/05 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Figure 3. Effect of different types of fillers (at 10% loading) on PC-ABS resin. Metallic fillers or metal
coated fibres provide higher conductivities with lower filler loadings.
Antistatic plastics
Static electricity is a common phenomenon that all of us have experienced
clinging of hair when brushed and an
electrical shock obtained by touching a
doorknob or metal part. Static electricity
on a surface is generated due to the
Figure 2. Antistatic plastics are widely used in applications where dissipation of static charge is
needed, such as media drive cartridges. (Picture courtesy of Plasmon.)
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Electrostatic discharge
Electrostatic discharge is a transfer of
electrostatic charges between bodies at
different potentials caused by direct contact induced by an electrostatic field.
Electrostatic dissipation has become an
important issue within the electronics
industry, especially in electronic components such as data storage devices, chip
carriers and computer internals.
Different levels of surface and bulk
connectivity can be achieved with various types of conductive fillers. An
increase in conductive additive correlates with a decrease in electrical resistivity and a critical threshold of fillers is
needed for complete and adequate discharge. Volume resistivities obtained
using some commonly used fillers are
shown in Figure 3.
The changes seen in the resistivity
depend on the conductivity (type) of the
filler used, the degree of dispersion and
distribution, and the polymer system.
The most common fillers used in plastics
to impart electrical conductivity are
carbon powders and carbon fibres.
Although carbon powder products provide an inexpensive solution, for electronic applications these products are
not always attractive since they tend to
slough and deposit carbon on components in contact with the plastic. As a
result, carbon fibres are widely used in
conductive plastics, especially in electrical and electronic applications. Carbon
fibres from different suppliers have different characteristics due the sizing and
coupling agents used during their manufacture. As such, the plastic obtained
with same loading of carbon fibres from
different suppliers shows different conductivity properties. Therefore, the selection of conductive filler type, processing
conditions and resin system used play an
important role in achieving the desired
surface resistance values.
Conductive plastics are widely used
in electronic packaging applications,
such as chip trays and conductive carrier
tapes where IC chips are transported
from manufacturers to assembly plants.
These products require good control of
electrostatic dissipative properties coupled with tighter dimensional tolerances
in pockets where chips are placed.
(Figure 4).
Recently nano-carbon fibres have
become popular since they allow higher
conductivities to be obtained even with
smaller loadings. For example 3% multiwalled nanotube (MWNT) filled polycarbonate products exhibit the same
conductivity as 15% carbon fibre filled
products (Figure 5), and with single
walled nanotubes (SWNT), the required
loading is less than 1%.
More and more conductive plastics
with MWNTs are now used in electrical/electronic applications since they are
good electrical conductors with lower
filler loading. Furthermore, they do not
slough as carbon powder containing
products do. Although SWNTs give higher conductivities than MWNTs, this technology is still in early stage due to the
challenges in processing of these fibres.
The SWNT has strong van-der-Waal
forces and tends to form ropes. De-roping and good dispersion of individual
tubes in the plastic matrix are critical for
effective conductivities with SWNTs.
EMI shielding
Figure 5. Effect of different types of conductive fibres in polycarbonate. Carbon nanotubes such as
multi-walled nanotubes (MWNT) and single-walled nanotubes provided higher conductivities than
carbon fibres.
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Electromagnetic
interference
(EMI)
shielding is another property of importance in many applications. Electronic
devices operating normally in their
intended environment, without conducting or radiating excessive amounts
of electromagnetic energy, or not being
susceptible to such energy from internal
or external sources, are in the state of
electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).
EMI is radiated or conducted energy that
adversely affects a circuits performance,
and thus disrupts a devices EMC. Many
types of electronic circuits radiate or are
Challenges
Plastic composites play an important
role in the electrical and electronic
industry for their optimum performance
as described here by controlling both
electrical and thermal conductivity. As
this industry grows, designers face more
challenging requirements. These can
only be met through innovation of new
polymers and fillers systems and ways of
effectively combining these to obtain
maximum benefit.
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