Effect of side chain on wettability and adhesion performance of acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives on thin silicon wafer

Acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) need to show proper adhesion and improved wettability on the silicon wafer as the wafer becomes thinner. The acrylic copolymers were synthesized by solution radical polymerization of 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, and acrylic acid with AIBN as an initiator. Adhesion performance and wettability of acrylic PSAs were studied depending on the content of lauryl side chains and the degree of crosslinking. The introduction of lauryl side chain was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The adhesion performance of acrylic PSAs having lauryl side chain was investigated using contact angle, wettability, probe tack, peel strength, and cohesiveness tests. The wettability of acrylic PSAs was improved significantly with increasing the content of lauryl side chain.