Selective micro metallization of polymers for biomedical and medical application

Integration of micro/nano metallic structures in polymer devices is a broad multi-disciplinary research field, consisting of various combinations of mechanical, chemical and physical fabrication methods. Some of these combinations have been known for years and other combinations or methods are very new and developing. Metallized plastic parts have many application in micro electro-mechanical devices. Injection moulded plastic parts combined with micro metallic structures (with nanosized features) can be used in the bio-sensing devices like plasmon resonance sensors. Hearing aids, lab-on-a-chip devices, bioelectronics etc. are also potential application areas for metallized plastic parts. This paper shows various methods used in selective micro metallization of polymers.