Wacker Chemicals develops UV-curable silicone elastomers

Munich, Germany: WACKER, Munich-based chemical group, has successfully developed UV-reactive silicone elastomers, which have significant enhancement properties. New silicones registered under the trade name SEMICOSIL® UV cure at room temperature in a matter of minutes. The degree of curing can be adjusted as necessary by changing the intensity of the ultraviolet rays. This allows manufacturers to package electronic components and PCBs faster and more economically. SEMICOSIL® UV is particularly suitable for the key markets of the future - power electronics from automation to sensor technology.

The new UV-active silicone elastomer is easy to control and is based on one or two phase components of polysiloxane. The elastomer has a long shelf life, a high processing speed, and no by-products during curing.

These properties are very popular, especially the packaging of electronic components. UV curable epoxy or acrylate based polymers are commonly used to protect these components. In both cases curing requires some photoinitiator additive. These additives will leave behind ions or free radical decomposition products in the material, all of which will significantly reduce the quality, especially in the application of electronic components.

After the use of UV-active silicones, these disadvantages need not be feared because SEMICOSIL® UV does not require photoinitiators to cure. In addition, the product offers maximum processing flexibility. The cure rate can be precisely controlled by proper choice of elastomer, UV radiation intensity and processing temperature. Even at room temperature SEMICOSIL® UV exhibits very short activation and cure times. In short, the production cycle of packaged electronic components can be completely reduced, even without baking. This improves production efficiency and reduces energy consumption and product costs, especially in the case of large components.