In spacecraft design, weight is the cost. The launch cost per kilogram of payload can reach tens of thousands of dollars, and weight reduction is a rigid constraint throughout the entire design process.

The thermal control system is an important component of spacecraft - when the satellite is in orbit, the temperature on the sunny side can exceed 200 ° C, while the temperature on the sunny side can drop below -200 ° C. Multi layer insulation components (MLI) are the core means to solve this problem, and the key structural layer of MLI is aluminum coated polyimide film.

The thickness of traditional aluminum coated PI film is usually above 25 μ m. But engineers have found that if the substrate thickness is reduced from 25 μ m to 7 μ m, the amount of polymer material used can be reduced by about72%——This is of great significance for the overall weight loss of the planet.

2、 Why PI Al: Engineering Logic of Material Composition

The core value of 7 μ m PI aluminum plated film comes from the synergistic effect of PI substrate and aluminum coating - each contributing irreplaceable performance to the other.

3、 Vacuum evaporation: "growing" optical grade aluminum layer on 7 μ m substrate

The aluminum layer preparation of 7 μ m PI aluminum coating film adopts vacuum evaporation process - in a high vacuum environment, high-purity aluminum wire or aluminum block is evaporated into gas by heating, and then deposited on the surface of PI film to form a coating. This process faces unique technical challenges on 7 μ m ultra-thin substrates:

Advanced Institute of Technology:By repeatedly experimenting and optimizing, mastering the core coating technology, ensuring uniform and firm adhesion of the aluminum layer, and strictly controlling parameters such as temperature, speed, and vacuum degree.

4、 Aluminum layer thickness: performance span from 0.1 μ m to 1 μ m

Based on a 7 μ m PI substrate, aluminum plated film products with different aluminum layer thicknesses can be prepared by precisely controlling the evaporation process parameters. The thickness of the aluminum layer varies from 0.1 μ m to 1 μ m, and different thicknesses correspond to different performance focuses:

Note: The thickness of the aluminum layer is the nominal reference value, and the specific performance is subject to the actual product specifications.

5、 Engineering Value of 7 μ m: From Spacecraft to Precision Optics

6、 Conclusion

The essence of 7 μ m PI aluminum plated film is an engineering product that combines the extreme thinning of PI film with optical grade aluminum plating process. It is not simply "thinning" - at the 7 μ m scale, the thermal management, tension control, vacuum evaporation parameters, and coating uniformity of materials are facing new engineering boundaries. It is precisely these boundary conditions that have been overcome one by one that enable the 7 μ m PI aluminum plated film to move from the laboratory to mass production, becoming the core material for high-end applications such as spacecraft thermal control, flexible electromagnetic shielding, and precision optics.

For engineers, understanding the process constraints and performance opportunities behind the thickness of 7 μ m - the extreme temperature resistance of PI, the optical reflection characteristics of aluminum, and the performance trade-offs of different aluminum layer thicknesses - is more valuable than simply remembering a specification.