ST. PAUL, MN – 3M has launched a subsidiary to provide advanced sputtering and plating services,  materials and manufacturing capabilities for flexible circuits for the mobile handheld, touch-screen panel and display markets.

3M AST Ltd., based in Cheonan, Korea, is the result of 3M’s recent acquisition of AP&T Co. Ltd., which builds on an existing strategic relationship between the two companies established in March 2010. 3M AST uses proprietary plating and sputtering techniques for the creation of flexible circuits. This gives customers improved performance of their flexible circuits and materials used in flexible electronics by providing excellent uniformity of the metalized surface and one of the highest adhesiveless bond strengths between the substrate and the deposited metal forming the flexible copper clad laminate (FCCL).

“This new entity expands our offering of flexible circuits and related materials providing new options for customers to achieve finer pitch circuit designs,” said Voyl Divljakovic, vice president and general manager, 3M Electronic Solutions Division. “3M AST’s capabilities combined with our expanding portfolio of high-speed copper interconnect products will help us to better serve our customers in the total interconnect market – by providing a broader offering of cost effective interconnect solutions.”