US4812213A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Process for the manufacture of multi-layer circuits with dynamic flexing regions and the flexible circuits made therefrom
Assignee: Rogers Corp
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Filing: 1988-05-06
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Granted: 1989-03-14
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Expires: 2008-05-06
Abstract
Abstract A multilayer through-hole contacted flexible circuit and method of manufacture thereof is presented having a laminar construction which is strictly symmetrical in the bending area; and which has no exposed adhesive. The flexible circuit is made by providing through-holes to a standard single sided laminate. Next, conductive material is vacuum deposited (e.g. sputtered or evaporated) into the through-holes and at the same time a conductive seed-layer is deposited on the polymer side of the standard laminate. Plating resist is applied to both sides of the material and the seed-layer side of the material is patterned such that circuit traces, pads, and through-holes can be electroplated with additional copper. The plating resist is stripped and the very thin layer of copper in the non-conductive areas is flash etched to produce semi-additive circuit features on the seed-layer side. Etch resist is then applied to both sides of the material and circuit patterns fabricated on the foil-side of the material using standard substractive processing techniques. A cover film coated with adhesive is then provided over the exposed circuit patterns.
Inventors
- 👤 Carlos L. Barton
- 👤 Adrienne Lindsay
- 👤 Samuel W. Henson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 08:46
CPC Classifications
H; H05; H05K; H05K3/00; H05K3/46; H05K3/4688; H05K3/4691; H05K3/40; H05K3/42; H05K3/425; H05K3/427; H05K1/00; H05K1/02; H05K1/03; H05K1/0393; H05K2201/00; H05K2201/01; H05K2201/0137; H05K2201/0154; H05K2201/03; H05K2201/0332; H05K2201/0335; H05K2201/0352; H05K2201/0355; H05K2203/00; H05K2203/13; H05K2203/1377; H05K2203/1394; H05K3/0094; H05K3/02; H05K3/022; H05K3/06; H05K3/061; H05K3/064; H05K3/10; H05K3/108; H05K3/22; H05K3/28; H05K3/281; H05K3/38; H05K3/386; H05K3/4038; H05K3/4076; H05K3/426
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
177 words
A method of manufacturing a flexible circuit comprising: providing a circuit laminate comprising a first flexible non-conductive carrier film adhesively secured to a first conductive layer by a first layer of adhesive; forming at least two spaced through-holes in said circuit laminate with the area adjacent said through holes defining a bending region; vacuum depositing a thin layer of conductive material onto at least said first carrier film, and into said through holes; forming a first circuit pattern on said thin conductive layer vacuum deposited onto said first carrier film in a location outside of said bending region; forming a second circuit pattern from said first conductive layer, said second circuit pattern being located in at least a portion of said bending region; and removing the portion of said thin conductive layer vacuum deposited onto said first carrier film which is located in said bending region to thereby expose said first carrier film and removing the portion of said thin conductive layer vacuum deposited onto said first carrier film which is located between said first circuit pattern.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
177 words
A method of manufacturing a flexible circuit comprising: providing a circuit laminate comprising a first flexible non-conductive carrier film adhesively secured to a first conductive layer by a first layer of adhesive; forming at least two spaced through-holes in said circuit laminate with the area adjacent said through holes defining a bending region; vacuum depositing a thin layer of conductive material onto at least said first carrier film, and into said through holes; forming a first circuit pattern on said thin conductive layer vacuum deposited onto said first carrier film in a location outside of said bending region; forming a second circuit pattern from said first conductive layer, said second circuit pattern being located in at least a portion of said bending region; and removing the portion of said thin conductive layer vacuum deposited onto said first carrier film which is located in said bending region to thereby expose said first carrier film and removing the portion of said thin conductive layer vacuum deposited onto said first carrier film which is located between said first circuit pattern.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method of claim 1 including the steps of: providing a second layer of adhesive to the first circuit pattern; and providing a first non-conductive cover film on said second layer of adhesive, said bending area being free of said second adhesive layer and said first cover film.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 1 including the steps of: providing a second layer of adhesive to said second circuit pattern; and providing a first non-conductive cover film on said second layer of adhesive.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 3 including the steps of: providing a third layer of adhesive to said second circuit pattern and providing a second non-conductive cover film on said third layer of adhesive.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of forming through-holes comprises: drilling through-holes through said circuit laminate.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
99 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said step of forming said first circuit pattern comprises the steps of: coating said thin conductive layer vacuum deposited onto said first carrier film with plating resist in locations other than corresponding to the pre-selected first circuit pattern; exposing said plating resist pattern; developing said etch resist pattern; electrodepositing conductive material between said plating resist pattern in locations corresponding to the pre-selected first circuit pattern; removing said developed plating resist pattern to expose said thin layer of vacuum deposited conductive material; and flash etching said exposed thin layer of vacuum deposited conductive material.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said step of forming said second circuit pattern comprises the steps of: coating said first conductive layer with etch resist corresponding to the pre-selected second circuit pattern; exposing said etch resist pattern; developing said etch resist pattern; etching said first conductive layer; removing said developed etch resist pattern to expose said second circuit pattern.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 including the step of: vacuum depositing a thin layer of conductive material onto said first conductive layer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 7 including the step of: vacuum depositing a thin layer of conductive material onto said first conductive layer.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 9 including the step of: etching said thin conductive layer vacuum deposited onto said first conductive layer prior to coating said first conductive layer with etch resist.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method of claim 6 wherein said step of forming said second circuit pattern comprises the steps of: coating said first conductive layer with etch resist corresponding to the pre-selected second circuit pattern; exposing said etch resist pattern; developing said etch resist pattern; etching said first conductive layer; removing said developed etch resist pattern to expose said second circuit pattern.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 including the step of: electrodepositing a layer of conductive material in said through holes over said thin sputtered conductive layer.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 wherein: said vacuum deposition steps comprise sputtering a thin layer of conductive material.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 wherein: said vacuum deposition steps comprise evaporating a thin layer of conductive material.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 1 wherein: said conductive material is copper.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
14 words
A flexible circuit element formed in a method comprising the steps of claim 1.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4626462A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1992-03-13 | 1992-09-12 | 1993-03-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1996-03-13 | 1996-09-12 | 1997-03-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2000-03-13 | 2000-09-12 | 2001-03-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |