Wire bonding for miniaturization of printed circuit interconnects

Abstract

The invention discloses a wire bonding for miniaturization of printed circuit interconnects. Techniques for electrically connecting printed circuit modules using wire bonding are described. The first printed circuit module may have one or more bond pads electrically coupled with the one or more electrical components of the first printed circuit module, and the second printed circuit module may have one or more bond pads electrically coupled with the one or more electrical components of the second printed circuit module. One or more bond wires may be used to electrically connect the one or more bond pads of the first printed circuit module to the one or more bond pads of the second printed circuit module. A protective structure may be used to cover at least a portion of the one or more bond wires.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 523,557, filed on June 27, 2023, entitled “WIRING BONDING FOR MINIATURIZING INTERCONNECTION,” and U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 18 / 747,330, filed on June 18, 2024, entitled “WIRING BONDING FOR MINIATURIZING INTERCONNECTION,” the entire contents of both applications being incorporated by reference into this application for all purposes. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to electronic devices and, in particular, to wire bonding for miniaturizing interconnects. Background Art

[0004] Electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers, and wearable devices (e.g., headsets, watches, rings, etc.) will typically have multiple printed circuit modules, each of which has circuits and / or other components of the electronic device. Separating the various electronic devices into different modules in this way can help provide flexibility in reducing the size of the electronic device, allowing different modules to be located in different parts of the electronic device rather than having a single (large) module. Traditionally, various printed circuit modules are electronically connected using connectors such as board-to-board (B2B) connectors (also called B to B or BTB), gold fingers, and anisotropic conductive film (ACF), which typically have a pitch greater than 150 microns. Summary of the invention

[0005] This article describes techniques for implementing wire bonding between different printed circuit modules. More specifically, printed circuit modules including non-flexible modules (e.g., having a printed circuit board (PCB) substrate) and / or flexible modules (e.g., having a flexible printed circuit (FPC) substrate) can be electrically connected using wire bonding. To this end, as described in the embodiments provided herein, each embodiment can use certain alignment techniques, reinforcement plates and / or protective structures for bonding wires (wire bond). Since wire bonding can have a pitch of less than 150 microns, the technology herein can enable electronic devices to be miniaturized, which can enable each device (e.g., wearable device) to have a smaller form factor.

[0006] In some embodiments, an electronic device includes a first printed circuit substrate and a first set of one or more bonding pads coupled to the first printed circuit substrate. The electronic device also includes a second printed circuit module, the second printed circuit module including a second printed circuit substrate, and a second set of one or more bonding pads coupled to the second printed circuit substrate. The electronic device also includes one or more bonding wires electrically connecting the first set of one or more bonding pads to the second set of one or more bonding pads, and a protective structure covering at least a portion of the one or more bonding wires and coupled to the first printed circuit substrate and the second printed circuit substrate.

[0007] In some embodiments, the electronic device described in the previous paragraph also includes at least one of the following features alone or in combination of two or more features: (i) a first group of one or more bonding pads are located on a first side of a first printed circuit substrate, a second group of one or more bonding pads are located on a first side of a second printed circuit substrate, and wherein a first portion of the reinforcing plate is coupled to a second side of the first printed circuit substrate opposite to the first side of the first printed circuit substrate, and a second portion of the reinforcing plate is coupled to a second side of the second printed circuit substrate opposite to the first side of the second printed circuit substrate; (ii) a first printed circuit module is coupled to a second printed circuit module; (iii) a first group of one or more bonding pads are located on a first side of the first printed circuit substrate, the first printed circuit module includes an opening (cut-out) extending from the first side of the first printed circuit substrate to the second side of the first printed circuit substrate opposite to the first side of the first printed circuit substrate, and one or more bonding wires extend from the first group of one or more bonding pads through the opening to the second group of one or more bonding pads; (iv) a protective structure includes a shielding cover covering at least a portion of one or more bonding wires; (v) a protective structure includes a molding compound (molding compound) encapsulating at least a portion of one or more bonding wires compound); (vi) the first printed circuit substrate, the second printed circuit substrate, or both the first printed circuit substrate and the second printed circuit substrate include a printed circuit board (PCB) substrate; (vii) the first printed circuit substrate, the second printed circuit substrate, or both the first printed circuit substrate and the second printed circuit substrate include a flexible printed circuit (FPC) substrate; or (viii) the first group of one or more bonding pads, the second group of one or more bonding pads, or both the first group of one or more bonding pads and the second group of one or more bonding pads have a pitch of less than 100 microns.

[0008] In some embodiments, a method of interconnecting printed circuits using wire bonding includes: forming one or more bonding wires, the one or more bonding wires electrically connecting one or more bonding pads of a first printed circuit module to one or more bonding pads of a second printed circuit module. Each of the first printed circuit module and the second printed circuit module includes a corresponding printed circuit substrate. The method also includes forming a protective structure covering at least a portion of the one or more bonding wires, the protective structure coupled to the corresponding printed circuit substrate of each of the first printed circuit module and the second printed circuit module.

[0009] In some embodiments, the method described in the previous paragraph further includes at least one of the following features, either alone or in combination of two or more features: (i) one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module are located on a first side of a corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, and one or more bonding pads of the second printed circuit module are located on a first side of a corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module; wherein the method further includes: before forming the one or more bonding wires, bonding a first portion of the reinforcing plate to a second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module opposite to the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module; and bonding a second portion of the reinforcing plate to the second printed circuit module; (i) bonding the first portion of the reinforcing plate to the second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module opposite to the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module; (ii) bonding the first portion of the reinforcing plate to the second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module is performed before singulation of the first printed circuit module from a printed circuit panel including the first printed circuit module and one or more additional printed circuit modules, and bonding the second portion of the reinforcing plate to the second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module is performed after singulation of the first printed circuit module from the printed circuit panel; (iii) bonding the first printed circuit module to the second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module before forming one or more bonding wires The method of claim 1 wherein the first printed circuit module is bonded to a second printed circuit module; (iv) one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module are located on a first side of a corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, the first printed circuit module includes an opening extending from the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module to a second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module opposite to the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, and forming one or more bonding wires includes: forming one or more bonding wires extending from the one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module through the opening to the one or more bonding pads of the second printed circuit module; and (v) forming a protective structure includes: fixing a protective structure covering a (vi) forming a protective structure comprises: encapsulating one or more bonding wires with a molding compound; (vii) the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module, or both the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module and the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module comprise a printed circuit board (PCB) substrate; (viii) the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module, or both the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module and the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module comprise a flexible printed circuit (FPC) substrate;or (ix) one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module, one or more bonding pads of the second printed circuit module, or one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module and one or more bonding pads of the second printed circuit module have a pitch of less than 100 microns.;

[0010] In some embodiments, a set of electrically connected printed circuit modules includes: a first printed circuit module having one or more bonding pads electrically coupled to one or more electrical components of the first printed circuit module; and a second printed circuit module having one or more bonding pads electrically coupled to one or more electrical components of the second printed circuit module. The set of electrically connected printed circuit modules also includes: one or more bonding wires electrically connecting the one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module to the one or more bonding pads of the second printed circuit module; and a protective structure covering at least a portion of the one or more bonding wires.

[0011] This summary is neither intended to identify the key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended to be used independently to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of the present disclosure, any or all of the drawings, and each claim. The foregoing and other features and examples will be described in more detail in the following description, claims, and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 is an illustration of an example device electronics having a printed circuit module according to an embodiment.

[0013] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Examples of two types of connections using wire bonding according to some embodiments are provided.

[0014] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D Variations of the types of connections that may be used with wire bonding in accordance with some embodiments are shown in which a first printed circuit substrate is secured to a second printed circuit substrate.

[0015] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4E is an illustration of example interfaces for which wire bonding may be used, according to some embodiments.

[0016] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5G

[0046] Shown is a sequence of operations in an example manufacturing process that may be used to form the wire bond connections described in various embodiments herein.

[0017] Figure 6is a flow chart of a method of interconnecting printed circuits using wire bonding according to an embodiment.

[0018] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of an example head mounted device (HMD) that may use the wire bonding connections described in various embodiments herein.

[0019] The accompanying drawings depict embodiments of the present disclosure for illustration purposes only. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods shown may be employed without departing from the principles described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Electronic devices such as mobile phones, wearable devices (e.g., head-mounted view devices, earbuds, watches, etc.) and tablet computers will typically have multiple printed circuit modules embedded in different locations within the body of the device. The substrates of these printed circuit modules can vary depending on manufacturing constraints and desired functionality, among other things. Traditional printed circuit boards (PCBs) can have non-flexible substrates that can include fiberglass, epoxy, and / or other non-flexible materials. On the other hand, flexible printed circuit (FPC) substrates include flexible materials such as polyester or polyimide films, allowing FPC-based printed circuit modules to bend. This ability to separate electronic devices into separate printed circuit modules, combined with other features such as the flexibility of the FPC, allows manufacturers to continue to miniaturize electronic devices, allowing for smaller and smaller electronic devices.

[0021] As used herein, the terms "printed circuit" and "printed circuit module" refer to PCBs, FPCs, and similar structures to which various components are electrically connected (e.g., using surface mounting, through-hole, or other soldering techniques) and to which the PCBs, FPCs, and similar structures provide electrical interconnections between these components. Thus, a printed circuit differs from an integrated circuit (IC) in that the various components of an IC (transistors, resistors, etc.) are built directly into the substrate (e.g., semiconductor) of the IC. In other words, the components of an IC are formed from the substrate of the IC itself, while the components of a printed circuit are fully formed components that provide electrical connections to other circuits / components for these fully formed components.

[0022] However, as electronic devices become smaller and smaller, the connection between different printed circuit modules has become a bottleneck for continued miniaturization. For example, the connector jackets used by board-to-board (B2B) connectors (also called B-to-B or BTB) and gold fingers (or edge connectors) may be too bulky (e.g., relative to the printed circuit module). The high temperature processes used by anisotropic conductive films (ACFs) may damage the components incorporated into the printed circuit module. In addition, the pitch (the distance from the center of one pin to the center of the adjacent pin) of connectors using these traditional technologies is typically greater than 150 microns (μm), which may also hinder miniaturization.

[0023] This article describes a technology for implementing wire bonding between different printed circuit modules. More specifically, a printed circuit module including a non-flexible module (e.g., PCB) and / or a flexible module (e.g., FPC) can be electrically connected using wire bonding. To this end, as described in the embodiments provided herein, each embodiment can use certain alignment techniques, reinforcing plates and / or protective structures for bonding wires. Since wire bonding can have a pitch of less than 150 microns, the technology herein can miniaturize electronic devices, which can enable each device (e.g., wearable device) to have a smaller form factor.

[0024] Figure 1 is an illustration of an example device electronics 100 according to an embodiment. Here, the device electronics 100 includes a primary printed circuit module 110 and two secondary printed circuit modules 120. In this example, each secondary printed circuit module 120 also includes a camera 130. For example, the device electronics 100 can be incorporated into, for example, a head-mounted viewer having multiple cameras (e.g., multiple cameras 130) to capture images of the environment of a wearer of the head-mounted viewer. Depending on manufacturing constraints, desired functionality, cost, and / or other such factors, each of the primary printed circuit module 110 and the secondary printed circuit modules 120 can include a non-flexible module (e.g., a PCB) or a flexible module (e.g., an FPC). As with other appendices herein Figure 1 Sample, Figure 1 Provided as non-limiting examples, and alternative embodiments may have different features. For example, depending on the type of electronic device, the printed circuit module may include additional or alternative electronic components, including components that provide audio, display, processing and / or other capabilities.

[0025] As described above, conventional techniques for connecting the primary printed circuit module 110 to the secondary printed circuit modules 120 may not be applicable in this case. For example, the head mounted viewer may include a form factor that looks like conventional glasses, in which case it may be necessary to incorporate the device electronics 110 into the frame of the glasses. The connector housings associated with B-to-B and gold fingers may be too bulky to be incorporated into the frame of the glasses. In addition, the high temperatures required for the ACF may damage the camera 130. Furthermore, as described above, the pitch of the connectors using any of these conventional techniques may limit the extent to which the device electronics 100 can be miniaturized.

[0026] According to embodiments of the present invention, printed circuit modules (e.g., the main printed circuit module 110 and each sub-printed circuit module 120) may be connected using bonding wires 140 that electrically connect each sub-printed circuit module 120 to the main printed circuit module 110 via bonding pads 150. (To avoid clutter, only the sub-printed circuit modules 120 are marked.) Figure 1 The bonding wires 140 and the bonding pads 150 are part of the bonding wires 140 and the bonding pads 150 of the printed circuit module 110. In particular, the bonding wires 140 can electrically connect each camera 130 to the circuit of the main printed circuit module 110. (In this case, the circuit of the main printed circuit module 110 may include a microprocessor and / or other circuits for processing images captured by each camera 130.) The wire bonding can have a smaller pitch than conventional connection techniques (for example, current wire bonding can provide a pitch as low as 88 microns, and future wire bonding may include an even smaller pitch), and other structural components associated with the wire bonding (described below) may be smaller than structural components associated with conventional techniques for connecting printed circuit modules. In addition, according to some embodiments, the printed circuit modules may be able to share common bonding pads, rather than having separate connectors required by conventional connection techniques. In addition, as described in more detail below, the wire bonding can accommodate irregular joints between printed circuit modules. In view of these advantages of wire bonding, various embodiments can provide miniaturization of electrical devices in a manner that is not possible using conventional techniques.

[0027] As described in the additional embodiments below, wire bonding may be applied to various types of connections between printed circuit modules. Figure 2A and Figure 2B Examples of two of these types of connections are provided.

[0028] Figure 2Ais a cross-sectional view of an example single-sided connection 200 according to an embodiment. In this example, the single-sided connection 200 connects a first printed circuit module having a first printed circuit substrate 205 to a second printed circuit module having a second printed circuit substrate 210. As previously described, these printed circuit substrates 205 and 210 may include the same material or may include different materials. (Other figures herein may show portions of each printed circuit module so labeled, and each printed circuit module may include its corresponding printed circuit substrate.) For example, one may be a PCB and the other may be an FPC. Alternatively, both may be PCBs or FPCs. Similarly, similar to Figure 1 In the example of the single-sided connection 200, the bonding wire 215 connects the first bonding pad 220 with the second bonding pad 225. (It can be noted that although the first bonding pad 220 and the second bonding pad 225 are shown as extending above the first printed circuit substrate 205 and the second printed circuit substrate 210, respectively, this may or may not be the case, depending on the type of process used to form the first bonding pad 220 and the second bonding pad 225.)

[0029] According to some embodiments, in order to provide some additional structural integrity to the single-sided connection 200, a stiffener plate 230 may be used. That is, the stiffener plate 230 may be secured to both the first printed circuit substrate 205 and the second printed circuit substrate 210 to help minimize movement between the two printed circuit substrates 205, 210, which could potentially damage the bond wire 215, separate the bond wire 215 from one of the first bond pad 220 or the second bond pad 225, or otherwise compromise the electrical connection made by the bond wire 215. To provide such structural reinforcement, the stiffener plate 230 may include a relatively strong material, such as stainless steel (e.g., sheet metal), fiberglass, FR4, a strong plastic (e.g., polyamide), or a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the stiffener plate 230 may be secured to the first printed circuit substrate 205 and the second printed circuit substrate 210 using an adhesive, such as a temperature activated adhesive or a pressure sensitive adhesive, etc. (In some embodiments, if the first printed circuit substrate 205 and the second printed circuit substrate 210 include different materials, different adhesives may be used.) It may be noted that although in Figure 2A Although gap 235 is shown in the single-sided connection 200 of FIG. 1 , there may be alternative embodiments in which the first printed circuit substrate 205 abuts against the second printed circuit substrate 210 so that there is little or no space between them. In any case, the use of reinforcement plate 230 can help maintain the structural integrity of the single-sided connection 200.

[0030] In addition, if Figure 2AAs shown, a protective structure 240 can be used to protect the bonding wire 215. In some embodiments, the protective structure 240 can also be coupled to the first printed circuit substrate 205 and the second printed circuit substrate 210, and can help reduce the movement between the first printed circuit substrate 205 and the second printed circuit substrate 210. As with other features of the single-sided connection 200, the one or more materials used to manufacture the protective structure 240 can vary according to one or more factors, such as cost, manufacturing considerations, or desired functions. According to some embodiments, the protective structure 240 can include a shielding cover formed to cover at least a portion of the bonding wire 215 with a metal sheet, for example, to protect the bonding wire 215 from impact by an object. According to some embodiments, the protective structure 240 can include a molding compound (e.g., epoxy resin) or other encapsulation surrounding the bonding wire 215. In such an embodiment, the encapsulation can be simply deposited on top of the bonding wire 215. Alternatively, low-pressure plastic molding can be used to help ensure that the bonding wire 215 is not damaged. For example, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) overmold may be used. In addition, depending on the desired functionality, the protective structure 240 may be shaped to help ensure conformance to space-constrained applications. For embodiments in which an encapsulation is used as the protective structure 240, such shaping may be performed using a mold or dam around the joints between the printed circuit modules and / or by removing deposited material. It may be noted that although in Figure 2A A single bonding wire 215 is shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 , but a single-sided connection 200 may include many adjacent bonding wires (e.g., Figure 1 ). In such an embodiment, a single protection structure 240 may be used to protect a group of adjacent bonding wires 215. However, multiple protection structures 240 may be used to protect multiple bonding wires 215 depending on the desired functionality.

[0031] Figure 2B An example double-sided connection 250 is shown according to an embodiment. Here, the double-sided connection 250 includes Figure 2A Many of the same features as shown in the single-sided connection 200, such as Figure 2B As shown, these features have the same label / numeral. In addition, on the second side (the side facing the double-sided connection 250) Figure 2B Many of the same features on the bottom side of the PCB (i.e., the bottom side of the PCB) may be similar to those described previously, including the second bonding wire 255 connecting the third bonding pad 260 to the fourth bonding pad 265, and the second protection structure 270. These features may be similar to those described above with respect to Figure 2ADepending on the manufacturing process used, it may be necessary to form the features on the first side of double-sided connection 250 before forming the features on the second side.

[0032] As shown in the figure, Figure 2B The double-sided connection 250 may include Figure 2A Some differences from the single-sided connection 200 of the first printed circuit substrate 205. For example, the carrier 275 can be used on one or both sides of the first printed circuit substrate 205 to provide support for the first bonding pads 220 and the third bonding pads 260 of the first printed circuit substrate 205. Therefore, according to some embodiments, the carrier 275 can include part of the printed circuit design and can be formed on the first printed circuit substrate 205 as part of the printed circuit. For example, in situations where the first printed circuit substrate 205 may be required (for example, if the first printed circuit substrate 205 includes an FPC), the carrier 275 can be used to provide rigidity / reinforcement to the first printed circuit substrate 205. As further shown, the second printed circuit substrate 280 may include a double-sided printed circuit substrate, in which case, Figure 2B The second printed circuit substrate 280 shown in FIG. 2 may represent a material stack common to the double-sided printed circuit substrate. According to some embodiments, two printed circuit substrates may be bonded together or bonded to a common structure (eg, a stiffener) to form the double-sided second printed circuit substrate 280 .

[0033] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D Variations of the types of connections that may be used with wire bonding are shown in accordance with some embodiments in which a first printed circuit substrate 305 is secured to a second printed circuit substrate 310 (e.g., using an adhesive). In these embodiments, the second printed circuit substrate 310 may provide structural reinforcement for the connection. Additionally, in some embodiments, a reinforcement plate (not shown) may be bonded to the bottom surface of the second printed circuit substrate 310 (opposite the side to which the first printed circuit substrate 305 is secured) if additional reinforcement is desired. It may be noted that, although not shown, a protective structure may be formed to cover at least a portion of the bonding wires 315, as described above with reference to FIG. Figure 2A and Figure 2B In addition, FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D The number of bonding pads and bonding wires 315 shown in FIG. 3 is provided as an example. In practice, the number of bonding pads and bonding wires 315 may vary.

[0034] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D The different variations of are as follows. Figure 3A A variation is shown in which a first printed circuit substrate 305 is fixed to a second printed circuit substrate 310. Bonding wires 315 extend from the second printed circuit substrate 310 to over an edge 317 of the first printed circuit substrate 305. Figure 3BA variation is shown showing how the bonding wires 315 need not be located near the edge of the first printed circuit substrate 305. Instead, the bonding wires 315 extend from the second printed circuit substrate 310 through the openings 320 of the first printed circuit substrate 305 to connect to the bonding pads of the first printed circuit substrate 305. Figure 3C It is shown how a dual in-line connection 330 can be used to allow the second printed circuit substrate 310 to be connected to both the first printed circuit substrate 305 and the third printed circuit substrate 340. Finally, Figure 3D Shows the combination Figure 3B and Figure 3C 3. Variations of the features of the various variations of , which show how a dual in-line connection 330 may be used with an aperture 320 when making a wire bond connection between a first printed circuit substrate 305 and a second printed circuit substrate 310.

[0035] Various embodiments may use different alignment techniques to achieve wire bonding between the various printed circuit modules described herein. That is, before wire bonding can be performed, it may be necessary to properly align the substrate, stiffener, system components, and / or other components. According to some embodiments, optical alignment and mechanical alignment are two such alignment techniques that may be used.

[0036] Optical alignment involves using a vision system to align two components (e.g., two printed circuit modules) with each other using an optical tool (e.g., a camera). For example, a first component can be placed on a work surface, and a second component can be placed (e.g., using a pick and place tool) based on visual features identified by the vision system. These features can include bond pads and / or other such fiducials. For example, using an opening in a first printed circuit substrate (e.g., such as a Figure 3B and 3D ) can enable a vision system to see bond pads (or other references) on a second printed circuit substrate located below the first printed circuit substrate and perform proper alignment between the first and second printed circuit substrates prior to wire bonding.

[0037] Mechanical alignment involves the use of a mechanical device to align two components. For example, holes may be punched in one or both components (e.g., a printed circuit module) and the components may be placed on a fixture having protrusions configured to extend through the holes and mechanically align the components. According to some embodiments, mechanical alignment may use a vision system to help ensure that the components are properly placed on the fixture and / or verify proper placement.

[0038] Embodiments herein may provide a wire-bonded printed circuit module having many different bonds in many different ways. FIG. 4A to FIG. 4E Helps illustrate this. In particular, Figure 4A A vertical joint 410 between printed circuit modules is shown, wherein the joint is approximately perpendicular to the side edges 415 of the printed circuit modules. Figure 4B An angled joint 420 is shown, wherein the joint is angled (non-perpendicular) relative to respective side edges 425 of respective printed circuit modules. Figure 4C An example of forming wire bonds along an irregular (non-straight) edge 430 (eg, between multiple printed circuit modules) is shown.

[0039] Figure 4D A non-planar bond 440 is shown in accordance with an embodiment, illustrating how printed circuit modules connected by wire bonds may not necessarily be coplanar. FIG. 4A to FIG. 4E As with the other joints shown in , non-planar joint 440 can be used as needed to accommodate form factor constraints and / or other considerations. In addition, non-planar joint 440 can be used in conjunction with other types of joints (e.g. FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C and Figure 4E Those shown in the figure) are used in combination. Figure 4D In the example shown, the first printed circuit substrate 445 is secured to the bonding pad surface 450 of the second printed circuit substrate 455. However, alternative embodiments may include securing one or both printed circuit substrates to separate substrates or bonding members. Furthermore, alternative embodiments may include non-planar bonding, wherein the first printed circuit substrate 445 and the second printed circuit substrate 455 are angled relative to each other in a non-planar manner (rather than being flat as in FIG. Figure 4D Such non-planar configurations (substantially perpendicular, angled, etc.) may be implemented with consideration of the capabilities and / or limitations of wire bonding equipment used to create bond wires to connect the various non-planar printed circuit substrates.

[0040] Figure 4E A "pad sharing" joint 460 is shown, which illustrates an example joint in which the wire bonds of the bonding pads between the printed circuit substrates may not reflect a unique (one-to-one) correspondence between the bonding pads. "Sharing" bonding pads in this manner may be useful in various situations (e.g., when the bonding pads are electrically connected to power pins, ground pins, or low speed signals, etc.). In this particular example, a single bonding pad 465 of a first printed circuit substrate 470 is wire bonded to multiple bonding pads 475 of a second printed circuit substrate 480. As with other embodiments herein, Figure 1 Likewise, the embodiments are not limited to the examples shown in the figures. Alternative embodiments may include any combination of corresponding relationships between bonding pads as needed, including one-to-one, many-to-one, many-to-few, many-to-many, etc. In addition, pad sharing joint 460 may be combined with other joints (e.g. FIG. 4A to FIG. 4D Likewise, different configurations of pad sharing bonds may take into account the capabilities and / or limitations of wire bonding equipment used to create multiple bond wires on a single bond pad.

[0041] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4E The illustrations in are intended as non-limiting examples of different types of bonding. Alternative embodiments may also use other types of bonding, depending on the desired functionality. The stability of the embodiments herein in using different types of bonding to achieve wire bonding can help provide flexibility in connecting printed circuit modules, which can prove useful in many different applications.

[0042] According to the embodiments of the present invention, the manufacturing process for manufacturing and connecting each printed circuit module can be adapted to accommodate the wire bonding provided herein. FIG. 5A to FIG. 5G Shown is a series of operations in a fabrication process that may be used to form the wire bond connections described in various embodiments herein. FIG. 5A to FIG. 5G The process shown is for a one-sided connection (e.g., similar to Figure 2A Other connection types may be suitable to accommodate and / or form different physical characteristics of the connection.

[0043] Figure 5A is an illustration of a cross section of a portion of a first printed circuit substrate 510 during manufacturing. In this example, a bonding pad 515 is located near a hole 520 in the first printed circuit substrate 510. (For multiple connections, there may be additional bonding pads similarly adjacent to the hole 520 near the bonding pad 515 shown.) As shown below, the hole 520 can be located near the bonding pad 515 to provide placement of a stiffener for subsequently formed wire bonding connections. In this example, the first printed circuit substrate 510 can be part of a large printed circuit panel that includes many (e.g., dozens or hundreds) of printed circuit modules before separation. Therefore, the hole can be located at a position corresponding to the position of the hole 520 in the printed circuit panel of all printed circuit modules. For example, conventional techniques for patterning printed circuit substrates can be used to form the hole, and these techniques can be attached to the type of substrate used (e.g., PCB or FPC substrate).

[0044] Figure 5B The subsequent step of placing the reinforcing plate 525 over the hole 520 on the first printed circuit substrate 510 is shown. (To avoid confusion, Figure 5B Not included Figure 5A) As previously described, the reinforcement plate 525 can act as a reinforcement for the connection and can include a stronger, non-flexible material (e.g., stainless steel). According to some embodiments, a pick and place tool can be used to place the reinforcement plate 525. As previously described, the reinforcement plate 525 can be aligned with the first printed circuit substrate (e.g., using visual alignment and / or mechanical alignment as discussed previously) and bonded to the first printed circuit substrate 510 (e.g., using a temperature-sensitive adhesive (TSA)). During separation, the reinforcement plate 525 can then be cut at the separation cut line 530 using, for example, a conventional separation device (e.g., a laser, a saw, scissors, etc.). The structure obtained after separation is as shown. Figure 5C As shown. (It can be noted that in some embodiments, Figure 5B The cuts shown in the diagram may not result in separation but may be intermediate cuts during the manufacturing process, which may depend on manufacturing and / or other considerations.)

[0045] Figure 5D A subsequent operation in the manufacturing process is shown during which the resulting structure 535 is then turned upside down in preparation for attachment to a second printed circuit substrate. Here, the resulting structure 535 may be placed on a working surface or carrier (not shown).

[0046] Figure 5E A subsequent operation in the manufacturing process is shown in which the structure including the second printed circuit substrate 540 is placed on the stiffener 525. This can be done, for example, using an alignment process (e.g., visual and / or mechanical) as previously described, and the second printed circuit substrate 540 can be attached to the stiffener 525 using an adhesive such as TSA, which can be placed on the stiffener 525 prior to placing the second printed circuit substrate 540. In this example, the second printed circuit substrate 540 can be part of a complete printed circuit module ready for wire bonding. (If separated at this point, the first printed circuit substrate 510 can also be part of a complete printed circuit module.)

[0047] Fig. 5F and Figure 5G The structure is shown after subsequent operations during which bonding wires 545 and protective structure 550 are formed, respectively. According to some embodiments, bonding wires 545 may be formed according to JEDEC standards commonly used in microelectronics manufacturing. According to some embodiments, bonding wires 545 may be formed at the structure located at Figure 5EAs previously described, the protection structure 550 may include, for example, a shielding cover or package formed to cover at least a portion of the bonding wires 545 (and any other bonding wires (not shown)) connected between the first printed circuit substrate 510 and the second printed circuit substrate 540.

[0048] Figure 6 6 is a flow chart of a method 600 for interconnecting printed circuits using wire bonding according to an embodiment. The method may be used, for example, to electrically connect a set of two or more printed circuit modules as described in the above embodiments. For example, an apparatus for performing the method 600 may include a pick and place tool, a wire bonding tool, and / or other tools for manufacturing printed circuit modules. Aspects of the method 600 may reflect FIG. 5A to FIG. 5G The manufacturing processes shown in and / or discussed with reference to other embodiments described herein.

[0049] The method 600 may begin with operations at block 610, which include forming one or more bonding wires that electrically connect one or more bonding pads of a first printed circuit module to one or more bonding pads of a second printed circuit module, wherein each of the first printed circuit module and the second printed circuit module includes a respective printed circuit substrate. The bonding wires may be formed, for example, FIG. 4A to FIG. 4E As shown, the printed circuit modules may be formed on a vertical, angled, irregular, non-planar or pad-sharing joint or a combination thereof. As described above, each printed circuit module may be a printed circuit of the same type or may be a printed circuit of a different type. For example, according to some embodiments, the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module, or both may include a PCB substrate. Alternatively, the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module, or both may include an FPC substrate. One or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module, one or more bonding pads of the second printed circuit module, or both may have a spacing of less than 100 microns.

[0050] Additionally or alternatively, for example, Fig. 5FAs shown, bonding wires can be formed at a point in the manufacturing process after the reinforcement plate has been bonded to the first printed circuit module and / or the second printed circuit module. Therefore, according to some embodiments of method 600, the bonding pads of the first printed circuit module are located on the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, and the bonding pads of the second printed circuit module are located on the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module, and wherein the method further includes, before forming one or more bonding wires: (i) bonding a first portion of the reinforcement plate to a second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module opposite to the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, and (ii) bonding a second portion of the reinforcement plate to a second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module opposite to the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module. For example, positioning in these operations can be performed using temperature-sensitive bonding and / or pressure-sensitive bonding. In such an embodiment, bonding the first portion of the reinforcement plate to the second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module can be performed before separating the first printed circuit module from a printed circuit panel including the first printed circuit module and one or more additional printed circuit modules. Furthermore, bonding the second portion of the reinforcing plate to the second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module may be performed after separating the first printed circuit module from the printed circuit panel.

[0051] At box 620, the function includes: forming a protective structure covering at least a portion of one or more bonding wires, the protective structure coupled to the corresponding printed circuit substrate of each of the first printed circuit module and the second printed circuit module. As described herein, different types of protective structures can be used. Therefore, according to some embodiments, forming the protective structure can include: fixing a shielding cover covering at least a portion of the one or more bonding wires or encapsulating the one or more bonding wires with a molding compound. As previously described, for example, the molding compound can include epoxy resin or low pressure plastic molding. As also previously described, according to some embodiments, the molding compound can be formed by using a baffle or a mold to shape the molding compound and / or by removing portions of the molding compound.

[0052] As previously referred FIG. 3A to FIG. 3DAs discussed, some connections may involve coupling a first printed circuit substrate to a second printed circuit substrate. Thus, some embodiments of method 600 may include bonding the first printed circuit module to the second printed circuit module prior to forming one or more bonding wires. In such an embodiment, a bonding pad of the first printed circuit module may be located on a first side of a corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, and the first printed circuit module may include an opening extending from the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module to a second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module opposite to the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module. In such an embodiment, forming one or more bonding wires may include forming one or more bonding wires extending from one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module through the opening to one or more bonding pads of the second printed circuit module. As described above, an example of such an embodiment is described in Figure 3B and Figure 3D Shown in.

[0053] As mentioned, the various embodiments described herein for wire bonding can allow for miniaturization of electronic devices (e.g., Figure 1 These embodiments can incorporate increasingly complex electronics into increasingly smaller form factors. This can include wearable devices such as rings, watches, and head-mounted displays. As described below, Figure 7 An example is provided.

[0054] Figure 7 700 is a perspective view of a head mounted device (HMD) implemented as an eyewear device that can use the wire bonding connections described in the embodiments herein. Each HMD can include different types of electronic devices, such as an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant, a virtual reality (VR) device, or an augmented reality (AR) device - all of which can use the wire bonding technology described herein. Figure 7 Specific example HMD 700 shows a head mounted viewer having a form factor similar to conventional glasses. Various device electronics may be housed within frame 710, which may only provide a small and irregularly shaped space for printed circuits among other components. Therefore, the wire bonding techniques used herein to miniaturize printed circuit interconnects are particularly suitable for HMD 700.

[0055] Typically, HMD 700 can be worn on the face of a user so that content (e.g., media content) is presented using a display component and / or an audio system (both of which are integrated into HMD 700). However, HMD 700 can also be used to present media content to the user in a different manner. Examples of media content presented by HMD 700 include images, video, audio, or some combination thereof. HMD 700 can include a frame 710, a display component including one or more display elements 720, a depth camera assembly (DCA), an audio system, and a position sensor 790. Although Figure 7 The various components of the HMD 700 are shown as being located at various example locations on the HMD 700, but the components may be located at other locations on the HMD 700 and / or on peripheral devices that are paired with the HMD 700. Similarly, the HMD 700 may include a plurality of components such as a headset, a headset, and a peripheral device. Figure 7 Fewer or more components may be shown.

[0056] The frame 710 holds the other components of the HMD 700. The frame 710 includes a front portion that holds one or more display elements 720, and a plurality of end pieces (e.g., temples) that attach to the user's head. The front portion of the frame 710 bridges the top of the user's nose. The length of each end piece can be adjustable (e.g., adjustable temple length) to fit different users. Each end piece can also include a portion that curls behind the user's ear (e.g., temple tip, earpiece).

[0057] One or more display elements 720 provide light to the user wearing the HMD 700. As shown, the HMD may include a separate display element 720 for each eye of the user. In some embodiments, the display element 720 generates image light that is directed toward the eyebox of the HMD 700. The eyebox is the location in the space occupied by the user's eyes when the HMD 700 is worn. For example, the display element 720 may be a waveguide display. The waveguide display includes a light source (e.g., a two-dimensional source, one or more line sources, one or more point sources, etc.), and one or more optical waveguides. Light from the light source is coupled into the one or more optical waveguides, which output light in such a way that there is pupil replication in the eyebox of the HMD 700. The coupling of light in and / or the coupling out of light from the one or more optical waveguides may be accomplished using one or more diffraction gratings. In some embodiments, the waveguide display includes a scanning element (e.g., a rotating mirror, a prism, etc.) that scans the light when the light from the light source is coupled into the one or more waveguides. Note that in some embodiments, one or both of the two display elements 720 are opaque and do not transmit light from a local area around the HMD 700. The local area is an area around the HMD 700. For example, the local area may be a room where a user wearing the HMD 700 is located, or the user wearing the HMD 700 may be outdoors and the local area is an outdoor area. When one or more display elements 720 are opaque, the HMD 700 may generate virtual reality (VR) content. Alternatively, in some embodiments, one or both of the two display elements 720 are at least partially transparent so that light from the local area may be combined with light from one or more display elements 720 to generate augmented reality (AR) content and / or mixed reality (MR) content.

[0058] In some embodiments, the display element 720 does not generate image light, but the display element 720 is a lens that is optically transparent to transmit light from a local area to the eye area. For example, one or both of the two display elements 720 can be an uncorrected lens (over-the-counter lens), or a prescription lens (e.g., a single vision lens, a bifocal lens, a trifocal lens, or a gradient lens) to help correct the user's vision defects. In some embodiments, the display element 720 can be polarized and / or colored to protect the user's eyes from the sun.

[0059] In some embodiments, the display element 720 may include additional optical blocks ( Figure 7720 to the eye zone. The optical block may, for example, correct for aberrations in some or all of the image content, magnify some or all of the images, or some combination thereof.

[0060] The DCA determines depth information of a portion of a local area around the HMD 700. The DCA includes one or more imaging devices 730 and a DCA controller ( Figure 7 7 (not shown), and may also include an illuminator 740. An illuminator is a light source that illuminates a portion of a local area with light. The light from the illuminator 740 may include structured light (e.g., a dot pattern or a stripe pattern) in an invisible (e.g., infrared) spectrum. In some embodiments, the one or more imaging devices 730 capture an image of the illuminated portion of the local area. Figure 7 A single illuminator 740 and two imaging devices 730 are shown. In an alternative embodiment, there are at least two imaging devices but no illuminator.

[0061] The DCA controller calculates depth information for the illuminated portion of the local area using the captured images and one or more depth determination techniques, such as direct time-of-flight (ToF) depth sensing, indirect ToF depth sensing, structured light sensing, passive stereo analysis, active stereo analysis (using texture added to the scene by light from illuminator 740), some other technique for determining the depth of the scene, or some combination thereof.

[0062] The audio system of HMD 700 includes a transducer array, an acoustic sensor array, and an audio controller 750. The audio system can provide audio content using a transducer array, which can include a set of speakers 760 (e.g., a separate speaker for each ear). However, in other embodiments, the audio system can include different components and / or additional components. Similarly, in some cases, the functionality described with respect to the components of the audio system can be distributed among the components in a manner different from that described herein. For example, Figure 7 Some or all of the functions of the audio controller in (or other examples shown herein) may be performed by a remote server.

[0063] The audio controller 750 processes information from the sensor array that describes the sound captured by the sensor array. The audio controller 750 may include a processor and a computer-readable storage medium. The audio controller 750 may be configured to generate a direction of arrival (DOA) estimate, generate an acoustic transfer function (e.g., an array transfer function (ATF) and / or a head-related transfer function (HRTF), track the location of a sound source, form a beam in the direction of the sound source, classify the sound source, generate a sound filter for filtering the audio content to be presented through the speaker 760, or some combination thereof.

[0064] The transducer array presents sound to the user. The transducer array includes multiple transducers. The transducer can be a speaker 760 or a tissue transducer 770 (e.g., a bone conduction transducer or a cartilage conduction transducer). The speaker 760 can be located outside the frame 710 or enclosed within the frame 710. In some embodiments, instead of a separate speaker for each ear, the HMD 700 includes a speaker array that includes multiple speakers integrated into the frame 710 to improve the directionality of the presented audio content. The tissue transducer 770 is attached to the user's head and directly vibrates the user's tissue (e.g., bone or cartilage) to generate sound. The number and / or position of the transducers can be different from the Figure 7 The number and / or location of the transducers shown in FIG. 5 are different.

[0065] The sensor array captures sounds within a local area (e.g., a room) of the HMD 700. The sensor array includes a plurality of acoustic sensors 780. The acoustic sensor 780 captures sounds emitted from one or more sound sources in the local area. One or more sound sources may be in a far field (e.g., a noise source, a person speaking, etc.), a near field (e.g., a user's voice), or some combination thereof. Each acoustic sensor is configured to capture sounds and convert the captured sounds into an electronic format (analog or digital). Each acoustic sensor 780 may be an acoustic wave sensor, a microphone, a contact microphone, a sound transducer, a voice activity detector (VAD), or a similar sensor suitable for capturing sounds and / or vibrations.

[0066] In some embodiments, one or more acoustic sensors 780 can be placed in the ear canal of each ear (e.g., acting as binaural microphones). In some embodiments, each acoustic sensor 780 can be placed on an external surface of HMD 700, can be placed on an internal surface of HMD 700, can be separate from HMD 700 (e.g., part of some other device), or some combination thereof. The number and / or location of acoustic sensors 780 can be related to the Figure 7 The number and / or location of the acoustic sensors shown in the HMD 700 may be different. For example, the number of acoustic capture locations may be increased to increase the amount of audio information collected and to improve the sensitivity and / or accuracy of the information. These acoustic capture locations may be oriented so that the microphones can capture sound in a wide range of directions around the HMD 700.

[0067] The position sensor 790 generates one or more measurement signals in response to the movement of the HMD 700. The position sensor 790 can be located on a portion of the frame 710. The position sensor 790 can include an inertial measurement unit (IMU). Examples of the position sensor 790 include: one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, one or more magnetometers, another type of sensor that detects movement, a sensor for error correction of an IMU, or some combination thereof.

[0068] In some embodiments, the HMD 700 may provide simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) for the position of the HMD 700 and the update of the model of the local area. For example, the HMD 700 may include a passive camera assembly (PCA) that generates color image data. The PCA may include one or more RGB (red, green, blue) cameras that capture images of some or all areas in the local area. In some embodiments, at least some of the imaging devices 730 of the DCA may also be used as PCAs. The images captured by the PCA and the depth information determined by the DCA may be used to determine parameters of the local area, generate a model of the local area, update the model of the local area, or some combination thereof. In addition, the position sensor 790 tracks the positioning (e.g., position and posture) of the HMD 700 in the room. The images captured by the HMD 700 may be used to determine the position of the sound source in the local area.

[0069] The wire bonding techniques described herein may be used in various ways in an HMD such as HMD 700. According to some embodiments, the HMD may include a first printed circuit module including a first printed circuit substrate and a first set of one or more bonding pads coupled to the first printed circuit substrate. The HMD may also include a second printed circuit module including a second printed circuit substrate and a second set of one or more bonding pads coupled to the second printed circuit substrate. One or more bonding wires may electrically connect the first set of one or more bonding pads to the second set of one or more bonding pads, and a protective structure may cover at least a portion of the one or more bonding wires and may be coupled to the first printed circuit substrate and the second printed circuit substrate.

[0070] Depending on the desired functionality, embodiments may include one or more of the following additional features. The HMD may include an AR or VR device. One or more of the following types of components may be electrically coupled to (e.g., welded to) the first printed circuit module, the second printed circuit module, or both: a display element, an imaging device, a position sensor, an illuminator, an audio controller, and an acoustic sensor, a speaker, a tissue transducer, a microcontroller, or a processor. The first printed circuit module, the second printed circuit module, or both may be embedded or otherwise incorporated into the body or frame of the HMD. Additionally or alternatively, embodiments of the HMD may include one or more other features described in the embodiments herein.

[0071] The methods, systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various embodiments may appropriately omit, replace or add various programs or components. For example, in an alternative configuration, the described method may be performed in an order different from the described order, and / or various stages may be added, omitted and / or combined. In addition, the features described with respect to certain embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of various embodiments may be combined in a similar manner. In addition, technology is developing, and therefore, many elements are examples, which do not limit the scope of the present disclosure to those specific examples.

[0072] Many specific details are given in the description to provide a thorough understanding of multiple embodiments. However, multiple embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, systems, structures and techniques have been shown without unnecessary details to avoid blurring multiple embodiments. This description only provides multiple example embodiments and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the present invention. Instead, the above description of multiple embodiments will provide enabling descriptions for implementing various embodiments for those skilled in the art. Various changes may be made to the functions and arrangements of multiple elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0073] In addition, some embodiments are described as processes described as flow charts or block diagrams. Although each process can describe multiple operations as sequential processes, many of these operations can be performed in parallel or simultaneously. In addition, the order of these operations can be rearranged. The process may have multiple additional steps not included in the figure. In addition, the embodiments of the method can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, program code or multiple code segments for performing multiple related tasks can be stored in a computer-readable medium such as a storage medium. Multiple processors can perform multiple associated tasks.

[0074] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of substantial variations may be made according to a variety of specific requirements. For example, customized or dedicated hardware may also be used, and / or a variety of specific elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, e.g., applets, etc.), or in both hardware and software. In addition, connections to other computing devices such as network input / output devices may be employed.

[0075] With reference to the accompanying drawings, a plurality of components that may include memory may include non-transitory machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" refer to any storage medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a particular manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may involve providing instructions / codes to a processing unit and / or other one or more devices for execution. Additionally or alternatively, a machine-readable medium may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / codes. In many embodiments, a computer-readable medium is a physical and / or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, magnetic and / or optical media such as compact disks (CDs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs), punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium having a plurality of hole patterns, random access memory (RAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described below, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or code. A computer program product may include code and / or machine-executable instructions, which may represent a procedure, function, subroutine, program, routine, application program (App), subroutine, module, software package, class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements.

[0076] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals used to convey the messages described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented using voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0077] The terms "and" and "or" as used herein may include multiple meanings, where these meanings are also expected at least in part based on the context in which the terms are used. Generally, "or", if used in association with a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C (here in an inclusive sense) as well as A, B, or C (here in an exclusive sense). In addition, the term "one or more" as used herein may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular, or may be used to describe a certain combination of multiple features, multiple structures, or multiple characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example, and the subject matter claimed is not limited to this example. In addition, the term "at least one", if used in association with a list, such as A, B, or C, may be interpreted as referring to A, B, or C, or a combination of A, B, and / or C (e.g., AB, AC, BC, AA, ABC, AAB, ACC, or AABBCCC, etc.).

[0078] In addition, although certain embodiments have been described using specific combinations of hardware and software, it should be appreciated that other combinations of hardware and software are also possible. Certain embodiments may be implemented with hardware only, or with software only, or using a combination thereof. In one example, the software may be implemented using a computer program product comprising computer program code or instructions that may be executed by one or more processors to perform any or all of the multiple steps, multiple operations, or multiple processes described in the present disclosure, wherein the computer program may be stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium. The various processes described herein may be implemented on the same processor or on different processors in any combination.

[0079] Where a device, system, component or module is described as being configured to perform certain operations or functions, such configuration may be accomplished, for example, by designing electronic circuits to perform the operations, by programming programmable electronic circuits (e.g., microprocessors) to perform the operations (e.g., by executing computer instructions or code), or by a processor or core programmed to execute code or instructions stored on a non-transitory storage medium to perform the operations, or any combination thereof. Multiple processes may communicate using a variety of techniques, including but not limited to conventional techniques for inter-process communication, and different pairs of processes may use different techniques, or the same pair of processes may use different techniques at different times.

[0080] Therefore, the description and drawings should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. However, it will be apparent that additions, subtractions, deletions and other modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope set forth in the claims. Therefore, although a number of specific embodiments have been described, these specific embodiments are not intended to be limiting. Various modifications and equivalents fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising: A first printed circuit module, wherein the first printed circuit module comprises: a first printed circuit substrate, and A first set of one or more bonding pads, the first set of one or more bonding pads coupled to the first printed circuit substrate; a second printed circuit module, the second printed circuit module comprising: a second printed circuit substrate, and a second set of one or more bonding pads, the second set of one or more bonding pads coupled to the second printed circuit substrate; one or more bonding wires, the one or more bonding wires electrically connecting the first set of one or more bonding pads to the second set of one or more bonding pads; and A protection structure covers at least a portion of the one or more bonding wires and is coupled to the first printed circuit substrate and the second printed circuit substrate.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The first set of one or more bonding pads are located on a first side of the first printed circuit substrate, and the second set of one or more bonding pads are located on a first side of the second printed circuit substrate, and wherein: a first portion of the reinforcement plate coupled to a second side of the first printed circuit substrate opposite the first side of the first printed circuit substrate; and The second portion of the reinforcement plate is coupled to a second side of the second printed circuit substrate opposite the first side of the second printed circuit substrate.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The first printed circuit module is coupled to the second printed circuit module.

4. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein: The first set of one or more bond pads is located on a first side of the first printed circuit substrate; The first printed circuit module includes an opening extending from a first side of the first printed circuit substrate to a second side of the first printed circuit substrate opposite the first side of the first printed circuit substrate; as well as The one or more bonding wires extend from the first set of one or more bonding pads through the opening to the second set of one or more bonding pads.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The protection structure includes a shield covering at least a portion of the one or more bond wires.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The protection structure includes a molding compound encapsulating at least a portion of the one or more bonding wires.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The first printed circuit substrate, the second printed circuit substrate, or both the first printed circuit substrate and the second printed circuit substrate include a printed circuit board (PCB) substrate.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The first printed circuit substrate, the second printed circuit substrate, or both the first printed circuit substrate and the second printed circuit substrate include a flexible printed circuit (FPC) substrate.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The first set of one or more bonding pads, the second set of one or more bonding pads, or both the first set of one or more bonding pads and the second set of one or more bonding pads have a pitch less than 100 microns.

10. A method of interconnecting printed circuits using wire bonding, the method comprising: forming one or more bonding wires that electrically connect one or more bonding pads of a first printed circuit module to one or more bonding pads of a second printed circuit module, wherein each of the first printed circuit module and the second printed circuit module includes a respective printed circuit substrate; as well as A protection structure is formed covering at least a portion of the one or more bond wires, the protection structure being coupled to a respective printed circuit substrate of each of the first and second printed circuit modules.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module are located on a first side of a corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, and the one or more bonding pads of the second printed circuit module are located on a first side of a corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module, and wherein the method further comprises: before forming the one or more bonding wires: bonding a first portion of the reinforcing plate to a second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module opposite to the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module; and A second portion of the reinforcing plate is bonded to a second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module opposite to the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Bonding the first portion of the stiffener to the second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module is performed before separating the first printed circuit module from a printed circuit panel including the first printed circuit module and one or more additional printed circuit modules; as well as Bonding the second portion of the reinforcing plate to the second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module is performed after separating the first printed circuit module from the printed circuit panel.

13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: Prior to forming one or more bond wires, the first printed circuit module is bonded to the second printed circuit module.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module are located on a first side of a corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module; the first printed circuit module including an opening extending from the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module to a second side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module opposite the first side of the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module; as well as Forming the one or more bonding wires includes forming the one or more bonding wires extending from the one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module through the opening to the one or more bonding pads of the second printed circuit module.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein: Forming the protection structure includes securing a shield covering at least a portion of the one or more bonding wires.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein: Forming the protection structure includes encapsulating the one or more bonding wires with a molding compound.

17. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module, or both the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module and the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module include a printed circuit board (PCB) substrate.

18. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module, the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module, or both the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the first printed circuit module and the corresponding printed circuit substrate of the second printed circuit module include a flexible printed circuit (FPC) substrate.

19. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module, the one or more bonding pads of the second printed circuit module, or both the one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module and the one or more bonding pads of the second printed circuit module have a pitch of less than 100 microns.

20. A set of electrically connected printed circuit modules comprising: a first printed circuit module having one or more bond pads electrically coupled to one or more electrical components of the first printed circuit module; a second printed circuit module having one or more bond pads electrically coupled to one or more electrical components of the second printed circuit module; one or more bonding wires electrically connecting the one or more bonding pads of the first printed circuit module to the one or more bonding pads of the second printed circuit module; as well as A protective structure covers at least a portion of the one or more bonding wires.

Images