Manufacturing process of carrier material roll for electronic component

Abstract

The invention relates to a roll-to-roll process for manufacturing a carrier for an electronic component (18), the process comprising a step of transferring at least one electronic component (18) to a substrate (11). The electronic component (18) comprises at least one region referred to as a bonding region (21) and at least one region referred to as a connecting region (19). The step of transferring the electronic component (18) to the substrate (11) comprises bringing an adhesive region (21) of the electronic component (18) into contact with the adhesive surface of the substrate (11), said adhesive region (21) being different from said connection region (19). Furthermore, during the transfer step, a fixing area (25) is left on the side of the adhesive face of the substrate (11) for vacancy, said fixing area (25) being arranged to subsequently receive a fixing layer for fixing the electronic component (18) to the chip card.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of manufacturing electronic components, in particular to the field of manufacturing electronic components for integration and connection to chip cards (bank cards, transportation cards, identity cards, etc.). Background Art

[0002] These electronic components can be: - A module with or without contacts for reading or writing information contained in one or more chips or memories, where the one or more chips or memories are integrated in the module itself or in the card in which the module is integrated, and such modules can comply with specifications such as the ISO 7810 standard; - A biometric device (such as a fingerprint reader); - A card verification value (CVV) display; - A telecommunication component (such as a Bluetooth component); - And so on.

[0003] These components must be reliably fixed in cavities provided in the card that receives these components, and these components can optionally be connected to an antenna and / or a flexible printed circuit that connects electronic components integrated in the card body, such as electronic components integrated between the constituent layers of the card body. These components can be transferred from one carrier to another using chip transfer technology. For example, an example of such a technology is described in the patent document FR3082696A1.

[0004] The document FR3082696A1 describes a roll-to-roll process for manufacturing a carrier for an electronic component, including the following steps: unwinding a reel of a strip substrate that has two faces, at least one of which is sticky; transferring the at least one electronic component to the substrate, the electronic component having a main rear face and a main front face, the main rear face including at least one area called an adhesion area and at least one area called a connection area, and in the connection area, electrical contacts are provided that are configured to electrically connect the electronic component.

[0005] In this prior art, an adhesive pad is formed using the adhesive present on the substrate to transfer the electronic component to the chip card. This adhesive pad is then used to fix the component in the cavity in the chip card. However, usually, the manufacturer who performs the operation of transferring and fixing the component to the chip card is different from the manufacturer who manufactures the reel carrying the component. Therefore, the manufacturer who performs the operation of transferring and fixing the component to the chip card cannot freely choose the sticky material. It should also be noted that in this prior art, the adhesive pad is applied to the main rear face of the component. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to overcome at least in part the above-mentioned drawbacks.

[0007] To this end, there is provided a manufacturing process as defined in claim 1. Specifically, the process is a reel-to-reel process of the type described above for manufacturing a carrier for an electronic component, including a step of transferring at least one electronic component to a substrate, wherein the step of transferring the electronic component to the substrate includes bringing a bonding area of the electronic component into contact with a sticky surface of the substrate, the bonding area being different from the connection area, and wherein, in the step of transferring the electronic component to the substrate, a fixing area is left vacant, which is arranged to subsequently receive a fixing layer for fixing the electronic component to a chip card.

[0008] Specifically, by means of the process according to the present invention, electronic components can be manufactured, completed, and placed on a carrier strip at regular intervals.

[0009] In this document, a distinction is made between "carrier" and "substrate", where "substrate" is a constituent element of "carrier". The carrier strip is used as a temporary carrier for receiving electronic components. Thus, the beneficially completed electronic components can be stored on a carrier reel for subsequent integration into a chip card during use. These temporarily stored electronic components can then be transferred directly from the carrier strip into cavities provided in the body of the card, which can optionally be pre-prepared by depositing an adhesive suitable for fixing each component in its respective cavity, the adhesive being different from the sticky material of the sticky surface of the substrate. Alternatively, between the above-mentioned storage and transfer steps, a fixing layer is applied to the fixing area.

[0010] In this document, the term "sticky material" refers to a material that is sticky at room temperature, in particular, for example, a so-called pressure-sensitive adhesive, or a material that becomes sticky upon heating, such as a hot-melt material, etc. Its usage conditions will be adjusted according to its properties.

[0011] In this document, the term "area" (such as "area" in "bonding area", "connection area", etc.) refers to a segment of the surface of an electronic component, which surface segment can be located in front of or behind the electronic component. The term "bonding area" is understood to mean a segment (in front of or behind) of the electronic component in which the component is held on the sticky surface of the substrate. The bonding area can be located in front of or behind the electronic component.

[0012] The carrier tape can include a plurality of electronic components across its width. Thus, the process according to the present invention makes it possible to manufacture reels carrying a large number of electronic components. These carrier tapes include two rows of drive holes, but can include a variable number of rows of components. Thus, the more rows of components (between the two rows of drive holes) across the width of the carrier tape, the more the available area of these carriers can be optimized. The density of electronic components per unit area of the carrier tape can be increased, and correspondingly, the manufacturing cost of each electronic component can be reduced. Alternatively, in order to optimize the number of electronic components produced per unit area, electronic components can be produced on a flexible tape having a wider or narrower width and subsequently transferred to a carrier tape having a narrower width and including an adhesive material, for example for reasons of compatibility with existing equipment.

[0013] The process according to the present invention makes it possible to achieve economies of scale by facilitating the mass production of electronic components.

[0014] The process according to the present invention may also optionally include one or more of the features listed in claims 2 to 12, which may be considered individually and independently of each other, or in combination with one or more other features.

[0015] According to another aspect, the present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a chip card, which process includes using a carrier reel obtained in any of the above-described ways, and which process for manufacturing a chip card subsequently includes the step of transferring electronic components into cavities provided in the chip card.

[0016] The process for manufacturing a chip card may also optionally include one or more of the features listed in claim 13, which may be considered individually and independently of each other, or in combination with one or more other features. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017] Other aspects, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reading the following detailed description and the drawings, which are provided by way of non-limiting examples and in which:

[0018] - Figure 1 An unrolled portion of an example of a carrier tape is schematically shown in perspective view;

[0019] - Figure 2 An example of a segment of the carrier tape shown is schematically shown in cross-sectional view Figure 1 of the carrier tape shown;

[0020] - Figure 3 An example of a segment of the carrier tape shown is schematically shown in perspective view Figure 1 in which drive holes have been made;

[0021] - Figure 4 Schematically shown in a perspective view Figure 3 A section of the carrier tape shown, in which a window has been made;

[0022] - Figure 5 Schematically shown in a perspective view Figure 3 A section of the carrier tape shown, in which a window and an opening have been made;

[0023] - Figure 6 Schematically shown in a perspective view Figure 5 A section of the carrier tape shown, in which electronic components have been placed in the window and the opening, and the front main surface of the electronic components is visible;

[0024] - Figure 7 Schematically shown in a perspective view Figure 6 A section of the carrier tape shown, in which electronic components have been placed in the window and the opening, and the rear main surface of the electronic components is visible;

[0025] - Figure 8 Schematically shown in a cross-sectional view Figure 6 and Figure 7 A section of the carrier tape shown;

[0026] - Figure 9 Schematically shown in a cross-sectional view a section of the carrier tape obtained according to Figures 1 to 8 a variant of the process shown;

[0027] - Figure 10 Schematically shown in a cross-sectional view a section of the carrier tape obtained according to Figures 1 to 8 another variant of the process shown;

[0028] - Figure 11 Schematically shown in an elevation view Figure 6 A section of the carrier tape shown, in which a fixing layer has been applied and the rear main surface of the electronic components is visible; and

[0029] - Figure 12 Schematically shown in a perspective view Figure 11 A module obtained by single cutting of a section of the carrier tape shown (where the front main surface of the electronic components is substantially visible). Detailed description

[0030] The present invention will be illustrated by means of several exemplary embodiments of a manufacturing process for a carrier reel for electronic components.

[0031] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the example includes the following steps: - Provide and unwind a section of a composite material reel to form a flexible carrier 10 (i.e., a carrier flexible enough to be suitable for a roll-to-roll process); the carrier 10 is in the form of a strip ( Figure 1 ); the carrier 10 includes a substrate 11 ( Figure 2 ); the substrate 11 has two main surfaces, and at least one of these main surfaces is at least partially covered with an adhesive film 12; alternatively, according to a variant, without prior preparation, the substrate 11 is provided in the form of a reel, and then unwound and laminated with the adhesive film 12 to form the carrier 10; generally speaking, it can thus be said that the substrate 11 has an adhesive surface; a protective film 13 can cover the adhesive surface of the substrate 11 imparted with adhesiveness by the adhesive film 12 ( Figure 2 ); alternatively, the composition of the adhesive film 12 is selected such that the substrate 11 can be rewound and unwound, but the following-described variant corresponds to the case of using the protective film 13; - Punch the carrier 10 obtained in the above step to penetrate the entire substrate 11, adhesive film 12, and (optional) protective film 13 to form drive holes 14 ( Figure 3 ); - Perform kiss cutting on the protective film 13 and laminate it to form a window 15 (in the protective film 13), where at least one area of the adhesive film 12 is exposed ( Figure 4 ), that is, an area of the adhesive surface of the substrate 11 is exposed; this area of the adhesive surface of the substrate 11 forms a fixing area 16 ( Figure 4 ); alternatively, or in a supplementary manner, punch the substrate 11 (together with the adhesive film 12 thereon) to form an opening 17, and then the fixing area 16 is located in the edge area of the opening 17 ( Figure 5 ); Kiss cutting can be performed by a laser or a rotary punch; - Transfer singulated electronic components 18, each component being respectively aligned in one window 15 (and, where applicable, one opening 17) made in the previous step; each electronic component 18 is then at least partially placed on a fixing area 16; according to one of the aforementioned variants (i.e., in the case of making an opening 17 in the adhesive film 12), each electronic component 18 has a surface flush with one main surface of the substrate 11 ( Figure 6 ); as Figure 7 shown, each electronic component 18 includes a connection area 19, in which contacts 20 are provided, and these contacts are arranged to electrically connect the electronic component 18 to an electronic circuit (such as an electronic circuit formed on an inlay integrated in a chip card); - Rewind the carrier 10 carrying the electronic components 18 into a reel. Alternatively, the carrier 10 is unwound, one or more of the above steps are implemented, and then the carrier is wound back, and then other steps of the process according to the present invention are performed, and so on.

[0032] The electronic component 18 has a rear main surface 23 and a front main surface 24 ( Figure 8 ). The rear main surface 23 includes a connection region 19. The electronic component 18 is, for example, a biometric sensor for reading fingerprints. In this case, each electronic component 18 includes an active zone 22 on its front main surface 24.

[0033] Figure 8 A variant of the process according to the invention is shown, in which an opening 17 is formed in the substrate 11 such that the active zone 22 is exposed (in Figure 8 , for the sake of simplicity of the illustration, the thickness of the adhesive film 12 shown is not shown; furthermore, Figure 8 the cross-section of

[0034] As Figure 8 shown, each electronic component 18 has at least one bonding region 21 in contact with the adhesive film 12 of the substrate 11. More specifically, each bonding region 21 of the electronic component 18 is in contact with the adhesive region 16 of the substrate 11. Each bonding region 21 is different from the connection region 19 (in Figure 8 , the connection region 19 is on the rear main surface 23, while the bonding region 21 is on the front main surface 24). Furthermore, the cutting and transfer steps as described above are carried out in such a way that a fixing region 25 is left vacant on the component formed after the transfer step (when the carrier tape is unwound) (this fixing region 25 is on the same side as the adhesive surface of the substrate 11). The fixing region 25 is provided to subsequently receive a fixing layer 26 for fixing the electronic component 18 to the chip card ( Figure 11 ). In Figure 8 , the fixing region 25 is shown to be almost aligned with the connection region 19. In this case, the fixing layer 26 is conductive. For example, it is an anisotropic conductive film (ACF). However, other variants can also be envisaged. For example, the fixing layer 26 can cover the entire rear main surface 23 of the electronic component 18 (of course, alternatively, the fixing layer 26 can also cover a larger or smaller area of the rear main surface 23 of the electronic component 18). The fixing layer 26 can also cover a larger or smaller area around the rear main surface 23 of the electronic component 18, and thus can also extend above the protective layer 13 and / or the substrate 11. According to another variant, the fixing layer 26 is non-conductive (for example, it is a film of insulating hot-melt material). In this case, the fixing layer 26 can also cover a larger or smaller area on and / or around the rear main surface 23 of the electronic component 18, provided that at least the contact 20 is left uncovered.

[0035] The substrate 11 is made of, for example, one of the following materials: - A metal, such as copper, optionally with a coating of gold, palladium or white bronze; the coating can be deposited on the metal by, for example, sputtering, electrodeposition or any other suitable treatment method; when the aforementioned option that leads to the formation of the opening 17 is adopted, a metal can be used; in this case, the metal covers the non-functional part of the electronic component 18, but does not cover (or at least does not completely cover) the effective area 22 of the electronic component 18; - A non-conductor, such as polyimide or glass-epoxy tape; in this case, the non-conductor can cover the non-functional part of the electronic component 18 and can optionally not cover the entire effective area 22 of the electronic component 18. This solution makes it possible to add new appearance and / or functional characteristics (such as protecting against the external environment) to the outer surface of the sensor; - A transparent film, such as a glass film or any other transparent film; in this case, the film can cover the non-functional part of the electronic component 18, but can also optionally cover the effective area 22 of the electronic component 18 without affecting the reading performance (for example, in the case of a biometric sensor). This solution also makes it possible to add new appearance and / or functional characteristics (such as protecting against the external environment) to the outer surface of the sensor.

[0036] The material constituting the substrate 11 optionally has at least one of the following characteristics: - Heat resistance (for example, to avoid the need to change the required temperature during the chip card assembly process); - Thermal conductivity (for example, to allow its integration into the chip card); - Scratch resistance; - Processability (i.e., it can be processed, for example, to form the drive hole 14, the opening 17, etc.); - Optionally, when at least partially covering the effective area 22, it has no effect on the reading of the sensor (this may depend on the characteristics of the electronic component 18).

[0037] The adhesive layer 12 can be made of a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA). If the effective area 22 of the electronic component 18 is covered by the adhesive layer 12, the adhesive layer is beneficially substantially transparent or translucent and cannot affect the function of these electronic components 18 as biometric sensors.

[0038] When in use, the protective film 13 can be selected to provide rigidity to the substrate 11 and / or facilitate the customer to implement the product obtained by using the above process, especially when the carrier 10 itself is a conductive adhesive film. The material of the protective film 13 can be epoxy glass, polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate, etc.

[0039] Figure 9 shows a variant of the process according to the invention, in which the active area 22 is covered by the substrate 11 and the adhesive film 12 (in Figure 9 , for the sake of simplicity of illustration, the thickness of the adhesive film 12 shown is not shown).

[0040] In Figure 8 and Figure 9 the variant shown, the electronic component 18 is bonded to the substrate 11 through at least one area of its front main face 24. This area is the bonding area 21 mentioned above.

[0041] Figure 10 shows another variant of the process according to the invention, in which the electronic component 18 is flipped relative to the above-mentioned variant. In other words, the electronic component 18 is bonded to the substrate 11 through at least one bonding area 21 on its rear main face 23.

[0042] The step of laminating the fixing layer 26 to the substrate 11 is carried out after the above steps ( Figure 11 ). This step can be carried out by one manufacturer (for example, the manufacturer who fixes the electronic component 18 to the chip card), while the foregoing steps are carried out by another manufacturer. The fixing layer 26 is provided to fix the electronic component 18 in the cavity of the chip card. For example, it can be made of a thermally fusible material. It can also be the case of an anisotropic conductive layer. In this example, the material is conductive in the direction of its thickness. Using the fixing layer 26 not only makes it possible to fix the singulated electronic component 18 in the cavity of its chip card, but also makes it possible to connect to the electronic circuit built into the chip card in the case where the material is conductive and also covers the connection area 19 and its contacts 20.

[0043] Then, a cutting step is carried out around the electronic component 18. This cutting step is carried out in the manner schematically represented by the scissors in Figure 8 , Figure 9 and Figure 10 . This cutting step is provided to singulate the chip card module 27 and separate the chip card module 27 from the carrier 10, and the chip card module 27 includes the electronic component 18. The singulated module 27 (an example of the module 27 is shown in Figure 12 ) is then transferred to the cavity provided in the chip card.

Claims

1. A roll-to-roll process for manufacturing a carrier (10) for an electronic component (18), comprising the following steps: - Unwinding a reel of a strip-shaped substrate (11), the substrate (11) having two faces, at least one of the two faces being a sticky face, - Transferring at least one singulated electronic component (18) to the substrate (11), the electronic component (18) having a rear main face (23), a front main face (24), at least one region called an adhesion region (21), and at least one region called a connection region (19), in which an electrical contact (20) is arranged to electrically connect the electronic component (18), Characterized in that the step of transferring the electronic component (18) to the substrate (11) comprises bringing the adhesion region (21) of the electronic component (18) into contact with the sticky face of the substrate (11), the adhesion region (21) being different from the connection region (19), And at the end of the transfer step, leaving a fixing region (25) vacant on the same side as the sticky face of the substrate (11), the fixing region (25) being arranged to subsequently receive a fixing layer (26) for fixing the electronic component (18) to a chip card.

2. The process according to claim 1, wherein the adhesion region (21) is located on the front main face (24) of the electronic component (18), and the connection region (19) is located on the rear main face (23) of the electronic component (18).

3. The process according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixing region (25) is at least partially located on the electronic component (18).

4. The process according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixing region (25) is at least partially located on the carrier (10).

5. The process according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the step of cutting at least one opening (17) in the substrate (11), and in the transfer step, the electronic component (18) is placed at least partially in alignment with the opening (17).

6. The process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic component (18) is a biometric component having an active region (22) composed of a region for sensing fingerprints, and in the transfer step, the active region (22) is placed at least partially in contact with the sticky face of the substrate (11).

7. The process according to the combination of claims 5 and 6, wherein in the transfer step, the electronic component (18) is placed such that the active region (22) is at least partially located in a position aligned with the opening (17).

8. The process according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the electronic component (18) is a biometric component having an active area (22), the active area (22) being constituted by an area for sensing fingerprints, the rear main surface (23) being opposite to the active area (22), and in the transfer step, the rear main surface (23) is placed in contact at least partially with the adhesive surface of the substrate (11).

9. The process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the substrate (11) comprises a protective film (13), the protective film (13) at least partially covering the adhesive surface of the substrate.

10. The process according to claim 9, comprising the step of cutting at least one window (15) in the protective film (13), and in the step of transferring the electronic component (18) to the substrate (11), the electronic component (18) is placed such that the electronic component (18) is at least partially aligned with the window (15).

11. The process according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the step of laminating at least a fixing layer (26) onto the fixing area (25), the fixing layer (26) being provided for fixing the electronic component (18) in the cavity of the chip card, the laminating step being carried out after the step of transferring the electronic component (18) to the substrate (11).

12. The process according to claim 11, wherein the fixing layer (26) at least partially covers the connection area (19), and wherein the fixing layer (26) is an anisotropic conductive film.

13. A process for manufacturing a chip card, comprising using a web of carriers (10) obtained by the process according to claim 9 or 10, the process for manufacturing the chip card comprising: - a cutting step carried out around each electronic component (18), the cutting step being provided for singulating and separating a chip card module (27) from the carrier (10), the chip card module (27) comprising an electronic component (18) with a segment fitted with the fixing layer (26); and - a step of transferring the chip card module (27) to a cavity provided in the chip card.

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