Method for manufacturing a roll carrier for electronic components
Patent Information
- Application Number
- EP2023798815
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-11-03
- Filing Date
- 2023-11-03
- Publication Date
- 2025-09-10
AI Technical Summary
Existing manufacturing processes for electronic components in smart cards limit the choice of adhesive material and require the bonding pad to be applied to the rear main face of the component, restricting flexibility and efficiency in the transfer and fixing process.
A roll-to-roll process where the bonding zone of the electronic component is brought into contact with the adhesive face of the substrate, allowing a separate fixing zone to receive a different adhesive material for subsequent use in the smart card, enabling the production of strip supports with increased density and reduced manufacturing costs.
This process enhances the production efficiency by allowing the use of different adhesives for smart cards, optimizing the useful surface area, reducing costs, and enabling mass production of electronic components with improved integration into smart cards.
Smart Images
Figure 1.1
Abstract
Description
Description Title of the invention: Method for manufacturing a roll support for electronic components Technical field
[0001] The invention relates to the field of manufacturing electronic components, in particular electronic components intended to be integrated and connected in smart cards (bank cards, transport subscription cards, identity cards, etc.). State of the art
[0002] These electronic components can be: modules with or without contacts for reading or writing information contained in one or more chips or memories integrated in the module itself or in the card in which the module is integrated, such modules can for example correspond to the ISO 7810 standard, biometric control devices (fingerprint reader for example), visual cryptogram displays (CW type, or "Card verification value" in English), remote communication components (Bluetooth type for example), etc.
[0003] These components must be reliably fixed in a cavity provided in the card which receives them, and possibly connected to an antenna and / or a flexible printed circuit connecting electronic components integrated in the body of the card, for example between constituent layers thereof. These components can be transferred from one support to another using chip transfer techniques. An example of a technique of this type is described for example in document FR3082696A1.
[0004] Document FR3082696A1 describes a method for manufacturing, from roll to roll, a support for electronic components, comprising - a step during which a substrate wound into a strip is unwound, this substrate having two faces of which at least one is adhesive, - a step during which at least one electronic component is transferred onto the substrate, this electronic component having a main rear face and a main front face, the main rear face comprising at least one so-called bonding zone and at least one so-called connection zone on which is arranged an electrical contact configured to electrically connect the electronic component.
[0005] According to this prior art method, for transferring the electronic component into a smart card, a bonding pad is made with the adhesive present on the substrate. This bonding pad is then used to fix the component in a cavity provided in the smart card. However, it is common for the operation of transferring and fixing the component in the smart card to be carried out by a manufacturer other than the one who manufactured the roller supporting the components. The manufacturer carrying out the operation of transferring and fixing the component in the smart card is therefore not free to choose the adhesive material. It will also be noted that according to this prior art method, the bonding pad is applied to the main rear face of the component. Summary of the invention
[0006] The invention aims to at least partially overcome these drawbacks.
[0007] To this end, a manufacturing method is proposed as defined by claim 1. In particular, this method is a roll-to-roll manufacturing method for a support for electronic components, of the type mentioned above, comprising a step of transferring at least one electronic component onto a substrate, in which the step of transferring the electronic component onto the substrate comprises bringing said bonding zone of the electronic component into contact with the adhesive face of the substrate, said bonding zone being distinct from said connection zone, and in which during the step of transferring the electronic component onto the substrate, a fixing zone is left free, this fixing zone being configured to subsequently receive a layer for fixing the electronic component in a smart card.
[0008] Indeed, thanks to the method according to the invention, electronic components can be manufactured, finalized and regularly arranged on a strip support.
[0009] In this document, a distinction is made between "support" and "substrate", the "substrate" being an element of the "support". The strip support is used as a temporary support to receive electronic components. Thus, the components electronic components, advantageously finalized, can be stored on a reel support, for later use during which they will be integrated into a smart card. The electronic components thus temporarily stored can then be transferred directly from the strip support into a cavity provided in the body of the card, possibly prepared by depositing therein an adhesive suitable for fixing each of the components in its respective cavity, this adhesive being different from the adhesive material of the adhesive face of the substrate. Alternatively, between these storage and transfer steps, a fixing layer is applied to the fixing area.
[0010] In this document, the expression "adhesive material" refers to both a material having adhesive properties at room temperature, such as in particular a so-called "tacky adhesive" material, and a material made adhesive by heating, such as a hot-melt material, etc. The conditions of use will be adapted to its properties.
[0011] In this document, the word "area" (in bonding "area", connection "area", etc.) means a portion of the surface of the electronic component, this surface portion being able to be on the front face or on the back face of this electronic component. "Bonding area" means a portion of a face (front or back) of the electronic component, at which the component is held on the adhesive face of the substrate. A bonding area can be on the front face or on the back face of the electronic component.
[0012] The strip support can comprise several electronic components in its width. Thus, the method according to the invention makes it possible to produce rolls supporting electronic components in very large numbers. These strip supports comprise two rows of drive holes, but can comprise a variable number of rows of components. Thus, the more rows of components there are in the width of the strip supports (between the two rows of drive holes), the more the useful surface area of these supports can be optimized. The density of electronic components per unit area of a strip support can be increased and correspondingly the manufacturing costs per electronic component can be reduced.Alternatively, the electronic components can be produced on flexible strips of varying width in order to optimize the number of electronic components produced per unit area, then the electronic components are transferred to a strip support of lesser width. and comprising an adhesive material, for example for reasons of compatibility with existing materials.
[0013] The method according to the invention allows economies of scale to be achieved by promoting mass production of electronic components.
[0014] The method according to the invention optionally further comprises one of the characteristics set out in claims 2 to 12, considered in isolation and independently of one another, or in combination with one or more others.
[0015] According to another aspect, the invention relates to a method for manufacturing smart cards comprising the use of the roll support obtained according to one of the ways indicated above, this method for manufacturing smart cards then comprising a step of transferring the electronic component into a cavity provided in a smart card.
[0016] This method of manufacturing smart cards optionally further comprises one of the characteristics set out in claim 13, considered in isolation and independently of each other, or in combination with one or more others. Brief description of the figures
[0017] Other aspects, aims and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description which follows, as well as with the aid of the appended drawings, given as non-limiting examples and in which:
[0018] - Figure 1 schematically represents in perspective an unrolled part of an example of strip support;
[0019] - Figure 2 schematically represents in section a portion of the strip support shown in Figure 1;
[0020] - Figure 3 schematically represents in perspective a portion of the strip support shown in Figure 1, after making training holes;
[0021] - Figure 4 schematically represents in perspective a portion of the strip support shown in Figure 3, after cutting;
[0022] - Figure 5 schematically represents in perspective a portion of the strip support shown in Figure 3, after making cutouts and openings;
[0023] Figure 6 schematically represents in perspective a portion of the strip support shown in Figure 5, after placing electronic components at the level of the cutouts and openings, the electronic components being seen from their front face;
[0024] Figure 7 schematically represents in perspective a portion of the strip support shown in Figure 6, after placing electronic components at the level of the cutouts and openings, the electronic components being seen from their rear face;
[0025] Figure 8 schematically represents in section a portion of the strip support shown in Figures 6 and 7;
[0026] Figure 9 schematically represents in section a portion of a strip support obtained according to a variant of the process illustrated by figures 1 to 8;
[0027] Figure 10 schematically represents in section a portion of a strip support obtained according to another variant of the process illustrated by figures 1 to 8;
[0028] Figure 1 1 schematically represents in elevation a portion of the strip support shown in Figure 6, after application of a fixing layer, the electronic components being seen from their rear face; and
[0029] Figure 12 schematically represents in perspective (with an electronic component seen essentially from its front face) a module obtained after individualization of a portion of the strip support shown in figure 11. Detailed description
[0030] The invention is exemplified below using several examples of implementation of the method for manufacturing a roll support for electronic components.
[0031] According to an example of implementation of the method according to the invention, it comprises the following steps: The supply and unwinding of a portion of a complex roll material, forming a flexible support 10 (i.e., sufficiently flexible to be used in a reel-to-reel or roll-to-roll process); the support 10 is in the form of a ribbon (Fig. 1); the support 10 comprises a substrate 11 (Fig. 2); the substrate 11 has two main faces, one of these faces main being at least partly covered with an adhesive film 12; alternatively, instead of being already prepared, according to a variant, the substrate 11 is supplied in a roll, then unrolled and laminated with an adhesive film 12, to form the support 10; in general, it can therefore be said that the substrate 11 has an adhesive face; a protective film 13 can cover the face of the substrate 11 made adhesive by the adhesive film 12 (Fig. 2); alternatively, the composition of the adhesive film 12 is chosen so that the substrate 11 can be rewound and unwound on itself, but the variant described below corresponds to that for which a protective film 13 is used; Perforating the support 10 from the previous step so as to create drive holes 14 (Fig. 3) through both the substrate 11, the adhesive film 12 and the protective film 13 (optional); Kiss cutting of the protective film 13 and delamination thereof to form a cutout 15 (of the protective film 13) at which at least one area of adhesive film 12 is left visible (Fig. 4), i.e. an area of the adhesive face of the substrate 11; this area of the adhesive face of the substrate 11 forms a fixing zone 16 (Fig. 4); alternatively or in a complementary manner, the substrate 11 (with its adhesive film 12) is perforated to form an opening 17, the fixing zone 16 is then located at the periphery of the opening 17 (Fig. 5); Kiss cutting can be carried out using a laser or a rotary punch; The transfer of electronic components 18, individualized, each respectively in coincidence with a cutout 15 (and a possible opening 17) made in the previous step; each electronic component 18 then rests at least in part on a fixing zone 16; according to one of the variants described above (that during which openings 17 are formed in the adhesive film 12), each electronic component 18 has a face flush with one of the main faces of the substrate 11 (Fig. 6); as illustrated in FIG. 7, each electronic component 18 has a connection zone 19 in which there are contacts 20 configured to electrically connect the electronic component 18 to an electronic circuit (formed for example on an inlay integrated in a smart card); Rewinding the support 10 supporting electronic components 18. Alternatively, the support 10 is unrolled, one or more of the steps described above are implemented, then the support is rolled up again, before carrying out other steps of the method according to the invention, etc.
[0032] The electronic components 18 have a rear main face 23 and a front main face 24 (Fig. 8). The rear main face 23 comprises the connection area 19. The electronic components 18 are, for example, biometric sensors for reading fingerprints. In this case, each electronic component 18 has an active area 22 on its front main face 24.
[0033] Figure 8 illustrates a variant of the method according to the invention, according to which an opening 17 is made in the substrate 11 so as to leave the active zone 22 bare (in Figure 8, to simplify the drawing, the adhesive film 12 is not shown with a thickness; furthermore the section in Figure 8 does not pass through the opening 17).
[0034] As shown in Figure 8, each electronic component 18 has at least one bonding zone 21 in contact with the adhesive film 12 of the substrate 11. More particularly, each bonding zone 21 of the electronic component 18 is in contact with an adhesive zone 16 of the substrate 11. Each bonding zone 21 is distinct from the connection zone 19 (in Figure 8, the connection zone 19 is on the rear main face 23, while the bonding zone 21 is on the front main face 24). In addition, the cutting and transfer steps described above are carried out to leave free (when the support is unrolled) a fixing zone 25, on the assembly thus produced after the transfer step (this fixing zone 25 is of the same type of the substrate 11 as the adhesive face). This fixing zone 25 is configured to subsequently receive a fixing layer 26 of the electronic component 18 in a smart card (Fig. 11).In Figure 8, the attachment zone 25 is shown practically in coincidence with the connection zone 19. In this case, the attachment layer 26 is conductive. For example, it is made of an anisotropic adhesive film (ACF). However, other variants can be envisaged. For example, the attachment layer 26 can cover the entire rear main face 23 of the electronic component 18 (of course, alternatively a more or less large area of the rear main face 23 of the electronic component 18 can be covered with the attachment layer 26). The attachment layer 26 can also cover a more or less large region around the rear main face 23 of the electronic component 18, thus extending onto the protective layer 13 and / or the substrate 11. According to another variant, the. fixing layer 26 is not conductive (for example, it is made of a film of insulating thermofusible material - "Hot-melt" in English). In this case, the fixing layer 26 can also cover a more or less large region on and / or around the rear main face 23 of the electronic component 18, provided that at least the contacts 20 are left uncovered.
[0035] The substrate 11 is for example made of one of the following materials: A metallic material such as copper with possibly a coating of gold, palladium, white bronze; this coating is for example deposited on the metallic material by vapor phase spraying, by electrodeposition, or by any other suitable treatment; a metallic material can be used when the option described above is implemented which results in the formation of openings 17; in this case, the metallic material covers a non-functional part of the electronic component 18, but does not cover (or in any case not completely) the active zone 22 of the electronic components 18; A non-conductive material, such as a polyimide or glass-epoxy tape; in this case, this non-conductive material may cover a non-functional part of the electronic component 18, and possibly does not cover the entire active zone 22 of the electronic components 18. This solution makes it possible to provide new cosmetic and / or functional functions on the external face of the sensors (e.g. protection from the external environment); A transparent film such as a glass film or any other transparent film; in this case, this film can cover a non-functional part of the electronic component 18, but can also possibly cover the active area 22 of the electronic components 18 without affecting the reading performance (in the case of a biometric sensor for example). This solution also makes it possible to provide new cosmetic and / or functional functions on the external face of the sensors (e.g. protection from the external environment).
[0036] The material constituting the substrate 11 possibly comprises at least one of the following characteristics: - heat resistant (e.g. to maintain embedding temperatures in a smart card); - heat conductor (for example, to enable integration into a smart card); - scratch resistant; - convertible (i.e. it can be transformed, for example by making 14 training holes, an opening 17, etc.); - it may not have any influence on the reading of the sensor if it at least partially covers the active zone 22 (this may depend on the nature of the electronic component 18).
[0037] The adhesive layer 12 may be formed from a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA). If the active area 22 of the electronic components 18 is covered by the adhesive layer 12, it is advantageously essentially transparent or translucent and must not affect the biometric sensor functionality of these electronic components 18.
[0038] The protective film 13, when implemented, may be chosen to provide rigidity to the substrate 11 and / or to facilitate the implementation, at a customer's premises, of the product obtained by the method described above, in particular in the case where the support 10 is itself a conductive adhesive film. The material of the protective film 13 may be a glass-epoxy, a polyimide, a polyethylene terephthalate, etc.
[0039] Figure 9 illustrates the variant of the method according to the invention, according to which the active zone 22 is covered with the substrate 11 and the adhesive film 12 (in Figure 9, to simplify the drawing, the adhesive film 12 is not shown with a thickness).
[0040] According to the variants illustrated by figures 8 and 9, the electronic component 18 is bonded to the substrate 11 by at least one area of its front face 24. This area corresponds to the bonding area 21 already mentioned.
[0041] Figure 10 illustrates yet another variant of the method according to the invention, according to which the electronic component 18 is turned over with respect to the variants previously described. In other words, the electronic component 18 is bonded to the substrate 11 by at least one bonding zone 21 located on its rear face 23.
[0042] A step of laminating a fixing layer 26 on the substrate 11 is implemented after the steps previously described (Fig. 1 1). This step can be implemented by a manufacturer (for example the manufacturer who carries out the fixing of the electronic component 18 in a smart card), while the steps previously described have been implemented by another manufacturer. The fixing layer 26 is suitable for fixing the electronic component 18 in a chip card cavity. For example, it is formed from a hot-melt material. It may also be a layer of anisotropic conductive material. In this case, this material is conductive depending on its thickness. The use of a fixing layer 26 makes it possible both to fix the individual electronic component 18 in its chip card cavity, but it also makes it possible, provided that it is electrically conductive and also covers the connection area 19 and its contacts 20, to establish a connection with an electronic circuit housed in this chip card.
[0043] A cutting step is then carried out around the electronic component 18. This cutting step is carried out for example as shown schematically by scissors in Figures 8, 9 and 10. This cutting step is adapted to individualize and separate from the support 10 a smart card module 27 comprising the electronic component 18. This individualized module 27, an example of which is shown in Figure 12, is then placed in a cavity provided in a smart card.
Claims
he Claims 1. Method for manufacturing, from roll to roll, a support (10) for electronic components (18), comprising - a step during which a substrate (11) wound into a strip is unwound, this substrate (11) having two faces of which at least one is adhesive, - a step during which at least one individual electronic component (18) is transferred to the substrate (1 1 ), this electronic component (18) having a main rear face (23), a main front face (24), at least one so-called bonding zone (21 ) and at least one so-called connection zone (19) on which is arranged an electrical contact (20) configured to electrically connect the electronic component (18), characterized in that the step of transferring the electronic component (18) to the substrate (1 1 ) comprises bringing said bonding zone (21 ) of the electronic component (18) into contact with the adhesive face of the substrate (1 1 ), said bonding zone (21 ) being distinct from said connection zone (19), and in that at the end of this transfer step, a fixing zone (25) is left free, on the same side of the substrate (1 1 ) as its adhesive face,this fixing zone (25) being configured to subsequently receive a fixing layer (26) of the electronic component (18) in a smart card.
2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said bonding zone (21) is located on the front main face (24) of the electronic component (18) and the connection zone (19) is located on the rear face (23) of the electronic component (18).
3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, in which the fixing zone (25) is located at least partly on the electronic component (18).
4. Method according to claim 1 or 2, in which the fixing zone (25) is located at least partly on the support (10).
5. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a step of cutting at least one opening (17) in the substrate (11), the electronic component (18) being arranged, during the transfer step, at least partially in coincidence with the opening (17).
6. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic component (18) is a biometric component with an active area (22) formed by a fingerprint sensor surface and, during the step of report, the active zone (22) is arranged at least partially in contact with the adhesive face of the substrate (1 1).
7. Method according to claims 5 and 6 combined, in which the electronic component (18) is arranged, during the transfer step, in such a way that the active zone (22) is at least partially in coincidence with the opening (17).
8. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the electronic component (18) is a biometric component with an active area (22) formed by a fingerprint sensor surface, the rear face (23) being opposite the active area (22), and during the transfer step, the rear face (23) is arranged at least partially in contact with the adhesive face of the substrate (11).
9. Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which the substrate (11) comprises a protective film (13) at least partially covering its adhesive face.
10. Method according to claim 9, comprising a step of cutting at least one cutout (15) in the protective film (13), the electronic component (18) being arranged, during the step of transferring the electronic component (18) onto the substrate (11), so that it is at least partially in coincidence with the cutout (15). 1 1. Method according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a step of lamination at least on the fixing zone (25), of a fixing layer (26) adapted for fixing the electronic component (18) in a chip card cavity, this lamination step being subsequent to the step of transferring the electronic component (18) onto the substrate (1 1).
12. Method according to claim 11, wherein the fixing layer (26) at least partially covers the connection zone (19) and wherein the fixing layer (26) consists of a film of anisotropic conductive material.
13. Method for manufacturing smart cards comprising the use of the support (10) in roll obtained by the method according to any one of claims 9 and 10, this method for manufacturing smart cards comprising - a cutting step carried out around each electronic component (18), this cutting step being adapted to individualize and separate from the support (10) a smart card module (27) comprising an electronic component (18) provided with a portion of the fixing layer (26), and - a step of transferring the smart card module (27) into a cavity provided in a smart card.