Adapter for piezoelectric oscillator, piezoelectric oscillator

Abstract

The present invention provides an adapter for a piezoelectric oscillator that can expand the mounting area of ​​a semiconductor chip, and a piezoelectric oscillator using this adapter. [Solution] An adapter characterized by comprising a base plate having a rectangular planar shape, a wall portion provided on the edge of the first surface of the base plate along two opposing sides of the four sides of the base plate, or along two adjacent sides, or along three consecutive sides, a semiconductor chip mounting terminal provided on the first surface, an external connection terminal provided on the second surface of the base plate opposite to the first surface, and a piezoelectric vibrator connection terminal provided on the top surface of the wall portion. A piezoelectric oscillator characterized by comprising the adapter, a semiconductor chip connected to the semiconductor chip mounting terminal, and a piezoelectric vibrator connected via the top surface of the wall portion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an adapter for a piezoelectric oscillator that can extend a semiconductor chip mounting area, and a piezoelectric oscillator using the adapter.

Background Art

[0002] A crystal oscillator is a representative example of piezoelectric oscillators. Typical structures include a so-called one-chamber structure in which a crystal vibrating piece and a semiconductor chip including an oscillation circuit are mounted in a single chamber (for example, see FIG. 5 of Patent Document 1), and a so-called H-shaped structure in which a chamber for mounting the crystal vibrating piece and a chamber for mounting the semiconductor chip are stacked back-to-back to form an H-shaped cross section (for example, see FIG. 1 of Patent Document 2). In any of the above structures, the container for the crystal oscillator and the semiconductor chip are designed to have predetermined sizes in consideration of the dimensions of each other. On the other hand, due to customer requirements, there are cases where individually-specified semiconductor chips (hereinafter also referred to as custom ICs) having a larger plane area or an increased number of output terminals compared to existing semiconductor chips are required. In such cases, existing containers for crystal oscillators do not have a sufficient mounting area for mounting the custom IC, so it is necessary to prepare a separate container for each custom IC, which is not preferable in terms of cost and other aspects. As a countermeasure, for example, the method described in Patent Document 2 can be considered. Specifically, walls are formed only on two of the four side walls of the chamber for mounting the semiconductor chip in the H-shaped structure (Patent Document 2, paragraph 7). According to this technology, it is stated that a sufficient mounting area for the semiconductor chip can be ensured even when the piezoelectric oscillator is reduced in size (ibid., paragraph 8).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

[0004] However, in the case of Patent Document 2, it can be said that the mounting area for components is expanded by removing a part of the lower wall of the container itself, which would require modifying the entire container, including the crystal chamber. Therefore, there are inherent limitations to supporting multiple custom ICs of different types. Furthermore, in the case of Patent Document 2, the semiconductor chip is mounted on the back-to-back side of the container facing the crystal chamber, and the side of the container that connects to external devices is open. In other words, the terminals that connect to external devices must be provided in a narrow area determined by the width of the wall, so if, for example, the number of output terminals is greater than that of existing products as a custom IC, there may be cases where it is not possible to arrange all the terminals.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and therefore the object of this application is to provide an adapter for a piezoelectric oscillator that expands the semiconductor chip mounting area and allows for the provision of multiple output signal terminals, and a piezoelectric oscillator using this adapter. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve this objective, the first invention of this application, an adapter for a piezoelectric oscillator, is an adapter to which a piezoelectric vibrator is connected and used, The base plate has a square shape in plan view, A wall portion is provided on the edge of the first surface of the base plate, along two opposing sides of the four sides of the base plate, or along two adjacent sides, or along three consecutive sides, The semiconductor chip mounting terminals provided on the first surface, An external connection terminal is provided on the second surface of the bottom plate, which is the surface opposite to the first surface, The invention is characterized by comprising a piezoelectric vibrator connection terminal provided on the top surface of the wall portion.

[0007] Furthermore, the piezoelectric oscillator, which is the second invention of this application, is characterized by comprising the adapter of the first invention, a semiconductor chip connected to the semiconductor chip mounting terminal, and a piezoelectric vibrator connected via the top surface of the wall portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the adapter of the first invention of this application, the edge region of one or two of the four sides of the base plate has a wall-less structure, so the mounting area of ​​the semiconductor chip can be expanded by the amount of the wall-less area. Furthermore, since the adapter of the first invention is for semiconductor chips and is a standalone unit without a part for housing a piezoelectric vibrator, it is easier and more flexible to modify the structure to expand the mounting area of ​​the semiconductor chip compared to redesigning the entire container, and it can accommodate multiple custom ICs of different types. Furthermore, according to the adapter of the first invention of this application, the surface connected to an external device is composed of a rectangular base plate, and external connection terminals can be provided on the entire surface of the base plate. In other words, it can accommodate custom ICs with more output terminals than existing products, and multiple output signal terminals can be provided on the base plate. By using the adapter of the first invention, it is possible to contribute to the realization of piezoelectric oscillators using various custom ICs.

[0009] According to the piezoelectric oscillator of the second invention of this application, since the adapter of the first invention is used, a piezoelectric oscillator using a custom IC with a larger surface area compared to existing products due to its multi-functionality can be easily realized, thus enabling the creation of a more high-performance piezoelectric oscillator. Furthermore, even when the number of terminals is increased compared to existing products, for example, in the case of a multi-output piezoelectric oscillator, the desired piezoelectric oscillator can be easily realized. The above-mentioned effects of the first and second inventions become more pronounced as the piezoelectric oscillator becomes smaller. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] These are perspective views, cross-sectional views, and bottom views illustrating the structure of the adapter of the first invention and the piezoelectric oscillator of the second invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1(A) is a perspective view showing the adapter 10 and piezoelectric vibrator 20 separated into components. [Figure 3] Here is another example of an adapter. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The adapter 10 according to an embodiment of the first invention and the piezoelectric oscillator 30 according to an embodiment of the second invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Furthermore, the figures used in this explanation are merely schematic representations to the extent necessary to understand this invention. Also, in the figures used in this explanation, similar components are indicated with the same number, and their explanations may be omitted. Additionally, the shapes, materials, etc., described below are merely preferred examples within the scope of this invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0012] Figure 1(A) is a perspective view of the piezoelectric oscillator 30, Figure 1(B) is a cross-sectional view of the piezoelectric oscillator 30 between Q and Q' in Figure 1(A), and Figure 1(C) is a bottom view of the adapter 10. We will now explain the adapter 10 of the first invention, which is the lower part of the cross-sectional view in Figure 1(B).

[0013] The adapter 10 comprises a base plate 11, a wall portion 12, a semiconductor chip mounting terminal 13 provided on the first surface of the base plate 11, an external connection terminal 14, and a piezoelectric vibrator connection terminal 16.

[0014] The base plate 11 has a square shape in plan view, in this example it is rectangular, and the wall portion 12 is provided along the edges of two opposing sides of the base plate 11, or along two adjacent sides, or along three consecutive sides. Here, we will describe an adapter 10 in which the wall portion 12 is provided along the edges of two opposing sides of the base plate 11. The wall portion 12 is laminated on the first surface side of the base plate 11, and the base plate 11 and the wall portion 12 are integrally formed from ceramic. A metal piezoelectric vibrator connection terminal 16 is provided on a predetermined portion of the top surface 12a of the wall portion 12. The reason why the planar shape of the base plate 11 is a quadrilateral shape, specifically a rectangular shape in this case, is that the typical planar shape of the piezoelectric vibrator 20 described later is a quadrilateral shape, and a rectangular shape in this embodiment. In addition, the planar size of the base plate 11 is substantially the same as the planar size of the piezoelectric vibrator 20. This is because it is easy to handle as an electronic device. However, the planar size of the base plate 11 may be slightly larger than that of the piezoelectric vibrator 20. For example, it may be larger as a whole, or larger in a part, for example, larger than the contour of the piezoelectric vibrator on a side where no wall portion is provided among the four sides. In addition, the base plate 11 may be a single plate, or may be a laminate of a plurality of plates. If the wiring between the semiconductor chip mounting terminals and external terminals is simple, the base plate 11 can be a single plate. A structure in which a plurality of plates are laminated is preferable because it provides effects such as facilitating wiring when the wiring between the semiconductor chip mounting terminals and external terminals is complicated.

[0015] The semiconductor chip mounting terminals 13 are made of metal and provided on the first surface, which is the surface of the base plate 11 where the wall portion 12 is provided. The number of the semiconductor chip mounting terminals 13 is the same as the number of terminals of the semiconductor chip 18 to be mounted. The semiconductor chip 18 has a quadrilateral shape in plan view, and is provided with spherical bumps (not shown) at portions facing the semiconductor chip mounting terminals 13. The semiconductor chip 18 is bonded to the first surface of the base plate 11 via the semiconductor chip mounting terminals 13 and the bumps. In addition, a plurality of semiconductor chips 18 can be mounted. The piezoelectric vibrator connection terminals 16 are provided at positions corresponding to the terminals (see 25 in FIG. 2) provided on the outer bottom surface of the piezoelectric vibrator 20.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1(C), a plurality of external connection terminals 14 are provided on the second surface of the base plate 11 opposite to the first surface, and are connected to an external device or the like (not shown) via a conductive bonding member such as solder. In addition, output signal terminals 15 are included in the external connection terminals 14, and a plurality of output signal terminals 15 are also provided on the second surface.

[0017] As described above, the adapter 10 according to the first invention has a structure in which the wall portions 12 are provided on edges along two opposing sides among the four sides of the bottom plate 11, so the mounting area for the semiconductor chip 18 can be expanded. Heretofore, a structure in which the wall portions 12 are provided on edges along two opposing sides among the four sides of the bottom plate 11 has been described, but the adapter 10 may include the wall portions 12 provided on edges along two adjacent sides or edges along three consecutive sides among the four sides of the bottom plate 11 as shown in FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B). Compared with an adapter in which the wall portions 12 are provided on all four sides, the absence of unnecessary wall portions 12 increases the degree of freedom in mounting the semiconductor chip 18. Further, in the case where the wall portions 12 are provided on edges along two adjacent sides among the four sides of the bottom plate 11 as shown in FIG. 3(A), since there is no wall portion 12 on both the long side and the short side of the rectangular bottom plate 11, the mounting area for the semiconductor chip 18 can be expanded and the degree of freedom in mounting increases. In the adapter 10, the sides without the wall portion 12 may be different from those shown in the drawings. The piezoelectric vibrator connection terminals 16 may be provided at positions other than the corners of the bottom plate 11, as long as the piezoelectric vibrator 20 can be mounted thereon. As shown in FIG. 3(C), the wall portion 12 does not need to be provided over the entire one side of the bottom plate 11, and may be provided in a central portion of one side with both ends left open.

[0018] The adapter 10 is a finished product by itself and exists separately from the piezoelectric vibrator 20 connected thereon (details will be described later), so that even when a custom IC having a large planar area is mounted, the wall portions 12 can be easily formed to provide a mounting area that matches the custom IC.

[0019] The surface of the adapter 10 to be bonded to an external device is formed of a single plate like the bottom plate 11 and is not opened. Therefore, the external connection terminals 14 can be provided on the entire surface of the bottom plate 11. The adapter can also accommodate custom semiconductor chips that have a larger number of output terminals than existing products, and at least two types of output terminals can be provided on the bottom plate 11. Use of the adapter 10 according to the first invention can contribute to realizing piezoelectric oscillators using various custom ICs.

[0020] Next, with reference to Figure 1, the piezoelectric oscillator 30 of the second invention will be described. As shown in Figure 1(B), the piezoelectric oscillator 30 comprises an adapter 10 and a piezoelectric vibrator 20, the piezoelectric vibrator 20 comprising a package 21, a vibrating element 22, and a cover portion 23.

[0021] Package 21 has a recessed shape formed by stacking ceramics, and a metal pattern 24 is provided on the bottom surface of the recess. A sealing ring 27 is provided on the top surface of the recessed shape. Adapter connection terminals 25 are provided on the side opposite to the metal pattern 24.

[0022] The vibrating element 22 is a rectangular vibrating element in plan view, and is equipped with excitation electrodes on its front and back surfaces, and lead electrodes extending from each excitation electrode to one of the short sides of the vibrating element 22 (not shown). The lid portion 23 is rectangular in shape when viewed from above and is made of metal.

[0023] The piezoelectric transducer 20 is constructed by joining a metal pattern 24 and a vibrating element 22, both located on the bottom surface of a recess, to a recessed package 21 using a conductive adhesive 26. After creating a vacuum or inert gas atmosphere inside the package 21, the seal ring 27 and the lid 23 are joined by seam welding to seal the package. The piezoelectric transducer 20 is a finished product with a so-called single-compartment structure, containing and packaging the vibrating element 22. Glass sealing and AuSn sealing are also possible.

[0024] The piezoelectric oscillator 30 is formed by electrically connecting the adapter connection terminal 25 of the packaged piezoelectric vibrator 20 and the piezoelectric vibrator connection terminal 16 of the adapter 10 using solder, conductive adhesive, etc. 17. As shown in Figure 2, the same number of piezoelectric vibrator connection terminals 16 on the adapter 10 and the adapter connection terminals 25 on the piezoelectric vibrator 20 are provided. Since it is also anticipated that a multi-functional custom IC may be used for the semiconductor chip 18, the number of piezoelectric vibrator connection terminals 16 and adapter connection terminals 25 are selected and provided so that the semiconductor chip 18 and the piezoelectric vibrator 20 are electrically connected.

[0025] The piezoelectric oscillator 30 of the second invention has a structure that uses an adapter 10 that lacks part of the side wall 12, so when connected to an external device, solder flux may adhere to the bumps. For this reason, it is preferable to fill the space between the semiconductor chip 18 and the first surface of the bottom plate 11 with resin.

[0026] The semiconductor chip 18 incorporates at least an oscillation circuit for the piezoelectric resonator 20. In addition, it may be equipped with circuits for controlling various functions. Furthermore, it may also incorporate a temperature sensor. If the semiconductor chip 18 has a temperature sensor function, it is preferable that the temperature of the piezoelectric resonator 20 and the temperature of the semiconductor chip 18 match. For this reason, it is preferable to cover the semiconductor chip 18 with resin, and further fill the space from the top surface of the semiconductor chip 18 to the bottom surface of the package 21 of the piezoelectric resonator 20 with resin to improve the thermal coupling between the piezoelectric resonator 20 and the semiconductor chip 18.

[0027] As described above, the piezoelectric oscillator 30 of the second invention is constructed using an adapter 10 with a structure in which part of the wall portion 12 is absent. Therefore, even when using a custom IC with a large flat area due to customer requirements, the mounting area of ​​the semiconductor chip 18 can be expanded. As a result, there is no need to prepare a separate container for each custom IC. Furthermore, since the surface connected to external devices is made up of a rectangular bottom plate 11, even when using a multi-output custom IC, at least two types of output signal terminals 15 can be arranged using the entire surface of the bottom plate 11, thereby contributing to the realization of a multi-output piezoelectric oscillator 30. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0028] 10: Adapter 11: Base plate 12: Wall section 12a: Top surface of the wall section 13: Terminal for mounting semiconductor chip 14: External connection terminal 15: Output signal terminal 16: Piezoelectric vibrator connection terminal 17, 26: Conductive adhesive 20: Piezoelectric vibrator 21: Package 22: Vibrating piece 23: Lid 24: Metal pattern 25: Adapter connection terminal 27: Seal ring 30: Piezoelectric oscillator

Claims

1. An adapter to which a piezoelectric vibrator is connected and used, The base plate has a square shape in plan view, A wall portion is provided on the edge of the first surface of the base plate, along two opposing sides of the four sides of the base plate, or along two adjacent sides, or along three consecutive sides. The semiconductor chip mounting terminals provided on the first surface, An external connection terminal is provided on the second surface of the bottom plate, which is the surface opposite to the first surface, A piezoelectric vibrator connection terminal is provided on the top surface of the wall portion, An adapter characterized by having the following features.

2. The adapter according to claim 1, characterized in that the wall portion is provided on the edges of the first surface of the bottom plate along two opposing sides of the four sides of the bottom plate.

3. The adapter according to claim 1, characterized in that the wall portion is provided along the edges of two adjacent sides of the four sides of the first surface of the base plate.

4. The adapter according to claim 1, characterized in that the wall portion is provided along the edges of three consecutive sides of the four sides of the first surface of the bottom plate.

5. The adapter according to claims 1 to 4, wherein the semiconductor chip to be installed outputs at least two types of output signals, and the external connection terminal includes terminals for the two types of output signals.

6. A piezoelectric oscillator comprising the adapter described in claim 1, a semiconductor chip connected to the semiconductor chip mounting terminal, and the piezoelectric vibrator connected via the top surface of the wall portion.

7. The piezoelectric oscillator according to claim 6, characterized in that the piezoelectric vibrator is a packaged finished product.

8. The piezoelectric oscillator according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the semiconductor chip outputs at least two types of output signals.

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