Angled RF Connection via Flexible Substrate Bending
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current high-density, high-performance electronic systems face challenges in creating reliable angled RF connections between vertically and horizontally oriented components due to limited access and the inefficiencies of manual wire bonding, leading to signal loss and noise issues.
Innovation Solution
A flexible substrate is laminated onto one element, bent to align with a bonding pad on another element, allowing for automated wire bonding to create an angled RF connection, thereby bypassing the need for manual wire bonding and enhancing connection reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual wire bonding is used to create angled RF connections, then connection reliability can be maintained, but assembly time increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible substrate (thin film) that can be bent to achieve the required angle between vertical and horizontal bonding pads. This flexible interconnect allows automated wire bonding machines to access and connect pads at angles without manual intervention, maintaining connection reliability while enabling automated high-speed assembly.
2Reliability
If manual wire bonding is used for angled connections, then connection quality can be achieved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible substrate is bent into a curved configuration to bridge the angular gap between vertically oriented chip carrier bonding pads and horizontally oriented radiator board bonding pads. This curvature allows standard automated wire bonding equipment to create consistent quality connections without requiring complex manual positioning or specialized angled bonding tools.
3Stability of the object's composition
If rigid substrates are used for RF connections, then structural stability is maintained, but the ability to achieve angled connections is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate transitions from a rigid state during lamination to a flexible state during assembly, allowing it to be bent into the required angle. After bonding, the substrate maintains its bent configuration, providing both the angular adaptability needed for connection and the structural stability required for RF signal integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and structure for producing an angled RF connection between a first element and a second element using a flexible substrate is provided. The method includes laminating a flexible substrate onto the first element; bending the flexible substrate such that a bonding pad on the flexible substrate is in a similar plane as a bonding pad on the second element; and creating the angled RF connection by wire bonding the bonding pad on the flexible substrate and the bonding pad on the second element. The structure includes a flexible substrate that is laminated onto a first element as an outer layer, flexible substrate having at least one bonding pad, and the flexible substrate able to bend in an angle that places the bonding pad in a same plane as a bonding pad on a second element.