PCB Component Integration via Removable Supporting Layer
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Solution Overview
Problem
The integration of electronic components into printed circuit boards is challenging due to mechanical and thermal stresses caused by different materials with varying thermal coefficients of expansion, leading to potential failure and difficulties in reliable soldering or bonding, especially in environments with temperature fluctuations, and the production process can strain components and hinder heat dissipation.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a supporting layer with a conducting layer having clearances matching the component's dimensions, where the component is fixed using an adhesive and encased with insulating material, allowing for simplified registration and reduced thickness, with a metallic foil for improved electrical connection and heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electronic components are integrated into printed circuit boards using recesses or holes with conductor tracks, then electrical connection is achieved, but mechanical and thermal stresses cause contact points to crack and lead to component failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a supporting layer made of the same material as the insulating material (e.g., both are epoxy-based materials), eliminating the harmful effects of different thermal expansion coefficients. This homogeneity prevents mechanical and thermal stresses that would otherwise cause contact points to crack under temperature fluctuations.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting layer acts as an intermediary element between the electronic component and the insulating material. It provides a stable base for mounting components during production and can be selectively removed later to expose conductor tracks, thereby mediating the connection process and avoiding direct stress between dissimilar materials.
2Ease of manufacture
If recesses or holes are provided in the base element to receive electronic components, then component integration is achieved, but the production process requires high pressures and temperatures that strain embedded components
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting layer is provided before component mounting, serving as a temporary structure that facilitates easy component placement and connection during production. This preliminary structure eliminates the need for high-pressure and high-temperature processes that would otherwise be required to embed components directly into the insulating material, thereby preserving component structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent separates the mounting function (provided by the removable supporting layer) from the final structural integration (achieved after supporting layer removal). This segmentation allows low-stress component placement followed by stress-free final integration, avoiding the need for high-pressure embedding processes.
3Device complexity
If components are embedded in recesses or depressions, then integration is achieved, but it becomes difficult to make reliable contact with conductor tracks and contact surfaces, especially under fluctuating temperature loads
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting layer is provided in advance to hold the electronic component in a raised position before final integration. This preliminary mounting ensures that contact surfaces remain accessible and planar, making it easy to establish reliable electrical connections with conductor tracks. The supporting layer can later be removed without compromising the already-established connections.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of embedding components into recesses (which makes contact difficult), the patent inverts the approach by providing a supporting layer that raises components above the insulating material surface. This inversion ensures contact surfaces remain accessible and reliable, especially under temperature fluctuations, before the supporting layer is removed for final integration.
4Length of stationary object
If the printed circuit board thickness is reduced to accommodate miniaturization, then product size is reduced, but mounting electronic components with multiple contacts becomes problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a temporary supporting layer dimension that allows components to be mounted at an elevated position during production, effectively adding a temporary dimensional layer. This enables proper component placement and connection even in thin boards, as the supporting layer provides the necessary mounting height without permanently increasing the final board thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting layer is provided preliminarily during the manufacturing process to enable component mounting on thin boards. This preliminary structure provides the necessary height and stability for component placement, which is then removed after mounting is complete, allowing thin board design without compromising manufacturing feasibility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method enables reliable and simplified mounting of electronic components with reduced thickness, improved electrical connections, and enhanced heat dissipation, minimizing mechanical and thermal stresses, and facilitating the integration process.
Implementation Method 1
an adhesive layer is provided on the supporting layer for fixation of the electronic component
Implementation Method 2
the conducting layer adjoining the component is formed by a metallic foil, preferably a Cu foil
Implementation Method 3
at least regions of the conducting layer, which adjoins the component and is disposed on the supporting layer, with an insulating material
Data Source
AI summary
In a method for integrating at least one electronic component into a printed circuit board or a printed circuit board intermediate product, the following steps are provided: providing a layer for at least temporarily supporting the electronic component, fixing the electronic component on the layer, arranging a conductive layer on the supporting layer with at least one cutout corresponding to the dimensions of the electronic component to be fixed, at least partly encapsulating or covering the component fixed on the supporting layer with an insulating material, exposing the electronic component, and at least partial regions of the conductive layer, which adjoins the component and is arranged on the supporting layer, and at least partly making contact between the electronic component and the conductive layer adjoining the component. Furthermore, a printed circuit board and a printed circuit board intermediate product having an integrated electronic component are provided.