Process for producing a contact-making device

• US 20020184759A1
• Filed: 08/06/2002
• Published: 12/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Wimmer, Anton
• Granted Patent: US 6,948,242 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 29/884
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/7082 Coupling device supported only by cooperation with PCB
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/714 with contacts abutting directly the printed circuit; Button contacts therefore provided on the printed circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 43/007 for elastomeric connecting elements
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/326 the printed circuit having integral resilient or deformable parts, e.g. tabs or parts of flexible circuits H05K3/365 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 Conductor or circuit manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49126 Assembling bases
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49165 by forming conductive walled aperture in base
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49204 Contact or terminal manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49208 by assembling plural parts
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49213 Metal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4922 with molding of insulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49222 forming array of contacts or terminals

Abstract

A process for producing a contact-making device is provided for making electrical contact between components, which includes the step of producing an electrical zero-insertion-force connector which further includes the step of forming an elastic dielectric with at least two elastic dielectric layers and at least one structured metal layer disposed between the two elastic dielectric layers. The elastic dielectric has an upper side and an underside being the upper side and the underside, respectively, of the zero-insertion-force connector. The process also includes the step of structuring the elastic dielectric, forming a number of contact points on the upper side and the underside of the zero-insertion-force connector; and forming a number of electrically conducting connections in and through the elastic dielectric such that the electrically conducting connections connect a number of the contact points to one another.

Claims

1. A process for producing a contact-making device for making electrical contact between components, which comprises the step of:

producing an electrical zero-insertion-force connector including the steps of;

forming an elastic dielectric with at least two elastic dielectric layers and at least one structured metal layer disposed between the at least two elastic dielectric layers, the elastic dielectric having an upper side and an underside being the upper side and the underside, respectively, of the zero-insertion-force connector;

structuring the elastic dielectric;

forming a number of contact points on the upper side and the underside of the zero-insertion-force connector; and

forming a number of electrically conducting connections in and through the elastic dielectric such that the electrically conducting connections connect a number of the contact points to one another.

2. The process according to claim 1, which comprises applying the metal layer to the upper side and to the underside of the layer of the elastic dielectric.

3. The process according to claim 1, which comprises:

structuring a further layer of the elastic dielectric;

forming additional ones of the electrically conducting connections in and through the further layer; and

placing the further layer and the layer such that the electrically conducting connections are connected to one another such that the contact points on the upper side are connected in an electrically conducting manner to the contact points on the underside.

4. The process according to claim 3, which comprises applying the metal layer to both sides of the layer and the further layer of the elastic dielectric, and the metal layers are connected to one another by making contacts being electrolytically made between the metal layers.

5. The process according to claim 1, which comprises forming the electrically conducting connections as micro-vias.

6. The process according to claim 1, which comprises providing at least one layer of a photolithographic film on at least one of the upper side and the underside of the electrical zero-insertion-force connector.

7. The process according to claim 1, which comprises forming an area for the electrically conducting connections by structuring at least one of the elastic dielectric, the metal layer, and the photolithographic film.

8. The process according to claim 1, which comprises forming at least one of the contact points and the metal layer by electro-depositing a metal.

9. The process according to claim 7, which comprises forming the electrically conducting connections by an electrolytical production process.

11. The process according to claim 1, which comprises providing at least two layers of the elastic dielectric with the electrically conducting layer on at least one of the upper side and the underside, and individual ones of the layers of the elastic dielectric are connected to one another after the structuring step to produce the electrical zero-insertion-force connector.

12. The process according to claim 1, which comprises coating at least one of the upper side and the underside of the elastic dielectric with at least one photolithographic film.

13. The process according to claim 1, which comprises performing the structuring step by at least one of laser structuring, photo-structuring, and etching-structuring.

14. The process according to claim 1, which comprises building up the contact points electrolytically on the upper side and the underside of the electrical zero-insertion-force connector.

15. The process according to claim 1, which comprises coating the contact points with a metal layer.

16. The process according to claim 11, which comprises making contacts via an electrolytical process between the two dielectric layers through the electrically conducting layer to form the electrical zero-insertion-force connector.

10. A process for producing a contact-making device for making contact between electrical components and lead-frames, which comprises the steps of:

producing an electrical zero-insertion-force connector having at least one layer of an elastic dielectric coated on at least one of an upper side and an underside with an electrically conducting layer;

structuring the elastic dielectric and the electrically conducting layer to form an area for a number of electrically conducting connections;

forming the electrically conducting connections in the electrical zero-insertion-force connector; and

applying a number of contact points to an upper side and an underside of the electrical zero-insertion-force connector, the contact points being connected to one another through the electrically conducting connections.