ANTI-STATIC PART AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD

• US 20100188791A1
• Filed: 10/19/2007
• Published: 07/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Morino, Takashi, Tokunaga, Hideaki, Iseki, Takeshi, Nozoe, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 8,345,404 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/220
• CPC Class Codes: H01C 1/146 the resistive element surrounding the terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H01C 17/006 adapted for manufacturing resistor chips
• CPC Class Codes: H01C 17/02 adapted for manufacturing resistors with envelope or housing
• CPC Class Codes: H01C 7/1006 Thick film varistors
• CPC Class Codes: H01T 21/00 Apparatus or processes specially adapted for the manufacture or maintenance of spark gaps or sparking plugs
• CPC Class Codes: H01T 4/12 hermetically sealed

Abstract

A conductive layer containing gold as a main component is formed on the upper surface of an insulating base. A gap is formed on the conductive layer. A plurality of leader electrodes are formed to oppose one another via the gap. An excess voltage protection material layer is formed to cover some parts of the respective leader electrodes and the gap, so as to obtain an anti-static part. This method enables an accurate formation of a narrow gasp. Thus, it is possible to manufacture an anti-static part having a low peak voltage, stable suppression characteristic of electrostatic discharge (ESD), and a high sulfide resistance.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protector, comprising:

forming a conductive layer mainly made of gold on an upper surface of an insulating substrate;

forming a plurality of electrodes facing each other via a gap by forming the gap in the conductive layer; and

forming an overvoltage protective layer covering the gap and a portion of each of the plurality of electrodes.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said forming the plurality of electrodes comprises forming the gap in the conductive layer by a photolithography technique.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said forming the plurality of electrodes comprises forming the gap with laser.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising cleaning the gap with acidic solution.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conductive layer is made of gold-based organic paste.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising forming a protective resin layer completely covering the overvoltage protective layer.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising

forming an intermediate layer covering the overvoltage protective layer,

wherein said forming the protective resin layer comprises completely covering the intermediate layer and the overvoltage protective layer with the protective resin layer.

8. A method of manufacturing an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protector, comprising:

defining a first dividing line and a plurality of second dividing lines crossing in an upper surface of an insulating substrate, the plurality of second dividing lines crossing the first dividing line;

forming a conductive layer mainly made of gold on the upper surface of the insulating substrate;

forming a plurality of electrodes facing each other via a gap by forming the gap in the conductive layer;

forming an overvoltage protective layer covering the gap and a portion of each of the plurality of electrodes;

providing an insulating substrate strip by dividing the insulating substrate along the first dividing line; and

providing an insulating substrate piece by dividing the insulating substrate strip along the plurality of second dividing lines,

wherein said forming the conductive layer comprises forming the conductive layer on the upper surface of the insulating substrate so that the conductive layer crosses the first dividing line.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said forming the conductive layer comprises forming the conductive layer on the upper surface of the insulating substrate so that the conductive layer crosses the first dividing line and is located away from the second dividing lines.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein said forming the plurality of electrodes comprises:

forming the conductive layer by applying conductive paste on the upper surface of the insulating substrate;

applying a resist to the conductive layer;

forming a pattern in the resist by exposing the resist to light through a mask pattern, developing the resist, and removing an unnecessary portion of the resist;

after said forming the pattern in the resist, forming the gap by etching the conductive layer; and

after said forming the gap, removing the resist.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising forming a protective resin layer completely covering the overvoltage protective layer.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising

forming an intermediate layer covering the overvoltage protective layer,

wherein said forming the protective resin layer comprises completely covering the intermediate layer and the overvoltage protective layer with the protective resin layer.

13. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

forming an upper electrodes for covering a portion of one of the plurality of electrodes;

after said providing the insulating substrate strip, forming an edge electrode on an edge surface of the substrate strip, the edge electrode being connected electrically to the upper electrode and said one of the electrodes; and

after said providing the insulating substrate piece, forming a plated layer on the edge electrode.

14. The method according to claim 8, wherein

the insulating substrate further has a lower surface opposite to the upper surface of the insulating substrate,

said method further comprising forming an lower electrode on the lower surface of the insulating substrate, and

the lower electrode includes

a first portion facing one of the plurality of electrodes, the first portion crossing the plurality of second dividing lines, and

a second portion connected to the first portion, the second portion crossing the first dividing line, the second portion having a width narrower than a width of the first portion.

15. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protector, comprising:

an insulating substrate having a surface, the insulating substrate having a rectangular shape having a first long side, a second long side, a first short side, and a second short side;

a first electrode provided on the surface of the insulating substrate and extending along the first long side;

a second electrode provided on the surface of the insulating substrate and extending along the second long side, the second electrode facing the first electrode via a gap;

an overvoltage protective layer covering a portion of the first electrode, a portion of the second electrode, and the gap; and

a protective resin layer having a thickness equal to or larger than 20 μ

m, the protective resin layer completely covering the overvoltage protective layer.

16. The ESD protector according to claim 15, further comprising

an intermediate layer covering the overvoltage protective layer,

wherein the protective resin layer completely covers the intermediate layer and the overvoltage protective layer.

17. The ESD protector according to claim 15, wherein a thickness of the protective resin layer is equal to or larger than 35 μ

m.

18. The ESD protector according to claim 15, wherein a length L (mm) of each of the first long side and the second long side of the insulating substrate, and a length W (mm) of each of the first short side and the second short side of the insulating substrate satisfy a condition:

(L−

0.1)/(W−

0.1)≧

1.5.