Method of trimming film type antennas

• US 6,133,834 A
• Filed: 03/07/1998
• Issued: 10/17/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments Deutschland Gesellschaft Mit Beschrã¤Nkter Haftung (Texas Instruments, Inc.)
• Inventors: Baumann, Adolf, Hoffmann, Johann, Brenninger, Heiner, Ecker, Christian, Eberth, Gerhard, Lichtenegger, Alfons, Ramin, Wolfgang, Aslanidis, Konstantin
• Primary Examiner(s): MULLEN, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US09/036,489
• Time in Patent Office: 955 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.7, 340/572.5, 29/593, 235/492, 235/494, 343/700 MS, 428/209
• US Class Current: 340/572.5
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0726 the arrangement including a circuit for tuning the resonance frequency of an antenna on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07779 the inductive antenna being a coil
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07783 the coil being planar
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2225 used in active tags, i.e. provided with its own power source or in passive tags, i.e. deriving power from RF signal
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/005 with variable reactance for tuning the antenna
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49004 including measuring or testing of device or component part

Abstract

A method of tuning the resonance frequency of a transponder to a target frequency is described, wherein a transponder comprises a film antenna with an IC (IC) mounted to the film antenna (L) and an integrated resonance capacitor (C) is part of a IC. During testing of IC at chip probe to determine the pass/fail of the IC, the integrated resonance capacitor (C) is measured and the value is stored with the pass/fail data of the wafer map. Then after mounting a passed IC (IC) to a film antenna (L) with variable inductance, retrieve the integrated resonance capacitance value from the wafer map and calculate the amount of inductance necessary to achieve the target frequency. Tune the film antenna (L) to achieve the necessary inductance, measure the transponder resonance frequency, and compare the transponder resonance frequency to the target frequency.

Claims

1. A method of tuning the resonance frequency of a transponder to a target frequency, comprising the steps of:

testing a transponder for oscillation, wherein said transponder comprises a film resonance inductor and a resonance capacitor on film with an IC mounted to said film;

tuning either said capacitor or said inductor if said transponder does not oscillate;

measuring said resonance frequency;

comparing said measured resonance frequency to said target frequency;

repeating said tuning and said measuring until said target frequency is achieved.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said capacitor or inductor start out at a maximum value.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said tuning comprises the step of reducing the inductance or capacitance.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said capacitor comprises two conductive plates on two opposite sides of the film.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said tuning comprises the step of removing a portion of one or both plates of said film capacitor.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said removing is effected by a laser.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein said removing is effected by punching a hole through both said capacitor plates and said film thereby reducing the active capacitive area.

8. A method of tuning the resonance frequency of a transponder to a target frequency, comprising the steps of:

providing a transponder wherein said transponder comprises a film antenna with an IC mounted to said film antenna and an integrated resonance capacitor is part of said IC;

testing and measuring said IC while said IC is disposed on a wafer with at least one other IC to determine which ICs pass or fail said testing and to create a wafer map indicating which of said ICs disposed on said wafer have passed said testing and which of said ICs have failed said testing and to measure said integrated resonance capacitor of said ICs;

storing said integrated resonance capacitance value associated with a particular IC with the data of said wafer map associated with said particular IC;

mounting an IC which has passed said testing to a film antenna with variable inductance;

retrieving said integrated resonance capacitance value associated with said IC which has passed said testing and calculating the amount of inductance necessary to achieve the target frequency in dependence upon said resonance capacitance value;

tuning said film antenna to achieve the necessary inductance;

measuring the transponder resonance frequency;

comparing said transponder resonance frequency to said target frequency and rejecting said transponder if said transponder resonance frequency is not said target frequency.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said inductance is at a maximum at the start of tuning.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein said tuning said film antenna comprises the step of reducing the amount of inductance.

11. A method of tuning the resonance frequency of a transponder to a target frequency, wherein said transponder comprises a film antenna with an IC mounted to said film antenna and an integrated resonance capacitor is part of said IC, comprising the steps of:

testing and measuring said IC to determine whether the IC passes or fails said testing and to measure said integrated resonance capacitor of said IC;

storing said integrated resonance capacitance value of said IC into a non-volatile memory of said IC;

mounting an IC which has passed said tests to a film antenna with variable inductance;

activating said transponder comprising said IC which has passed said testing to retrieve said resonance capacitance value from said non-volatile memory of said IC;

calculating the amount of inductance necessary to achieve the target frequency in dependence upon said resonance capacitance value;

tuning said film antenna to achieve the necessary inductance;

measuring the transponder resonance frequency;

comparing said transponder resonance frequency to said target frequency and rejecting said transponder if said transponder resonance frequency is not said target frequency.