Composite polymer-metal electrical contacts
First Claim
1. An array of composite polymer-metal contact members forming solder free electrical connections with a first circuit member, the contact members comprising:
- a resilient base layer comprising a continuous sheet of a liquid crystal polymer;
at least one polymeric dielectric layer selectively positioned on the polymeric base to form recesses corresponding to a desired circuit trace;
a conductive material deposited in at least a portion of the recesses comprising conductive traces surrounded on at least one side by the resilient base layer and on at least two sides by the polymeric dielectric layer, the conductive traces comprising exposed terminals that electrically couple to the first circuit member; and
the resilient polymeric base layer, the dielectric material, and the conductive traces comprising an aggregate spring constant maintaining distal portions of the contact members in a cantilevered configuration that flexes to form a stable, solder free electrical connection between the distal portions and the first circuit member solely by compressive engagement.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An array of composite polymer-metal contact members adapted to form solder free electrical connections with a first circuit member. The contact members include a resilient polymeric base layer and an array of metalized traces printed on selected portions of the base layer. Conductive plating is applied to the metalized layer to create an array of conductive paths. The resilient polymeric base layer, the metalized layer, and the conductive plating have an aggregate spring constant sufficient to maintain distal portions of the contact members in a cantilevered configuration and to form a stable electrical connection between the distal portions and the first circuit member solely by compressive engagement.
-
Citations
19 Claims
-
1. An array of composite polymer-metal contact members forming solder free electrical connections with a first circuit member, the contact members comprising:
-
a resilient base layer comprising a continuous sheet of a liquid crystal polymer; at least one polymeric dielectric layer selectively positioned on the polymeric base to form recesses corresponding to a desired circuit trace; a conductive material deposited in at least a portion of the recesses comprising conductive traces surrounded on at least one side by the resilient base layer and on at least two sides by the polymeric dielectric layer, the conductive traces comprising exposed terminals that electrically couple to the first circuit member; and the resilient polymeric base layer, the dielectric material, and the conductive traces comprising an aggregate spring constant maintaining distal portions of the contact members in a cantilevered configuration that flexes to form a stable, solder free electrical connection between the distal portions and the first circuit member solely by compressive engagement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method that forms an array of composite polymer-metal contact members forming a solder free electrical connections with a first circuit member, the method comprising:
-
selectively printing at least one polymeric dielectric layer on a polymeric base layer comprising a continuous sheet of a liquid crystal polymer to form recesses corresponding to the array of metalized traces; printing a conductive material in at least a portion of the recesses; plating an array of conductive paths on the array of metalized traces surrounded on at least one side by the polymeric base layer and on at least two sides by the polymeric dielectric layer, the resilient polymeric base layer, the metalized layer, and the conductive plating comprising an aggregate spring constant maintaining distal portions of the contact members in a cantilevered configuration; securing proximal portions of the contact members; and forming a stable electrical connection between the distal portions of the contact members and the first circuit member solely by flexing the contact member in response to compressive engagement. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
Specification