CA2345037A1

CA2345037A1 - Method for producing a microtransponder

Info

Publication number: CA2345037A1
Application number: CA002345037A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Andreas Plettner; Karl Haberger
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-10-07
Filing date: 1999-10-07
Publication date: 2000-04-13
Also published as: WO2000021028A1; EP0992939A1; AU6469499A; DE19846237A1; AU754163B2; KR20010078385A

Abstract

According to a method for producing a microtransponder, an antenna metallization having a first and a second connecting end is first applied to a support substrate so as to form a first module. A connecting metallization is applied to a flexible support foil, whereupon a circuit chip having a first and a second connecting area is applied to said con- necting metallization in such a way that at least the first connecting area of the circuit chip is connected to said con- necting metallization in an electrically conductive manner. The flexible support foil having the circuit chip applied thereto represents a second module. The first and the second module are subsequently joined in such a way that the con- necting metallization is connected to the first connecting end of the antenna metallization in an electrically conduc- tive manner and the second connecting area of the circuit chip is connected to the second connecting end of the antenna metallization in an electrically conductive manner. Finally, edge areas of the flexible support foil are joined to neighbouring areas of the support substrate so as to encapsu- late at least the circuit chip.

Description

Method for Producing a M:icrotransponder BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention The present invention re)_ates to a method for producing a mi-crotransponder, especially a microtransponder of the type l0 having a circuit chip which contains the transponder elec-tronics, and having in addition a coil metallization which acts as an antenna.
1'i Description of Prior Art Due to the development of contact-bearing and contactless chip cards, a completely new and rapidly growing market for electronic microsystems has come into existence. Integrated 20 circuits are nowadays i.n;stalled not only in large devices or manually held systems, but they are installed so to speak "naked" in chip cards. A consistent further development leads to the so-called "throw-away electronics", the first repre-sentative of which was the telephone card. More recent fields 2°_~ of use for this so-called "throw-away electronics" are elec-tronic labels which necessitate economy-priced chips or mi.-cromodules in economy-priced, ecologically acceptable sup-ports. The simplest case of an electronic label would be a contactless module embedded between two pieces of paper, the 3o contact module comprising an integrated circuit and an an-tenna coil.

Transponder modules for electronic labels are disclosed in the Patent Abstracts of Japan, publication number 0929?535A, relating to the Japanese application 08109052 and the Patent Abstracts of Japan, publication number 09293130A relating t:o ~> the Japanese application 08109051. In the case of the elec tronic labels describeca in the above-mentioned publications an integrated circuit chip together with an antenna are cast in a film-like resin. This film-like resin is then introduced into a metal mould where an outer resin is cast around the to film-like resin.
The Patent Abstracts of Japan, publication number 090198481A, relating to Japanese application 08005845 disclose an elec-tronic label in the case of which a circuit chip and a loop-1~~ type antenna are applied to a substrate, the outer end of the antenna being connected t:o a terminal on the integrated cir-cuit via a bridging metallization which is conducted over the windings of the antenna and which is separated from these windings by means of an insulating resin layer.
The Patents Abstracts of Japan, publication No. 08216573A, relating to Japanese application 0'1021785 describes a con-tactless IC card compri:>ing a circuit chip and an antenna section. The circuit chip is attached to a circuit section provided on a polyester film, the antenna section being formed on this polyester film as well. By means of an adhe-sive layer, a second polyester film, which embeds the circuit chip, is formed on the first polyester film. In addition, a third polyester film is applied to the surface of the second 3o polyester film by means of a further adhesive layer.
In DE 19639902 A1 contact.l.ess chip cards and methods of pro-ducing the same are described. The chip cards described in this publication comprise an electrically insulating, one-piece card body having one or a plurality of openings on one side thereof. Furthermore, a conductor pattern is provided on the surface of the card body, the conductors being directly applied to surface areas of the card body side provided with at least one opening, and the openings having arranged therein one or a plurality of chips which are bonded to at least one of the conductors.
to A survey of known methods of applying integrated circuit chips to a substrate, e.g. by means of a flip-chip method, is contained in H. Reichl, et al: Packaging-Trends: "High-Tech im Kleinstformat", Elektronik 12/1998 (or SMT Nurnberg 98, Conference Proceedings).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the prESSent invention to provide an econ~-omy-priced method, which permits the production of ultraflat microtransponders that are suitable to be used e.g. for elec-tronic labels.
This object is achieved by a method for producing a micro-transponder in the case of which an antenna metallization having a first and a second connecting end is first applied to a support substrate. Furthermore, a connecting metalliza-tion is applied to a flexible support foil, whereupon a cir-cuit chip having a first and a second connecting area is ap--3o plied to the connecting metallization in such a way that at.
least the first connecting area of the circuit chip is con-nected to the connecting metallization in an electrically conductive manner. The support substrate and the support foil are then joined in such .a way that the connecting metalliza-tion is connected to the first connecting end of the antenna metallization in an electrically conductive manner and the second connecting area c~f the circuit chip is connected to ~~ the second connecting end of the antenna metallization in an electrically conductive manner. Edge areas of the flexible support foil are then joined to neighbouring areas of the support substrate so as to encapsulate at least the circuit chip.

It follows that the present invention provides a method for producing a microtransponder in the case of which two modules are initially formed, wh:ic:h are joined in the last step. The first module comprises a support substrate, which may consist 15 e.g. of plastic material. or of paper and on which the antenna metallization, i.e. the coil, i.s formed. The second module comprises a thin support. substrate, which consists preferably of plastic material, and which has applied thereto one or more connecting metallizations and the circuit chip. These zo two modules are then joined in such a way that the contacts required for the electric connections between the coil and the circuit chip are rea:l.i.zed. The support foil is then used for encapsulating the circuit chip and optional further areas of the coil metallization and of the connecting metalliza-25 tions, respectively, by _joining edge areas of the support foil with neighbouring areas of the support substrate by means of welding or by means of an adhesive so that espe-cially the circuit chip c.an be protected against external in-fluences.
According to the present. invention, t:he two modules can first be processed separately from one another so that one module can be processed without taking into consideration the re-spective other module. The two modules can then be joined in such a way that, when they are being joined, all the neces-sary electric connections will be established. Through-contacts through the suf>port substrate, which are only re-'_~ quired in the case of some embodiments, have to be estab-lished in a separate step before or after the joining of the two modules. When the two modules have been joined, the thin support foil, which, on the one hand, serves to handle the circuit chip and the connecting metallization, is used in ac-to cordance with the present invention for encapsulating at least the circuit chip and preferably also the areas in which the connections between t:he connecting metallization and the antenna metallization are realized, by joining edge areas of this thin support foil to the support substrate by means of welding or by means of an adhesive. This encapsulation is carried out preferably i.n a vacuum or_ making use of a protec-tive gas so as to prevent. an inclusion of possibly detrimen-tal substances.
2o Embodiments and further developments of the present invention are defined in the dependent claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following, preferred embodiments of the present inven-tion will be explained in detail making reference to the drawings enclosed, in which respective identical elements are designated by identical reference numerals.
Fig. la) to le) show a schematic representation for illus-trating a first embodiment of the method according to the present invention;

Fig. 2a) to 2d) show a schematic representation for illus-trating a second embodiment of the method according to the present invention;
Fig. 3a) to 3e) show a schematic representation for illus-trating a third embodiment of the method according to the present. invention;
Fig. 4a) to 4e) show a schematic representation for illus-trating a fourth embodiment of the method according to the present invention;
Fig. 5a) to 5e) show a schematic representation for illus-trating a fifth embodiment of the method according to the present :invention;
Fig. 6a) to 6c) show a schematic representation for illus-trating a sixt=h embodiment of the method according to the present :invention;
Fig. 7a) to 7c) show a schematic representation for illus-trating a seventh embodiment of the method accord-ing to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
Making reference to Fig. 1, the first embodiment of the 3o method according to the present invention will now be ex-plained in detail. As has been stated above, two separate modules are first produced in the case of the method for pro-ducing a microtransponder <3ccording to the present invention.

The first module produced is shown in Fig. la) . In the case of this embodiment, a first connecting metallization 2 and a second connecting metallization 9 are first applied to a thin support foil 6, which consists preferably of plastic mate-s rial, so as to produce this first module, which can also be referred to as circuit chip module. Subsequently, a circuit chip 8 is applied to the connecting metallizations 2 and 9.
The circuit chip 8 comprises the integrated circuit required for the microtransponder and is provided with two connecting to areas on or in one main surface thereof; for operating the microtransponder, these connecting areas must be connected to respective connecting ends of a coil antenna metallization.
The circuit chip 8 is app:L:ied to the connecting metallizatiori 2 in such a way that the first connecting area thereof is 15 connected to the first connecting metallization 2 in an elec-trically conductive manner, whereas the second connecting area thereof is connected to the connecting metallization 4 in an electrically conductive manner. This results in the structural design of the i:irst module shown in Fig. la).
This first module is produced from extremely thin materials.
This is important in view of the fact that, when the micro-transponder has been finished, the circuit chip 8 with thc~
support foil 6 should not. perceptibly project beyond a sup-port substrate on which the coil met:allization is arranged.
The circuit chip and the foil preferably have a thickness of less than 50 Vim.
The connecting metallizations 2 and 4, which may consist e.g.
of A1, Cu and the like, can be applied to the foil by arbi-trary methods, e.g. by cladding and subsequent structuring, by evaporation or sputtering and subsequent structuring, or alternatively by evaporation or sputtering making use of a shadow mask so as to apply lines which are already struc-tured. The connecting metallizations may have a thickness of less than 1 dun, since th.e conductor tracks of the connecting metallizations can be implemented such that they are short and broad. When the connecting metallizations 2 and 9 have been finished, the circuit chip 8 is placed on the contact areas of the connecting metallizations and is connected thereto in an electrically conductive manner; this can be done e.g. by means of thermocompression, anisotropic conduc-1~~ tive adhesives or ultrasonic compression.
In Fig. lb) the second module is shown, which comprises a support substrate 10 and an antenna metallization 12 applied to a main surface of the suppart substrate 10. The support 1~5 substrate may consist e.<1. of plastic material or paper. The antenna metallization 12,, which has the form of a coil, can again be formed on the support substrate 10 by arbitrary known methods. The coil metallization can e.g. be formed by etching a cladding. Alternatively, a wire can be placed onto 2o the support substrate 10 such that a coil is formed. Accord-ing to another alternative, a metal, e.g. Cu, A1 and the like, can be applied to the support substrate 10 by evapora-tion and structured subsequently. In order to obtain an ade-quate thickness of the coil met.allization 12 the evaporated 2'. metallization can subsequently be thickened by means of an electroplating technique. As can additionally be seen in Fig.
lb), a local thin insulating layer 14 is produced, e.g. by means of a printing process, in an area of the coil metalli-zation 12. This local insulating layer is produced in an area 30 onto which the second c:onnecti.ng metallization 9 will be placed later on so as to prevent a short circuit between the second connecting metal:lization 4 and the coil metallization 12.

At this point reference should be made to the fact that, alternatively to the application of the insulating layer 14 to the coil metallization 12, this local insulating layer may also be formed on corre:~ponding areas of the first module, e.g. by means of a suitable printing process or by surface oxidation of the metalliz<ition. Since the lines of the first module are very thin in ~~~omparison with the antenna metalli.-zation, which may have a thickness of e.g. 4 to 30 )tm, it may to be more advantageous to form the insulating layer on the first module, which is shown in Fig. la). The insulating layer 19 can consist of an acrylic lacquer having a thickness of 0.2 to 2 )tm, this acrylic lacquer being then locally re-moved at the future contact points; this is done by means of a thermal process. If the local insulating layer is formed on the first module, this can be done prior to or subsequent to the application of the c.i.rcuit chip 8 to the, connecting met-allizations 2 and 4.
2o The first module and the second module are now joined in a subsequent step, as shown in Fig. lc). In so doing, the first connecting metallization 2 is connected to a first connecting end 16 of the antenna metallization 12 in an electrically conductive manner, whereas the second connecting metalliza-tion 9 is connected to a second connecting end 18 of the an-tenna metallization in an electrically conductive manner. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, an isoplanar contact is ob-tained in this way. As can be seen in Fig. ld) , the support foil 6 is then connected along its edges to the support sub-3o strate 10 in such a way that, in the embodiment shown, the circuit chip 8 as well as the connecting areas between the antenna metallization anc~ the connecting metallization are encapsulated. This can be achieved by bending the edges of the thin support foil 6 towards the support substrate 10 and by subsequently joining the foil areas 20 abutting on the support substrate 10 to the support substrate 10 by means of welding or by means of an adhesive, as can be seen in Fig.

5 ld). It follows that, ac,~ording to the present invention, a n encapsulation of the circuit chip and, in the case of the em-bodiment shown, of the connection points can be accomplished in a simple manner so as t.o provide protection against exter-nal influences. This connection process between the support 1( foil 6 and the support substrate 10 is preferably carried out in a vacuum.
A top view of the microtransponder produced by means of the above method is shown in Fig. le). In this top view, espe-1~~ cially the shape of the connecting metallizations 2 and 4 and the arrangement of the insulating layer 19 can be seen.
Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of a second embodi-ment of the production method according to the present inven-2o tion. The method shown in Fig. 2 corresponds essentially t:o the method described with reference to Fig. 1, the support substrate 10 having, however, provided therein an open-ing/recess 30 into which the circuit chip 8 is introduced when the first and second modules are being joined. The open-25 ing 30 can be formed in l~he support substrate 10 by means of arbitrary known methods. Since the support foil 6 and the thin connecting metallization 2 provided thereon are flexi-ble, the shape of the support foil 6 shown at 32 in Fig. 2c) is obtained. One advantage of this embodiment of the method 3o according to the present invention is that the opening 30 permits an improved protection of the circuit chip 8 and that, in addition, the circuit chip can be fixed more effec-tively. The edge areas of the support foil 6 are again joined to neighbouring areas of l.he support substrate 10 by means of an adhesive or by means of welding so as to achieve an encap-sulation of the circuit chip.
'i In Fig. 3 a third embodiment of the method according to the present invention is schematically shown. In Fig. 3a) the second module is shown,. which corresponds to the above-described second module. In Fig. 3b) the first module is shown, which also corresponds to the above-described first 1( module. Other than in the: case of the above-described embodi-ments, the first and the second module are now, however, joined in such a way that. the circuit chip 8 will be posi-tioned on the surface of the support substrate 10 which is located opposite the surface of the support substrate 10 hav-1~~ ing the antenna metallization 12 formed thereon, cf. Fig.
3c). It follows that in 'the third embodiment shown, an elec-trically conductive connection between the first and second connecting ends of the antenna metallization 12 and the fir~;t and second connecting metallizations 2 and 4 is not yet es-20 tablished simultaneously with the joining of the first and second modules. In order to realize this electrically conduc-tive connection, through-contacts 90 and 92, respectively, are established, cf. Fig. 3d). By means of the through-contact 42 an electrically conductive connection is estab-2~~ lished between the first connecting metallization 2 and the first connecting end 16 of the antenna metallization 12, whereas by means of the through-contact 90 an electrically conductive connection is a>stablished between the second con-necting metallization 4 and the second connecting end 18 of 3o the antenna metallization 12.
In order to establish the through-contacts, thermocompression methods can be used by way of example. Alternatively, the through-contacts can be produced by means of an ultrasonic compression, by means of welding or by means of soldering. Fn this respect, it should be pointed out that the through-contacts may already be produced when the tt~o modules have ~~ not yet been joined, i.e. in the stage of the second module which is shown in Fig. 3a), so that, when the two modules are being joined, the respective electrically conductive connec-tions between the through--contacts and the connecting metal-lizations will be produce=d. As can be seen in Fig. 3e), the to edge areas 20 of the support foil are again joined to neighbouring areas of the support substrate 10 by means of welding or by means of an adhesive, so as to encapsulate th.e circuit chip and, in the embodiment shown, additional areas.
15 The fourth embodiment of t=he method according to the present invention shown in Fig. 4 differs from the embodiment which has been described with respect to Fig. 3 insofar as the sur-face of the support substrate 10 located opposite the antenna metallization 12 has formed therein an opening 50 into which 2o the circuit chip 8 is ir~t~roduced when the first and second modules are being joined. As can be seen in Fig. 4c, this permits an isoplanarity of the connecting metallizations 2 and 4. As in the case of the embodiment according to Fig. 3, through-contacts 90, 92 .are again produced for establishing 25 an electrically conductive connection between the connecting metallizations 2 and 9 and the first and second connecting ends 16 and 18 of the antenna metallization 12. Furthermore, also according to the fourth embodiment, the edge areas 20 of the support foil 6 are joined t:o neighbouring areas of the 3o support substrate 10 by means of welding or by means of an adhesive so as to effect an encapsulation.

In the case of the method shown in Fig. 5, a circuit chip Ei0 is used, which is provided with a first connecting area on a first main surface thereof and with a second connecting area on a second main surface thereof. The first module shown in ~~ Fig. 5a) is now formed by applying a single connecting metal-lization 62 to a support foil 6. The circuit chip 60 is ap-plied to the connecting rnetallization 62, an electrically conductive connection being established between the connect-ing area of the circuit chip 60 and the connecting metalliza-tion 62 e.g. by means of conductive adhesives or by means of soldering.
Fig. 5b) shows the second module; for producing this second module, an antenna metall.ization 64 is first applied to a support substrate 10. As can be seen in Fig. 5b), the antenna metallization 64 has a preferably enlarged second connecting end 66, the circuit chip 60, whose lower surface may be pro-vided with a metallizat.i.on 68 thickening the connecting area, being applied to this second connecting end 66 when the first 2o and second modules are be,i.ng joined. As has already been ex-plained with reference to Fig. l, a local insulating layer 70 is formed on respective areas of the antenna metallization 64 also in the case of the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 so as to prevent later on a short circuit between the connecting met-allization 62 and the antenna metallization 69.
The first module is now ~~onnected to the second module, cf.
Fig. 5c), a contact between the metallization 68, i.e. the second connecting area on the lower surface of the circuit 3o chip 60, and the second connecting end of the antenna metal-lization 66 being established simultaneously, and an electri-cally conductive connection between the connecting metalliza-tion 62 and the first connecting end 72 of the antenna metal-lization 69 being established simultaneously. As can be seen in the detail representations shown in Fig. Sd), the edge ar-eas 20 of the support foil 6 are connected, i.e. joined by means of welding or by means of an adhesive, to corresponding 'S neighbouring areas of the support substrate 10 also in the case of this embodiment. Fig. 5e) shows a top view of the re-sultant microtransponder.
In the sixth embodiment of the method according to the pre-l0 sent invention, which is schematically shown in Fig. 6, a first module is again prepared, which essentially corre-sponds to the first module shown in Fig. 5. This first module is shown in Fig. 6b). The second module differs from the mod-ule described with reference to Fig. S insofar as an opening 1~~ 80 is formed in the main surface of the support substrate 1.0 facing away from the antenna metallization 64, Fig. 6a). As can be seen in Fig. 6c), the circuit chip 60 is introduced i.n this opening 80 when the two modules according to this em-bodiment are being joined" For establishing an electric con-20 tact between the connecting area, or the reinforcement 6f, arranged on the upper surface of the circuit chip and the second connecting end 66 of the antenna metallization 64, it is necessary to eliminate, preferably by means of a thermally supported method, the web 82 of the support substrate ar-25 ranged above the opening 80, so as to establish an electri-cally conductive connection between the connecting area ar-ranged on the upper sur-face of the circuit chip 60 and the second connecting end 6Ei of the antenna metallization 69.
Furthermore, a through-contact 84 is produced so as to estab-30 lish an electrically conductive connection between the con-necting metallization 62 and the first connecting end 72 of the antenna metallization 69. Also in the case of this em-bodiment, the edges of the support foil 6 are joined to the support substrate 10 by means of welding or by means of an adhesive so as to obtain an encapsulation.
Also in the embodiment which is schematically shown in Fig.
~~ 7, a circuit chip 60 with double-sided contacting is used.
Other than in the case of the method described with reference to Fig. 6, the support substrate 10 has now provided therein an opening 90 which extends through the whole support sub-strate 10 up to the second connecting end 66 of the coil met-ro allization 69. The rest of the method for producing the mi-crotransponder according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 7 corresponds essentially t:o the method which has been de-scribed with reference to Fig. 6, but the heat treatment for eliminating a web above the opening 90 can now be dispensed 1~~ with, since such a web does not exist. The other steps r~rre-spond to the steps which have been described with reference to Fig. 6.
It should be pointed out that the second connecting end 66 of the antenna metallization 69 may cover the circuit chip 60 completely or partially. Furthermore, the metallization 68 Gn the circuit chip 60 may cover the circuit chip completely or partially; a person skilled in the art will also be aware of the fact that, with the exception of the connecting area c>f 2~~ the circuit chip 60, a passivat:ion layer is arranged between the metallization 68 and the circuit chip 60.
It follows that the present invention provides a simple tech-nique for producing a microtransponder in the case of which the production of the antenna module and the production of the circuit chip module are completely separated. The circuit chip module can be implemented such that it is much thinner than the antenna module. Various production techniques can be used for producing the antenna module and for producing the circuit chip module. Due i.o the fact that the circuit chip .is encapsulated or that large areas thereof are covered by a metallization, good light protection can be achieved. The methods according to the present invention are preferably executed such that the individua:L modules are formed on an endless material and are then sequentially supplied to a processing station in which the modules are joined. The re-spective metallic layers may consist of a ferromagnetic mate-to rial so as to permit, if necessary, magnetic handling of the individual modules or of the finished microtransponder. For handling the thin circuit chip modu:Le, the circuit chip mod-ule may be supported by an additional support so as to stabi-lize it, whereby distortions or even rolling up due to inter-lp nal mechanical stress can be avoided. The encapsulation of the circuit chip and of additional optional areas is prefera-bly carried out in a vacuum or while a protective gas, e.g. a forming gas, is being supplied.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method for producing a microtransponder comprising the following steps:

applying an antenna metallization having a first and a second connecting end to a support substrate;

applying a connecting metallization to a flexible support foil;

a) applying a circuit chip having a first and a second connecting area to said connecting metallization in such a way that at least the first connecting area of the circuit chip is connected to the connecting metal-lization in an electrically conductive manner;

b) joining the support substrate and the support foil in such a way that the connecting metallization is con-nected to the first connecting end of the antenna met-allization in an electrically conductive manner, and that the second connecting area of the circuit chip is connected to the second connecting end of the antenna metallization in an electrically conductive manner; and c) joining edge areas of the flexible support foil to neighbouring areas of the support substrate so as to encapsulate at least the circuit chip.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the edge areas of the flexible support foil are welded to the neighbouring areas of the support substrate.

3. A method according too claim 1, wherein the edge areas of the flexible support foil are joined to the neighbouring areas of the support substrate by means of an adhesive.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein in step b) a first and a second connecting metallization are applied to the flexible support foil, and wherein in step c) the circuit chip, which is provided with said first and second con-necting areas on a first main surface thereof, is applied to said first and said second connecting metallizations in such a way that the first connecting area is connected to the first connecting metallization in an electrically conductive manner and the second connecting area is con-nected to the second connecting metallization in an elec-trically conductive manner, the second connecting area being, in step d), connected via the second connecting metallization to the second connecting end of the antenna metallization in electrically conductive manner.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the circuit chip applied in step c) has the first connecting area on a first main surface thereof and the second connecting area on a second main surface thereof, which is located oppo-site said first main surface.

6. A method according to claim 4, wherein in step d) the support foil and the support substrate are joined in such a way that the antenna metallization and the circuit chip are arranged on the same main surface of the support sub-strate.

7. A method according to claim 4, wherein the circuit chip is introduced in step d) in an opening in the support-substrate main surface to which the antenna metallization has been applied.

8. A method according to claim 6, wherein an insulator structure is provided so as to insulate the second con-necting metallization from the antenna metallization with the exception of the location at the second connecting end of the antenna metallization.

9. A method according to claim 9, wherein the support foil and the support substrate are joined in step d) in such a way that the antenna metallization and the circuit chip are arranged on opposed main surfaces of the support sub-strate, the first and second connecting metallizations being connected by means of through-contacts to the first and second connecting ends of the antenna metallization.

10.A method according to claim 4, wherein in step d) the circuit chip is introduced in an opening provided in the main surface of the support substrate which is located opposite the main surface having the antenna metalliza-tion applied thereto, the first and second connecting metallizations being connected by means of through-contacts to the first and second connecting ends of the antenna metallization.

11.A method according to claim 5, wherein the support foil and the support substrate are joined in step d) in such a way that the antenna metallization and the circuit chip are arranged on the same main surface of the support sub-strate.

12.A method according to claim 5, wherein in step d) the circuit chip is introduced into an opening provided in the main surface of the support substrate which is lo-cated opposite the main surface having the antenna metal-lization applied thereto, the connecting metallization being connected via a through-contact to the first con-necting end of the antenna metallization.

13.A method according to claim 1, wherein step e) is exe-cuted in a vacuum or making use of a protective gas.