JP4613713B2 - Connected device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connection device.

  As a portable device is miniaturized, thinned, and enhanced in performance, as a connection device for electrically connecting two circuit boards (for example, between a flexible board and a printed board) in the body of the portable device. For connectors, there is a demand for downsizing, thinning, increasing the number of contacts that connect multiple connection terminals of the mating connector, which is the mating member, and narrowing the arrangement pitch of the contacts. A connector having a contact arrangement pitch of 0.5 mm is provided. In this type of connector, along with the narrowing of contacts, it is necessary not only to increase the accuracy of the arrangement pitch but also to increase the accuracy of the spacing between adjacent contacts.

Further, in recent years, a connection device having a plurality of contact portions respectively connected to spherical connection terminals arranged in a two-dimensional array on a counterpart member such as BGA (Ball Grid Array) or CSP (Chip Size Package). As shown in FIG. 10, a configuration is proposed in which a plurality of spiral contact portions 102 are arranged in a two-dimensional array on one surface side of a base portion 101 made of a glass epoxy insulating substrate ( For example, see Patent Document 1). Here, the contact portion 102 is made of copper and nickel. In addition, a through hole 101 b is provided in the base portion 101 so as to allow the contact portion 102 to be displaced in the thickness direction of the base portion 101. Note that, in Patent Document 1, when the arrangement pitch of the connection terminals of the counterpart member is 0.4 mm, the thickness of the base portion 101 is about 1 mm and the inner diameter of the through hole 101b is about 0.3 mm. Has been.
JP 2002-175859 A

  In the connection device having the configuration shown in FIG. 10, the contact portion 102 can be displaced in the thickness direction of the base portion 101, and a desired contact pressure is secured by the spring force of the contact portion 102. One end portion of the spiral contact portion 102 is continuously and integrally connected to an annular frame portion 103 formed on the periphery of the through hole 101b on the one surface side of the base portion 101, while the other end portion is a free end. Since stress concentrates in the vicinity of the one end of the contact portion 102 at the time of connection with the counterpart member, due to variations in the protruding height of the protruding connection terminal such as a spherical connection terminal, The contact portion 102 having a large displacement amount was easily broken. In addition, it is conceivable to provide two contact portions 102 for each through-hole 1010b in a plane orthogonal to the thickness direction of the base portion 101. However, when stress is applied to one of the two contact portions 102 in a biased manner. In addition, the contact portion 102 to which a larger stress was applied was easily broken near the one end portion.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above reasons, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connection device that is less likely to be damaged due to variations in the protruding heights of the protruding connection terminals of the counterpart member as compared with the related art. There is.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a base portion provided with an insertion portion into which the connection terminal is inserted into each portion corresponding to each of the plurality of protruding connection terminals of the counterpart member, and inside each insertion portion of the base portion The movable body portion provided with the contact portion that is arranged away from the base portion and that contacts and separates the connection terminal is connected to the base portion and the movable body portion so that the movable body portion can be displaced in the thickness direction of the base portion. At least two support spring portions are provided, and the base portion, each support spring portion, and each movable body portion are integrally formed using a semiconductor substrate .

According to this invention, in a state where the protruding connection terminal of the mating member is in elastic contact with the contact portion, stress is applied to each support spring portion connecting the movable body portion provided with the contact portion and the base portion. Therefore, each support spring part is less likely to break due to variations in the protruding height of the protruding connection terminal of the mating member. Damage due to variations in the thickness is less likely to occur . In addition, according to the present invention, each insertion portion and each support spring portion and each movable body portion of the base portion can be formed by a general semiconductor micromachining process. Narrow pitch becomes possible.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the support spring portion is formed in a meandering shape in plan view.

  According to this invention, the total length of the support spring portion can be increased without increasing the size of the insertion portion.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the support spring portion is formed in a spiral shape in plan view.

  According to this invention, the total length of the support spring portion can be increased without increasing the size of the insertion portion.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third aspects of the present invention, the support spring portion has a thickness dimension of the end portion on the base portion side compared to a thickness dimension of the end portion on the movable body portion side. It is characterized by being set to be large.

  According to this invention, it can prevent more reliably that each said support spring part is fractured | ruptured near the edge part by the side of the said base part where stress concentrates in each said support spring part.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in each of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, each of the support springs is positioned such that the end on the movable body side is ahead of the end on the base side. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to further reduce the thickness of the base portion.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, each of the supporting spring portions is formed by forming a chamfered portion between both side surfaces and a rear surface in the width direction.

  According to this invention, compared with the case where chamfered portions are not formed between both side surfaces and the rear surface in the width direction of each support spring portion, the stress concentration of each support spring portion can be relaxed, It is possible to prevent the support springs from being broken due to stress concentration.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the damage due to the variation in the protruding height of the protruding connection terminal of the mating member is less likely to occur than in the conventional case.

(Embodiment 1)
In this embodiment, the connector which can be utilized for the electrical connection between circuit boards is illustrated as a connection apparatus.

  A connector A of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a printed circuit board 30 as shown in FIG. 2, and is a connector (hereinafter referred to as a counterpart connector) mounted on a flexible board 40 as shown in FIG. Electrically connected to B.

  Here, the mating connector B includes a rectangular plate-like connector body 21 formed using a first semiconductor substrate made of a first silicon substrate, and a predetermined arrangement pitch (for example, on one surface of the connector body 21). A plurality of (for example, 100) protruding (here, spherical) connection terminals 23 arranged in a matrix (two-dimensional array) in a matrix shape (500 μm) on the one surface of the connector body 21 The metal wiring 24 connected to each connection terminal 23 can be electrically connected to a conductor pattern (not shown) of the flexible substrate 40 through a through wiring (not shown) penetrating in the thickness direction of the connector body 21. It has become.

  The connector A includes a base portion 11 provided with a rectangular insertion portion 11a into which the connection terminal 23 is inserted at each portion corresponding to each connection terminal 23 of the mating connector B, and each insertion portion 11a of the base portion 11. Is movable away from the base part 11 and provided with a contact part 14 to which the connection terminal 23 contacts and separates, and the base part 11 is movable inside the insertion part 11a of the base part 11 respectively. Four support spring portions 12 are provided which are connected to the body portion 13 so that the movable body portion 13 can be displaced in the thickness direction of the base portion 11. Here, the contact portion 14 is a conductive layer (for example, a metal film or the like) laminated on the movable body portion 13 on the front side which is a surface facing the mating connector B in the base portion 11 (upper surface in FIG. 1B). However, the contact portion 14 is not only the movable body portion 13 but also the support spring portions 12 connected to the movable body portion 13 and the periphery of the insertion portion 11a where the movable body portion 13 is disposed. It is layered over the part. The plurality of connection terminals 23 of the mating connector B and the plurality of contact portions 14 of the connector A correspond one-to-one.

  Here, the four support spring portions 12 provided in the respective insertion portions 11 a of the base portion 11 are continuously and integrally connected to the end portion on the side continuously connected to the base portion 11 and the movable body portion 13. The shape in plan view of the portion between the end portion on the side is formed in a meandering shape (a folded shape that is bent a plurality of times in a plane parallel to the front surface of the base portion 11). The movable body portion 13 is supported so that the movable body portion 13 can be displaced in the thickness direction of the base portion 11 in each of the 11a. In short, each support spring portion 12 has an end on the movable body portion 13 side that can be displaced in the thickness direction of the base portion 11, and the connection terminal 23 and the contact portion 14 are connected by the spring force of each support spring portion 12. Elastic contact is possible. Here, the four support spring portions 12 in the insertion portion 11 a are formed to be rotationally symmetric with respect to the center of the insertion portion 11 a in a plane parallel to the front surface of the base portion 11. Each support spring portion 12 has a thickness dimension (vertical direction dimension in FIG. 1B) set larger than the width dimension, and the thickness dimension is smaller than the thickness dimension of the base portion 11. It is set. In addition, each insertion part 11a in this embodiment is open on both surfaces in the thickness direction of the base 11 (upper surface and lower surface in FIG. 1B), but at least a front surface that is a surface facing the mating connector B is provided. It only needs to be open.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the base part 11, the support spring parts 12, and the movable body parts 13 in the connector A are the second semiconductor substrate 10 (see FIG. 5A) made of the second silicon substrate. It is formed using. In addition, the connector A includes a through-wiring 16 in which a portion of the contact portion 14 formed over the entire circumference of the peripheral portion of the insertion portion 11 a on the front surface of the base portion 11 extends in the thickness direction of the base portion 11. Are electrically connected to the external connection electrodes 17 on the rear surface of the base portion 11 (the lower surface in FIG. 1B), and each external connection electrode 17 is printed via a solder ball 18 as shown in FIG. It can be electrically connected to the conductor pattern 33 of the substrate 30. In addition, the contact part 14 should just be provided in the movable body part 13 at least, and wiring (metal wiring, diffusion layer wiring, etc.) which electrically connects both between the contact part 14 and the penetration wiring 16 is interposed. Also good.

  When each connection terminal 23 of the mating connector B is electrically connected to each contact portion 14 of the connector A, as shown in FIG. 4A, the connector A and the flexible substrate 40 mounted on the printed circuit board 30 are used. The mating connector B may be brought close to the connector A as shown in FIG. Here, in the connector A, the four support spring portions 12 supporting the movable body portion 13 provided in each insertion portion 11a are deformed so that the movable body portion 13 is in the thickness direction of the base portion 11 (that is, the connection terminal). 23 can be displaced in the direction of insertion 23), so that variations in the protruding height of the spherical connection terminal 23, inclination of the connection terminal 23, and the like can be allowed, and a desired contact pressure can be satisfied. It becomes. In addition, the lock mechanism for maintaining the electrical connection state of the connector A and the mating connector B includes, for example, the body of a device (for example, a portable device) that houses the printed circuit board 30 and the flexible circuit board 40, It may be provided on the substrates 30 and 40, but may be provided on each connector A and B.

  Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the connector A will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

  First, after an insulating film 51 made of a silicon oxide film is formed on the entire back surface side (the lower surface side in FIG. 5A) of the second semiconductor substrate 10, an insulating film is formed by using a photolithography technique and an etching technique. 51, by patterning the insulating film 51 so that the portion corresponding to the base portion 11 remains and the portion corresponding to each insertion portion 11a and the portion corresponding to the through hole for each through wiring 16 are removed. The structure shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, using the patterned insulating film 51 as a mask, the second semiconductor substrate 10 is formed to a predetermined depth from the back side (here, the thickness of the portion corresponding to each support spring portion 12 in the second semiconductor substrate 10 is each support). Etching to the depth of the thickness of the spring portion 12) to form a recess 11b that becomes a part of each insertion portion 11a and a bottomed hole (not shown) that becomes a part of each through hole. Thus, the structure shown in FIG. Here, in the etching for forming the recess 11b and the bottomed hole, an alkaline solution was used by using a dry etching apparatus capable of vertical deep digging (for example, an inductively coupled plasma type dry etching apparatus). Compared with the case where anisotropic etching is performed, the arrangement pitch of the recesses 11b can be shortened, and the planar size of the base portion 11 can be reduced.

  After forming the plurality of recesses 11b and the plurality of bottomed holes in the second semiconductor substrate 10 as described above, the insulating film 51 on the back surface side of the second semiconductor substrate 10 is removed, and then the second semiconductor An insulating film 52 made of a silicon oxide film is formed on the entire main surface side (the upper surface side in FIG. 5B) of the substrate 10, and then, using the photolithography technique and the etching technique, By patterning the insulating film 52 so that the portions corresponding to the base portion 11, the respective support spring portions 12, and the movable body portions 13 remain and the portions corresponding to the respective through holes are removed, FIG. The structure shown in c) is obtained.

  Next, using the patterned insulating film 52 as a mask, the second semiconductor substrate 10 is etched from the main surface side to form the insertion portion 11a, each leaf spring portion 12, each movable body portion 13, and each through hole. Thus, the structure shown in FIG. In this etching, a dry etching apparatus capable of vertical deep digging (for example, an inductively coupled plasma type dry etching apparatus) is used.

  Thereafter, the structure shown in FIG. 5E is obtained by etching away the insulating film 52 on the main surface side of the second semiconductor substrate 10, and then a metal mask is used on the main surface side of the second semiconductor substrate 10. Thus, the structure shown in FIG. 5F is obtained by forming each contact portion 14. Thereafter, the through wiring 16 is formed, the external connection electrode 17 is formed on the back surface side of the second semiconductor substrate 10, and then the second semiconductor substrate 10 is separated into individual chips (connectors A) by a dicing process. That's fine.

  The connector A of the present embodiment described above includes the movable body portion 13 provided with the contact portion 14 in a state where the protruding connection terminal 23 of the counterpart connector B which is a counterpart member is in elastic contact with the contact portion 14. Since stress is applied to each support spring portion 12 connecting the base portion 11, this is caused by variation in the protruding height of the connection terminal 23 from the surface of the connector body 21 of the mating connector B facing the base portion 11. Since the support spring portions 12 are not easily broken, damage due to variations in the protruding heights of the protruding connection terminals 23 of the mating connector B is less likely to occur than in the past. Here, since the plan view shape of each support spring portion 12 (the shape seen from the front of the base portion 11) is formed in a meandering shape, the entire length of the support spring portion 12 without increasing the size of the insertion portion 11a. Can be lengthened.

  In the connector A of the present embodiment, four support spring portions 12 are provided in each insertion portion 11a, and the four support spring portions 12 in the insertion portion 11a are in a plane parallel to the front surface of the base portion 11. Is formed so as to be rotationally symmetric with respect to the center of the insertion portion 11a, so that the movable body portion 13 is not inclined with respect to the front surface of the base portion 11 when connected to the mating connector B. Since the variation in stress applied to each support spring portion 12 can be reduced, breakage of each support spring portion 12 can be prevented more reliably.

  By the way, in the connection apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. 10, in the step of forming the through holes 101b in the insulating substrate that is the basis of the base portion 101, each through hole 101b is individually formed by drilling. It is difficult to increase the accuracy of the arrangement pitch of 101b and the interval between the through holes 101b, and it is difficult to further reduce the pitch of the through holes 101b, and it is difficult to further reduce the size of the entire connecting device. Further, in the connection device having the configuration shown in FIG. 10, since the base portion 101 and the contact portion 102 are formed of different materials, the relationship of alignment accuracy between the through hole 101 b of the base portion 101 and the contact portion 102. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the pitch of the through holes 101b and the contact portions 102, and it is difficult to further reduce the size of the entire connection device.

  On the other hand, in the connector A of the present embodiment, each one movable body portion 13 and each four support spring portions 12 provided in each insertion portion 11 a of the base portion 11 are provided together with the base portion 11. The second semiconductor substrate 10 is used to integrally form the base portion 11, and the insertion portions 11a, the movable body portions 13 and the support spring portions 12 of the base portion 11 are formed by a general semiconductor micromachining process. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the thickness, size, and pitch as compared with the conventional case. Here, in the connector A of the present embodiment, a desired contact pressure between the connection terminal 23 and the contact portion 14 can be ensured by the spring force of each support spring portion 12 formed of silicon. The contact pressure between the connection terminal 23 and the contact portion 14 is increased as compared with the conventional structure in which the contact pressure is ensured only by the spring force of the contact portion 102 made of a metal film in which a copper film and a nickel film are laminated. be able to. Nickel has a Young's modulus of 204 GPa and a breaking strength of 58 MPa, whereas silicon has a Young's modulus of 169 GPa and a breaking strength of 2000 MPa. The connector A of the present embodiment is in contact with the conventional example. The structure for securing pressure is not easily destroyed.

(Embodiment 2)
The basic configuration of the connector A exemplified as a connection device in the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, each insertion portion 11a of the base portion 11 is rectangular, and the inner side of each insertion portion 11a. As shown in FIG. 6, each insertion portion 11a of the base portion 11 has a circular shape, whereas the movable body portion 13 arranged on the base portion 11 is supported by the base portion 11 via the four support spring portions 12. There is a difference in that the movable body portion 13 arranged inside each insertion portion 11a is supported by the base portion 11 via the two support spring portions 12. In the first embodiment, the planar view shape of each support spring portion 12 is formed in a meandering shape, whereas in the present embodiment, the planar view shape of each support spring portion 12 is a spiral shape. The difference is that it is formed. Here, the two support spring portions 12 in the insertion portion 11 a are formed to be rotationally symmetric with respect to the center of the insertion portion 11 a in a plane parallel to the front surface of the base portion 11. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component similar to Embodiment 1, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Thus, in the connector A of the present embodiment as well, as in the first embodiment, each support caused by the variation in the protruding height of the connection terminal 23 from the surface of the connector body 21 of the mating connector B facing the base portion 11. Since the spring portion 12 is less likely to break, the damage due to the variation in the protruding height of the protruding connection terminal 23 of the mating connector B is less likely to occur than in the prior art. Moreover, since the planar view shape of each support spring part 12 is formed in the spiral shape, the full length of the support spring part 12 can be lengthened, without enlarging the size of the insertion part 11a.

(Embodiment 3)
The basic configuration of the connector A exemplified as the connection device in the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 7, the end portion on the base portion 11 side with respect to the thickness dimension of each support spring portion 12 The metal wiring electrically connected to each contact part 14 on the front surface of the base part 11 is set to be larger than the thickness dimension of the end part on the movable body part 13 side. The difference is that 15 extends to the periphery of the base portion 11. Here, in the connector A, the front surface of the base portion 11 and the front surface of each support spring portion 12 are substantially flush with each other in a state where the connection terminal 23 of the mating connector B is not in contact with the contact portion 14. The thickness dimension of each support spring portion 12 gradually increases as it approaches the base portion 11. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component similar to Embodiment 1, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Thus, in the connector A of the present embodiment, compared to the case where the thickness dimension of each support spring portion 12 is constant as in the first embodiment, the stress on the base portion 11 side where stress is concentrated in each support spring portion 12. It can prevent more reliably that each support spring part 12 fractures | ruptures near an edge part. Moreover, in the connector A of this embodiment, since it is necessary to route each metal wiring 15 in the front side of the base part 11, the planar size of the connector A will become large compared with Embodiment 1, The step of forming the through-wiring 16 described above is not necessary, and if the metal wiring 15 is made of the same material as that of the contact portion 14, each metal wiring 15 can be formed simultaneously with the contact portion 14. Can be simplified. For each support spring portion 12 in Embodiments 1 and 2, if the thickness dimension of the end portion on the base portion 11 side is set larger than the thickness dimension of the end portion on the movable body portion 13 side, each support spring portion 12 is supported. It can prevent more reliably that each support spring part 12 is fractured | ruptured in the spring part 12 near the edge part by the side of the base part 11 where stress concentrates.

(Embodiment 4)
The basic configuration of the connector A exemplified as the connection device in the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the third embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 8, the thickness dimension of each support spring portion 12 along the thickness direction of the base portion 11. Is different, and the end on the movable body 13 side of each support spring portion 12 is different from the end on the base portion 11 side. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component similar to Embodiment 3, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Thus, in the connector A of the present embodiment, the end of each support spring portion 12 on the movable body portion 13 side is the base portion 11 in a state where the mating connector B (see FIGS. 3 and 4) is not connected. Since it protrudes forward, even if the thickness dimension of the base portion 11 is made smaller than that of the third embodiment, the displacement amount of each support spring 12 in the thickness direction of the base portion 11 when the mating connector B is connected is reduced. Since the base portion 11 can be made thinner than the third embodiment, the contact portion 14 of the connector A and the connection terminal 23 of the mating connector B are electrically connected to each other. The distance between the printed board 30 (see FIG. 4) and the flexible board 40 (see FIG. 4) can be further shortened.

(Embodiment 5)
The basic configuration of the connector A exemplified as a connection device in the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 9, both side surfaces 12b and 12b in the width direction of each support spring portion 12 and the rear surface 12c. The only difference is that chamfered portions 12d and 12d are formed between the two. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component similar to Embodiment 1, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Therefore, in the connector A of the present embodiment, the stress concentration of each support spring portion 12 can be reduced as compared with the first embodiment, and breakage of each support spring portion 12 due to the stress concentration can be prevented.

  Needless to say, the chamfered portions 12d may also be provided in the first to fourth embodiments. Further, if a chamfered portion is formed between each side surface 12b, 12b in the width direction of each support spring portion 12 and the front surface, the stress concentration of each support spring portion 12 is further relaxed, and each support spring due to stress concentration is reduced. Breakage of the portion 12 can be prevented more reliably.

  In each of the above embodiments, the connector A used for electrical connection between circuit boards is illustrated as the connection device. However, the connection device is not limited to the connector used for electrical connection between circuit boards. The counterpart member of the apparatus is not limited to the counterpart connector B, and may be, for example, a BGA, a CSP, a bare chip, or the like.

The connector in Embodiment 1 is shown, (a) is a schematic plan view, (b) is C-C 'schematic sectional drawing of (a). The connector in the same as above is shown, (a) is a schematic perspective view in a state where it is surface-mounted on a printed circuit board, and (b) is an enlarged view of a main part of (a). The other party connector in the same as the above is shown, (a) is a schematic perspective view in a state where it is surface-mounted on a flexible substrate, and (b) is an enlarged view of a main part of (a). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing same as the above. It is principal process sectional drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the connector in the same as the above. The connector in Embodiment 2 is shown, (a) is a schematic plan view, (b) is C-C 'schematic sectional drawing of (a). The connector in Embodiment 3 is shown, (a) is a schematic plan view, (b) is C-C 'schematic sectional drawing of (a). The connector in Embodiment 4 is shown, (a) is a schematic plan view, (b) is C-C 'schematic sectional drawing of (a). The connector in Embodiment 5 is shown, (a) is a schematic plan view, (b) is C-C 'schematic sectional drawing of (a). A prior art example is shown, (a) is a schematic plan view, and (b) is a C-C 'sectional view of (a).

Explanation of symbols

A connector 11 base portion 11a insertion portion 12 support spring portion 13 movable body portion 14 contact portion 16 through wiring 17 external connection electrode

Claims (6)

A base part provided with an insertion part into which a connection terminal is inserted into each part corresponding to each of a plurality of projecting connection terminals of the counterpart member, and arranged away from the base part inside each insertion part of the base part And at least two support springs that connect the movable body portion provided with the contact portion to which the connection terminal contacts and separates, and the base portion and the movable body portion so that the movable body portion can be displaced in the thickness direction of the base portion. And a base part, each support spring part, and each movable body part are integrally formed using a semiconductor substrate .   The connection device according to claim 1, wherein the support spring portion is formed in a meandering shape in plan view.   The connection device according to claim 1, wherein the support spring portion is formed in a spiral shape in plan view.   4. The support spring portion, wherein a thickness dimension of an end portion on the base portion side is set larger than a thickness dimension of an end portion on the movable body portion side. The connection apparatus in any one of.   5. The support spring portion according to claim 1, wherein an end portion on the movable body portion side is located forward of an end portion on the base portion side. 6. Connected device. The connecting device according to claim 1, wherein each of the support spring portions is formed with a chamfered portion between both side surfaces and a rear surface in the width direction .

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