JP5637004B2 - Semiconductor integrated circuit module, wireless communication module, and wireless communication device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit module, a wireless communication module, and a wireless communication device, and more particularly, to a wireless communication module and a wireless communication device used in an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system.

  In recent years, as an information management system for articles, a reader / writer that generates an induced magnetic field and an RFID tag (also referred to as a wireless communication device) attached to the article are communicated in a non-contact manner using an electromagnetic field, and predetermined information is transmitted. An RFID system for transmission has been put into practical use. The RFID tag includes a wireless IC that stores predetermined information and processes predetermined wireless signals, and an antenna that transmits and receives high-frequency signals.

  Patent Document 1 describes a wireless IC tag provided with an antenna coil having a multilayer structure. This wireless IC tag includes a multilayer coil provided on the surface and inner layer of a multilayer substrate in which a plurality of insulating substrates are stacked, and a wireless IC chip mounted on the surface of the multilayer substrate. Since the laminated coil provided on the multilayer substrate is used as the radiating element, the communication distance cannot be expected so much, but the size of the wireless IC tag can be reduced to about 5 mm square.

  However, since the insulating substrate constituting the wireless IC tag is a glass epoxy substrate and is very hard, if this insulating substrate is attached to a flexible base film, the flexibility of the base film is not obtained at the attached portion. Will be damaged. Furthermore, if the base film is bent or bent, the insulating substrate itself may fall off the base film.

  On the other hand, if the multilayer substrate is formed of a flexible material, the flexibility of the base film is not impaired, and even if the base film is bent or bent, the multilayer substrate is less likely to fall off the base film. Become. However, when the base film is bent or bent, the stress generated in the multilayer substrate directly acts on the wireless IC chip mounted on the multilayer substrate, which may damage the wireless IC chip.

JP 2007-102348 A

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor integrated circuit module, a wireless communication module, and a wireless communication device that can prevent the dropping of the substrate and the damage of the semiconductor circuit chip and the wireless IC chip as much as possible without impairing the flexibility of the base substrate. There is to do.

The semiconductor integrated circuit module according to the first aspect of the present invention is
A flexible substrate formed by laminating a plurality of flexible base material layers ;
A semiconductor circuit chip mounted on the flexible substrate;
Is coupled to the front Symbol semiconductor circuit chip, the laminated coil pattern composed of an interlayer conductor that penetrates the conductor pattern formed in the conductive layer using the base layer in a thickness direction to the substrate layer,
A reinforcing member for reinforcing the strength of the flexible substrate;
With
When viewed from the stacking direction of the plurality of base material layers, the semiconductor circuit chip and the reinforcing member are provided in an inner peripheral region of the coil pattern,
The reinforcing member is made of the same material as the metal material constituting the interlayer conductor, and is formed by a plurality of mutually independent interlayer conductors that penetrate the base material layer in the thickness direction ;
It is characterized by.

The wireless communication module according to the second aspect of the present invention is
A flexible substrate formed by laminating a plurality of flexible base material layers ;
A wireless IC chip mounted on the flexible substrate;
Is coupled to the front Symbol wireless IC chip, the laminated coil pattern composed of an interlayer conductor that penetrates the conductor pattern formed in the conductive layer using the base layer in a thickness direction to the substrate layer,
A reinforcing member for reinforcing the strength of the flexible substrate;
With
When viewed from the stacking direction of the plurality of base material layers, the wireless IC chip and the reinforcing member are provided in an inner peripheral region of the coil pattern,
The reinforcing member is made of the same material as the metal material constituting the interlayer conductor, and is formed by a plurality of mutually independent interlayer conductors that penetrate the base material layer in the thickness direction ;
It is characterized by.

  A wireless communication device according to a third aspect of the present invention includes the wireless communication module and a flexible base substrate on which the wireless communication module is mounted, and an antenna pattern is formed on the base substrate. The antenna pattern is characterized in that it is coupled to the coil pattern via a magnetic field, an electric field or an electromagnetic field.

In the semiconductor integrated circuit module and the wireless communication module, since the flexible substrate is provided, the flexible substrate is dropped without damaging the flexibility of the base substrate even when attached to the base substrate. Is less likely to occur. Further, since the reinforcing member is provided in the inner peripheral region of the coil pattern, even if the flexible substrate is bent or bent, the stress generated in the flexible substrate is provided in the inner peripheral region of the coil pattern. Since it does not directly act on the circuit chip or the wireless IC chip, damage to the semiconductor circuit chip or the wireless IC chip can be prevented as much as possible. The reinforcing member is made of a metal material, but is formed by a plurality of electrically independent interlayer conductors . Therefore, the reinforcing member has a gap through which the magnetic flux generated by the coil pattern passes , and does not block the magnetic flux.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the dropping of the substrate and the damage of the semiconductor circuit chip and the wireless IC chip as much as possible without impairing the flexibility of the base substrate.

The wireless communication module which is 1st Example is shown, (A) is a top view, (B) is XX sectional drawing. It is a perspective view which shows the laminated structure of the laminated substrate which comprises the radio | wireless communication module which is 1st Example. It is a top view which shows the base material layer of the lowest layer of the said laminated substrate. The wireless communication device which mounts the wireless communication module which is 1st Example is shown, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a front view, (C) is a back view. It is sectional drawing which shows the mounting form of the radio | wireless communication module in the radio | wireless communication device shown in FIG. The radio | wireless communication module which is 2nd Example is shown, (A) is a top view, (B) is YY sectional drawing. It is sectional drawing which shows the radio | wireless communication module which is 3rd Example. The radio | wireless communication module which is 4th Example is shown, (A) is a top view, (B) is ZZ sectional drawing.

  Embodiments of a semiconductor integrated circuit module, a wireless communication module, and a wireless communication device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each figure, common parts and portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(Refer 1st Example and FIGS. 1-3)
As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication module 5A according to the first embodiment is used in the 13.56 MHz band, and is coupled to the wireless IC chip 10 for processing wireless signals and the wireless IC chip 10 (electrical). And a feeder circuit board 15 including a coil pattern 20 formed by winding conductor patterns 21a to 21d (see FIG. 2). The wireless IC chip 10 is made of a semiconductor substrate such as silicon and includes a clock circuit, a logic circuit, a memory circuit, and the like, and necessary information is stored in the memory. In the wireless IC chip 10, input terminal electrodes and output terminal electrodes provided on the back surface thereof are electrically connected to both ends of the coil pattern 20.

  The power supply circuit board 15 is a flexible multi-layer board formed by laminating a flexible base material layer, and has a cavity 16 in the center, and the wireless IC chip 10 is accommodated in the cavity 16. The sealing material 17 is filled. The power supply circuit board 15 includes a coil pattern 20 in which a plurality of conductor patterns 21a to 21d are stacked in multiple layers. Specifically, a plurality of base material layers 18a to 18e shown in FIG.

  Here, the base material layers 18a to 18e are made of a flexible material, for example, a thermoplastic resin such as a liquid crystal polymer. The sealing material 17 is made of a resin material harder than the flexible base material layers 18a to 18e, for example, a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy polymer.

  In FIG. 2, an opening 25 is formed in the center of the uppermost base material layer 18a. In the second to fourth base material layers 18b to 18d, an opening 25 is formed in the center, and conductor patterns 21a to 21c are formed. As shown in FIG. 3, a conductor pattern 21d having a land 23b at one end, a conductor pattern 21e having a land 23a at one end, and lands 23c and 23d are formed on the lowermost base material layer 18e. Further, a large number of interlayer conductors 26 (via holes) functioning as reinforcing members for reinforcing the strength of the power supply circuit board 15 are formed in a matrix in the peripheral region of the region facing the bottom surface of the wireless IC chip 10. Is formed. These interlayer conductors, conductor patterns, and lands are formed of a metal material mainly composed of Ag, Cu, etc., and a metal film may be formed by patterning using a photolithography method or an etching method, or a conductive paste may be used. It may be formed by screen printing.

  By laminating the above base material layers 18a to 18e, one end 21d-1 of the lowermost conductor pattern 21d is connected to one end 21c-1 of the fourth layer conductor pattern 21c via the interlayer conductor 24a. The other end 21c-2 of the pattern 21c is connected to one end 21b-1 of the third-layer conductor pattern 21b via the interlayer conductor 24b. The other end 21b-2 of the conductor pattern 21b is connected to one end 21a-1 of the second-layer conductor pattern 21a via an interlayer conductor 24c. The other end 21a-2 of the conductor pattern 21a is connected to a conductor pattern 21e provided in the lowermost layer via an interlayer conductor 24d. The reinforcing members 26 are not electrically connected to each other and to other conductors.

  The opening 25 forms a cavity 16, and the wireless IC chip 10 accommodated in the cavity 16 has an input terminal electrode on the land 23b, an output terminal electrode on the land 23a, a solder bump 30 (see FIG. 1), etc. It is connected with the conductive bonding material. Further, the mounting terminal electrodes provided on the back surface of the wireless IC chip 10 are connected to the lands 23c and 23d provided in the lowermost layer.

  As described above, the conductor patterns 21a to 21d are wound to form the laminated coil pattern 20 having a rectangular shape in plan view. When a current is supplied from the land 23a, the current flows through the conductor patterns 21a to 21d in the first direction indicated by the arrow x and the second direction indicated by the arrow y opposite to the first direction. That is, each of the conductor patterns 21a to 21d is wound so that a current flows in the same direction in a portion adjacent to the stacking direction.

  The wireless IC chip 10 is made of a semiconductor substrate such as silicon and may be damaged due to bending or bending stress. In the wireless communication module 5 </ b> A, a number of interlayer conductors 26 are provided in a peripheral region of a region facing the bottom surface of the wireless IC chip 10 on a flexible multilayer substrate (feeding circuit substrate 15) formed by laminating flexible base layers 18 a to 18 e. Therefore, even if an external force acts on the power supply circuit board 15 and the board 15 bends or bends, the stress generated on the board 15 may directly act on the wireless IC chip 10. As a result, the wireless IC chip 10 is prevented from being damaged as much as possible. In addition, a magnetic flux φ is generated from the coil pattern 20 as shown in FIG. The interlayer conductor 26 is made of a conductive metal material, but has a large number of gaps between the individual interlayer conductors 26, so that the magnetic flux φ is allowed to pass through without interruption.

  Further, since the wireless IC chip 10 is disposed in the cavity 16 formed in the power supply circuit board 15 and the sealing material 17 is filled in the cavity 16 so as to cover the wireless IC chip 10, the wireless IC chip 10 is sealed by the sealing material 17. Protected.

  Further, since the wireless IC chip 10 is accommodated in the cavity 16 of the power supply circuit board 15, the wireless communication module 5A is reduced in height. The depth of the cavity 16 is preferably half or more of the thickness of the substrate 15. As a result, most of the inner peripheral portion of the coil pattern 20 is occupied by the sealing material 17 having rigidity higher than that of the substrate 15, so that the stress caused by the external force can be reliably blocked by the side surface of the cavity 16. Stress is hardly applied to the bottom surface of the semiconductor device, that is, the joint portion of the wireless IC chip 10 with the coil pattern 20.

(Refer to wireless communication device, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5)
Next, a wireless communication device equipped with the wireless communication module 5A will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the wireless communication device 1 includes the wireless communication module 5 </ b> A and an antenna pattern 35 that is magnetically coupled to the coil pattern 20 (which may be electric field coupling or electromagnetic coupling, the same applies hereinafter). Become. The antenna pattern 35 is formed by winding two turns in the shape of a coil on the front and back surfaces of a flexible base substrate 36 made of PET or the like, and both ends are opened. FIG. FIG. 4C shows the antenna pattern 35 on the back surface side as seen through from the front surface side. The antenna patterns 35 on the front and back sides overlap in a plan view and are capacitively coupled via the base substrate 36, and current flows in the same direction. The antenna pattern 35 is formed of a metal material mainly composed of Ag, Cu or the like, and may be formed by patterning a metal film by a photolithography method or an etching method, or may be formed by screen printing a conductive paste. May be.

  The wireless communication module 5A is arranged in a state where the power feeding circuit board 15 is overlapped on one corner of the antenna pattern 35 on the front surface (see FIG. 4B), and is attached with an insulating adhesive. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the feeder circuit board 15 has an insulating adhesive 19 in which the opening of the cavity portion 16 faces the base substrate 36 with the top and bottom reversed from the state of FIG. It is stuck in. The wireless IC chip 10 is protected by the bottom surface of the cavity portion 16 (disposed on the top surface in FIG. 5) and the interlayer conductor 26. Further, since the bottom surface of the power supply circuit board 15 has high flatness, the suction performance when the wireless communication module 5A is mounted on the base substrate 36 by vacuum suction with a mounter is good.

  In the wireless communication device 1 having the above configuration, the coil pattern 20 is magnetically coupled to the antenna pattern 35. Therefore, the high frequency signal radiated from the reader / writer of the RFID system and received by the antenna pattern 35 is supplied to the wireless IC chip 10 via the coil pattern 20, and the wireless IC chip 10 operates. On the other hand, a response signal from the wireless IC chip 10 is transmitted to the antenna pattern 35 via the coil pattern 20 and is radiated to the reader / writer.

  The coil pattern 20 forms a resonance circuit having a predetermined frequency with the inductance component and the capacitance component between the lines of the conductor patterns 21a to 21d (see FIG. 2), and the impedance between the wireless IC chip 10 and the antenna pattern 35. It also functions as a matching circuit. The resonance frequency and impedance of the coil pattern 20 are adjusted by adjusting the electrical length, pattern width, and the like.

  Further, as described above, since the power supply circuit board 15 is flexible in itself, even when the power supply circuit board 15 is attached to the flexible base base material 36, the power supply circuit board 15 is bent or bent in accordance with the base base material 36. Therefore, the possibility that the excessive stress acts on the adhesive 19 and falls off from the base substrate 36 is small. As described above, the built-in wireless IC chip 10 is protected even if the feeder circuit board 15 is bent or bent in accordance with the base substrate 36.

  The wireless communication module 5A can communicate with the reader / writer at a short distance without being combined with the antenna pattern 35. In this case, the coil pattern 20 functions as a radiating element.

(Refer to the second embodiment, FIG. 6)
As shown in FIG. 6, the wireless communication module 5 </ b> B according to the second embodiment includes a large number of conductive films 27 made of a metal material on the back surface side of the feeder circuit board 15, a region facing the bottom surface of the wireless IC chip 10, and the It is formed in a matrix around the area. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. The conductor film 27 is formed of the same material as the conductor patterns 21a to 21e and the interlayer conductors 24a to 24b that electrically connect the conductor patterns 21a to 21e, and functions as a reinforcing member of the feeder circuit board 15. This is as described in the first embodiment.

  That is, the conductor films 27 are not electrically connected to each other and to other conductors. Further, the conductor film 27 has a large number of gaps therebetween, and the magnetic flux generated by the coil pattern 20 passes through the gaps without being blocked.

(Refer to the third embodiment, FIG. 7)
As illustrated in FIG. 7, the wireless communication module 5 </ b> C according to the third embodiment has a large number of conductive films 28 made of a metal material facing the bottom surface of the wireless IC chip 10 on the bottom surface of the cavity 16 of the power supply circuit board 15. It is formed in a matrix around the area to be processed. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. The conductor film 28 is formed of the same material as the conductor patterns 21a to 21e and the interlayer conductors 24a to 24d that electrically connect the conductor patterns 21a to 21e, and functions as a reinforcing member of the feeder circuit board 15. This is as described in the first embodiment.

  That is, the conductor films 28 are not electrically connected to each other and to other conductors. Further, the conductor film 28 has a large number of gaps therebetween, and the magnetic flux generated by the coil pattern 20 passes through the gaps without being blocked.

(Refer to the fourth embodiment, FIG. 8)
As shown in FIG. 8, in the wireless communication module 5D of the fifth embodiment, the wireless IC chip 10 is mounted on the surface of the substrate 15 without providing the cavity portion in the feeder circuit substrate 15, and the surface of the substrate 15 is A sealing material 17 made of resin is applied including the wireless IC chip 10. In addition to the coil pattern 20 and the lands 23 a and 23 b, a large number of interlayer conductors 29 are formed in a matrix in the region facing the bottom surface of the wireless IC chip 10 and the peripheral region of the region.

  The interlayer conductor 29 functions as a reinforcing member for the feeder circuit board 15, and the operation and effect thereof are as described in the first embodiment. These interlayer conductors 29 that are arranged on the outermost periphery penetrate the substrate 15 in the thickness direction, and those that are arranged in a region facing the bottom surface of the wireless IC chip 10 are formed short. This is because the short interlayer conductor 29 does not interfere with the wireless IC chip 10 electrically or magnetically.

  The interlayer conductors 29 are not electrically connected to each other and to other conductors. The interlayer conductor 29 has a large number of gaps between them, and the magnetic flux generated by the coil pattern 20 passes through the gaps without being blocked.

(Other examples)
The wireless communication module and the wireless communication device according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist.

  In particular, the present invention can be applied to various semiconductor integrated circuit modules such as a DC-DC converter in addition to the wireless communication module. In a DC-DC converter or the like, a semiconductor circuit chip is mounted at the same position in place of a wireless IC chip on a flexible substrate.

  In the above-described embodiment, the coil pattern is wound for a plurality of turns, but may be wound for one turn. The wireless IC chip and the coil pattern may be coupled via a magnetic field, an electric field, or an electromagnetic field in addition to DC connection (direct connection). In other words, it may be combined by some means.

  The antenna pattern may have various shapes as long as it serves as an antenna. Various arrangements other than the arrangement shown in FIG. 4 can be adopted as the arrangement relationship of the wireless communication module with respect to the antenna pattern. Further, the present invention is not limited to the HF band such as the 13.56 MHz band, and can be used for a UHF band or a SHF band wireless communication device.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for a wireless communication module and a wireless communication device, and in particular, prevents the dropping of the substrate and the damage of the semiconductor circuit chip and the wireless IC chip as much as possible without impairing the flexibility of the base substrate. It is excellent in that it can be done.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wireless communication device 5A-5D ... Wireless communication module 10 ... Wireless IC chip 15 ... Feed circuit board 16 ... Cavity 18a-18e ... Flexible base material layer 20 ... Coil pattern 21a-21d ... Coil pattern 26, 29 ... Interlayer conductor ( Reinforcement member)
27, 28 ... Conductor film 35 ... Antenna pattern 36 ... Base substrate

Claims (9)

A flexible substrate formed by laminating a plurality of flexible base material layers;
A semiconductor circuit chip mounted on the flexible substrate;
A laminated coil pattern composed of a conductor pattern formed of a conductor film on the base material layer and an interlayer conductor penetrating the base material layer in the thickness direction, which is coupled to the semiconductor circuit chip;
A reinforcing member for reinforcing the strength of the flexible substrate;
With
When viewed from the stacking direction of the plurality of base material layers, the semiconductor circuit chip and the reinforcing member are provided in an inner peripheral region of the coil pattern,
The reinforcing member is made of the same material as the metal material constituting the interlayer conductor, and is formed by a plurality of mutually independent interlayer conductors that penetrate the base material layer in the thickness direction;
A semiconductor integrated circuit module.   The semiconductor integrated circuit module according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor circuit chip is a wireless IC chip that processes a wireless signal. The semiconductor circuit chip is mounted on or inside the flexible substrate,
The coil pattern is formed on or inside the flexible substrate;
The semiconductor integrated circuit module according to claim 1, wherein: The flexible substrate has a cavity portion,
The semiconductor circuit chip is disposed in the cavity portion;
The coil pattern is formed around the cavity portion,
The reinforcing member is disposed on a bottom surface of the cavity,
The semiconductor integrated circuit module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein:   The semiconductor integrated circuit module according to claim 4, wherein a depth of the cavity portion is half or more of a thickness of the flexible substrate.   The semiconductor integrated circuit module according to claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate is made of a thermoplastic resin. A flexible substrate formed by laminating a plurality of flexible base material layers;
A wireless IC chip mounted on the flexible substrate;
A laminated coil pattern composed of a conductor pattern formed of a conductor film on the base material layer and an interlayer conductor penetrating the base material layer in the thickness direction;
A reinforcing member for reinforcing the strength of the flexible substrate;
With
When viewed from the stacking direction of the plurality of base material layers, the wireless IC chip and the reinforcing member are provided in an inner peripheral region of the coil pattern,
The reinforcing member is made of the same material as the metal material constituting the interlayer conductor, and is formed by a plurality of mutually independent interlayer conductors that penetrate the base material layer in the thickness direction;
A wireless communication module. A wireless communication device comprising a wireless communication module and a flexible base material on which the wireless communication module is mounted,
The wireless communication module is
A flexible substrate formed by laminating a plurality of flexible base material layers;
A wireless IC chip mounted on the flexible substrate;
A laminated coil pattern composed of a conductor pattern formed of a conductor film on the base material layer and an interlayer conductor penetrating the base material layer in the thickness direction;
A reinforcing member for reinforcing the strength of the flexible substrate;
With
When viewed from the stacking direction of the plurality of base material layers, the wireless IC chip and the reinforcing member are provided in an inner peripheral region of the coil pattern,
The reinforcing member is made of the same material as the metal material constituting the interlayer conductor, and is formed by a plurality of mutually independent interlayer conductors that penetrate the base material layer in the thickness direction,
An antenna pattern is formed on the base substrate, and the antenna pattern is coupled to the coil pattern via a magnetic field, an electric field, or an electromagnetic field.
A wireless communication device. The wireless IC chip is disposed in a cavity provided in the flexible substrate,
The flexible substrate is mounted on the base substrate with the opening of the cavity portion facing the base substrate;
The wireless communication device according to claim 8.

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