JP7455833B2 - Circuit pattern creation system and circuit pattern creation method - Google Patents

Description

The present specification relates to a system and method for creating a circuit pattern of an electronic circuit using a drawing device.

In order to create circuit patterns for electronic circuits, the conventional method has been to apply metal plating to the entire surface of an insulating material, remove unnecessary metal parts by etching, and use the remaining metal parts as circuit patterns. . In recent years, new methods for directly forming circuit patterns using drawing devices, modeling devices, etc. have been developed and put into practical use. An example of this type of new method is the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1.

Patent Document 1 discloses a method for manufacturing a wiring board in which at least one layer of a conductive pattern (circuit pattern) and an insulating pattern are formed along a wiring pattern on an insulating base material. In this manufacturing method, at least one of the insulating base material and the insulating pattern is semi-cured, a conductive pattern is formed on the semi-hardened state, and at least one of the insulating base material and the insulating pattern is completely hardened by heat treatment, and the conductive pattern is fired. Patent Document 1 further discloses an aspect in which a conductive pattern and an insulating pattern are formed by an inkjet method. According to this, it is said that the adhesive force between the insulating layer (insulating base material, insulating pattern) and the conductive pattern can be improved.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-158352

By the way, in Patent Document 1, when creating a circuit pattern consisting of a plurality of wires using an inkjet drawing device, overlapping drawing is possible multiple times, and there is a degree of freedom in the thickness dimension of the wires. However, if the thickness dimension of the wiring is not set appropriately, for example, the resistance values per unit length of the plurality of wirings may become uneven, and the characteristics of the electronic circuit may deteriorate. Further, for example, if there is a difference in the magnitude of current flowing through a plurality of wirings, it becomes impossible to obtain an appropriate cross-sectional area for each wiring.

This specification provides a circuit pattern creation system and a circuit pattern creation method that optimize the thickness of each wiring by individually setting the thickness dimension of each wiring when creating a circuit pattern using a drawing device. Make it an issue to be solved.

The present specification provides a system for creating a circuit pattern consisting of a plurality of wiring lines using a drawing device that draws a plurality of wiring lines on an insulating material using conductive ink, and for creating a circuit pattern consisting of a plurality of wiring lines, the system generating design information regarding the circuit pattern. A design information acquisition unit that acquires individual a wiring thickness setting unit that individually sets the thickness dimension of the wiring, and a drawing control unit that controls the drawing operation of the drawing device so as to satisfy the thickness dimension individually set for each of the wirings. A circuit pattern creation system is disclosed.

The present specification also provides a method for creating a circuit pattern consisting of a plurality of wirings using a drawing device that draws a plurality of wirings on an insulating material using conductive ink, the method comprising: designing a circuit pattern related to the circuit pattern; a design information acquisition step of acquiring information, a cross-sectional area of the wiring included in the design information or a cross-sectional area of the wiring determined from the design information, and a width dimension of the wiring included in the design information; , a wiring thickness setting step of individually setting the thickness dimension of each of the wirings, and a drawing control step of controlling the drawing operation of the drawing device so as to satisfy the thickness dimension individually set for each of the wirings. Disclosed is a circuit pattern creation method comprising:

According to the circuit pattern creation system and circuit pattern creation method disclosed in this specification, the thickness dimension of each wiring can be individually set based on the cross-sectional area and width dimension of the wiring, and the drawing operation of the drawing device Individually set thickness dimensions can be realized by the degrees of freedom. Therefore, unlike the conventional technique in which the thickness of each wiring is uniformly formed by combining metal plating and etching, it is possible to individually optimize the thickness of each wiring.

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration example of a board product including a circuit pattern. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a circuit pattern creation system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing a specific example of a circuit pattern. FIG. 3 is a detailed process diagram of a circuit pattern creation process performed by the circuit pattern creation system. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an overall drawing pattern drawn by a drawing device. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a partial drawing pattern drawn by a drawing device. FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating a method of creating pixel arrays, wiring extending in parallel, and wiring extending diagonally in a second embodiment using an inkjet drawing device.

1. Board product 9 including circuit pattern 93
First, a configuration example of the board product 9 including the circuit pattern 93 will be described with reference to FIG. The board product 9 is constructed by mounting a component 99 on a board 91. The substrate 91 includes an insulating material 92, a circuit pattern 93, an insulating layer 94, and a land 95. The insulating material 92 is a plate-shaped member formed using an insulating material. The insulating material 92 may be a ready-made plate material made of glass epoxy resin or the like, or may be formed by solidifying a liquid insulating material drawn by a drawing device 3 to be described later. The circuit pattern 93 is a collection of a plurality of wires 8 arranged on the surface of the insulating material 92. Each wiring 8 is generally formed using a conductive material such as silver or copper.

The insulating layer 94 is formed using an insulating material so as to cover the circuit pattern 93. The insulating material forming the insulating layer 94 may be the same as or different from the insulating material forming the insulating material 92. The connection portions of the circuit pattern 93 to which the components 99 are connected are maintained in an exposed state without the insulating layer 94 being formed thereon. Lands 95 are formed at exposed connection points of circuit pattern 93 using a conductive material. In this way, the substrate 91 is manufactured.

The work of mounting the plurality of components 99 onto the board 91 is generally performed by a component mounting line comprised of a solder printing machine, a component mounting machine, and the like. Note that FIG. 1 shows a single-sided mounting board in which the component 99 is mounted on one side of the board 91, and a double-sided mounting board in which the component 99 is mounted on both sides of the board 91, and a multi-layer circuit pattern 93. There are multilayer substrates on which .

2. Configuration and functions of the circuit pattern creation system 1 of the first embodiment Next, the configuration and functions of the circuit pattern creation system 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The circuit pattern creation system 1 includes a transport device 2, a drawing device 3, an XY drive device 4, and a control device 5. In the first embodiment, the circuit pattern creation system 1 not only creates the circuit pattern 93 but also manufactures the substrate 91.

The transport device 2 transports the insulating material 92 from outside the system onto a base (not shown). Further, the transport device 2 transports the manufactured substrate 91 out of the system. As the conveyance device 2, a conveyor device having a rotary conveyor belt can be exemplified.

The drawing device 3 has a plurality of types of drawing heads (not shown), and performs a drawing operation toward the insulating material 92. Furthermore, the drawing speed of the drawing device 3 is improved by including a plurality of drawing heads of each type. The first type of drawing head draws a circuit pattern 93 by jetting or discharging conductive ink. Conductive ink is manufactured, for example, by mixing metal fine particles such as silver into a solvent. When the solvent evaporates and dries, a circuit pattern 93 in which fine metal particles are connected is created.

The second type of drawing head draws the insulating layer 94 by jetting or discharging a liquid insulating material. By solidifying the insulating material, the shape and insulating properties of the insulating layer 94 are stabilized. Note that the second type of drawing head can also be formed by drawing the insulating material 92. The third type of drawing head draws the land 95 by jetting or discharging a liquid or paste-like conductive material. This conductive material may be the same as or different from the conductive ink used by the first type of drawing head. By solidifying the conductive material, the shape and conductive properties of the land 95 are stabilized.

As the drawing device 3, an inkjet drawing device that ejects liquid ink, a dispenser drawing device that ejects relatively high viscosity ink, or the like can be used. Further, as the drawing device 3, an inkjet drawing device and a dispenser drawing device can be used together. Furthermore, as the drawing device 3, a composite type drawing device that serves both an inkjet type and a dispenser type can also be used. Note that the drawing device 3 may include a hot air supply unit that promotes drying of the ink and a heating unit that promotes solidification of the insulating material.

The XY drive device 4 drives the drawing head of the drawing device 3 in two-dimensional directions (XY directions) relative to the insulating material 92. "Relative" means that the XY drive device 4 may drive the drawing head or the XY drive device 4 may drive the insulating material 92. The operation of the XY drive device 4 makes it possible to create a circuit pattern 93 of any shape.

The control device 5 controls the transport device 2, the drawing device 3, and the XY drive device 4. In other words, the control device 5 controls the production of the substrate 91 by controlling implementation of the circuit pattern creation process, the insulating layer formation process, and the land formation process. The control device 5 includes three control functional units related to the circuit pattern creation process, namely, a design information acquisition unit 51, a wiring thickness setting unit 52, and a drawing control unit 53. The three control functions are implemented by software.

The design information acquisition unit 51 acquires design information regarding the circuit pattern 93 from outside the system. The design information is obtained, for example, from a CAD device that designed the board 91. Alternatively, the design information is delivered in the form of electronic data from the client who requested the manufacture of the board 91. Usually, the design information includes information on the cross-sectional area S and width dimension W of the wiring 8.

The wiring thickness setting unit 52 individually sets the thickness dimension T of each wiring 8 based on the cross-sectional area S and width dimension W of the wiring 8 included in the design information. If information on the cross-sectional area S of the wiring 8 is not included in the design information, the wiring thickness setting unit 52 calculates the cross-sectional area S of the wiring 8 based on other information included in the design information. For example, the wiring thickness setting unit 52 can determine, based on the magnitude of the current flowing through the wiring 8, an appropriate cross-sectional area S that will not cause the wiring 8 to overheat. Note that the wiring thickness setting unit 52 may determine the appropriate cross-sectional area S based on the fault current that flows at the time of a failure instead of the load current that flows during normal times.

The drawing control unit 53 controls the drawing operation of the drawing device 3 so that the thickness dimension T set individually for each wiring 8 is satisfied. Specifically, the drawing control unit 53 individually sets the number N of overlapping drawing operations for each wiring 8 based on the unit thickness dimension TU of the wiring 8 obtained by one drawing operation of the drawing device 3. do.

Further, the drawing control unit 53 generates an overall drawing pattern PtA for drawing all the wirings 8 based on the number of overlapping drawings N of the drawing operation set individually for each wiring 8, and the drawing control unit 53 generates an overall drawing pattern PtA for drawing all the wirings 8, and a A partial drawing pattern PtB is created for drawing a portion of the wiring 8 that is frequently used. Next, the drawing control unit 53 causes the drawing device 3 to perform drawing operations for the entire drawing pattern PtA and the partial drawing pattern PtB. The detailed control functions of the wiring thickness setting section 52 and the drawing control section 53 will be described later using a specific example of the circuit pattern 93.

3. Operation of Circuit Pattern Creation System 1 Next, the operation of the circuit pattern creation system 1 will be described with reference to a specific example of the circuit pattern 93 shown in FIG. 3 and a process diagram shown in FIG. 4. A specific example of the circuit pattern 93 includes a first wiring 81, a second wiring 82, and a third wiring 83 when the component 99 is a switching element. The first wiring 81 and the second wiring 82 constitute a main circuit, through which a large main current flows. On the other hand, the third wiring 83 constitutes a control circuit, and a small control current flows therethrough.

In the design information acquisition step P1 of FIG. Obtain information on dimension W3. If the information on the cross-sectional area S1 and the cross-sectional area S3 is not included in the design information, the wiring thickness setting unit 52 calculates the cross-sectional area S1 and the cross-sectional area S3 based on other information included in the design information. The cross-sectional area S1 is larger than the cross-sectional area S3, and the width dimension W1 is larger than the width dimension W3.

In the next wiring thickness setting step P2, the wiring thickness setting unit 52 calculates the thickness T1 of the first wiring 81 and the second wiring 82 and the thickness T3 of the third wiring 83 using the following equations 1 and 2. Set individually.
T1=S1/W1……Formula 1
T3=S3/W3……Formula 2

In the next overdrawing number calculation step P3, the drawing control unit 53 calculates the overlapping number N1 of the first wiring 81 and the second wiring 82 and the The number of overlapping drawings N3 of the three wirings 83 is individually set. Note that if a fraction after the decimal point occurs in the quotient of division in Equations 3 and 4, the number of overlapping operations N1 and the number of overlapping operations N3 become integer values rounded up.
N1=T1/TU……Formula 3
N3=T3/TU……Formula 4

The magnitude relationship between the number of overlapping drawings N1 and the number of overlapping drawings N3 is determined not only by the magnitude relationship between the main current and the control current, but also by a plurality of pieces of design information. In the following description, it is assumed that the number of overlapping drawings N1 is 20 times and the number of overlapping drawings N3 is 15 times. That is, the number N1 of overlapping drawings of the first wiring 81 and the second wiring 82 is relatively large, and the number N3 of overlapping drawings of the third wiring 83 is relatively small.

In the next drawing pattern creation step P4, the drawing control unit 53 creates an entire drawing pattern PtA (shown in FIG. 5) for drawing the first wiring 81, the second wiring 82, and the third wiring 83. Next, the drawing control unit 53 creates a partial drawing pattern PtB (shown in FIG. 6) for drawing the first wiring 81 and the second wiring 82 with a relatively large number of overlapping drawings N1.

In the next drawing execution step P5, the drawing control unit 53 causes the drawing device 3 to perform the drawing operation of the entire drawing pattern PtA only 15 times. As a result, the third wiring 83 reaches the predetermined thickness T3 and is finished. On the other hand, the first wiring 81 and the second wiring 82 are still insufficient in thickness. Next, the drawing control unit 53 causes the drawing device 3 to perform the drawing operation of the partial drawing pattern PtB only five times. As a result, the first wiring 81 and the second wiring 82 are overwritten a total of 20 times, and are finished to reach a predetermined thickness T1. Note that if it takes time to dry the conductive ink, the drying time is appropriately set between repetitions of the drawing operation.

The above-described overlapping number calculation step P3, drawing pattern creation step P4, and drawing execution step P5 can be collectively regarded as a drawing control step. In other words, the creation of the circuit pattern 93 is completed through the design information acquisition step P1, the wiring thickness setting step P2, and the drawing control step. Thereby, the thickness dimension T1 of the first wiring 81 and the second wiring 82 becomes an appropriate value commensurate with the cross-sectional area S1 and the width dimension W1. Similarly, the thickness T3 of the third wiring 83 has an appropriate value commensurate with the cross-sectional area S3 and the width W3. After this, the circuit pattern creation system 1 proceeds to an insulating layer forming step.

According to the circuit pattern creation system 1 of the first embodiment, the thickness dimension T of each wiring 8 can be individually set based on the cross-sectional area S and the width dimension W of the wiring 8, and the drawing device 3 The thickness dimension T can be individually set depending on the degree of freedom of movement. Therefore, unlike the conventional technique in which the thickness dimension T of each wiring 8 is formed uniformly by combining metal plating and etching processing, the thickness dimension T of each wiring 8 can be individually optimized.

4. Circuit Pattern Creation System of Second Embodiment Next, a circuit pattern creation system of a second embodiment will be described, focusing mainly on differences from the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the drawing device 3 that draws the circuit pattern 93 is limited to an inkjet drawing device that performs a drawing operation in units of pixels PX arranged in a two-dimensional grid. In FIG. 7, a number of pixels PX are each shown as a small square. Although the drawing device 3 cannot accurately draw each pixel PX in a square shape, it is able to draw approximately straight wiring 8 due to the comprehensive effects of the conductive ink spreading, spreading, and overlapping. I can draw.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, there are wires 8 extending parallel to the row of pixels PX, and wires 8 extending diagonally with respect to the row of pixels PX. To simplify the following explanation, it is assumed that the size of one side of the pixel PX is 100 μm, and that there is a wiring 8 extending diagonally at 45°. Further, it is assumed that a common width dimension WC = 200 μm and a common cross-sectional area SC = 2000 μm ² are defined in the design information for all wiring lines 8 . Furthermore, it is assumed that the unit thickness dimension TU of the wiring 8 obtained by one drawing operation of the drawing device 3 is 0.5 μm.

In the pixel PX shown in FIG. 7 and the fourth wiring 84 and the fifth wiring 85 extending in parallel, the common width dimension WC is twice the size of one side of the pixel PX. Therefore, the fourth wiring 84 and the fifth wiring 85 are drawn with a wiring width equal to two pixels PX arranged side by side. Further, the wiring thickness setting section 52 and the drawing control section 53 operate in the same manner as in the first embodiment with respect to the fourth wiring 84 and the fifth wiring 85.

That is, the wiring thickness setting unit 52 sets the thickness dimension T4 of the fourth wiring 84 and the fifth wiring 85 to be T4=SC/WC=(2000/200)=10 μm. Further, the drawing control unit 53 sets the number of overlapping drawings of the fourth wiring 84 and the fifth wiring 85 as N4=T4/TU=(10/0.5)=20 times.

On the other hand, the sixth wiring 86 and seventh wiring 87 shown in FIG. 7 are candidates as the wiring 8 extending diagonally at 45 degrees with respect to the arrangement of pixels PX. In the sixth wiring 86 and the seventh wiring 87, the actual width dimension that can be drawn is not an integral multiple of the size of one side of the pixel PX due to restrictions in the configuration of the drawing device 3 (inkjet drawing device). Therefore, the actual width W6 of the sixth wiring 86 and the actual width W7 of the seventh wiring 87 cannot be made to match the design information (200 μm).

Specifically, the actual width W6 of the sixth wiring 86 is 141 μm, which corresponds to the diagonal dimension of the pixel PX. Further, the actual width W7 of the seventh wiring 87 varies along the diagonal direction, and the numerical value varies from the diagonal dimension of the pixel PX (141 μm) to twice the diagonal dimension of the pixel PX (282 μm). The average value of the actual width W7 of the seventh wiring 87 is 212 μm.

Therefore, the wiring thickness setting unit 52 adopts the seventh wiring 87 that approximates the design information (200 μm) and discards the sixth wiring 86. Further, the wiring thickness setting unit 52 sets the thickness T7 of the seventh wiring 87 using the average value of the actual width W7 of the seventh wiring 87. The thickness dimension T7 is 9.43 μm (=2000/212), which is smaller than the fourth wiring 84 and the fifth wiring 85. Further, the drawing control unit 53 sets the number of overlapping drawings of the seventh wiring 87 as N7=T7/TU=(9.43/0.5)=19 times.

After this, the drawing control unit 53 operates in the same manner as in the first embodiment. That is, the drawing control unit 53 creates an entire drawing pattern for drawing the fourth wiring 84, the fifth wiring 85, and the seventh wiring 87, and a partial drawing pattern for drawing the fourth wiring 84 and the fifth wiring 85. . Next, the drawing control unit 53 causes the drawing device 3 to perform the drawing operation of the entire drawing pattern only 19 times, and subsequently causes the drawing operation to perform the drawing operation of the partial drawing pattern only once. As a result, an appropriate cross-sectional area SC (2000 μm ² ) is ensured for all the interconnects 8 (fourth interconnect 84, fifth interconnect 85, and seventh interconnect 87).

In the circuit pattern creation system of the second embodiment, due to restrictions in the configuration of the drawing device 3, the actual width W7 of the seventh wiring 87 extending in the diagonal direction cannot be made to match the design information. Even so, it is possible to individually set the number of overlapping drawings N7 of the seventh wiring 87 to ensure an appropriate cross-sectional area SC for all the wirings 8. This makes it possible to equalize the resistance values per unit length of all the wiring lines 8 and prevent the characteristics of the electronic circuit from deteriorating. This effect becomes remarkable in the circuit pattern 93 in which the width dimension W of the wiring 8 is miniaturized to about several pixels PX or less.

5. Applications and Modifications of Embodiments Note that the drawing control unit 53 individually sets the number of overlapping drawings N of the drawing operation on the assumption that the unit thickness dimension TU by the drawing operation of the drawing device 3 is constant. There is another method. That is, the drawing control unit 53 commonly sets the number N of overlapping drawings of the drawing device 3 for the wiring 8, changes the ejection amount of conductive ink of the drawing head for each wiring 8, and sets the unit thickness dimension TU. It may be adjusted individually. Furthermore, the circuit pattern creation system 1 can also be applied to double-sided mounting boards and multilayer boards.

Furthermore, the size of one side of the pixel PX described in the second embodiment, the value of the unit thickness dimension TU of the wiring 8 obtained by one drawing operation, etc. are just examples, and in reality, the performance of the drawing device 3 Of course it is based on this. Furthermore, with the thickness T7 of the seventh wiring 87 described in the second embodiment, there may be concerns about local overheating at the bottleneck portion where the width W7 is narrow. In this case, the wiring thickness setting unit 52 sets the thickness T7 of the seventh wiring 87 using the minimum value (141 μm) of the actual width W7 of the seventh wiring 87. According to this, an appropriate cross-sectional area SC (2000 μm ² ) can be secured in the bottleneck, and there is no fear of local overheating. Further, the second embodiment can be applied to the wiring 8 extending in an oblique direction other than 45 degrees. In addition, various applications and modifications of the first and second embodiments are possible.

1: Circuit pattern creation system 2: Transport device 3: Drawing device 4: XY drive device 5: Control device 51: Design information acquisition section 52: Wiring thickness setting section 53: Drawing control section 8: Wiring 81 to 87: First wiring ~Seventh wiring 91: Board 92: Insulating material 93: Circuit pattern 99: Components W1, W3: Width dimensions W6, W7: Actual width dimensions PtA: Whole drawing pattern PtB: Partial drawing pattern PX: Pixel

Claims (3)

A system for creating a circuit pattern consisting of a plurality of wirings using a drawing device that draws a plurality of wirings on an insulating material using conductive ink, the system comprising:
a design information acquisition unit that acquires design information regarding the circuit pattern;
The thickness dimension of each of the wirings is individually determined based on the cross-sectional area of the wiring included in the design information or the cross-sectional area of the wiring determined from the design information, and the width dimension of the wiring included in the design information. A wiring thickness setting section to set the
a drawing control unit that controls the drawing operation of the drawing device so as to satisfy the thickness dimension individually set for each of the wirings,
The drawing device is an inkjet drawing device that performs the drawing operation in units of pixels arranged in a two-dimensional grid,
The wiring thickness setting section is
a plurality of the wirings that are similar to the width dimension included in the design information of the wirings that extend diagonally with respect to the arrangement of pixels, that can be drawn with the configuration of the inkjet drawing device, and that have different drawing patterns; Set the candidates for
determining the actual width dimension of each of the plurality of wiring candidates, and if the actual width dimension varies along the diagonal direction, determining an average value of the actual width dimension;
selecting the wiring whose actual width dimension or an average value of the actual width dimensions most closely approximates the width dimension included in the design information from among the plurality of wiring candidates;
Setting the thickness dimension of the wiring extending in the diagonal direction using the actual width dimension of the adopted wiring or an average value of the actual width dimensions ,
The drawing control unit is configured to control the drawing in the diagonal direction based on a unit thickness dimension of the wiring obtained by one drawing operation of the drawing device and the thickness dimension set for the wiring extending in the diagonal direction. setting the number of overlapping drawings of the wiring extending in
Circuit pattern creation system. The common width dimension and the common cross-sectional area are defined in the design information for the wiring extending in the diagonal direction and the wiring extending parallel to the pixels. The circuit pattern creation system according to item 1 . A method of creating a circuit pattern consisting of a plurality of wirings using a drawing device that draws a plurality of wirings on an insulating material using conductive ink, the method comprising:
a design information acquisition step of acquiring design information regarding the circuit pattern;
The thickness dimension of each of the wirings is individually determined based on the cross-sectional area of the wiring included in the design information or the cross-sectional area of the wiring determined from the design information, and the width dimension of the wiring included in the design information. wiring thickness setting process,
a drawing control step of controlling the drawing operation of the drawing device so as to satisfy the thickness dimension individually set for each of the wirings,
The drawing device is an inkjet drawing device that performs the drawing operation in units of pixels arranged in a two-dimensional grid,
In the wiring thickness setting step,
a plurality of the wirings that are similar to the width dimension included in the design information of the wirings that extend diagonally with respect to the arrangement of pixels, that can be drawn with the configuration of the inkjet drawing device, and that have different drawing patterns; Set the candidates for
determining the actual width dimension for each of the plurality of wiring candidates, and if the actual width dimension varies along the diagonal direction, determining an average value of the actual width dimension;
selecting the wiring whose actual width dimension or an average value of the actual width dimensions most closely approximates the width dimension included in the design information from among the plurality of wiring candidates;
Setting the thickness dimension of the wiring extending in the diagonal direction using the actual width dimension of the adopted wiring or an average value of the actual width dimensions ,
In the drawing control step, based on the unit thickness dimension of the wiring obtained by one drawing operation of the drawing device and the thickness dimension set for the wiring extending in the diagonal direction, setting the number of overlapping drawings of the wiring extending in
How to create a circuit pattern.

Images