TWI394316B - Method of forming antenna - Google Patents

Description

Antenna forming method

The present invention relates to an antenna forming method, and more particularly to an antenna forming method that can be implemented on a surface of a three-dimensional spatial geometric carrier having a single curved structure or a multi-curved surface structure.

Nowadays, the development of wireless communication is progressing steadily. The wireless communication system relies on electromagnetic waves as the medium for transmitting information. The key part of receiving and transmitting electromagnetic waves is the antenna module, especially for personal electronic products such as mobile phones or computers. Antenna module. In view of this, the quality of the antenna module is related to the signal stability and signal quality of subsequent electromagnetic wave transmission and reception.

Conventional antenna module processes are mostly performed by means of, for example, a hot melt process or a bonding process. The antenna module is composed of a plastic support and a metal piece, and the metal piece and the carrier plate are actually separately prepared in advance. And then integrated into an antenna module. However, the following shortcomings often occur in the antenna module integration process. First, the uneven stress in the integration process of the antenna module tends to cause the joint between the metal piece and the surface of the carrier plate to be not tight, and in severe cases, unexpected cracking or deformation may occur. Secondly, the conventional antenna module process can not easily overcome the construction of the metal sheet on the surface of the three-dimensional geometric carrier board with multi-curved structure.

Undoubtedly, the cause of electromagnetic wave instability or loss of expected power in the RF performance of conventional antennas can be attributed to the above disadvantages.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an antenna forming method for implementing an antenna forming method on a surface having a single curved structure or a multi-curved structural carrier.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an antenna forming method. The antenna forming method includes the following steps. A carrier is provided, wherein the surface of the carrier comprises a flat portion and at least one curved portion. A metal layer is covered on the surface of the carrier, and then the metal layer is cut to form a separate antenna pattern and a separate peripheral metal pattern, and a part of the independent antenna pattern is disposed on the surface of the curved portion. A protective metal pattern is formed on the independent antenna pattern, and the protective metal pattern is covered by the shape of the surface of the independent antenna pattern. Remove the separate peripheral metal pattern. And forming an adjustment metal pattern on the protective metal pattern.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an antenna forming method. The antenna forming method includes the following steps. Provide a carrier board. A metal layer is covered on the surface of the carrier, and the metal layer is cut to form a separate antenna pattern and a separate peripheral metal pattern. A protective metal pattern is formed on the independent antenna pattern, and the protective metal pattern is covered by the surface shape of the independent antenna pattern. Remove the separate peripheral metal pattern. The protective metal pattern overlying the individual antenna patterns is removed. And forming an adjustment metal pattern on the independent antenna pattern.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an antenna forming method. The antenna forming method includes the following steps. Provide a carrier board. A metal layer is covered on the surface of the carrier, and the metal layer is cut to form a separate antenna pattern and a separate peripheral metal pattern. An adjustment metal pattern is formed on the antenna pattern, and the adjustment metal pattern is covered according to the surface shape of the antenna pattern. Remove the peripheral metal pattern. The protective metal pattern covering the surface of the adjustment metal pattern is removed to retain the lower adjustment metal pattern.

The antenna forming method of the present invention preserves a separate antenna pattern by etching a metal pattern in combination with a high etching selectivity solvent, thereby etching an independent peripheral metal pattern, and forming an adjustment metal pattern on a separate antenna pattern according to requirements. The RF performance of the antenna is further optimized. Moreover, the protective metal pattern of the present invention has the unique advantage of protecting the internal independent antenna pattern. The feature emphasized by the present invention is that the antenna forming method of the present invention can form an antenna on the surface of the carrier board having a multi-curved structure according to requirements, and provides excellent fixation between the antenna and the carrier board to stabilize the antenna RF performance. Furthermore, the present invention uses an electroless plating process or an electroplating process to have advantages suitable for large-area fabrication.

Certain terms are used throughout the description and following claims to refer to particular elements. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that manufacturers may refer to the same elements by different nouns. The term "including" as used throughout the specification and subsequent claims is an open term and should be interpreted as "including but not limited to" and is hereby stated.

Please refer to Figures 1A to 5. 1A to 5 are schematic views showing the formation of a first preferred embodiment of the antenna forming method of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1A, first, a carrier 10 is provided, and the surface of the carrier 10 includes a flat portion 12a and at least one curved portion 12b. Then, a surface of the carrier 10 is covered with a metal layer (not shown), and the metal layer is cut to form a separate antenna pattern 14a and a separate peripheral metal pattern 14b. One of the independent antenna patterns 14a is disposed on the surface of the curved portion 12b, and the independent antenna pattern 14a and the independent peripheral metal pattern 14b are two mutually isolated patterns. Here, in order to clearly illustrate the spatial distribution between the independent antenna pattern 14a and the carrier 10, please refer to FIG. 2 together, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line AA' of FIG. 1A, and the relevant components can be correspondingly Figure 1A is not described here.

In the present embodiment, the carrier 10 can be fabricated in any manner. For example, injection molding, hot pressing technology, etc., and the shape of the carrier 10 can also be designed according to a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a global positioning system (GPS), or the like. Designed into various shapes in accordance with the requirements of the special antenna shape, it is also possible to partially seal the housing of such a portable device. Moreover, the forming material of the carrier 10 comprises a plastic material such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC) or acrylonitrile-butadiene. - Composite of styrene polymer and polycarbonate (PC/ABS), but this embodiment is not particularly limited. In particular, the plastic material used in the carrier 10 of the present embodiment has characteristics such as good surface hardness, chemical resistance, rubber toughness, impact resistance, surface gloss, and ease of processing. In addition, the curved surface portion 12b of the surface of the carrier 10 may be a concave curved surface structure or a convex curved surface structure, or a non-planar structure including a single curved surface structure or a multiple curved surface structure.

In the present embodiment, a roughening process is performed on the surface of the carrier 10, such as a chemical treatment or a mechanical treatment such as a bronze treatment, a graphitization treatment, a metal paint treatment or a metallization treatment, to change the surface of the carrier 10 Properties to obtain an interlocking surface. Then a metallization process is performed to perform a metal deposition process, such as an electroless plating process, an electroplating process, a vacuum metalizing, a cathode sputtering, or a metal. The metal spraying or the like forms a metal layer directly on the surface of the portion of the carrier 10, and the metal layer formed by the process of the present invention using electroless plating or electroplating has an advantage suitable for large-area fabrication. In addition, the independent outer peripheral metal pattern metal layer of the independent antenna pattern of the embodiment may be a metal such as copper metal, nickel metal or aluminum metal, but is not limited, and may be other metal materials suitable for the antenna.

The present invention also provides a method of forming a separate antenna pattern 14a and a separate peripheral metal pattern 14b by performing a dicing operation on a metal layer as follows. As shown in FIG. 1B, first, a metal deposition process is performed using an electroless plating process or an electroplating process to deposit a metal layer 13 on the entire surface of the carrier 10. Next, a micro-machining process, such as a micro-energy beam processing technique or a micro-thermal processing technique, is used in FIG. 2 to parallel the metal layer 13 along the peripheral boundary line of the independent antenna pattern 14a. And engraving with a proper distance to form a separate antenna pattern 14a and a separate peripheral metal pattern 14b on the surface of the carrier 10, and the independent antenna pattern 14a and the independent peripheral metal pattern 14b no longer have metal. The connection, whereby the subsequent plating of the metal to the individual antenna pattern 14a, the deposition of the plating metal does not result in the presence of metal in the separate antenna pattern 14a and the separate peripheral metal pattern 14b, causing current communication between the two portions of the pattern metal. The metal to be plated is collectively covered on the individual antenna pattern 14a and the independent peripheral metal pattern 14b. In the present embodiment, the micro-energy beam processing technique preferably employs laser machining or E-beam machining. Moreover, in the present embodiment, the micro thermal processing technology may use Micro Electrical Discharge machining (Micro EDM). It should be added that, in laser processing, the laser source selected for laser processing includes, for example, a laser source material having a wavelength of about 1064 nm (Nd:YAG) or A solid state Q-switch laser source is used, but it is not limited, and any laser source that can perform laser processing on metal can be used to meet the requirements of more precise and precise independent antenna pattern. .

In addition, in the embodiment, the independent antenna pattern 14a may include a parabolic or rectangular pattern, a square/rectangle antenna pattern, an annular ring antenna pattern, and a slit. A slotted patch antenna pattern, an ellipse antenna pattern, or a triangle antenna pattern is not limited to this embodiment.

Subsequently, as shown in Fig. 3, a protective metal pattern 30 is formed on the surface of the individual antenna pattern 14a, and the protective metal pattern 30 is covered by the shape of the surface of the individual antenna pattern 14a. The method of forming the protective metal pattern 30 therein includes an electroplating process, partial plating, or any local process that can form the protective metal pattern 30 on only the individual antenna patterns 14a. It should be noted that the protective metal pattern 30 may comprise one of titanium metal, chrome metal or tin metal, but it is emphasized that if the protective metal pattern 30 is composed of chrome metal, it is preferred to be independent. After forming a copper layer (not shown) on the surface of the antenna pattern 14a, the protective metal pattern layer 30 is formed, which will further contribute to the quality of the chrome metal layer as the protective metal pattern 30.

Next, the protective metal pattern 30 is used as an etch mask to remove the independent peripheral metal pattern 14b not covered with the protective metal pattern 30. The method of removing the independent peripheral metal patterns 14b on the surface of the carrier 10 may be performed by wet etching, for example, using a first solvent, and the first solvent has a higher etching selectivity ratio for the independent peripheral metal patterns 14b and the protective metal patterns 30. . For example, if the protective metal pattern 30 is composed of titanium metal, since the alkaline etching liquid containing hydrogen peroxide or ammonia water is easily stripped of the titanium metal to form titanium oxide, the first solvent preferably contains nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. Or an etchant such as sulfuric acid, and thereby the first solvent has a higher etch rate for the individual peripheral metal patterns 14b to selectively etch the individual peripheral metal patterns 14b while leaving the protective metal pattern 30. Subsequently, this embodiment can selectively perform a rinsing step using deion water to remove a portion of the etching liquid remaining after etching the independent peripheral metal pattern 14b, and then performing a drying step. This will greatly improve the quality of the subsequent adjustment of the metal pattern. However, as shown in FIG. 4, after the etch-independent peripheral metal pattern 14b is removed, an adjustment metal pattern 40 is formed on the protective metal pattern 30, wherein the adjustment metal pattern 40 may be a single layer structure or a multilayer structure, and the plurality of layers The structure may comprise the same or different layers of metallic material, and each of the layers of metallic material may have the same or different thicknesses, respectively. In the present invention, adjusting the metal effect of the multilayer structure of the metal pattern 40 can also modulate the radio frequency performance of the antenna. Finally, FIG. 5 is a completed view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The antenna forming method of the present invention further provides a method for forming a second preferred embodiment. The second preferred embodiment has different features from the first preferred embodiment mainly in that the antenna pattern can be selectively removed and covered. The step of protecting the metal pattern 30 on the surface of 14a. The process of forming the second preferred embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first preferred embodiment. Therefore, the first front-end process of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention can be referred to the foregoing FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, and FIG. And in FIG. 3, a separate antenna pattern 14a covered with the protective metal pattern 30 is obtained on the surface of the carrier 10. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the surface of the individual antenna pattern 14a utilizes a second solvent having a higher etching selectivity ratio for the protective metal pattern 30 and the individual antenna pattern 14a to remove the protective metal pattern 30. For example, if the protective metal pattern 30 is composed of titanium metal, the second solvent may include an alkaline etching solution such as ammonia (NH ₃ OH), hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ), and deionized water ( De Ion water) an etchant which is preferably mixed in a ratio, or an etchant which is preferably mixed in a ratio of hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) and sulfuric acid (H ₂ SO ₄ ), but is not limited to the above etching liquid, and It can be used as a solvent formulation with a high etching selectivity. The etchant containing hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid first forms titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ) by using hydrogen peroxide and titanium metal, and then strips the titanium oxide by sulfuric acid.

It is to be noted that, after the protective metal pattern 30 is removed, the junction originally existing between the protective metal pattern 30 and the surface of the individual antenna pattern 14a forms an activating layer 60 due to contact with the etching liquid. Since the active layer 60 is a layer of material that is unstable in activity, it needs to be removed first so as to make the subsequent adjustment metal pattern 40 more compact when it covers the individual antenna pattern 14a. As shown in FIG. 7, the step of removing the active layer 60 on the surface of the individual antenna pattern 14a includes utilizing a third solvent, and the third solvent has a higher etching selectivity ratio for the active layer 60 and the individual antenna pattern 14a. Therefore, only the active layer 60 on the surface of the individual antenna pattern 14a is removed. For example, the third solvent contains deionized water, but is not limited thereto.

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC' of Fig. 8. As shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the process subsequent to FIG. 7, and then an adjustment metal pattern 40 is formed on the independent antenna pattern 14a, wherein the adjustment metal pattern 40 may comprise a single layer structure or a multilayer structure. The multilayer structure comprises the same or different layers of metallic material, and each of the metallic material layers has the same or different thicknesses. Similarly, the different metal effects of the multilayer structure can also modulate the RF performance of the antenna. However, the design concept of the adjustment metal pattern 40 of the present invention has been described in the first preferred embodiment, and will not be further described herein.

The antenna forming method of the present invention further provides a method for forming a third preferred embodiment. The third preferred embodiment differs from the first preferred embodiment mainly in that a separate antenna pattern 14a and an independent periphery are formed. After the metal pattern 14b, only the individual antenna patterns 14a are plated, and the adjustment metal pattern 40 and the protective metal pattern 30 are sequentially formed on the individual antenna patterns 14a. Then, the independent peripheral metal pattern 14b is selectively removed by the first solvent, and the protective metal pattern 30 is selectively removed by the fourth solvent to leave the lower adjustment metal pattern 40. The process of forming the third preferred embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first preferred embodiment. Therefore, the first preferred embodiment of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention can refer to the foregoing FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and FIG. . As shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and FIG. 2, the metal layer on the surface of the carrier 10 is cut into a separate antenna pattern 14a and a separate peripheral metal pattern 14b. Next, as shown in FIG. 10, an adjustment metal pattern 40 is formed on the individual antenna pattern 14a, and the adjustment metal pattern 40 is covered by the surface shape of the antenna pattern 14a. Then, a protective metal pattern 30 is sequentially formed on the adjustment metal pattern 40, and the protective metal pattern 30 is covered according to the surface shape of the adjustment metal pattern 40. Subsequently, as shown in Fig. 11, the independent peripheral metal pattern 14b is selectively removed by the first solvent. Then, the protective metal pattern 30 is selectively removed by using the fourth solvent to retain the lower adjustment metal pattern 40, and the fourth solvent is a solvent having a higher etching selectivity ratio for the protective metal pattern 30 and the adjustment metal pattern 40, and is not limited. . It should be noted that in the forming method of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention, the protective metal pattern 30 may be the same as the outer metal of the adjusting metal pattern 40, so that the protective metal pattern 30 may not directly form the adjusting metal pattern 40 directly. That is, in the present invention, the adjustment metal pattern 40 can simultaneously have a function of modulating the radio frequency performance of the antenna due to the metal effect of the multilayer structure, and also has the protection function of the protection metal pattern 30.

The antenna forming method of the present invention preserves a separate antenna pattern by etching a metal pattern in combination with a high etching selectivity solvent to etch a separate peripheral metal pattern, and can form an adjustment metal pattern on a separate antenna pattern according to requirements. It is advantageous to further optimize the RF performance of the antenna, and the independent antenna pattern is independent of the antenna pattern. It is accompanied by a mention. Here, the invention emphasizes that the antenna forming method of the present invention can form an antenna on the surface of the carrier board having a multi-curved structure as needed. It is noteworthy that if the present invention uses an electroplating process between the independent antenna pattern and the surface of the carrier, the advantages of the unexpected gap between the independent antenna pattern and the surface of the carrier can be eliminated, thereby providing an antenna and a carrier. Better sturdiness and stable antenna RF performance. Furthermore, the present invention uses an electroless plating process or an electroplating process to have advantages suitable for large-area fabrication. From the viewpoint of manufacturing production, the present invention is not only simple in construction, but also has advantages of easy industrial production, control according to requirements, and low cost.

The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made to the scope of the present invention should be within the scope of the present invention.

10. . . Carrier board

12a. . . Plane department

12b. . . Surface part

13. . . Metal layer

14a. . . Independent antenna pattern

14b. . . Independent peripheral metal pattern

30. . . Protective metal pattern

40. . . Adjusting the metal pattern

60. . . Activation layer

1A to 5 are schematic views showing a method of forming a first preferred embodiment of the antenna forming method of the present invention.

6 to 9 are schematic views showing a part of a method of forming a second preferred embodiment of the antenna forming method of the present invention.

10 to 11 are schematic views showing a part of a method of forming a third preferred embodiment of the antenna forming method of the present invention.

10. . . Carrier board

12a. . . Plane department

12b. . . Surface part

14a. . . Independent antenna pattern

14b. . . Independent peripheral metal pattern

Claims (32)

An antenna forming method includes the following steps: providing a carrier board, wherein a surface of the carrier board comprises a planar portion and at least one curved surface portion; a surface of the carrier is covered with a metal layer; and the metal layer is cut to form an independent layer The antenna pattern and a separate peripheral metal pattern, and a part of the independent antenna pattern is disposed on the surface of the curved surface portion; a protective metal pattern is formed on the independent antenna pattern, and the protective metal pattern is independent Covering the shape of the surface of the antenna pattern; removing the independent peripheral metal pattern; and forming an adjustment metal pattern on the protective metal pattern. The antenna forming method according to claim 1, wherein the removing the independent peripheral metal pattern utilizes a first solvent to etch the independent peripheral metal pattern to retain the protective metal pattern. The antenna forming method according to claim 1, wherein the method of forming the independent antenna pattern comprises an electroless plating process, an electroplating process, or a microfabrication process. The antenna forming method of claim 3, wherein the microfabrication process comprises laser processing. The antenna forming method of claim 1, wherein the independent antenna pattern comprises nickel metal, copper metal or aluminum metal. The antenna forming method according to claim 1, wherein the material constituting the carrier plate comprises a plastic material. The antenna forming method according to claim 6, wherein the plastic material comprises acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymer (ABS), polycarbonate (PC) or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymer and Polycarbonate composite (PC/ABS). The antenna forming method according to claim 1, wherein the curved surface portion comprises a single curved surface structure or a multiple curved surface structure. The antenna forming method according to claim 1, wherein the curved surface portion includes a concave structure and a convex structure. The antenna forming method of claim 1, wherein the adjustment metal pattern comprises a single layer structure or a multilayer structure. The antenna forming method of claim 10, wherein the multilayer structure comprises the same or different metal material layers. The antenna forming method according to claim 11, wherein each of the metal material layers has the same or different thicknesses. An antenna forming method includes the steps of: providing a carrier; covering a surface of the carrier with a metal layer; cutting the metal layer to form a separate antenna pattern and a separate peripheral metal pattern; and the independent antenna pattern Forming a protective metal pattern thereon, and the protective metal pattern is covered by the surface shape of the independent antenna pattern; removing the independent peripheral metal pattern; removing the protective metal pattern covering the independent antenna pattern; and being independent An adjustment metal pattern is formed on the antenna pattern. The antenna forming method of claim 13, wherein the step of removing the independent peripheral metal pattern further comprises etching the independent peripheral metal pattern with a first solvent to retain the protective metal pattern. The antenna forming method according to claim 13, wherein the step of removing the protective metal pattern utilizes a second solvent to remove the protective metal pattern. The antenna forming method according to claim 13, wherein after the protective metal pattern is removed, an independent active layer is formed on the surface of the antenna pattern. The antenna forming method of claim 16, further comprising the step of removing the active layer using a third solvent. The antenna forming method according to claim 13, wherein the method of forming the independent antenna pattern comprises an electroless plating process, an electroplating process, or a microfabrication process. The antenna forming method of claim 18, wherein the microfabrication process comprises laser processing. The antenna forming method of claim 13, wherein the independent antenna pattern comprises nickel metal, copper metal or aluminum metal. The antenna forming method according to claim 13, wherein the material constituting the carrier comprises a plastic material. The antenna forming method according to claim 21, wherein the plastic material comprises acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymer (ABS), polycarbonate (PC) or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymer and Polycarbonate composite (PC/ABS). The antenna forming method of claim 13, wherein the surface of the carrier comprises a planar portion and at least one curved portion. The antenna forming method according to claim 23, wherein a part of the independent antenna pattern is disposed on a surface of the curved surface portion. The antenna forming method of claim 23, wherein the curved surface portion comprises a single curved surface structure or a multiple curved surface structure. The antenna forming method according to claim 23, wherein the curved surface portion includes a concave structure and a convex structure. The antenna forming method of claim 13, wherein the adjustment metal pattern comprises a single layer structure or a multilayer structure. The antenna forming method of claim 27, wherein the multilayer structure comprises the same or different layers of metal material. The antenna forming method of claim 28, wherein the metal material layers have the same or different thicknesses, respectively. An antenna forming method includes the steps of: providing a carrier board; covering a surface of the carrier board with a metal layer, cutting the metal layer to form a separate antenna pattern and a separate peripheral metal pattern; and separately forming the antenna pattern Forming an adjustment metal pattern on the surface shape of the independent antenna pattern; removing the peripheral metal pattern; and removing the protective metal pattern covering the surface of the adjustment metal pattern to retain the Adjust the metal pattern. The antenna forming method of claim 30, wherein a protective metal pattern is further formed on the adjusting metal pattern after the adjusting metal pattern is formed and before the peripheral metal pattern is removed, and the protective metal pattern is adjusted according to the metal pattern. The surface shape is covered. The antenna forming method of claim 30, wherein the step of removing the independent peripheral metal pattern comprises using a first solvent, and removing the protective metal pattern while leaving the adjusted metal pattern comprises using a fourth solvent.