1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an improved electrical connector and method of making it. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electrical connector comprising elastic contacts on an insulating substrate, in which vias or holes in the insulating substrate are filled to provide a better connector performance and improved ease of manufacturing.
2. Background Art
Electrical connectors are an important component of many electronic devices. As the devices become smaller, the functionality is increasing, requiring increasing numbers of electrical interconnections between components. In order to enable system miniaturization, the electrical connectors must become smaller, yet they are required to handle increasing power and signal loads and to operate at faster speeds. It is necessary in many applications to provide a low-cost, high reliability electrical interconnection on an extremely small scale to allow for an increasing number of components to be interconnected. As the operating frequencies and data transfer rates of the electronic system increases, there is an increased need for high speed signal integrity through the connector.
Various electrical connectors have been proposed in the prior art. Examples of such electrical connector (electrical interconnection) is shown in Neoconix' prior patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 7,113,408.
Conventional electrical connectors present challenges in terms of their size, cost, and operating speed. A conventional connector has a substantial size and a significant cost to manufacture, especially when the connector includes many electrical contacts. Such connectors also must operate at speeds which are increasing without losing data as a result of the electrical connections. Power handling requirements are also increasing. Conventional connectors are limited in power handling capability, and can overheat when power load exceeds their capability. These conventional connectors are typically lacking in their ability to dissipate heat or to conduct heat away from the mating components.
Further, many electrical connectors utilize precious metal surface finishes, such as gold, to prevent corrosion. These materials are costly. As a result there is a desire to use smaller connections (to take up less space and to use less precious material), and to minimize the surface area which must be finished with the precious metals.
Electronic devices and particularly portable electronic devices are susceptible to corrosion and degradation from liquids or gases from the environment that penetrate the system. Electrical connectors typically have a high density of electrical interconnections, and it is difficult to shield these from the environment while maintaining connector separability. In contrast, interconnections on a packaged semiconductor can be over-molded or under-filled to protect the interconnections from moisture, water, or gas ingress. Hence, the electrical connector tends to be a highly susceptible component from the perspective of water ingress or damage from corrosive environments.
Accordingly, it will be apparent that the prior art electrical connectors have limitations and undesirable characteristics.
The present invention overcomes the limitations and disadvantages of the prior art electrical connectors and methods of making them.
The present invention is an improved electrical connector and method of making it in which the electrical connector may have dense interconnections, and which provides high reliability interconnections, low resistance and high current carrying capacity, improved thermal dissipation, reduced precious metal usage during fabrication, and thin electrical conductors while providing improved protection for the electrical interconnections. This method and connector will allow for smaller scale interconnections and greater reliability of the interconnection while providing improved signal integrity at high frequency and an economical electrical connector to manufacture.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art in view of the following description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings.
a, 8b, 8c and 8d illustrate applications for the use of the present invention to create a sealed electrical connector, where
The substrate 12 is typically non-conducting and made starting with a printed circuit board (PCB) material such as a sheet of copper-clad FR4. The substrate 12 as shown in this
The plated through holes are typically formed through a drilling process followed by a process to make the hole walls electrically conductive, after which the hole walls are plated through a chemical or electrochemical process which allows for the wall of the electrically conductive via 18a to be of a controlled thickness to provide sufficient conductivity and reliability. The standard through hole or via 18 with plating 18a of the prior art electrical connectors is thus not filled completely, but only around the periphery of the cylindrical opening, having a hollow or open center portion, represented by the reference numeral 18c.
The preferred fill material 18b for many applications of the present invention is thermosetting epoxy, a plastic material. However, other materials can be used to advantage in the present invention including other thermo-setting materials (such as acrylic, polyimide, or Bakelite) or thermoplastic material (such as PMMA, thermoplastic polyimide, or LCP). Other materials which could be used to advantage as the fill material 18b in the present invention include solder mask, fluoropolymers, and other polymers and blends of polymers. The via fill material 18b also can be a composite polymeric material including particulate or fiber filler materials such as glass fibers, alumina, silicon carbide, magnesium oxide, or silicon dioxide (silica) particles to control thermal expansion or to increase thermal conductivity, where silica is particularly useful in mixtures to achieve a desired coefficient of thermal expansion. The via fill material also can include conductive fillers such as silver flake or metal particles including gold, copper and/or silver to improve conductivity and/or reliability. In yet some other applications, a via fill material can be an electrically conductive material—a metal such as copper or an alloy such as solder. The filler could include copper which has been plated sufficiently to completely fill the via. The solder filler could be created by printing solder paste into the vias, then reflowing to create a solder via fill.
The via fill material 18b can provide a mechanical strengthening of the electrical connection provided by the plated via. This via fill material reduces the stress on the via plating layer 18a during electrical connector operation, including reducing stress during thermal cycling or during activation of the electrical connector (for example, from flexing of the electrical connection structure or from expansion and contraction of the substrate 12). The present invention also contemplates that the via fill material might provide a sealed connector in some applications, including with a separate seal such as an o-ring, If desired. A sealed connector provided by (or in conjunction with) the via fill material can protect the sensitive electronic components inside of an electronic device from gases and liquids which might erode or corrode the electronic components and reduce the effectiveness and the useful life of the electronic system.
The via fill material 18b may be chosen based on the application under consideration. In some cases, it is desirable to have a coefficient of thermal expansion which is selected based on the coefficient of the plating material (approximately equal to that of the plating material). In other applications, it is desirable to have a coefficient of thermal expansion which is approximately the same as the coefficient of thermal expansion of the substrate. In still others, it is desirable to have a coefficient of thermal expansion which is approximately the average of the coefficients of thermal expansion of the plating material and the substrate.
The via fill material 18b might be thermally conductive in other applications. This can be accomplished by using thermally conductive fillers in the via fill material, such as metals (for example copper) and certain ceramic materials (for example boron nitride, aluminum nitride, or aluminum oxide). Using a thermally conductive fill material would improve the heat transfer through the electrical connector 10′ and reduce the heat retained at the electrical interconnections or transferred to the mating components, which may be heat sensitive. This can effectively increase the current carrying capacity of the connector, and as a result may reduce the number of high power interconnections required and/or improve the reliability of the system.
The via fill material 18b might be electrically conductive in certain other applications. This can be accomplished by including a metal (such as copper, silver, or gold) or a metallic alloy (such as solder) within the fill material. This type of material can reduce the electrical resistance through the electrical connector 10′, enabling high current carrying capability. This increased current carrying capacity can reduce the number of connector contacts (“pins” or “positions”) required to provide sufficient power to a device or system element. This can also reduce the heat generation due to resistive heating and can also improve signal integrity.
Because the elastic contacts commonly require surface finishing with a precious metal such as gold, to ensure low contact resistance and prevent corrosion, and the surface finishing frequently occurs subsequent to attachment of the contacts to the substrate, the via or plated through hole will typically incidentally be plated with the precious metal, increasing gold usage. The via fill material prevents the walls of the via from being plated with the precious metal, reducing the surface area being plated and hence reducing precious metal usage and therefore fabrication cost.
In a connector structure where all of the vias are filled, the connector structure may be sealed from side to side and prevents moisture or water ingress through the connector structure. By sealing the perimeter of the connector to another component or element of the electronic system, a watertight connector can be achieved. This is a significant advantage, for example, for battery connectors for cell phones, where the battery side of the connector may have significantly higher likelihood of exposure to water than the electronic components within the main body of the phone housing. The sealed connector would prevent water ingress from the battery side of the connector into the main body of the phone, where sensitive electronic devices inside including semiconductor devices such as processor chips, memory chips, and logic chips reside.
The present invention is related to electrical connectors in general and is not limited to electrical connectors having a plurality of spring contacts on the top and bottom of the electrical connector, and it is not limited to a connector having electrical contacts on both top and bottom portions of the connector. So, in place of one set of the electrical contacts, an array of surface mount pads could be employed. In the alternative, the contacts could be a ball grid array (BGA), if desired.
Of course, it will be understood that many variations to this process are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. So, for example, if the fill material 18b does not substantially shrink during the cure process, planarization may be necessary (e.g., by mechanical abrasion) so that the hole fill 18b surfaces have the desired relationship to the surface of the substrate. If the fill material shrinks too much, then an additional fill step might be desired to bring the level of the fill material to the desired level. If it is desired to have the fill material 18b recessed from the surface of the substrate—for example, to prevent interference with the movement of the spring contacts—the surface of the substrate can be plated with copper in selected locations.
Finally, if some further finishing of the surface of the fill material is required or desired, it may be done, such as adding a metallization layer on top of the fill material (which can be accomplished through plating or other suitable methods).
a is a perspective view of an electrical connector (or interposer) 240 which provides interconnections including board-to-board or flex-to-board electrical interconnections. A plurality of electrical spring contacts 250 are arranged in an array on the electrical connector (interposer) 240, where the electrical spring contacts 250 are preferably the spring contacts of the type sold by Neoconix under its PCBeam trademark and described in its issued patents. A seal 260 surrounds the array of electrical contacts 250, with the seal 260 being a conventional o-ring or other suitable seal. The seal 260 could also be comprised of the coverlay material 270, where the coverlay in this instance would be substantially compliant, such as an elastomeric material like silicone. When the electrical connector (interposer) 240 is mated to and compressed against the substrate, the seal 260 forms a watertight barrier to fluid penetration. Not shown in this view are the filled vias, which also contribute to forming the watertight connector by preventing water ingress or egress through the vias.
b shows the detail of a portion of the electrical connector (interposer) 240 with some of the electrical spring contacts 250 which are mounted such that their base portion is located under a coverlay 270. Spring contacts 250 are located in openings 280 in the coverlay 270. Not shown in this view are the filled vias of the present invention which cooperate with the other structures to assist in prevention of moisture or water penetration while protecting the electrical interconnections provided by plating of the vias.
c shows a mating substrate 200 having a 6×5 array of contact pads 210 arranged on a PCB or flex circuit substrate 215. An optional copper seal ring 220 surrounds the contact pads 210. The contact pads 210 are electrically connected by internal vias to electronic circuits on and/or within the substrate. The copper seal ring 220 helps provide a seal by providing a raised surface which compresses against compliant seal on the electrical connector 240 of
d shows one representative example of the electrical connector (or interposer) 240 to form a watertight electrical interconnection to the inside of a sealed electronic system 290 surrounded by a housing, 360. A seal 260 surrounds the contact array and is compressed between the electrical connector (or interposer) 240 and the mating printed circuit substrate 200, and/or the housing. The filled vias 310 prevent water ingress through the connector (interposer) 240, and electrically interconnect electrical contacts 250 on a first surface 340 of the electrical connector (or interposer) 240 to electrical contacts 320 on a second surface 350 of the connector (or interposer) 240. An electrical interconnection is made between the electrical contacts 250 on the first surface 340 of the connector (interposer) 240 and mating pads (not shown) on the printed circuit substrate 200. On the second surface 350 of the connector (interposer) 240, electrical interconnections are made between the electrical contacts 320 and a device 300, such as a battery, power supply, or antenna, located outside of the sealed electronic system 290, and thus potentially exposed to the outside environment 330.
Many modifications and alterations of the preferred embodiment described above are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the filled via can be created using a plating or etching process to create a copper or other metal post or pillar on the surface of a carrier sheet, and this post can be inserted into a hole in the non-conductive substrate material to create the solid or filled via. Such a post or pillar could also directly pierce a non-conductive substrate which does not have pre-existing holes within it. Further, some of the features of the present invention can be used to advantage without the corresponding use of other features. For example, the use of an abrasion of the fill of the vias may be desirable in some instances and not required in other instances. Accordingly, the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment should be considered as merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention and not in limitation thereof, as the claims which follow are the sole definitions of the present invention.
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