Claims
- 1. A method of manufacturing an electronic device comprising:
providing a substrate having a first surface and at least one second surface located a preselected distance above the first surface; introducing the substrate to a screen printing apparatus comprising:
a screen having a top surface and a bottom surface, the screen having a preselected mesh and thickness and having at least one preconfigured pattern formed therein; and a squeegee formed of a preselected material having a preselected hardness; introducing a screen printable substance on the top surface of the screen, the screen printable substance having a viscosity value within a preselected range; biasing the squeegee and the screen toward the substrate such that at least a portion of the bottom surface of the screen forms an angle with respect to the at least one second surface; forming a continuous screen printed structure extending from at least a portion of the first surface to at least a portion of the second surface by sweeping the squeegee across the top surface of the screen forcing at least a portion of the screen printable substance through the at least one preconfigured pattern and onto at least a portion of the first surface and at least a portion of the at least one second surface while maintaining the angle formed between the bottom surface of the screen and the at least one second surface within a preselected range; and maintaining a predetermined snap-off distance between the at least a portion of the bottom surface of the screen and the at least a portion of the first surface of the substrate
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said maintaining a pre-determined snap-off distance between the at least a portion of the bottom surface of the screen and the at least a portion of the first surface of the substrate includes forming at least a portion of the continuous screen printed structure.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined snap-off distance is generally maintained at a distance of less than approximately 0.2 mils (0.0002 inches/0.0005 cm).
- 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined snap-off distance is maintained within a range of approximately 0.1 mils (0.0001 inches/0.0003 cm) to approximately 0.125 mils (0.000125 inches /0.000317 cm).
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises at least one of a group comprising glass material and ceramic material.
- 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the substrate is comprised of borosilicate glass.
- 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising firing the substrate and the continuous screen printed structure.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one second surface comprises being located on a spacer structure previously disposed on the substrate and the preselected distance above the first surface of the substrate does not exceed approximately 10 mils (0.010 inches/0.025 cm).
- 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the spacer structure is comprised of at least one of a group comprising an insulative material and a dielectric material.
- 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the spacer structure is comprised of a dielectric material.
- 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the spacer structure includes a plurality of stacked insulative layers.
- 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the screen printable substance comprises an electrically conductive paste and the preselected range of the viscosity value of the screen printable substance comprises approximately 50,000 to 600,000 centipoise.
- 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the screen printable substance comprises an electrically conductive paste and the preselected range of the viscosity value of the screen printable substance comprises approximately 250,000 to 400,000 centipoise.
- 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the squeegee comprises a durometer value ranging between approximately 50 and approximately 70 and the squeegee comprises an edge having a generally triangular cross-section.
- 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the durometer value is approximately 60.
- 16. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining the angle formed between the at least a portion of the bottom surface of the screen and the at least one second surface within a range of approximately 5° to approximately 10°.
- 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the preselected mesh of the screen ranges from approximately 80 to 500 and the thickness of the screen ranges between approximately 0.2 mils (0.0002 inches/0.0005 cm) and approximately 0.8 mils (0.0008 inches/0.0020 cm).
- 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the continuous screen printed structure has a nominal depth when wet not exceeding approximately 0.5 mils (0.0005 inches/0.0013 cm).
- 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the continuous screen printed structure has a nominal depth when fired not exceeding approximately 0.2 mils (0.0002 inches/0.0005 cm).
- 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a plurality of second surfaces each being positioned at a preselected height above the first surface of the substrate and wherein the continuous screen printed structure comprises being formed to extend from the at least a portion of the first surface to the at least a portion of the at least one second surface.
- 21. The method of claim 1, wherein the continuous screen printed structure comprises at least one first portion being generally disposed at a first level, at least one uphill portion having an increased depth in comparison to a depth of the at least one first portion of the continuous screen printed structure, and at least one third portion being generally disposed on a second level vertically offset from the first level.
- 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one third portion of the continuous screen printed structure has a depth approximately equal to the depth of the at least one first portion of the continuous screen printed structure.
- 23. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one preconfigured pattern in the screen comprises a reduced geometry in a region of the at least one preconfigured pattern corresponding to an uphill region of a continuous structure to be screen printed.
- 24. The method of claim 23, further comprising sweeping the squeegee in a preselected direction and wherein the reduced geometry of the at least one preconfigured pattern is generally perpendicular to the preselected direction.
- 25. A method of forming at least one electrically conductive trace on a substrate comprising:
providing a substrate having at least one face and having a dielectric structure of a preselected configuration formed on the at least one face of the substrate, the dielectric structure having at least one first surface vertically distanced from the substrate; providing a print screen having a first side and a second side and positioning the second side of the print screen opposite the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure of the substrate; providing and biasing a squeegee of a preselected hardness against the first side of the print screen toward the substrate thereby forming an angle between at least a portion of the second side of the print screen forward of the squeegee and the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure; screen printing an electrically conductive substance onto the at least one face of the substrate located below the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure to form at least one electrically conductive trace; screen printing the electrically conductive substance onto at least a portion of the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure so as to further form and extend the at least one electrically conductive trace from the substrate to the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure; limiting the angle formed between the at least a portion of the second side of the print screen and the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure to an angle not exceeding approximately 15° while screen printing the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure; and firing the substrate.
- 26. The method of claim 25, wherein firing the substrate includes firing the substrate upon forming the at least one electrically conductive trace in its entirety.
- 27. The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one electrically conductive trace is formed on the dielectric structure subsequent to the at least one electrically conductive trace being formed on the substrate.
- 28. The method of claim 25, wherein the electrically conductive substance comprises a viscosity within a range of approximately 50,000 to 600,000 centipoise and further comprises gold.
- 29. The method of claim 27, wherein the print screen comprises stainless steel or monofilament polymer fiber and wherein the print screen has a mesh within a range of approximately 80 to approximately 500 and a nominal thickness not exceeding approximately 0.8 mils (0.0008 inches/0.0020 cm).
- 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the squeegee has a durometer value within a range of approximately 50 and 70.
- 31. The method of claim 25, wherein the angle formed between the at least a portion of the second side of the print screen and the dielectric structure is limited within a range of approximately 5° to approximately 10°.
- 32. The method of claim 25, wherein the substrate comprises at least one of the group comprising glass and ceramic and wherein the vertical distance of the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure from the at least one face does not exceed approximately 10 mils (0.010 inches/0.025 cm).
- 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the dielectric structure comprises a generally rectangular cross-section comprising at least one generally planar side surface extending generally perpendicular to the at least one face of the substrate and the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure is generally rectangular in shape.
- 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the dielectric structure comprises at least two vertically stacked layers of dielectric material.
- 35. The method of claim 33, wherein the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure has a width less than approximately 10 mils (0.010 inches/0.025 cm) and the vertical distance of the at least one first surface from the substrate does not exceed approximately 7 mils (0.007 inches/0.018 cm).
- 36. The method of claim 33, wherein the at least one electrically conductive trace comprises a plurality of electrically conductive traces arranged in a generally parallel spaced relationship of a preselected pitch.
- 37. The method of claim 36, wherein the preselected pitch comprises a distance not exceeding approximately 50 mils (0.050 inches/0.127 cm).
- 38. The method of claim 37, wherein the preselected pitch comprises a distance of approximately 20 mils (0.020 inches/0.051 cm).
- 39. The method of claim 33, wherein the at least one electrically conductive trace has a nominal depth not exceeding approximately 1 mil (0.001 inches/0.0025 cm).
- 40. The method of claim 26, wherein the at least one electrically conductive trace has a nominal depth when wet not exceeding approximately 0.7 mil (0.0007 inches/0.0018 cm) and a nominal depth upon being fired not exceeding approximately 0.5 mil (0.0005 inches/0.0013 cm).
- 41. The method of claim 40, wherein the at least one electrically conductive trace comprises a plurality of electrically conductive traces arranged in a generally parallel spaced relationship having a preselected pitch not exceeding approximately 50 mils (0.050 inches/0.127 cm).
- 42. The method of claim 41, further comprising at least one of the plurality of electrically conductive traces formed and extending from the at least one face of the substrate onto the dielectric structure being formed to terminate into a generally rectangular-shaped contact pad located on the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure.
- 43. The method of claim 42, wherein the plurality of electrically conductive traces include oppositely positioned end-most located electrically conductive traces, each end-most located electrically conductive trace being formed to respectively terminate into the generally rectangular-shaped contact pads located on the dielectric structure and comprising tabular-shaped extensions extending laterally outwardly from the respective generally rectangular-shaped contact pads.
- 44. The method of claim 43, wherein the substrate comprises at least one anode plate of a field emission display device.
- 45. The method of claim 44, wherein the substrate comprises a plurality of anode plates arranged in an array.
- 46. The method of claim 43, wherein each of the screen printed plurality of electrically conductive traces comprises an uphill region intermediate the at least one face of the substrate and the dielectric structure and wherein the uphill region is contiguous with at least a portion of a generally vertically extending side wall of the dielectric structure.
- 47. The method of claim 25, further comprising maintaining a snap-off distance generally not exceeding approximately 0.2 mil (0.0002 inches/0.0005 cm) between the second side of the print screen and at least a portion of the at least one face of the substrate when screen printing the electrically conductive substance onto the at least a portion of the at least one face of the substrate located below the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure to form the at least one electrically conductive trace.
- 48. The method of claim 47, wherein the snap-off distance is maintained within a range of approximately 0.1 mils (0.0001 inches/0.0003 cm) to approximately 0.125 mils (0.000125 inches /0.000317 cm).
- 49. The method of claim 25, wherein limiting the angle formed between the at least a portion of the second side of the print screen and the at least one first surface of the dielectric structure comprises being limited to a range of approximately 5°.
- 50. A method for forming a multi-level electrically conductive structure comprising:
providing a print screen having a preselected thickness, a top surface, a bottom surface, and having at least one preconfigured print pattern therethrough; providing a squeegee having a preselected hardness and having a generally tapering cross-section and terminating in a working edge; arranging a substrate having at least one lower-level surface and at least one upper-level surface so as to be opposite the bottom surface of the print screen; introducing an electrically conductive, screen printable substance onto at least a portion of the top surface of the print screen; biasing the squeegee against the top surface of the print screen toward the substrate resulting in a reference angle being formed between the bottom surface of the print screen ahead of the working edge of the squeegee and the at least one upper-level surface; sweeping the squeegee in a predetermined forward direction so as to urge at least a portion of the screen printable substance through the at least one preconfigured pattern and onto at least a portion of the at least one lower-level surface to form a first portion of at least one continuous electrically conductive structure while maintaining the reference angle within a preselected range; continuing the biasing and the sweeping of the squeegee so as to urge additional screen printable substance through the at least one preconfigured print pattern to form a second portion of the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure vertically spanning a region intermediate the at least one lower-level surface and the at least one upper-level surface; continuing the biasing and the sweeping of the squeegee so as to urge additional screen printable substance through the at least one preconfigured print pattern to form a third portion of the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure upon at least a portion of the at least one upper-level surface; and exposing the substrate having the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure to an elevated temperature.
- 51. The method of claim 50, wherein said exposing the substrate having the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure to an elevated temperature includes firing the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure.
- 52. The method of claim 50, further comprising:
maintaining a preselected snap-off distance not exceeding approximately 0.2 mil (0.0002 inches/0.0005 cm) between at least a portion of the bottom surface of the print screen and the at least a portion of the at least one lower-level surface when forming the first portion of the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure.
- 53. The method of claim 50, further comprising:
maintaining a preselected snap-off distance not exceeding approximately 0.2 mil (0.0002 inches/0.0005 cm) between at least a portion of the bottom surface of the print screen and the at least a portion of the at least one upper-level surface when forming the third portion of the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure.
- 54. The method of claim 50, further comprising:
maintaining the reference angle within a range of approximately 2° to approximately 12° when forming the second portion of the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure.
- 55. The method of claim 50, further comprising:
maintaining the reference angle within a range of approximately 5° to approximately 10° when forming the second portion of the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure.
- 56. The method of claim 50, wherein the at least one upper-level surface comprises being located within a vertical distance of the at least one lower-level surface not exceeding approximately 10 mils (0.010 inches/0.025 cm).
- 57. The method of claim 50, wherein the at last one upper-level surface comprises being disposed on an insulative structure comprised of a dielectric material.
- 58. The method of claim 57, wherein the insulative structure comprises at least two layers of dielectric material.
- 59. The method of claim 50, wherein the screen printable substance comprises gold and has a viscosity in the range of approximately 50,000 to 600,000 centipoise.
- 60. The method of claim 50, wherein the screen printable substance comprises gold and has a viscosity in the range of approximately 250,000 to approximately 400,000 centipoise.
- 61. The method of claim 50, wherein the print screen comprises a mesh ranging from approximately 80 to approximately 500 and wherein the preselected thickness of the print screen thickness does not exceed approximately 0.8 mils (0.0008 inches/0.0020 cm).
- 62. The method of claim 50, wherein the print screen comprises a mesh ranging from approximately 80 to approximately 500 and wherein the preselected thickness of the print screen thickness does not exceed approximately 0.5 mils (0.0005 inches/0.0013 cm).
- 63. The method of claim 50, wherein the substrate comprises at least one of a group comprising glass, borosilicate glass, and ceramic material.
- 64. The method of claim 50, wherein the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure comprises a plurality of continuous electrically conductive structures.
- 65. The method of claim 51, wherein the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure comprises a plurality of continuous electrically conductive structures being formed in a preselected pattern.
- 66. The method of claim 51, wherein the at least one upper-level surface comprises a plurality of upper-level surfaces being positioned on the substrate to form an array on the substrate and wherein the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure comprises a plurality of continuous electrically conductive structures.
- 67. The method of claim 66, wherein each upper-level surface of the plurality of upper-level surfaces comprises at least a portion of the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure being formed thereon.
- 68. The method of claim 67, wherein each upper-level surface of the plurality of upper-level surfaces respectively comprises a plurality of continuous electrically conductive structures being formed, at least in part, thereon.
- 69. The method of claim 67, further comprising segmenting the substrate into a plurality of individual substrate segments, each comprising at least one upper-level surface of the plurality of upper-level surfaces therein.
- 70. The method of claim 50, wherein the at least one preconfigured print pattern of the print screen comprises having a dimensionally reduced portion with respect to the forward direction of the squeegee and which corresponds to the screen printable substance being urged through the preconfigured print pattern.
- 71. The method of claim 50, wherein the at least one continuous electrically conductive structure is a circuit trace terminating in a contact pad configured to make electrical contact with a complementary second continuous electrically conductive structure.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/650,840, filed Aug. 30, 2000, pending.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09650840 |
Aug 2000 |
US |
Child |
10152257 |
May 2002 |
US |