DE19502157A1 - Electronic module carrier element for mfr. of smart cards - Google Patents

Abstract

A carrier element (2) for an integrated circuit (IC) module, for building into the card body of a chip- or smart-card (1), comprises an electric write/read contacts (20) which are electrically conductively connected to the corresp. terminal (connection) points (21A) on the IC-module (21) via bonding wires (22). The module and the bonding wires, terminal points, etc. are all surrounded by a protective compound, the latter having a contact (-making) and carrier-element (23) made of metal which is divided into mutually electrically insulating contact tongues (23A) forming the write/read contacts. On the side of the contact- and carrier-element (23) facing the IC-module (21) is arranged an adhesive film (3) provided with a central perforation (30) for receiving the IC-module (21).

Description

The invention relates to a carrier element for an IC Module (electronic module) for use in the card body a chip card. Such a carrier element has writing / Read contacts on, with corresponding connection points of the IC components are electrically connected and the Communication of the IC module with corresponding devices enable.

Chip cards have a height-standardized thickness of 0.76 mm. The carrier element is in one to the top of the card open recess of the card body fixed, the Residual material thickness in the area of the recess Stability reasons is still about 0.1mm. As a consequence, that the carrier element with the IC module only one extreme may have a low overall height. However, the carrier element must be designed so that there are mechanical loads - z. B. strong bending forces - withstands and the IC module does not is damaged.

Since smart cards are in the form of phone cards, Health insurance cards or the like by one in large Bulk items manufactured is one cost-effective and rational production of the carrier elements particularly important.

DE 30 29 667 is a carrier element for an IC chip described for installation in ID cards. This support element consists of a non-conductive carrier film (plastic Carrier film), which one-sided the read / write contacts  has forming metallization. The IC chip is in one window-like recess of the non-conductive carrier film used, the connection points of the IC module with the Read / write contacts over thin gold or aluminum wires are interconnected. The gold or Aluminum wires through openings in the non-conductive Carrier foil led through to the read / write contacts.

This contacting the connection points of the IC module with the Read / write contacts using the gold or aluminum wires takes place in so-called automatic bonding machines.

A disadvantage of this carrier element, however, is that the Production of such non-conductive carrier films with a structured, which form the read / write contacts Metallization is very complex and costly. In in a first step, a Copper layer on the non-conductive carrier foil (plastic Carrier film) laminated. Then the copper layer becomes Formation of isolated read / write contacts using the photo-etching technique in several steps structured (application of photoresist, exposure, removal of photoresist and etching the copper layer, removing the remaining photoresists). After that there will be another Nickel / gold layer applied.

Based on this state of the art, it is the task of Invention, a carrier element for an IC chip for installation to create in the card body of a chip card that in is easier and cheaper to manufacture and a Guaranteed permanent safe and reliable use. The carrier element according to the invention has a contact and supporting element made of metal, which with the formation of Read / write contacts in electrically isolated from each other Contact tongues is divided. On this metallic The IC module is fixed in the contacting and supporting element.  

For the production of the contacting and supporting elements a metal band in a simple and very cost-effective manner - a so-called leadframe - which uses one or several rows of consecutive in the longitudinal direction of the tape arranged, structured, divided into the contact tongues and the segments forming the contacting and supporting elements having. The contact tongues are each with separable webs held on the metal band body. The structured elements are made by punching, etching, Water jet cutting or laser bombardment of the metal strip educated. One and / or both sides are on the metal band galvanically one or more coating metals, such as copper, Tin, nickel, gold-silver or palladium applied.

To produce such a metal strip are less and not as complex work steps as necessary Production of a metallized plastic carrier film.

The flow of the potting compound through the gaps to prevent between the reeds is in the first Embodiment of the invention on the metal band on the column covering adhesive tape applied. The IC chip is now either fixed directly on the adhesive strip or in one Recess of the same. For contacting the bond wires to the The adhesive strip has corresponding contact tongues Contact access openings. For the adhesive tape preferably a hot adhesive strip is used, then the Carrier element with the edge areas of the hot adhesive strip glued directly into a recess in the chip card body can be.

In a second embodiment of the invention Flow through the potting compound through a back on the Metal tape applied adhesive tape prevents the can be removed without leaving any residue. After curing the Potting compound is removed again.

Two exemplary embodiments are shown in the drawings, which are explained in more detail below. It shows

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a support member according to the first embodiment,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the glued in a chip card body support element (see. Fig. 1),

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a carrier element according to the second embodiment,

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a metal strip with the contacting and supporting elements,

Fig. 5 is a plan view as in Fig. 4, but with adhesive tape applied thereon.

In Fig. 1, a carrier element (2) for an integrated circuit device (21) is shown to be incorporated into the card body of a chip card. The carrier element consists of read / write contacts ( 20 ) which are electrically conductively connected to the connection points ( 21 A) of the IC module ( 21 ) via bond wires ( 22 ). The IC module ( 21 ) and the bond wires ( 22 ) and the connection points of the bond wires ( 22 ) on the IC module ( 21 ) and on the read / write contacts are surrounded by a sealing compound ( 24 ) to protect them against mechanical loads and moisture.

The read / write contacts are formed by a metallic contact and support element ( 23 ) which is divided into contact tongues ( 23 A) which are electrically insulated from one another to form read / write contacts ( 20 ). On the side facing the IC module ( 21 ), the contact and support element ( 23 ) has an adhesive film ( 3 ) covering the contact tongues ( 23 A) and the insulating areas between them. The IC module is inserted in a central recess ( 30 ) of the adhesive film ( 3 ) and fixed on an earth-related contact tongue with an adhesive ( 5 ), preferably an electrically conductive adhesive. The adhesive film ( 3 ) has further contact access openings for the passage of the bond wires ( 22 ) to the contact tongues ( 23 A). The adhesive film ( 3 ) is preferably formed by a double-sided adhesive film or a hot-melt film. In an embodiment not shown, the IC module ( 21 ) is fixed directly on the adhesive film ( 3 ).

In Fig. 4, a metal strip ( 4 ) is shown, from which the contact and support elements ( 23 ) are made. The metal band ( 4 ) has two rows of structured segments ( 40 ) which run in the longitudinal direction of the band and are divided into the contact tongues and form the contacting and supporting elements ( 23 ). The contact tongues ( 23 A) are each held on the metal strip body with separable residual webs ( 41 ). This metal strip ( 4 ) with its segments ( 40 ) structured in this way represents a conductive frame (a so-called leadframe) for holding IC components ( 21 ) for use in chip cards. The structured segments ( 40 ) are made by punching, etching, laser bombardment or water jet cutting of the metal strip ( 4 ) is formed. The metal strip ( 4 ) has one and / or both sides one or more galvanically applied coating metals, such as copper, tin, nickel, silver, gold or palladium.

To the metal strip (4) an adhesive strip (3) each corresponding to the contacting and supporting elements (23) contact access openings (30) and recesses (31) is applied to the IC packages (21) - see FIG. Fig. 5.

In the next step, the contacting and support elements ( 23 ) are each equipped with the IC components ( 21 ) by inserting them into the cutouts ( 31 ) and with an adhesive ( 5 ) on a contact tongue ( 23 A) of the respective contact - And support element ( 23 ) are fixed.

In a next step, the connection points ( 21 A) on the IC module are connected through the contact access openings ( 30 ) in the adhesive strip ( 3 ) via bonding wires ( 22 ) to the corresponding contact tongues ( 23 A).

In a further step, a hardening casting compound ( 24 ) is applied to the IC modules ( 21 ) with the bonding wires ( 22 ) in order to form a protective casting compound jacket.

In a last step, the segments ( 40 ) forming the contacting and supporting elements ( 23 ) are punched out of the metal strip body and the remaining webs ( 41 ) between the contact tongues ( 23 A) are separated.

In one embodiment variant, the metal strip ( 4 ) and the adhesive strip ( 3 ) can each be unwound from a supply roll (not shown) and are connected to one another in the roll / roll process.

In a further embodiment variant, the metal strip ( 4 ) is divided into individual punching strips (not shown), each with a plurality of contacting and supporting elements ( 23 ), to each of which an adhesive strip ( 3 ) is applied.

In FIG. 2, an inserted into the chip card body support element (2) is shown. The double-sided adhesive film ( 3 ) fulfills a double function: on the one hand, it prevents the potting compound ( 24 ) from flowing through, and on the other hand it is used for gluing into the chip card body.

In Fig. 3 a carrier element (2) is shown according to a second embodiment. To produce this bearing member (2) is applied to the back of the metal strip (4), the contact tongues (23 A) and the gaps between these covering adhesive film (7). After the casting compound ( 24 ) has hardened, this adhesive film ( 7 ) is then removed again without leaving any residue. A hot-melt adhesive layer ( 6 ) is then applied to the contacting and supporting element ( 23 ) in order to glue this carrier element ( 2 ) into the chip card ( 1 ).

Claims (14)

1. Carrier element ( 2 ) for an IC module ( 21 ) for installation in the card body of a chip card ( 1 ), consisting of electrical read / write contacts ( 20 ) with corresponding connection points ( 21 A) on the IC module ( 21 ) are electrically conductively connected via bond wires ( 22 ), the IC module ( 21 ) and the bond wires ( 22 ) and the connection points ( 21 A) of the bond wires ( 22 ) on the IC module ( 21 ) and on the write / Reading contacts ( 20 ) are surrounded by a protective casting compound ( 24 ), characterized in that the same has a contacting and supporting element ( 23 ) made of metal which, with the formation of writing / reading contacts, is divided into contact tongues ( 23 A) which are electrically insulated from one another , and on the IC component (21) facing side of the contact-making and the support element is a totally or partially the contact tongues (23 a) and the insulating areas between these covering adhesive film (3) is arranged (23), where the adhesive film ( 3 ) has a central recess ( 30 ) for receiving the IC component ( 21 ) and further contact access openings ( 31 ) for the passage of the bonding wires ( 22 ) to the read / write contacts ( 20 ), and the IC -Block ( 21 ) and the bond wires ( 22 ) are surrounded by potting compound ( 24 ). 2. A method for producing a carrier element according to claim 1, characterized in that

• - In a first step, an adhesive strip ( 3 ), each with contact access openings ( 31 ) for the bonding wires ( 22 ) corresponding to the contacting and supporting elements ( 23 ) and, if appropriate, recesses ( 30 ) for the IC component ( 21 ) on a metal strip ( 4 ) is applied, which has one or more rows of structured segments ( 40 ) which are arranged one after the other in the longitudinal direction of the strip and are subdivided into the contact tongues ( 23 A) and form the contacting and supporting elements ( 23 ), the contact tongues ( 23 A) are each held on the metal strip body ( 4 ) with separable residual webs ( 41 ),
• - In a next step, the contacting and support elements ( 23 ) are each equipped with the IC components ( 21 ) by either inserting them into the recesses ( 30 ) and using an adhesive ( 5 ) on a contact tongue ( 23 A) respective contacting and support element ( 23 ) are fixed, or by fixing them directly on the adhesive strip ( 3 ),
• - In a next step, the connection points ( 21 A) on the IC module ( 21 ) are connected through the contact access openings ( 31 ) in the adhesive strip ( 3 ) via bonding wires ( 22 ) to the corresponding contact tongues ( 23 A),
• - in each case a curing embedding compound (24) to form a protective Vergußmassemantels (24) applied in a next step on the IC modules (21) with the bonding wires (22),
• - In a further step, the segments ( 40 ) forming the contacting and supporting elements ( 23 ) are punched out of the metal strip body, the remaining webs ( 41 ) between the contact tongues ( 23 A) also being separated.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the metal strip ( 4 ) and the adhesive strip ( 3 ) can each be unwound from a supply roll and can be connected to one another in the roll / roll process. 4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the metal strip ( 4 ) is divided into individual stamping strips, each with a plurality of contacting and supporting elements ( 23 ), and adhesive strips ( 3 ) are applied to each stamping strip. 5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesive strip ( 3 ) is adhesive on both sides. 6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesive strip ( 3 ) is a hot adhesive strip which is connected to the metal strip ( 4 ) under the influence of pressure and heat. 7. carrier element ( 2 ) for an IC module ( 21 ) for installation in the card body of a chip card ( 1 ), consisting of electrical read / write contacts ( 20 ) with corresponding connection points ( 21 A) on the IC module ( 21 ) are electrically conductively connected via bond wires ( 22 ), the IC module ( 21 ) and the bond wires ( 22 ) and the connection points ( 21 A) of the bond wires ( 22 ) on the IC module ( 21 ) and on the write / Reading contacts ( 20 ) are surrounded by a protective potting compound ( 24 ), characterized in that the same has a contacting and supporting element ( 23 ) made of metal which, with the formation of read / write contacts, is divided into contact tongues ( 23 A) which are electrically insulated from one another and the IC module ( 21 ) is fixed on the contacting and support element ( 23 ) with an adhesive ( 5 ). 8. A method for producing a carrier element according to claim 7, characterized in that

• - In a first step, a residue-free removable adhesive strip is applied to a metal strip ( 4 ) which has one or more rows of structured segments arranged in succession in the longitudinal direction of the strip, divided into the contact tongues ( 23 A) and forming the contacting and supporting elements ( 23 ) 40 ), the contact tongues ( 23 A) each being held on the metal strip body ( 4 ) by separable residual webs ( 41 ),
• - In a next step, the contacting and support elements ( 23 ) are each equipped with the IC components ( 21 ) by using an adhesive ( 5 ) on a contact tongue ( 23 A) of the respective contacting and support element ( 23 ) the side opposite the adhesive strip are fixed,
• - In a next step, the connection points ( 21 A) on the IC module ( 21 ) are connected to the corresponding contact tongues ( 23 A) via bond wires ( 22 ),
• - In a next step, a hardening casting compound ( 24 ) is applied to the IC modules ( 21 ) with the bonding wires ( 22 ) to form a protective casting compound jacket, the flowing of the casting compound ( 24 ) through the insulating gaps between the contact tongues ( 23 A) is prevented by the adhesive tape applied on the back,
• - In a further step, the segments ( 40 ) forming the contacting and supporting elements ( 23 ) are punched out of the metal strip body, the remaining webs ( 41 ) between the contact tongues ( 23 A) also being separated.

9. Carrier element according to claim 2 or 8, characterized in that the structured segments ( 40 ) of the metal strip ( 4 ) are formed by stamping. 10. Carrier element according to claim 2 or 8, characterized in that the structured segments ( 40 ) of the metal strip ( 4 ) are formed by etching. 11. Carrier element according to claim 2 or 8, characterized in that the structured segments ( 40 ) of the metal strip ( 4 ) are formed by laser bombardment. 12. Carrier element according to claim 2 or 8, characterized in that the structured segments ( 40 ) of the metal strip ( 4 ) are formed by water jet cutting. 13. Carrier element according to claim 2 or 8, characterized in that on the metal strip ( 4 ) on one or both sides electroplated coating metals such as copper, tin, nickel, silver, gold or palladium are applied. 14. Carrier element according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesive ( 5 ) for fixing the IC component ( 21 ) is a conductive adhesive.