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CN-122029544-A - Sensor module

CN122029544ACN 122029544 ACN122029544 ACN 122029544ACN-122029544-A

Abstract

The invention relates to a sensor module for a contactless smart card with biometric functionality. The sensor module includes a biometric sensor, such as a fingerprint sensor, a microcontroller configured to process a signal detected by the biometric sensor, a security chip configured to store data processed by the microcontroller, a multi-layer PCB substrate having a PCB area, wherein the microcontroller and the security chip are directly mounted on the biometric sensor, and the biometric sensor is mounted on the multi-layer PCB substrate to form a stacked structure having a maximum area corresponding to the PCB area. The invention also relates to a contactless biometric smart card comprising said sensor module, and to a method for forming a sensor module and a smart card.

Inventors

  • D. Rigler
  • C. Netherlands

Assignees

  • 兰克森控股公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20231017

Claims (16)

  1. 1. A sensor module (100) for a contactless smart card with biometric functionality, the sensor module (100) comprising: -a biometric sensor (110), such as a fingerprint sensor; -a microcontroller (120) configured to process signals detected by the biometric sensor (110); -a security chip (130) configured to store data processed by the microcontroller (120); -a multi-layer printed circuit board substrate, i.e. a multi-layer PCB substrate (150) having a PCB area; Wherein the microcontroller (120) and the security chip (130) are directly mounted on the biometric sensor (110), and the biometric sensor (110) is mounted on the multi-layer PCB substrate (150) to form a stacked structure having a maximum area corresponding to the PCB area.
  2. 2. The sensor module (100) of claim 1, wherein the multi-layer PCB substrate (150) comprises a first PCB (152) and a second PCB (154).
  3. 3. The sensor module of claim 2, wherein the second PCB (154) includes a cutout portion (156) for receiving the biometric sensor (110) mounted on the first PCB (152).
  4. 4. A sensor module (100) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first PCB (152) comprises a first metal layer (152A) and the second PCB (154) comprises a second metal layer (154A) and a third metal layer (154B) formed on opposite sides of a central layer (155), and the first metal layer (152A) is mechanically and/or electrically connected to the second metal layer (154A) of the second PCB (154).
  5. 5. The sensor module (100) of claim 4, wherein the first metal layer (152A) is mechanically and/or electrically connected to the second metal layer (154A) by an adhesive layer (158), an anisotropic conductive film, ACF, a stub bump connection, and/or a solder bump connection.
  6. 6. The sensor module (100) according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising two antenna discs (140A, 140B), the two antenna discs (140A, 140B) being for enabling a galvanic connection with a card antenna of the contactless smart card.
  7. 7. The sensor module (100) of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a coupling antenna (142), the coupling antenna (142) formed on the multi-layer PCB (150) and configured to cause inductive coupling of the biometric sensor (110) with a card antenna of the contactless smart card.
  8. 8. The sensor module (100) according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the first PCB (152) is made of coloured PET, such as PET made of any colour such as black, red or gold.
  9. 9. The sensor module (100) according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a passive component (160), such as a capacitor, the passive component (160) being mounted on the biometric sensor (110) for antenna matching.
  10. 10. The sensor module (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the multilayer PCB substrate (150) has a width (W) comprised in the range from 6mm to 13.1mm, preferably equal to 12.6mm, and/or a length (L) comprised in the range from 6mm to 11.9mm, preferably equal to 11.4mm, for example having a width (W) and a length (L) complying with the ISO 8 PIN standard as defined in ISO 7816.
  11. 11. The sensor module (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the microcontroller (120) and the security chip (130) are integrated into a single chip.
  12. 12. A contactless smart card (1000) with biometric functionality, comprising: -a sensor module (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 11; -a card antenna (200) configured to be inductively coupled or electrically connected to the sensor module (100).
  13. 13. A method for forming a sensor module (100), the sensor module (100) for a contactless smart card (1000) with biometric functionality, the method comprising the steps of: a) Providing a multi-layer printed circuit board substrate, i.e. a multi-layer PCB substrate (150), said multi-layer PCB substrate having a PCB area; b) -mounting a biometric sensor (110), such as a fingerprint sensor, on one side of the multilayer PCB substrate (150); c) -mounting a microcontroller (120) on a side of the biometric sensor (110) opposite the multilayer PCB substrate (150), the microcontroller (120) being configured to process signals detected by the biometric sensor (110); d) A security chip (130) is mounted on a side of the biometric sensor (110) opposite the multi-layer PCB substrate (150), the security chip (130) being configured to store data processed by the microcontroller (120), Thereby forming a stacked structure having a maximum area corresponding to the area of the PCB.
  14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the multi-layer PCB substrate (150) comprises a first PCB (152) and a second PCB (154), and the step b) comprises the sub-steps of: b1 -mounting the biometric sensor (110) on the first PCB (152); b2 -forming a cut-out portion (156) in the second PCB (154); b3 -attaching the second PCB (154) to the first PCB (152), for example by means of an adhesive layer (158), an anisotropic conductive film, ACF, stub bump connections and/or solder bump connections, such that the biometric sensor (110) is placed in the cutout portion (156).
  15. 15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, further comprising the step of: e) The cut-out portion (156) of the second PCB (154) is filled with an underfill material or using a gate transfer molding to cover the microcontroller (120) and the security chip (130).
  16. 16. A method for forming a contactless smart card (1000) with biometric functionality, the method comprising the steps of: f) -providing a card body (500) of a smart card (1000), the card body (500) comprising a card antenna for contactless communication; g) -forming a cavity (510) in the card body (500); h) The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, forming a sensor module (100); i) Inserting the sensor module (100) into the cavity (510); j) The card antenna is connected to the sensor module (100) by inductive coupling or galvanic connection.

Description

Sensor module Technical Field The invention relates to a sensor module, a method of forming a sensor module, a smart card comprising a sensor module and a method of forming a smart card. Background Smart cards provided with biometric sensors, such as fingerprint sensors and the like, are commonly employed in the art. The biometric sensor represents an additional security feature of the smart card. In view of the large number of uses of smart cards with biometric sensors for banking applications or access permissions, there is always a need for optimization, such as reduced production and manufacturing costs and improved reliability and security features. Document US 2021/017743 A1 discloses, for example, a sensor device and a corresponding dual interface smart card. The sensor device comprises a fingerprint sensor and an antenna coupled to the fingerprint sensor for inductive coupling of the fingerprint sensor to an enhanced antenna of the smart card. However, the sensor device of US 2021/017743 A1 has a complex and large structure, which requires specific tools for implantation into the final card body, and thus the manufacturing process and the resulting sensor device and smart card are expensive. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sensor module and a corresponding smart card that overcome one or more of these drawbacks. Disclosure of Invention The present invention relates to an integrated sensor module having reduced and compact dimensions, for example the dimensions of ISO 8 PIN as defined in ISO 7816. According to a first aspect of the invention, a sensor module for a contactless smart card with biometric functionality is provided. The sensor module includes: -a biometric sensor, such as a fingerprint sensor; -a microcontroller configured to process signals detected by the biometric sensor; -a security chip configured to store data processed by the microcontroller; -a multi-layer Printed Circuit Board (PCB) substrate having a PCB area; wherein the microcontroller and the security chip are directly mounted on the biometric sensor, and the biometric sensor is mounted on the multi-layered PCB substrate to form a stacked structure having a maximum area corresponding to the PCB area. An advantage of this configuration is that the sensor module includes all electronic components and biometric features required to perform contactless payment or transaction or access operations in a single unit. In this way, during the manufacture of the final biometric, contactless smart card, it is only necessary to insert the sensor module into the card body, without having to add other electronic components. According to the present invention, a multi-layer PCB substrate is used as the basis for the entire sensor module. The biometric sensor is formed directly on the multi-layered PCB substrate by a surface mount technology. The microcontroller and the security chip are formed on the biometric sensor by surface mount technology. In this way, a stacked structure having a compact and reduced size is produced. In this disclosure, it should be understood that the expression "multi-layer PCB substrate" is used to indicate a PCB substrate comprising two or more different PCBs. It will be appreciated that a sensor module having a stacked configuration includes several components, each component having an area (defined by a width and a length) and a thickness. The area of the biometric sensor is preferably smaller than the area of the PCB substrate. The area of the respective microcontroller or security chip is preferably smaller than the area of the biometric sensor. Thus, the maximum area of the sensor module corresponds to the area of the multi-layer PCB substrate. In this way, by forming a multi-layer PCB substrate having a reduced size, a compact sensor module may be formed that also has a reduced size. Preferably, the biometric sensor has a square or rectangular shape. Preferably, the biometric sensor has a width greater than or equal to 5mm and/or a length greater than or equal to 5 mm. Preferably, the sensor module is inserted into a smart card having biometric functionality operating in a contactless mode. Thus, there is no need to insert ISO contacts into the sensor module, nor into the final smart card with biometric functionality, and the dimensions of the sensor module can be further reduced. Preferably, the secure chip is configured to store fingerprint data and to process the secure payment transaction and fingerprint verification by comparing the fingerprint template with an actual fingerprint presented to the fingerprint sensor. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a sensor module is provided, wherein the PCB area of the sensor module corresponding to the largest area of the stacked structure has a width comprised in the range from 6mm to 13.1mm, preferably equal to 12.6mm, and a length comprised in the range from 6mm to 11.9mm, preferably equal to 11.4 mm. Preferably