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US-12628680-B2 - In-mold electronics device

US12628680B2US 12628680 B2US12628680 B2US 12628680B2US-12628680-B2

Abstract

An in-mold electronic (IME) device includes a curved substrate, a first conductive layer, a dielectric layer, a gap compensation layer, and a second conductive layer. The curved substrate has a first surface. The first conductive layer is disposed on the first surface. The dielectric layer is disposed on the first conductive layer and has a first thickness. The gap compensation layer is disposed on the first surface and connected to the dielectric layer. The gap compensation layer has a second thickness. The second conductive layer is disposed on the gap compensation layer and electrically connected to the gap compensation layer. A curvature radius of the curved substrate is c, a ratio of the second thickness to the first thickness is r, and c and r satisfy a relationship: r=(1.5−0.02c)±15%.

Inventors

  • YU-MING PENG
  • Hsiao-Fen Wei
  • Chih-Chia Chang

Assignees

  • INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20230728
Priority Date
20230609

Claims (16)

  1. 1 . An in-mold electronic device, comprising: a curved substrate, having a first surface; a first conductive layer, disposed on the first surface; a dielectric layer, disposed on the first conductive layer and having a first thickness; a gap compensation layer, disposed on the first surface, connected to the dielectric layer, and having a second thickness; and a second conductive layer, disposed on the gap compensation layer and electrically connected to the gap compensation layer, wherein a curvature radius of the curved substrate is c, a ratio of the second thickness to the first thickness is r, and c and r satisfy a relationship: r=(1.5−0.02c)±15%, where the smaller the curvature radius c, the larger the ratio r.
  2. 2 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the first surface is a convex surface, a concave surface, or a combination thereof.
  3. 3 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein an interface is present between the second conductive layer and the gap compensation layer.
  4. 4 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the curvature radius is less than or equal to 60 mm.
  5. 5 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the first conductive layer, the second conductive layer, and the gap compensation layer have a same material.
  6. 6 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein a material of the gap compensation layer comprises metal.
  7. 7 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein a material of the curved substrate comprises polyethylene terephthalate, poly (ethylene terephthalateco-1,4-cylclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate), polycarbonate, polyimide, polymethylmethacrylate, polyethersulfone, polydimethylsiloxane, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, acrylic, or a combination thereof.
  8. 8 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the curved substrate ranges from 0.1 mm to 5 mm.
  9. 9 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein a Young's modulus of the curved substrate ranges from 0.5 GPa to 20 GPa.
  10. 10 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein a material of the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer comprises gold, silver, copper, aluminum, nickel, tin, an alloy thereof, or a combination thereof.
  11. 11 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein a material of the dielectric layer comprises acrylic, epoxy resin, phenol, polyester, urethane, silicone, or polyimide.
  12. 12 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the second conductive layer is electrically connected to the first conductive layer through the gap compensation layer.
  13. 13 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the second conductive layer is electrically independent from the first conductive layer.
  14. 14 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the gap compensation layer is disposed between the second conductive layer and the first conductive layer.
  15. 15 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the gap compensation layer contacts the first surface of the curved substrate.
  16. 16 . The in-mold electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the second conductive layer has a first side surface and a second side surface opposite to each other, the first side surface is aligned with a side surface of the dielectric layer away from the gap compensation layer, and the second side surface is aligned with a side surface of the gap compensation layer away from the dielectric layer.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 63/402,481, filed on Aug. 31, 2022, and Taiwan application serial no. 112121748, filed on Jun. 9, 2023. The entirety of each of the above-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates to an in-mold electronic (IME) device having a gap compensation layer. BACKGROUND In an in-mold electronic (IME) device, if there is a structural gap (e.g., a structural gap among a substrate/an insulation dielectric layer/a metal conductive trace) in a multi-layer heterogeneous stacked structure, after a thermoforming process is performed, it is prone to raise an issue of an abnormal interface structure (e.g., peeling or wrinkles) at the structural gap, which may affect reliability of the IME device. SUMMARY One of the exemplary embodiments provides an in-mold electronic (IME) device capable of mitigating an issue of an abnormal interface (e.g., peeling or wrinkles) by arranging a gap compensation layer, thereby improving reliability. In an embodiment of the disclosure, an IME device including a curved substrate, a first conductive layer, a dielectric layer, a gap compensation layer, and a second conductive layer is provided. The curved substrate has a first surface. The first conductive layer is disposed on the first surface. The dielectric layer is disposed on the first conductive layer and has a first thickness. The gap compensation layer is disposed on the first surface, connected to the dielectric layer, and has a second thickness. The second conductive layer is disposed on the gap compensation layer and electrically connected to the gap compensation layer. A curvature radius of the curved substrate is c, a ratio of the second thickness to the first thickness is r, and c and r satisfy a relationship: r=(1.5−0.02c)±15%. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, and the accompanying drawings are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate the embodiments of the disclosure, and together with the description, serve to explain the principle of the disclosure. FIG. 1A is a schematic three-dimensional view illustrating an in-mold electronic (IME) device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional schematic view illustrating the IME device depicted in FIG. 1A along a sectional line A-A′. FIG. 2A is a schematic three-dimensional view illustrating an IME device according to another embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional schematic view illustrating the IME device depicted in FIG. 2A along a sectional line B-B′. FIG. 3A illustrates a first correlation between a second thickness of a gap compensation layer and an interface stress according to embodiments 1-6. FIG. 3B illustrates a first correlation between a second thickness of a gap compensation layer and an interface stress according to embodiments 7-11. FIG. 3C illustrates a first correlation between a second thickness of a gap compensation layer and an interface stress according to embodiments 12-18. FIG. 4 illustrates a second correlation between a curvature radius and a ratio of a second thickness of a gap compensation layer to a first thickness of a dielectric layer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DISCLOSURED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1A is a schematic three-dimensional view illustrating an in-mold electronic (TME) device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional schematic view illustrating the TME device depicted in FIG. 1A along a sectional line A-A′. With reference to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, an in-mold electronic (TME) device 100 provided in this embodiment includes a curved substrate 110, a first conductive layer 120, a dielectric layer 130, a gap compensation layer 140, and a second conductive layer 150. The curved substrate 110 has a first surface 111. The first surface 111 may be a convex surface, a concave surface, or a combination thereof, which should however not be construed as a limitation in the disclosure. The curved substrate 110 may be a plastic substrate containing a plastic material, which should however not be construed as a limitation in the disclosure. A material of the curved substrate 110 may include polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly (ethylene terephthalateco-1,4-cylclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate) (PETG), polycarbonate (PC), polyimide (PI), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polyethersulfone (PES), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer, acrylic, or a combination thereof, which should however not be construed as a limitation in the disclosure. In this embodiment, the curved substrate 110 has a curvature radius c, and the curvature radius c may be, for instance, less t