JP2000258377A - Chip element with sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chip element with sensor that has various kinds of sensors, is in a simple configuration and can reduce volume, and can be surface- mounted to a circuit substrate. SOLUTION: A chip element with sensor is provided with a chip base 12 made of such insulation material as ceramics, a conductor pattern 18 on its outer surface, and a plurality of sensors 22 connected to the conductor pattern 18 on the surface of the base 12. The sensor 22 is a moisture sensor where a hygroscopic material 20 such as a hygroscopic polymer is provided at end parts that oppose each other while being separated slightly each other at the surface center part of the base 12 in the conductor pattern 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sensor-equipped chip device in which sensors such as a humidity sensor and a temperature sensor are provided on the surface of an insulating base material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been provided various elements which are surface-mounted on a circuit board in order to reduce the size of an electronic element. A resistor is formed on the surface of a conductive substrate, and electrodes are provided on both ends thereof to enable surface mounting on a circuit board. In addition, sensors and the like, which are more complicated electronic elements,
Some peripheral circuit elements are formed on a chip substrate and the chip substrate is surface-mounted, such as a hybrid IC.

[0003]

In the case of the above-mentioned conventional technology, a device having a relatively simple element itself, such as a chip resistor, can easily reduce the size of a chip, but has a complicated electric power such as a sensor. Since it is difficult to reduce the size of the sensor itself, the element may require a certain surface area or volume.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has a sensor, a sensor-equipped chip which can be reduced in volume with a simple structure, and which can be surface-mounted on a circuit board. It is intended to provide an element.

[0005]

A sensor-equipped chip element according to the present invention includes a chip-shaped base made of an insulating material such as ceramics, and has a conductor pattern formed on a surface thereof.
A plurality of sensors are formed on the outer surface of the base material by connecting to the conductor pattern. This sensor is a humidity sensor in which at least one of the conductor patterns is provided with a hygroscopic material such as a water-absorbing polymer at an end portion which is slightly separated from and opposed to each other at the center of the outer surface of the base material. Further, a temperature sensor provided with a material whose resistance value changes with temperature may be used. The base material is formed in a rectangular or cylindrical shape, has electrodes at both ends thereof, and is provided so as to be surface mountable.

According to the present invention, a chip device with a sensor can form a sensor by three-dimensionally utilizing the outer surface of a chip-shaped base material, and can be surface-mounted on a surface of a circuit board. Further, it can be provided inside using the thickness of the circuit board.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a sensor-equipped chip element 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, which includes a columnar base material 12 made of insulating ceramics.
Rectangular electrodes 14 and 16 are attached to both ends of the base material 12.

[0008] The conductor pattern 1
8 is formed of a copper foil or the like, and the tip 18a of the conductor pattern 18 is bifurcated and faces each other. A water-absorbing polymer film 20 is formed on the surface of the tip portion 18a, and constitutes a humidity sensor 22.

The electrodes 14, 16 at both ends of the substrate 12
Is a metal cap fitted to the base material 12,
The electrodes 14 and 16 are connected to the conductor pattern 18, respectively.

In the method of manufacturing a chip device with a sensor according to this embodiment, first, a ceramic material or the like is formed and fired,
A columnar base material 12 is formed. Then, a conductor pattern 18 of a conductor is formed on the surface of the substrate 12 by plating, vapor deposition, sputtering, or the like. This formation is performed by printing or vapor deposition using a mask having the shape of the conductor pattern 18.
Next, a water-absorbing polymer film 20 is formed on the surface of the end portion 18a of the conductor pattern 18 by printing or coating.

In the method of using the chip device 10 with a sensor, the electrodes 14 and 16 may be soldered to the electrode lands on the surface of the circuit board in the same manner as in a normal surface mount type device. As shown in (5), the circuit board 30 may be mounted in the storage hole 32 by utilizing the thickness of the circuit board 30. In this case, the electrodes 14 and 16 are located on the back side of the electrode land portions 36 of the circuit pattern 34 formed on the circuit board 30 and are soldered by the solder 38.

Next, a second embodiment of the sensor-equipped chip element according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, the same components as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. The sensor-equipped chip element 40 of this embodiment is formed in a rectangular shape, and has a smaller overall thickness.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, the flexible substrate 42 may be formed to have a thickness of about the thickness of the flexible substrate 42 and housed in the flexible substrate 42. Further, at the time of storage, the chip device with sensor 40 may be mounted when the film of the flexible substrate 42 is bonded, or may be mounted after the flexible substrate is formed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the sensor formed on the surface of the substrate may be a temperature sensor other than the humidity sensor, as long as the sensor can be formed on the surface of the substrate. Good. For example, a gas sensor such as carbon dioxide may be formed on one surface of the base material, and a humidity sensor may be formed on the other surface. In this case, the front and back electrodes may be connected to separate circuits, respectively.By connecting only the front and back electrodes on one side, a series circuit of front and back sensors is formed, and it is possible to detect the AND condition. Become. Further, by connecting the electrodes on both sides of the sensor to the front and back with end face electrodes, the OR condition can be detected. Further, the sensitivity can be increased by providing a plurality of sensors of the same type. The sensor and its structure used here can be appropriately selected. For example, a protective film, a moisture permeable film, or a gas permeable film may be provided on the upper surface of the sensor portion.

Further, the shape of the base material can be appropriately selected. For example, the corners of both end faces in the longitudinal direction of the base material having the shape of a normal chip part are reduced or R is formed, so that the resin silver of the end face electrode is formed. It is also possible to use a material having improved adhesion of a material such as Also,
A concave portion or a through hole may be formed in the sensor chip mounting portion of the circuit board to which the chip with the sensor is mounted. Thereby, air permeability is ensured, and accurate detection of humidity and the like can be performed without being obstructed by the circuit board. Alternatively, the shape of the sensor-equipped chip itself may be formed on the back side with a step formed by electrodes, so that a space is formed between the sensor part and the circuit board. In addition, the end face electrode may be used as a wiring on a circuit board in addition to an electrode for performing soldering or the like.

In assembling the sensor-equipped chip, the electrical connection portions may be made of an Ag-containing conductive paint or the like in addition to the solder connection. For example, the joint between the metal cap and the base material is also fitted with the base material in the concave portion of the metal cap, and at this time, the conductive paint is applied to the concave portion, fitted, cured, and assembled. You may. Thus, the use of solder can be reduced, and the harm of lead and the like can be eliminated, and a more environmentally friendly electronic device can be manufactured.

Further, the sensor formed on the base material can be formed by transfer, in addition to printing and vapor deposition. In this case, it is also possible to transfer the sensor to the surface of the base material after fitting the metal cap to the base material. In the sensor formed by transfer, various sensors are formed in advance on a thin film, so that a more complicated sensor can be formed.

[0018]

According to the chip element with sensor of the present invention, a plurality of sensors are provided on the outer surface of the chip-shaped base material and can be mounted on the surface of the circuit board. A good sensor can be provided. Further, the use of a chip makes handling easy, and mounting can be easily performed using existing equipment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a chip device with a sensor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a mounted state of the chip element with a sensor according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a chip device with a sensor according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a mounted state of a chip device with a sensor according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 40 Chip element with sensor 12 Base material 14, 16 Electrode 18 Conductor pattern 20 Water-absorbing polymer film 22 Sensor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A semiconductor device comprising a chip-shaped substrate made of an insulating material, a conductor pattern formed on the outer surface of the substrate, and a film-shaped sensor connected to the conductor pattern on the outer surface of the substrate. A plurality of chip elements with sensors. 2. A humidity sensor, wherein at least one of the conductor patterns faces slightly apart from each other at the center of the outer surface of the base material, and a hygroscopic material is applied to an end of the conductive pattern. The chip device with a sensor according to claim 1, further comprising: