JPH0320076B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electronic circuit board used in industrial electronic equipment and general consumer electronic equipment.

Conventional configurations and their problems In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for electronic devices to be smaller and lighter, and there has also been a growing trend toward high-mix, low-volume production. Therefore, in order to meet the above-mentioned demands, high-density packaging of component circuit elements is being carried out in the electronic circuits that make these devices function. For example, to form a conductor circuit, a desired circuit is formed by etching the copper foil of a copper foil-clad laminate according to a pattern specified by circuit design information. On the other hand, for resistors, capacitors, etc., a method is adopted in which so-called chip resistors and chip capacitors with a size of several meters/meter square are supplied using a chip mounter and fixedly connected to a conductor circuit by soldering. . Furthermore, when forming an electronic circuit similar to the above on a highly heat-resistant ceramic substrate such as an alumina substrate, a conductive paste for high-temperature firing is screen printed, and this is fired at a high temperature to form a conductor circuit, and between the conductor circuits. A method of forming a resistor is to screen print a glaze resistor paste and then bake it at a high temperature to form a resistor.

The conventional electronic circuit board manufacturing method described above has the following problems. As a typical example, a case will be described in which a conductor circuit is formed on the surface of a substrate. When a conductor such as copper foil is attached to the entire surface of the board, a desired conductor circuit is formed by printing photoresist ink using a mesh screen and then performing an etching process. In addition, if a conductor is not attached to the board in advance, the above circuit is formed by printing conductive paste on the board surface through a screen with a predetermined pattern and then baking it, but both methods have the following major problems in common. .

() A pre-process is required to form a desired negative or positive pattern on the screen.

() Since this is an indirect method using a screen, the screen must be changed each time the pattern of the electronic circuit changes, making it impossible to respond quickly to the recent trend of producing a wide variety of electronic circuits in small quantities.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems by using a predetermined circuit pattern as circuit design information on a substrate forming an electronic circuit, without using a negative pattern as in the conventional example. The objective is to provide a method for directly drawing based on

Structure of the Invention The method for manufacturing an electronic circuit board of the present invention includes a supplying step of supplying an electrically insulating substrate as a base for forming circuit elements, and a processing step of providing through holes at predetermined positions of the substrate. a drawing step of linearly applying paint as a material to become a circuit element on the surface of the substrate and in the through hole to a predetermined thickness and writing a predetermined circuit pattern on the substrate; a first processing step of converting the paint linearly applied to the circuit element into a circuit element; and a first processing step of comparing and recognizing characteristic values of the circuit element formed by the first processing step with predetermined design values. In order to correct the characteristic value of the circuit element to the above-mentioned design value based on the results of the inspection process and the first inspection process, (1) a part of the circuit element is deleted and the characteristics of the circuit element are changed; a trimming step to adjust the value to the design value; or (2) a correction drawing step in which paint is applied again to adjust the characteristic value of the circuit element to the design value; a second processing step for converting the circuit elements into elements, forming an electronic circuit directly on the substrate, and further adjusting the characteristic values of the circuit elements formed as described above to predetermined design values. A second inspection step for comparison can be added. According to the present invention, a desired pattern can be formed on a substrate without requiring a pre-process such as pattern formation on a screen or a post-process such as etching as in the conventional example, and without using an indirect method such as through a screen. After drawing the electronic circuit pattern directly based on the circuit design information,
It is possible to convert the patterned body into an electronic circuit.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the method for manufacturing an electronic circuit board according to the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining each process in an embodiment of the present invention. 1st
In the figure, 1 is a supply means, 2 is a processing means, 3 is a drawing means, 4 is a processing means, 5 is an inspection means, 6 is a trimming means, 7 is a traveling means, and 8 is a control means.

In the present invention, as an electrically insulating substrate for forming an electronic circuit, a substrate made of a ceramic material such as alumina, glass, or enamel, or a resin material such as phenol, epoxy, polyester, or polyimide can be used.
However, in the following explanation, a ceramic substrate will be explained as a representative example.

The manufacturing method of the present invention includes the step of supplying the substrate as a first step. The supply means 1 used in the above-mentioned supply process consists of a mechanical system, such as an arm using a vacuum suction plate, for mounting a ceramic substrate on a traveling system such as a belt conveyor, which will be described later.

Next, the second step constituting the manufacturing method of the present invention will be explained. This step is a step for forming a through hole in the substrate relatively moved to the processing means 2 by the traveling means 7. Specifically, it is composed of a press machine, a drill machine, a laser machine, etc., and forms a through hole of a predetermined shape at a predetermined position on a substrate based on circuit design information. When using this through hole as a conductive line to electrically connect circuit patterns on the front and back sides of the board, paint for the conductive line will be applied to the through hole in the drawing process described later. . However, if the paint is simply applied after forming the through hole, the paint may not adhere properly due to processing debris from the board material during board processing or chips around the through hole, which may result in a lack of reliability as a conductive line. be. Therefore, after processing the substrate, it is desirable to polish the surface of the substrate, such as buffing, clean the substrate, such as ultrasonic cleaning, and dry it. Therefore, the processing means 2 also includes means for carrying out the operations of the above-mentioned steps.

Next, the third step of the present invention will be explained.
In this third step, a predetermined circuit is formed by applying paint, which will become a circuit element, in a linear manner using a processing means (to be described later) at a position given by the circuit design information on the ceramic substrate using the drawing means 3. A pattern is written onto the substrate.

As the drawing means 3, for example, there is a means for spraying the paint in the form of droplets onto a desired position on the substrate. Specifically, a so-called ink jet recording head, the cross section of which is shown in FIG. 2, can be used. In the figure, 12 is a base container of the recording head, and a diaphragm 1 is mounted on the top surface of the base container.
3 is formed. 14, 15, 16, 17
are a piezoelectric element, a discharge port, a pipe, and a pressure chamber, respectively, and the pressure chamber 17 is airtightly constituted by a base container 12 and a diaphragm 13, and is filled with a circuit pattern writing paint through a pipe 16.

To explain the function of the ink jet recording head, when an electrical pulse is applied to the piezoelectric element 14 and the diaphragm 13 deforms convexly toward the pressure chamber 17, the internal volume of the pressure chamber 17 decreases and the pressure increases.
Paint is ejected from the discharge port 15 and directly adheres to the substrate, thereby writing a circuit pattern. Naturally, the drawing means 3 includes a traveling system for relatively moving the positional relationship between the ejection port 15 of the recording head and the substrate within a two-dimensional plane, or a circuit element attached thereto, according to the circuit pattern information. This includes a supply system for silver paint for conductor lines, ruthenium oxide paint for resistors, glass paint for forming insulating films, etc., as well as a selection system for each paint, a control system for the amount of spraying, etc. However, it is preferable that the drawing means 3 is configured to apply the paint that is to become each circuit element, including the conductor lines, onto the board in a linear manner rather than in a dotted manner, and the reason for this is as follows. It is.

For example, if paint is applied in dots using a drawing head equipped with a plurality of drawing elements each having a thin tube-shaped discharge port, multiple breakage points occur in the circuit element, and as a result, It often happens that a given circuit element cannot be used. In the recording head illustrated in FIG. 2, the movement of the recording head and the amount of paint sprayed are controlled so that the droplets of paint sprayed onto predetermined positions on the substrate overlap each other and form a line. good.

In particular, superimposing the droplets described above not only suppresses the characteristic values of each circuit element within the range required by the circuit design information, but also connects the circuit patterns provided on the front and back sides of the board. This is an important construction technique when a conductor line is constructed in a through hole penetrating the front and back sides of a substrate as in the present invention. That is, in this case, it is desirable to spray droplets of the conductor line paint in a superimposed manner many times into the through hole.

Other examples of the drawing means 3 are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. These use drawing pens,
In FIG. 3, 20 indicates a drawing pen, 21 a pen tip made of sapphire, 22 a pen holder,
23 is a paint conduit, and 24 is a pipe. Also 3
0 indicates the substrate. FIG. 4 shows a part that sends paint to the drawing pen 20, and 31 is a paint reservoir;
32 is a paint delivery pump, 33 is a paint delivery pressure regulator, and 34 is a paint delivery amount regulator.

To explain the function of the above-mentioned drawing pen, paint is sent to the paint reservoir 31 through the paint delivery pump 32, and compressed air acts on the paint surface of the paint reservoir 31, and the pressure is controlled by the regulator 33. , the paint delivery pressure is maintained at a predetermined value. With this pressure, paint is delivered to the drawing pen 20, and a delivery amount regulator 34 is located in the delivery path to control the amount of paint delivered to the drawing pen 20 in accordance with circuit design information. The paint sent to the drawing pen 20 passes through the paint conduit 23 and is applied directly to the board 30 by the pen tip 21, thereby writing a circuit pattern. In the other examples of the drawing means shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 as well, it is necessary that the paint to be formed into each circuit element including the conductor lines be applied to the substrate in a linear manner.

Next, the fourth step of the present invention will be explained.
The ceramic substrate to which the circuit elements are attached is relatively moved to the position of the processing means 4 by the traveling means 7. This processing means 4 is a means for converting paint into circuit elements. As a specific example, if the paint consists of a silver paint for conductors containing silver powder, glass frit powder, and a vehicle, or a ruthenium oxide paint for resistors containing ruthenium oxide powder, glass frit, and a vehicle: (1) At room temperature for leveling. (2) leave it in the air for 10-15 minutes at 100-150℃ for drying; (3) leave it in the air at 700-900℃ for 5 minutes for baking. The heat treatment process includes holding the temperature for ~10 minutes and performing a temperature cycle of 30~60 minutes/temperature cycle including temperature rise and fall before and after reaching the above temperature. Through the manufacturing steps as described above, the paint applied to the substrate is converted into a conductor line or a resistor as a circuit element. In the present invention, the above step is indispensable, and if this step is omitted, the characteristic values of the circuit element body often deviate greatly from predetermined values, resulting in a significant decrease in yield.

Next, in the fifth step of the present invention, the inspection means 5
is included. In this step, the characteristic values of the circuit elements formed in the fourth processing step are compared and recognized with predetermined circuit design values. The data obtained here is sent to the control means 8, which will be described later.
It is used to control the drawing means 3 and the trimming means 6 used in the next step.

The inspection means 5 includes not only means for measuring the electrical characteristics of individual resistors and capacitors, but also insulation characteristics between conductor wires, or frequency characteristics and gain if the formed circuit has a filter effect. It includes measurement means that can inspect the circuit design and perform various measurements depending on the instructions required by the circuit design.

The sixth step of the present invention is a correction step for adjusting the characteristic value of the circuit element body to a predetermined design value, and the trimming means 6 of FIG. It becomes a practical means. A specific configuration of this means includes removing a part of the circuit element body,
It consists of a means having a cutting function, such as a laser beam, an electron beam, a cutter, a vide, and a means for driving and controlling these. The function of this step is to delete or cut a part of the circuit element body in order to correct or modify the characteristic value of the circuit element body based on the inspection results of the previous process. In the manufacturing method of the present invention, since the inspection results of the previous step are always fed back to the drawing means 3 via the control means 8, which will be described later, the corrections made in this step are minor.

The manufacturing method of the present invention includes the following two means in addition to the means belonging to each step described above.

The first is a traveling means 7 for moving the substrate between the above-mentioned means according to the above-mentioned processing order. This traveling means 7 can be operated by a control means 8, which will be described later, based on the circuit design information, and specifically, it is operated by a belt conveyor for main movement of the substrate, the drawing means 3, the processing means 4, etc. It consists of a robot arm, etc. for setting up from the above-mentioned conveyor. Of course, the above-mentioned movement is relative, and the structure may be such that the substrate is fixed and each of the above-mentioned means can be sequentially moved to the substrate position.

The second means is a control means 8 that controls each means used in the manufacturing method of the present invention.
As already described to some extent, the role of the control means is to control the operations of the processing means 4 and the traveling means 7, mainly the drawing means 3, based on circuit design information. The specific configuration of this control means 8 includes a control means main body centered on a microcomputer,
It consists of interfaces and bus lines that connect each means to be controlled, and a circuit pattern based on circuit design information is created by directly applying paint as a raw material for circuit elements to the board that flows through each manufacturing process. It plays a major role in ensuring that

In the manufacturing method of the present invention, instead of the trimming means shown in FIG.
processing means can be adopted. Figure 5 shows
2 is a block diagram for explaining another embodiment of the present invention which incorporates a modified drawing means and a second processing means corresponding to FIG. 1; In FIG. 5, symbols 1 to 5 and 7 to 8 mean the same things as in FIG. Symbols 9 to 10 are a correction drawing means and a second processing means employed as specific means in the correction process of the circuit element body. The specific configuration of this correction drawing means 9 is the same as that of the drawing means 3. This means and function is to additionally deposit paint on the circuit element body in order to correct or modify the characteristic values of the circuit element based on the inspection results in the previous process.

A sixth step of the invention includes a second step for converting additionally deposited paint into circuit elements for modification.
It includes a processing means 10. The specific configuration and functions of the second processing means 10 are similar to those of the first processing means 4.

In each of the above embodiments, as the circuit element modification process, the above-mentioned modification drawing means shown in FIG. 5 is used, and the trimming method shown in FIG. Therefore, it is only necessary to select a more desirable means based on the circuit configuration. For example, when using ruthenium oxide paint to construct a resistor,
The drawing means for correction adopts a method in which the drawing means 3 writes in advance on the board with a higher resistance value, in other words, using less paint, and then corrects the deficiency in correction drawing. On the other hand, in the trimming means, in the drawing means 3, the resistance value is lowered in advance.
In other words, a method is adopted in which a large amount of paint is used to write on the board, and then the large portion is scraped off using a trimming means. Therefore, while the former uses only the appropriate amount of expensive paint, the latter uses an excessive amount of paint, making it less economical. However, even in the former case, the process is somewhat complicated, and therefore, a correction method is selected taking these points into account.

Note that the manufacturing method of the present invention does not limit the means for the correction step to just one means, and the above two means may be employed simultaneously depending on the necessity of the circuit configuration.

In the manufacturing method of the present invention, a second inspection process can be added in addition to the above process group.
FIGS. 6 and 7 are block diagrams for explaining another embodiment of the present invention in which a second inspection step is added.

In FIGS. 6 and 7, symbols 1 to 10 are
The same applies to FIG. 1 or FIG. 5. And 1
1 is a second inspection means, which is included as the last step. The second inspection means has the role of recognizing and determining whether the characteristics of the entire electronic circuit formed on the board are in accordance with the circuit design information based on the circuit design information. In particular, in the case of an electronic circuit with a large number of circuit elements, even if the characteristic value of each circuit element is set within the allowable range of the circuit design information in the above-mentioned inspection means 5, the circuit as a whole may fall within the design value. It is possible that characteristics that do not fit the criteria may appear. It also has the role of grasping such a situation, feeding back the data to the control means 8, and further enhancing the function of the inspection means 5.

The flow of the substrate in the manufacturing method of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned flow, for example,
It is also possible to repeatedly flow between the drawing means 3 and the processing means 4 multiple times. By doing this, it is possible to form circuits not only on the front side of the board but also on the back side, to form capacitors formed by stacking conductors and dielectrics in multiple layers, and even to make a part of the main surface of the board multilayer wiring. A wide variety of circuit configurations are possible.

Ultimately, the essential requirements of the manufacturing method of the present invention are the first
The steps carried out in the portions surrounded by broken lines in the figure and FIGS. 5 to 7 are summarized. Therefore, within the scope of the above-mentioned steps, the scope of the present invention also includes cases where other additional steps are included.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, the method for manufacturing an electronic circuit board according to the present invention forms a circuit directly on the board according to circuit design information, and therefore can be used to quickly produce a wide variety of products in small quantities. In particular, it is possible to constantly grasp the characteristic values of circuit elements during board formation, and it is possible to use paint for circuit elements appropriately, which greatly reduces the amount of paint used, making it economically viable. It is also extremely advantageous.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining each process in an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of essential parts showing an example of an ink jet recording head used in the drawing process of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a similar diagram. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part showing an example of a drawing pen; FIG. 4 is a main part configuration diagram showing an example of a paint delivery section of the drawing pen of FIG.
7 to 7 are block diagrams for explaining each process in another embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Supply means, 2... Processing means, 3... Drawing means, 4... First processing means, 5... First inspection means, 6... Trimming means, 7... Traveling means,
8...control means, 9...correction drawing means, 10...
Second processing means, 11...Second inspection means, 12
...head, 13 ... diaphragm, 14 ... piezoelectric element, 15 ... discharge port, 16 ... pipe, 17
...Pressure chamber, 20...Pen, 21...Nib, 2
2...Pen holder, 23...Paint conduit, 24...
...pipe, 30 ... board, 31 ... paint reservoir, 3
2... Paint delivery pump, 33... Paint delivery pressure regulator, 34... Paint delivery amount regulator.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A supply means for supplying an electrically insulating substrate as a base for forming a circuit element, a processing means for forming a through hole at a predetermined position of the substrate, and a supply means for supplying an electrically insulating substrate as a base on which a circuit element is formed; A drawing means for placing paint as a material to become a circuit element in the hole to a predetermined thickness and writing a predetermined circuit pattern on the board, and a process for converting the paint placed on the board into a circuit element. means for comparing and recognizing the characteristic value of the circuit element formed by the processing means with a predetermined design value; trimming means for matching the characteristic value to the design value based on the result of the inspection means; and circuit design information. control means for transmitting and receiving circuit board manufacturing information to and from each means of the supply means, the processing means, the drawing means, the processing means, the inspection means, and the trimming means based on the above, and controlling each means; A method for manufacturing an electronic circuit board, characterized in that a recognized value compared with a design value in the inspection means is fed back to the control means, and the drawing means operates so as to minimize the amount of trimming in the trimming means. 2. Supply means for supplying an electrically insulating substrate that will serve as a base for forming circuit elements; processing means for attaching through holes at predetermined positions of the substrate; a drawing means for writing a predetermined circuit pattern on the substrate by applying a paint as a material to a predetermined thickness; a first processing means for converting the paint applied to the substrate into circuit elements; inspection means for comparing and recognizing the characteristic value of the circuit element formed by the first processing means with a predetermined design value; and re-applying the paint to a part of the circuit element based on the result of the inspection means. a correction drawing means that at least matches the design value of the circuit element; a second processing means for converting the paint applied in the correction drawing means into a predetermined circuit element; A control means for transmitting and receiving circuit board manufacturing information to and from each of the processing means, the drawing means, the first processing means, the inspection means, the correction drawing means, and the second processing means to control each means. manufacturing an electronic circuit board, characterized in that the recognition value compared with the design value in the inspection means is fed back to the control means, and the drawing means operates so as to minimize the amount of correction drawing in the correction drawing means. Method. 3. In the method for manufacturing an electronic circuit board according to item 2, a second inspection means is attached as a post-process of the second processing means, and the inspection values are returned to the control means to improve the correction accuracy of the correction drawing means. A method of manufacturing an electronic circuit board, characterized by: