Method of forming a non-continuous conductive layer for laminated substrates

Abstract

A method of fabricating a circuit board is provided that includes forming a first layer of conductive material over an insulating layer, removing portions of the conductive material to define a first circuit pattern and a first rail area that is electrically isolated from the first circuit pattern, and removing portions of the conductive material from the first rail area. Optionally, the first rail area is positioned generally adjacent to a first edge of the circuit board and spans at least a portion of the length of the first edge. Optionally, portions of the conductive material of the first layer are removed to define a second rail area that is electrically isolated from the first circuit pattern and the first rail area, and portions of the conductive material of the first layer are also removed from the second rail area.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 10 / 804,952, filed Mar. 19, 2004 and entitled “METHOD OF FORMING A NON-CONTINUOUS CONDUCTIVE LAYER FOR LAMINATED SUBSTRATES”, which is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 09 / 968,564, filed Oct. 1, 2001 and entitled “METHOD OF FORMING A NON-CONTINUOUS CONDUCTIVE LAYER FOR LAMINATED SUBSTRATES”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,024, which is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 09 / 634,064, filed Aug. 8, 2000 and entitled “NON-CONTINUOUS CONDUCTIVE LAYER FOR LAMINATED SUBSTRATES”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,429,385. This application is also related to application Ser. No. 10 / 210,219, filed Aug. 1, 2002 and entitled “NON-CONTINUOUS CONDUCTIVE LAYER FOR LAMINATED SUBSTRATES”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,727,437, which is a continuation application of application Ser. No. 09 / 634,064, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,429,385.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to the field of ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent describes a method for making a circuit board with a non-continuous conductive layer. This is done by laminating a conductive layer onto an insulating layer and then patterning the conductive layer to remove continuous lengths of material. The patterned conductive layer acts as a pattern for a circuit. The method also includes making a pattern on the conductive layer and then removing the conductive material from the rails to remove continuous lengths of material from the circuit board. The technical effect of this patent is to provide a more efficient and reliable method for making circuit boards with non-continuous conductive layers."

Problems solved by technology

Minor defects or deformations in these substrates or circuit boards can have a significant impact on further processing of the circuit board which includes attaching components, such as integrated circuits, to the circuit board.

Processing requires strict tolerances and even minor deformations can damage equipment or render a circuit board useless.

For example, even a 1 / 16″-⅛″ bow in a substrate for a dual in line memory module (DIMM) can cause problems in processing the module.

Circuit boards encounter thermal cycling during processing which causes the expansion and contraction of the substrate.

This can result in circuit boards that are warped or deformed.

Images