Rf & Microwave Devices

As the need for high speed and wireless electronics continues to explode, the demand for radio frequency (Rf) and microwave devices also increases. The SF-100 has proven to be critical technology in a number of these areas. It's ability to handle many different size and shape substrates, ease of use, and rapid prototyping capabilities is often cited as reasons why Smart Filter technology is the method of choice for many Rf & microwave micropatterning applications. Examples of these are included below.

Metal conductor lines were patterned on high temperature ceramic. The lines are made from Dupont Fodel photoimageable metal material. The process is similar to a standard photoresist process, with the Fodel material being coated on the ceramic, photopatterned on the SF-100, and then developed to provide the conductor patterns. The patterned ceramic is then fired at high temperature to form continuous metal lines. The complete 2 inch square substate is shown on the left, with higher magnification views in the center and right photos.

RFID chips are a hot technology area with widespread commercial applications. The above photo is an example of how the SF-100 can be used to pattern these devices. Here, copper tape that is 0.5 inches wide and 36 inches long is used as the substrate. Photoresist is then coated and patterned on the copper tape. The result is the production of many unique die along the length of the copper. Further processing can be used to turn these into low cost RFID chips. The top image shows the entire string of RFID chips, while a detailed view is shown in the lower part of the image.

Conductive traces made from low carbon steel are shown above. These were fabricated on flexible polymer-based substrates using a combination of photoresist patterning and etching techniques. The entire device is approx. 2 inches wide x 3 inches high (see left photo), with the other two photos showing higher resolution images of the device.

Using common mylar as a substrate material, micropatterns of interconnects were produced on copper. The copper was plated onto the mylar and the photoresist patterned, using standard techniques. The complete device after completion of the photoresist imaging is shown on the left, with more detailed views of this device shown in the center and right photos.

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