MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR A SENSING ELEMENT AND SENSOR DEVICE
20180330874 · 2018-11-15
Assignee
- Jaquet Technology Group AG (Basel, CH)
- FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FÖRDERUNG DER ANGEWAND TEN FORSCHUNG E.V (Munchen, DE)
Inventors
- Andreas Tuor (Lausanne, CH)
- Oliver Hirsch (Schallbach, CH)
- Martin Ihle (Dresden, DE)
- Steffen Ziesche (Dresden, DE)
Cpc classification
F05D2270/821
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F02M26/02
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F02C6/12
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F05D2240/14
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F05D2300/50
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
H05K2203/0278
ELECTRICITY
F04D27/001
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
H05K2203/1476
ELECTRICITY
F05D2270/80
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
H05K3/4629
ELECTRICITY
F02B39/16
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
H05K3/4061
ELECTRICITY
H02K15/0407
ELECTRICITY
H01F27/29
ELECTRICITY
F05D2240/30
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
H02K2203/03
ELECTRICITY
F04D29/023
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F05D2220/40
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
H05K3/107
ELECTRICITY
F02B39/00
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
International classification
H01F27/29
ELECTRICITY
F02C6/12
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04D29/28
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
Abstract
A method for manufacturing a sensor module having a passive electrical component comprises punching a plurality of holes in a first green sheet of a plurality of green sheets, and forming a plurality of channels and a plurality of passageways in a second green sheet of the plurality of green sheets by using a laser on the second green sheet. A metallization paste is printed in the plurality of holes, the plurality of channels, and the plurality of passageways, and the first green sheet and the second green sheet are dried with the metallization paste. The method further comprises aligning, stacking, laminating, and sintering the plurality of green sheets together to create a sintered tile, and separating a plurality of coils of the sintered tile in order to obtain the sensor module.
Claims
1. A method for manufacturing a sensor module having a passive electrical component, comprising: punching a plurality of holes in a first green sheet of a plurality of green sheets; forming a plurality of channels and a plurality of passageways in a second green sheet of the plurality of green sheets by using a laser on the second green sheet; printing a metallization paste in the plurality of holes, the plurality of channels, and the plurality of passageways; drying the first green sheet and the second green sheet with the metallization paste to form a plurality of contacts in the holes of the first green sheet, a plurality of filled channels in the channels of the second green sheet, and a plurality of filled passageways in the channels of the second green sheet, the contacts, the filled channels, and the filled passageways are part of the passive electrical component; aligning, stacking, laminating, and sintering the plurality of green sheets together to create a sintered tile; and separating a plurality of coils of the sintered tile in order to obtain the sensor module.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, before the punching step, tempering the plurality of green sheets by removing at least a part of a solvent from each of the plurality of green sheets.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing a residual metallization paste between the filled channels with a laser after the drying step and before the aligning step.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the forming step and/or the removing step are performed using a diode-pumped solid state laser.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming step is carried out in at least three sub-steps until the channels are entirely formed, in each sub-step a portion of the second green sheet is removed by the laser.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the printing step is carried out with a stencil having a polymer structure layer regulating an amount of the metallization paste printed into the channels and the passageways of the second green sheet, the stencil has a plurality of openings corresponding to the channels and the passageways.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sintering of the aligning step is carried out under a pressure of 0.1 MPa to 0.8 MPa.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the aligning step is carried out after the printing step.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of green sheets includes a third green sheet which is disposed as an outermost protective layer on the first green sheet and the second green sheet, the third green sheet having neither a plurality or channels nor a plurality of passageways.
10. A coil, comprising: a contact formed in a passageway of a first green sheet; a metallized passageway and/or a metallized channel of a second green sheet; and a plurality of pads, the contact electrically connecting the plurality of pads with the metallized passageway and/or the metallized channel.
11. The coil of claim 10, wherein the metallized channel has an aspect ratio greater than one, a depth of the metallized channel is between 80 und 120 m, a width of the metallized channel is 70 m, and the second green sheet has a thickness of 165 m.
12. The coil of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of metallized channels in the second green sheet, adjacent metallized channels in the second green sheet are separated by a distance between 20 und 30 m.
13. The coil of claim 10, wherein the coil is a double-D coil or a double-D saddle coil.
14. A sensor module, comprising: a coil including a contact formed in a passageway of a first green sheet, a metallized passageway and/or a metallized channel of a second green sheet, and a plurality of pads, the contact electrically connecting the plurality of pads with the metallized passageway and/or the metallized channel; and a plurality of additional green sheets including an outermost green sheet that does not include metallized channels or metallized passageways, the first green sheet and the second green sheet are disposed between the outermost green sheet and one of the plurality of additional green sheets.
15. The sensor module of claim 14, wherein the pads connect the coil to an electrical circuit.
16. The sensor module of claim 15, wherein the pads are disposed on a side of the sensor module on the one of the plurality of additional green sheets.
17. The sensor module of claim 14, wherein the sensor module has a minimum diameter of 3 mm.
18. A sensor device for determining a speed of an electrically conductive object, comprising: a sensor housing; an electrical circuit for signal processing and data transmission disposed in the sensor housing; and a sensor module disposed at a sensor tip of the sensor housing and facing in a direction of the electrically conductive object, the sensor module is connected to the electrical circuit and includes: a coil including a contact formed in a passageway of a first green sheet, a metallized passageway and/or a metallized channel of a second green sheet, and a plurality of pads, the contact electrically connecting the plurality of pads with the metallized passageway and/or the metallized channel; and a plurality of additional green sheets including an outermost green sheet that does not include metallized channels or metallized passageways, the first green sheet and the second green sheet are disposed between the outermost green sheet and one of the plurality of additional green sheets.
19. A turbocharger, comprising: a casing; a compressor wheel having a plurality of compressor wheel blades made of an electrically conductive material; and a sensor device including: a sensor housing; an electrical circuit for signal processing and data transmission disposed in the sensor housing; and a sensor module disposed at a sensor tip of the sensor housing and facing in a direction of the compressor wheel blades, the sensor module is connected to the electrical circuit and includes: a coil including a contact formed in a passageway of a first green sheet, a metallized passageway and/or a metallized channel of a second green sheet, and a plurality of pads, the contact electrically connecting the plurality of pads with the metallized passageway and/or the metallized channel; and a plurality of additional green sheets including an outermost green sheet that does not include metallized channels or metallized passageways, the first green sheet and the second green sheet are disposed between the outermost green sheet and one of the plurality of additional green sheets.
20. The turbocharger of claim 19, wherein the compressor wheel blades each have a thickness equal to or greater than 0.2 mm.
21. The turbocharger of claim 19, wherein the turbocharger is used in a vehicle, a generating turbine, or a drilling machine.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which:
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)
[0034] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
[0035] Throughout the specification, the terms above, below and the like are meant with respect to the environment of the respective component. Therefore, for example, a first layer arranged above a second layer is closer to the environment than the second layer.
[0036] The term complex geometry or complex geometries is interpreted for coils in the specification as a two-dimensional coil structure which cannot be wound or a three-dimensional coil structure. The specification only describes an exemplary geometry for the purpose of explaining the features of the invention; other geometries are readily possible.
[0037] The term air gap is understood as a distance from a sensor tip to an object to be measured. In this context the distance is understood as being the distance from the sensor tip with the sensor module to the closest point of the object to be measured.
[0038] In the context of the present invention, a sensing element is understood as a general term for a product manufactured by the method according to the invention described below. A coil manufactured by the method according to the invention is the electrical component inside the sensing element. It is noted that the sensing element may consist of the coil or it may comprise the coil as said passive electrical component together with additional layers. In other words the method steps can be applied to only manufacturing a coil, e.g. a two-layered coil, but they are equally valid in case additional layers are required which are not part of the passive electrical component (coil). A sensor module comprising a coil may be manufactured by the method according to the invention in one process of manufacturing the coil and adding additional layers above the coil. The term sensor module is to be understood as the sensing element comprising additional layers to the electrical component. A sensor device is a device containing the sensing element and also other parts which are not manufactured by the method according to the invention. Therefore, the sensor device may comprise only the coil as sensing element or a sensor module.
[0039] The term under pressure is understood as subjecting the respective entity to a pressure above atmospheric pressure.
[0040] Throughout the specification, metallization refers to metallized channels and/or metallized passageways.
[0041] A method of manufacturing a sensing element according to an embodiment of the invention is shown in
[0042] In a first optional step, all used green sheets 1, 2, and 3 are tempered by removing at least parts of solvent from them. Those green sheets 1, 2, 3 form an unsintered ceramic entity, i.e. a ceramic plate which has not been otherwise processed by the method. Generally, green sheets 1, 2, 3 are available in different standard dimensions. Tempering the green sheets 1, 2, 3 has a positive effect later during the process, at a step of stencil printing and drying, and during a second optional step of laser cleaning. As the step of drying exposes the raw ceramic entity to heat, the layers shrink due to evaporation of solvents. It has been noticed that this shrinkage of green sheets 1, 2, 3 does not take place uniformly throughout its extension but the rate is different at the edges as compared to the middle of the green sheets 1, 2, 3. This causes undesired deformations of the green sheet surface, which may have an impact on the whole module to be manufactured. By tempering, parts of solvents are extracted from the green sheet 1, 2, 3, thus yielding later a more uniform, reduced shrinkage of the green sheets 1, 2, 3.
[0043]
[0044] As shown in
[0045] In an embodiment, the channels 2b are formed gradually in multiple lasering sub-steps until uniform channel depth is obtained. Using at least three sub-steps, wherein in each sub-step at least a portion of green sheet 2 material is removed in the region for metallization by the laser, a uniform channel consistency is achieved without being excessively time consuming. This sub-step-process also forms channels 2b with small dimensions while avoiding a potential through-lasering of the entire green sheet 2.
[0046] As shown in
[0047] In an optional step shown in
[0048] In the embodiment shown in
[0049]
[0050] The raw ceramic entities are then aligned, stacked, laminated and sintered for creating the final tile before separating the single coils. In the standard LTCC-process integrating high amounts of metallization paste 6 into a ceramic layer or multilayer commonly results in warping or in defects during a standard firing process or sintering process. These undesired effects occur due to differences in shrinkage rate and absolute shrinkage of the metallization paste 6 and the dielectric base material of the green sheets 1, 2, 3. Other reasons for warping are the diffusion of the metal of the metallization paste 6 into the ceramic base material of the green sheet 1, 2, 3, leading to non-uniform shrinkage of the ceramic, and therefore to the creation of defects. The method of the present invention uses a constrained sintering process which differs from the standard sintering process and is carried out under pressure. In an embodiment, a pressure of around 0.1 MPa to 0.8 MPa is sufficient for good results. In other embodiments, other pressures may be applied.
[0051] The coils are then separated by sawing, laser cutting, or scribing and breaking in order to create the final sensing element. In order to optimize the coil density on the tile and simplify the separation procedure by minimizing the number of sawing or lasering steps, the contour of the sensing entity must be chosen carefully, e.g. an octagon for sawing as shown in
[0052] The stencil 5 for filling the empty holes 2a and empty channels 2b, as shown in
[0053] A coil 11 shown in
[0054] If additional layers to the coil layer are present, the coil 11 forms the passive electrical component of the sensor module 12. In this example, the coil 11 consists of two coil layers 11a and 11b corresponding to two green sheets 2 as shown in
[0055] In various embodiments, the coil 11 is a double-D flat coil or a double-D saddle-shaped coil. In other embodiments, other coil geometries may readily be manufactured. For example, a coil 11 may be implemented on one single layer or multiple layers, either as a two-dimensional coil or a three-dimensional coil, depending on the required geometry.
[0056] As shown in
[0057] The dimensions reveal the necessity of using a high precision laser for forming the channels 2b in the green sheets 2. The usefulness of the optional cleaning step in the manufacturing method is also apparent, as the channel interspaces D are only 25 m wide, for example. Without the cleaning step it would be likely that small metallization paste 6 portions could easily bridge this width, thereby creating shorts.
[0058] A structured tile 8 ready for sawing, laser cutting, or scribing-and-breaking along the separation lines 8a is shown in
[0059] A sensor module 12 according to the invention is shown in
[0060] The connector surfaces 4 are arranged on one side of the sensor module 12 in the outermost green sheet 1, as shown in
[0061] In embodiments, and particularly in embodiments related to the application of the sensor module 12 in turbo-chargers, the sensor module 12 has a minimum diameter of 3 mm, or a diameter of 3.7 mm. A maximum diameter is not given as there is no particular restriction on this parameter; the only limitation is given by the application where the sensor module 12 is used and by limitations of the manufacturing process.
[0062] The sensor module 12 is manufactured by the method described above. At the first optional step, all green sheets 1, 2 and 3 are tempered. The green sheets 1 only containing holes are then punched in order to create the contacts 1b for electrically connecting the coil 11 to an external circuit. The subsequent steps described above are then applied to the green sheets 2 intended for the coil 11. Before the sintering step, the already mentioned steps of aligning, stacking and lamination of all green sheets 1, 2, 3 is performed. The result is a very compact and robust sensor module 12, which allows usage of the sensor module 12 in harsh environments.
[0063] The method according to the invention is carried out in accordance with the type of layer used. Suitable controlling procedures and software are used to adapt the method to the particular requirements, for example, to skip one or more steps for layers which don't require the one or more steps. Furthermore, the controlling software may trigger repeating of individual steps of the method before subsequent steps are executed, e.g. the step of forming channels, which is carried out gradually in at least three sub-steps. In embodiments the controlling software may also trigger parking green sheets until they are used. For example, if the first optional step is carried out for a plurality of layers which include green sheets requiring through-holes and channels and also green sheets not requiring these steps, the latter green sheets may be parked until the layers requiring channels and through-holes have been processed. Only after this processing the parked green sheets are introduced into the process again for the stacking step. In this embodiment, all layers experience the same shrinkage in a common process step. In another embodiment, it is possible to process the parked sheets individually.
[0064] A sensor device 15 according to the invention is shown in
[0065] The sensor housing 16, as shown in
[0066] A turbocharger 22 according to the invention with the sensor device 15 of
[0067] The turbocharger 22, as shown in
[0068] The sensor device 15 is inserted into the cylindrical passageway 26, which is tapered to accommodate the diameter of the shaft-like sensor segment 19 until its mounting segment 17 abuts on the wall of the turbocharger casing 24 from the outside. The sensor device 15 is fixed to the casing 24 by a M4 threaded bolt which is inserted through a hole in the mounting segment 17 and screwed into a corresponding bore mounting in the casing 24. The connector segment 21 extends away from the turbocharger casing 24. The distal end of the sensor segment 19 with the sensor module 12 is located at the inside opening of the cylindrical passageway 26 such that the rotating blades 23 pass by it at a short distance.
[0069] The outer diameter of the sensor segment 19 corresponds to the inner diameter of the cylindrical passageway 26 such that the sensor segment 19 tightly fits into the cylindrical passageway 26. For secure placement within the cylindrical passageway 26, an annular sealing element 27 surrounds the sensor device 15 inside the cylindrical passageway 26 to provide a secure and tight fit of the sensor device 15 within the cylindrical passageway 26. The annular sealing element 27 is disposed at the transition from the sensor segment 19 to the mounting segment 17. The annular sealing element 27 is a heat-resistant fluoro-elastomer O-ring seal that can withstand temperatures of at least 200 C.
[0070] In various embodiments, the turbocharger 22 may be for a vehicle such as an off-road vehicle, passenger car, heavy-duty truck, airplane turbine, current generating turbine, or drilling machine. As turbochargers in passenger vehicles are typically placed in the exhaust close to the engine, they have to withstand high temperatures. The sensor device 15 of the turbocharger 22 has ceramic layers as heat-resistive protective layers for the coil 11. Furthermore, the sensor device 15 is accurate and has a sensitivity particularly suitable for applications with thin turbocharger blades 23 and blades made of low conductive materials. Such applications are typically passenger vehicles using small turbochargers rotating at very high speeds, e.g. 300.000 rpm. In such a case thin blades 23 are very advantageous as they have a lower inertia moment, thus making the turbocharger 22 more responsive. Titanium blades account for increased durability of the blades 23, which is a desired property in view of the fast rotational speeds the blades have to withstand.