POWER COMPONENT SUBMOUNT AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF
20250142730 ยท 2025-05-01
Inventors
- Jia-Zheng Xu (Taoyuan City, TW)
- JHIH-WEI LAI (Taoyuan City, TW)
- CHUN-CHIEH LIAO (Taoyuan City, TW)
- JIAN-YU SHIH (Taoyuan City, TW)
- MING-YEN PAN (Taoyuan City, TW)
Cpc classification
C23C18/1651
CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
C23C18/1653
CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
C23C18/1639
CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
International classification
H05K3/18
ELECTRICITY
C23C18/16
CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
C23C18/32
CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
C23C28/02
CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
Abstract
A power component submount includes a ceramic substrate, a sputtering layer formed on the ceramic substrate, a conductive block formed on the sputtering layer, and three electroless plating layers that are sequentially stacked on the conductive block. The sputtering layer includes an electroplating portion. The conductive block is formed on the electroplating portion, and bottoms of the three electroless plating layers are connected to the ceramic substrate. Materials of the three electroless plating layers are gold, palladium, and gold, respectively; or, materials of the three electroless plating layers are nickel, palladium, and gold, respectively. One of the three electroless plating layers arranged away from the conductive block is provided for allowing a power component to be mounted thereon.
Claims
1. A manufacturing method of a power component submount, comprising: a sputtering step implemented by sputtering a board surface of a ceramic substrate to form a sputtering layer; a patterning step implemented by forming an insulating layer on the sputtering layer, wherein a part of the sputtering layer and the insulating layer jointly define an electroplating slot, and the part of the sputtering layer is defined as an electroplating portion; an electroplating step implemented by electroplating the electroplating portion of the sputtering layer to form a conductive block in the electroplating slot; a removing step implemented by removing the insulating layer and another part of the sputtering layer, wherein the electroplating portion of the sputtering layer is not removed; an electroless plating step implemented by performing an electroless plating process on the conductive block to sequentially form: a first electroless plating layer connected to the ceramic substrate and covering the conductive block and the electroplating portion; a second electroless plating layer connected to the ceramic substrate and covering the first electroless plating layer; and a third electroless plating layer connected to the ceramic substrate and covering the second electroless plating layer; wherein the first electroless plating layer is made of gold (Au) or nickel (Ni), the second electroless plating layer is made of palladium (Pd), and the third electroless plating layer is made of gold (Au) and is configured to provide for a power component to be assembled thereon.
2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein, in the sputtering step, the sputtering layer includes a Ti-sputtering layer covering the board surface and a Cu-sputtering layer that covers the Ti-sputtering layer, and wherein, in the electroplating step, the conductive block is made of copper (Cu).
3. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the first electroless plating layer is made of nickel (Ni), a thickness of the first electroless plating layer is greater than a thickness of the second electroless plating layer, and the thickness of the second electroless plating layer is greater than a thickness of the third electroless plating layer.
4. The manufacturing method according to claim 3, wherein the thickness of the first electroless plating layer is within a range from 0.15 m to 0.25 m, the thickness of the second electroless plating layer is within a range from 0.08 m to 0.12 m, and the thickness of the third electroless plating layer is within a range from 0.05 m to 0.07 m.
5. The manufacturing method according to claim 3, wherein, in forming of the third electroless plating layer of the electroless plating step, a thin gold layer is formed on the second electroless plating layer in an immersion gold plating manner, and then a thick gold layer is formed on the thin gold layer in an auto-catalytic gold plating manner, and wherein a thickness of the thick gold layer is within a range from 400% to 600% of a thickness of the thin gold layer.
6. A power component submount, comprising: a ceramic substrate; a sputtering layer formed on a board surface of the ceramic substrate and including an electroplating portion; a conductive block formed on the electroplating portion; a first electroless plating layer covering the conductive block and the electroplating portion, wherein a bottom of the first electroless plating layer is connected to the ceramic substrate, and the first electroless plating layer is made of gold (Au) or nickel (Ni); a second electroless plating layer covering the first electroless plating layer, wherein a bottom of the second electroless plating layer is connected to the ceramic substrate, and the second electroless plating layer is made of palladium (Pd); and a third electroless plating layer covering the second electroless plating layer, wherein a bottom of the third electroless plating layer is connected to the ceramic substrate, and the third electroless plating layer is made of gold (Au) and is configured to provide for a power component to be assembled thereon.
7. The power component submount according to claim 6, wherein the sputtering layer includes a Ti-sputtering layer covering the board surface and a Cu-sputtering layer that covers the Ti-sputtering layer, and wherein the conductive block is made of copper (Cu), the conductive block is electrically coupled to the Cu-sputtering layer, and the first electroless plating layer is connected to a lateral edge of the Ti-sputtering layer and a lateral edge of the Cu-sputtering layer.
8. The power component submount according to claim 6, wherein the first electroless plating layer is made of nickel (Ni), a thickness of the first electroless plating layer is greater than a thickness of the second electroless plating layer, and the thickness of the second electroless plating layer is greater than a thickness of the third electroless plating layer.
9. The power component submount according to claim 8, wherein the thickness of the first electroless plating layer is within a range from 0.15 m to 0.25 m, the thickness of the second electroless plating layer is within a range from 0.08 m to 0.12 m, and the thickness of the third electroless plating layer is within a range from 0.05 m to 0.07 m.
10. The power component submount according to claim 8, wherein the third electroless plating layer includes a thin gold layer covering the second electroless plating layer and then a thick gold layer covering the thin gold layer, and wherein a thickness of the thick gold layer is within a range from 400% to 600% of a thickness of the thin gold layer.
11. A manufacturing method of a power component submount, comprising: a sputtering step implemented by sputtering two board surfaces of a ceramic substrate to form a plurality of electroplating portions; an electroplating step implemented by electroplating the electroplating portions to form a plurality of conductive blocks on the electroplating portions, respectively; a covering step implemented by forming two insulating layers on the two board surfaces of the ceramic substrate, respectively, wherein the conductive blocks are embedded in the two insulating layers; a patterning step implemented by forming a plurality of electroless plating slots in the two insulating layers, wherein each of the electroless plating slots is formed to enable one of the conductive blocks to be exposed therefrom; and a first electroless plating step implemented by performing an electroless plating process on the electroless plating slots to form a plurality of first electroless plating conductors in the electroless plating slots, respectively, wherein each of the first electroless plating conductors includes: a first electroless plating layer connected to a corresponding one of the conductive blocks; a second electroless plating layer connected to the first electroless plating layer; and a third electroless plating layer connected to the second electroless plating layer; wherein, in each of the first electroless plating conductors, the first electroless plating layer is made of gold (Au) or nickel (Ni), the second electroless plating layer is made of palladium (Pd), and the third electroless plating layer is made of gold (Au).
12. The manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein the third electroless plating layer in each of the electroless plating slots is coplanar with an outer surface of a corresponding one of the two insulating layers.
13. The manufacturing method according to claim 12, wherein, after the first electroless plating step is implemented, the manufacturing method further includes a second electroless plating step implemented by performing the electroless plating process on the outer surface of each of the two insulating layers to form at least one second electroless plating conductor that is connected to at least two of the first electroless plating conductors.
14. The manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein the ceramic substrate has a plurality of thru-holes penetrating through the two board surfaces, wherein, in the sputtering step, each of the thru-holes is sputtered to form an extension portion that has a tubular shape and that is connected to two of the electroplating portions respectively arranged on the two board surfaces, and wherein, in the electroplating step, the extension portion in each of the thru-holes is electroplated to form a conductive pillar that is connected to two of the conductive blocks respectively arranged on the two board surfaces.
15. A power component submount, comprising: a ceramic substrate having two board surfaces respectively arranged on two opposite sides thereof; a sputtering layer including a plurality of electroplating portions respectively formed on the two board surfaces of the ceramic substrate; a plurality of conductive blocks respectively formed on the electroplating portions; two insulting layers respectively formed on the two board surfaces of the ceramic substrate, wherein the conductive blocks are embedded in the two insulating layers, and wherein the two insulating layers have a plurality of electroless plating slots, and each of the electroless plating slots is formed to enable one of the conductive blocks to be exposed therefrom; a plurality of first electroless plating conductors respectively formed in the electroless plating slots, and each of the first electroless plating conductors includes: a first electroless plating layer connected to a corresponding one of the conductive blocks and being made of gold (Au) or nickel (Ni); a second electroless plating layer connected to the first electroless plating layer and being made of palladium (Pd); and a third electroless plating layer connected to the second electroless plating layer and being made of gold (Au).
16. The power component submount according to claim 15, wherein the third electroless plating layer in each of the electroless plating slots is coplanar with an outer surface of a corresponding one of the two insulating layers.
17. The power component submount according to claim 16, further comprising a plurality of second electroless plating conductors respectively formed on the outer surfaces of the two insulating layers, wherein each of the second electroless plating conductors is connected to at least two of the first electroless plating conductors.
18. The power component submount according to claim 15, wherein the ceramic substrate has a plurality of thru-holes penetrating through the two board surfaces, the sputtering layer includes a plurality of extension portions respectively arranged in the thru-holes, and each of the extension portions has a tubular shape and is connected to two of the electroplating portions respectively arranged on the two board surfaces, and wherein the power component submount includes a plurality of conductive pillars respectively arranged in the extension portions, and each of the conductive pillars is connected to two of the conductive blocks respectively arranged on the two board surfaces.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The described embodiments may be better understood by reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0015]
[0016]
[0017]
[0018]
[0019]
[0020]
[0021]
[0022]
[0023]
[0024]
[0025]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0026] The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Like numbers in the drawings indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the meaning of a, an and the includes plural reference, and the meaning of in includes in and on. Titles or subtitles can be used herein for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present disclosure.
[0027] The terms used herein generally have their ordinary meanings in the art. In the case of conflict, the present document, including any definitions given herein, will prevail. The same thing can be expressed in more than one way. Alternative language and synonyms can be used for any term(s) discussed herein, and no special significance is to be placed upon whether a term is elaborated or discussed herein. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the present disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given herein. Numbering terms such as first, second or third can be used to describe various components, signals or the like, which are for distinguishing one component/signal from another one only, and are not intended to, nor should be construed to impose any substantive limitations on the components, signals or the like.
First Embodiment
[0028] Referring to
[0029] The manufacturing method S100 in the present embodiment sequentially includes (or implements) a sputtering step S110, a patterning step S120, an electroplating step S130, a removing step S140, and an electroless plating step S150. The above steps S110-S150 of the manufacturing method S100 are sequentially described in the following description and can be implemented to form the power component submount 100, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
[0030] For example, in other embodiments of the present disclosure not shown in the drawings, the above steps S110-S150 of the manufacturing method S100 can be added, omitted, or adjusted according to design requirements; or, the power component submount 100 can be provided by implementing methods other than the manufacturing method S100.
[0031] As shown in
[0032] As shown in
[0033] As shown in
[0034] As shown in
[0035] As shown in
[0036] Accordingly, conductive structure in the present embodiment for allowing the power component to be assembled thereon is manufactured by implementing the electroless plating step S150 of the manufacturing method S100, so that the first electroless plating layer 5, the second electroless plating layer 6, and the third electroless plating layer 7 of the conductive structure and the conductive block 4 can be independently formed without using any tie bar, thereby effectively preventing the power component submount 100 from generating any burr.
[0037] In other embodiments of the present disclosure not shown in the drawings, when the manufacturing method S100 is implemented to form a plurality of electroplating portions 21 on the ceramic substrate 1 and a plurality of conductive blocks 4 that are respectively formed on the electroplating portions 21, each of the conductive blocks 4 in the electroless plating step S150 is formed with the first electroless plating layer 5, the second electroless plating layer 6, and the third electroless plating layer 7, and any two of the conductive blocks 4 are electrically isolated from each other for allowing no tie bar to be connected thereto.
[0038] It should be noted that when the first electroless plating layer 5 is limited to being made of nickel (Ni), a thickness of the first electroless plating layer 5 is greater than a thickness of the second electroless plating layer 6, and the thickness of the second electroless plating layer 6 is greater than a thickness of the third electroless plating layer 7. Specifically, in the electroless plating step S150, the first electroless plating layer 5 undergoes an immersion plating process for 1 minute in an environment of 80 C. so as to have the thickness within a range from 0.15 m to 0.25 m. After the first electroless plating layer 5 is formed, the second electroless plating layer 6 is manufactured in an immersion plating process by 12 minutes under an environment of 50 C. so as to have the thickness within a range from 0.08 m to 0.12 m. After the second electroless plating layer 6 is formed, the third electroless plating layer 7 undergoes an immersion plating process for 5 minutes in an environment of 80 C. so as to have the thickness within a range from 0.05 m to 0.07 m.
[0039] In summary, the above description describes a preferable implementation of the manufacturing method S100, and the following description substantially describes the power component submount 100 prepared by implementing the manufacturing method S100. In other words, features of the power component submount 100 can be referred to in the manufacturing method S100 described in the above description, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
[0040] As shown in
[0041] Specifically, the sputtering layer 2 includes an electroplating portion 21. The conductive block 4 is formed on the electroplating portion 21. Moreover, a bottom of the first electroless plating layer 5, a bottom of the second electroless plating layer 6, and a bottom of the third electroless plating layer 7 are connected to the board surface 11 of the ceramic substrate 1.
[0042] In other words, the sputtering layer 2 includes a Ti-sputtering layer 2a covering the board surface 11 and a Cu-sputtering layer 2b that covers the Ti-sputtering layer 2a. The conductive block 4 is made of copper (Cu), the conductive block 4 is electrically coupled to the Cu-sputtering layer 2b, and the first electroless plating layer 5 is connected to a lateral edge of the Ti-sputtering layer 2a and a lateral edge of the Cu-sputtering layer 2b.
[0043] In addition, the first electroless plating layer 5 is made of gold (Au) or nickel (Ni), the second electroless plating layer 6 is made of palladium (Pd), and the third electroless plating layer 7 is made of gold (Au) and is configured to provide for a power component (e.g., a laser emitter not shown in the drawings) to be assembled thereon. When the first electroless plating layer 5 is made of nickel (Ni), a thickness (e.g., 0.2 m) of the first electroless plating layer 5 is greater than a thickness (e.g., 0.1 m) of the second electroless plating layer 6, and the thickness (e.g., 0.1 m) of the second electroless plating layer 6 is greater than a thickness (e.g., 0.06 m) of the third electroless plating layer 7, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
Second Embodiment
[0044] Referring to
[0045] In forming of the third electroless plating layer 7 of the electroless plating step S150 provided by the present embodiment, a thin gold layer 71 is formed on the second electroless plating layer 6 in an immersion gold plating manner, and then a thick gold layer 72 is formed on the thin gold layer 71 in an auto-catalytic gold plating manner. Moreover, a thickness of the thick gold layer 72 is within a range from 400% to 600% of a thickness of the thin gold layer 71. In other words, the third electroless plating layer 7 includes the thin gold layer 71 covering the second electroless plating layer 6 and the thick gold layer 72 that covers the thin gold layer 71.
[0046] In addition, the thickness of the thick gold layer 72 is substantially equal to a sum of the thickness of the first electroless plating layer 5 and the thickness of the second electroless plating layer 6. In other words, a total thickness of the third electroless plating layer 7 in the present embodiment is greater than the sum of thickness of the first electroless plating layer 5 and the thickness of the second electroless plating layer 6, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
[0047] Specifically, after the second electroless plating layer 6 is formed, the thin gold layer 71 undergoes an immersion plating process for 5 minutes in an environment of 80 C. so as to have the thickness within a range from 0.05 m to 0.07 m. After the thin gold layer 71 is formed, the thick gold layer 72 undergoes an immersion plating process for 10 minutes in an environment of 50 C. so as to have the thickness within a range from 0.2 m to 0.4 m.
[0048] Moreover, the auto-catalytic gold plating manner in the present embodiment is implemented by using the thin gold layer 71 to be a catalyst, using a reducing agent to release electrons through oxidation (e.g., R.fwdarw.R+2H.sup.++2e.sup.), and then using a gold sulfite to receive the electrons so as to form the thick gold layer 72 (e.g., Au(S.sub.2O.sub.3).sub.2.sup.3+e.sup..fwdarw.Au+2S.sub.2O.sub.3.sup.2).
Third Embodiment
[0049] Referring to
[0050] In the present embodiment, the manufacturing method S200 sequentially includes (or implements) a sputtering step S210, an electroplating step S220, a covering step S230, a patterning step S240, a first electroless plating step S250, and a second electroless plating step S260. The above steps S210-S260 of the manufacturing method S200 are sequentially described in the following description and can be implemented to form the power component submount 100, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
[0051] For example, in other embodiments of the present disclosure not shown in the drawings, the above steps S210-S260 of the manufacturing method S200 can be added, omitted, or adjusted according to design requirements (e.g., the second electroless plating step S260 can be omitted); or, the power component submount 100 can be provided by implementing methods other than the manufacturing method S200.
[0052] As shown in
[0053] As shown in
[0054] As shown in
[0055] As shown in
[0056] As shown in
[0057] Moreover, in each of the first electroless plating conductors E1, the first electroless plating layer 5 is made of gold (Au) or nickel (Ni), the second electroless plating layer 6 is made of palladium (Pd), and the third electroless plating layer 7 is made of gold (Au). It should be noted that the electroless plating process (e.g., forming process and parameters of the first electroless plating layer 5, the second electroless plating layer 6, and the third electroless plating layer 7) in the present embodiment can be substantially identical to that of the first embodiment or the second embodiment, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
[0058] In summary, the first electroless conductors E1 in the present embodiment are manufactured by implementing the first electroless plating step S250 of the manufacturing method S200, so that the first electroless conductors E1 can be independently formed without using any tie bar, thereby effectively preventing the power component submount 100 from generating any burr.
[0059] The second electroless plating step S260 is implemented by performing the electroless plating process on the outer surface 33 of each of the two insulating layers 3 to form at least one second electroless plating conductor E2 that is connected to at least two of the first electroless plating conductors E1. In the present embodiment, a quantity of the at least one second electroless plating conductor E2 formed on each of the two insulating layers 3 is more than one, and each of the second electroless plating conductors E2 preferably has a sheet-like shape and is connected to the outer surface 33 of a corresponding one of the two insulating layers 3.
[0060] Moreover, each of the second electroless plating conductors E2 is a multi-layer structure that is similar to the first electroless plating conductor E1. Specifically, each of the second electroless plating conductors E2 includes three electroless plating layers E2-1, E2-2, E2-3 sequentially stacked on the corresponding insulating layer 3. One of the three electroless plating layers E2-1 connected to the corresponding insulating layer 3 and the at least two of the first electroless plating conductors E1 is made of gold (Au) or nickel (Ni), another one of the three electroless plating layers E2-3 arranged away from the ceramic substrate 1 is made of gold (Au) and is configured to provide for a power component (e.g., a laser emitter not shown in the drawings) to be assembled thereon, and the other one of the three electroless plating layers E2-2 arranged at a middle position is made of palladium (Pd).
[0061] In other words, the forming process and parameters of the three electroless plating layers E2-1, E2-2, E2-3 of each of the second electroless plating conductors E2 provided by the present embodiment can be substantially identical to that of the first electroless plating layer 5, the second electroless plating layer 6, and the third electroless plating layer 7 in the first embodiment or the second embodiment, and will be omitted therein for the sake of brevity.
[0062] It should be noted that the second electroless plating step S260 can be selectively implemented according to practical requirements. The second electroless conductors E2 in the present embodiment are manufactured by implementing the second electroless plating step S260 of the manufacturing method S200, so that the second electroless conductors E2 can be independently formed without using any tie bar, thereby effectively preventing the power component submount 100 from generating any burr.
[0063] In summary, the above description describes a preferable implementation of the manufacturing method S200, and the following description substantially describes the power component submount 100 prepared by implementing the manufacturing method S200. In other words, features of the power component submount 100 can be referred to in the manufacturing method S200 described in the above description, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
[0064] As shown in
[0065] In the present embodiment, the ceramic substrate 1 has two board surfaces 11 respectively arranged on two opposite sides thereof and a plurality of thru-holes 12 that penetrate through the two board surfaces 11 (or penetrate therethrough). The sputtering layer 2 includes a plurality of electroplating portions 21 respectively formed on the two board surfaces 11 and a plurality of extension portions 22 that are respectively arranged in the thru-holes 12. Each of the extension portions 22 has a tubular shape and is formed on an inner wall of the corresponding thru-hole 12, and two ends of each of the extension portions 22 are respectively connected to two of the electroplating portions 21 respectively arranged on the two board surfaces 11.
[0066] The conductive blocks 4 are respectively formed on the electroplating portions 21, the conductive pillars 8 are respectively arranged in the extension portions 22, and two ends of each of the conductive pillars 8 are respectively connected to two of the conductive blocks 4 respectively arranged on the two board surfaces 11. It should be noted that the sputtering layer 2 in the present embodiment includes a Ti-sputtering layer 2a connected to the ceramic substrate 1 and a Cu-sputtering layer 2b that covers the Ti-sputtering layer 2a, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
[0067] The two insulating layers 3 are respectively formed on the two board surfaces 11 of the ceramic substrate 1, and the conductive blocks 4 are embedded in the two insulating layers 3. The two insulating layers 3 have a plurality of electroless plating slots 32 recessed in two outer surfaces 33 thereof arranged away from each other, and each of the electroless plating slots 32 is formed to enable one of the conductive blocks 4 to be exposed therefrom.
[0068] The first electroless plating conductors E1 are respectively formed in the electroless plating slots 32, and each of the first electroless plating conductors E1 is connected to (or formed on) one of the conductive blocks 4. Each of the first electroless plating conductors E1 includes a first electroless plating layer 5 connected to a corresponding one of the conductive blocks 4, a second electroless plating layer 5 connected to the first electroless plating layer 4, and a third electroless plating layer 7 that is connected to the second electroless plating layer 6.
[0069] Moreover, the third electroless plating layer 7 in each of the electroless plating slots 32 is coplanar with the outer surface 33 of a corresponding one of the two insulating layers 3. In addition, the first electroless plating layer 5 is made of gold (Au) or nickel (Ni), the second electroless plating layer 6 is made of palladium (Pd), and the third electroless plating layer 7 is made of gold (Au).
[0070] The second electroless plating conductors E2 are respectively formed on the two outer surfaces 33 of the two insulating layers 3, and each of the second electroless plating conductors E2 is connected to the third electroless plating layers 7 of at least two of the first electroless plating conductors E1. It should be noted that, in other embodiments of the present disclosure not shown in the drawings, the second electroless plating conductors E2 can be omitted, and the first electroless plating conductors E1 are provided for allowing the power component to be mounted thereon.
Beneficial Effects of the Embodiments
[0071] In conclusion, the power component submount and the manufacturing method thereof in the present disclosure are provided with the conductive structure that allows the power component to be assembled thereon, and the first electroless plating layer, the second electroless plating layer, and the third electroless plating layer of the conductive structure and the conductive block can be independently formed without using any tie bar, thereby effectively preventing the power component submount from generating any burr.
[0072] Moreover, the power component submount and the manufacturing method thereof in the present disclosure are provided with the first electroless conductors, and the first electroless conductors can be independently formed without using any tie bar, thereby effectively preventing the power component submount from generating any burr.
[0073] The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
[0074] The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope.