Encapsulated Circuit Module, And Production Method Therefor

Abstract

To improve, in an encapsulated circuit module having a metal shield layer covering a surface of a resin layer containing filler, a shielding property of the shield layer against electromagnetic waves.

The encapsulated circuit module has a substrate 100 on which electronic components are mounted, covered with a first resin 400. A surface of the first resin 400 is covered with a shield layer 600 including a first metal covering layer 610 made of copper or iron and a second metal covering layer 620 made of nickel. Each of the first metal covering layer 610 and the second metal covering layer 620 is thicker than 5 μm.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules comprising: a first covering step for entirely covering a surface of a substrate with a first resin together with electronic components and curing the first resin, the surface of the substrate having a plurality of contiguous assumed sections, each of the sections having at least one of the electronic components mounted thereon, the substrate having a ground electrode; a snicking step for removing a predetermined width of the first resin and the substrate to a predetermined depth of the substrate, the predetermined width including a boundary between the adjacent assumed sections; a shield layer-forming step for forming a metal shield layer on a surface of the first resin and side surfaces of the first resin and the substrate exposed by the snicking step, by applying a paste containing metal powder or metal-plating, the shield layer being electrically connected with the ground electrode, such that the shield layer comprises a first metal covering layer and a second metal covering layer, the first metal covering layer comprising a first metal having an excellent shielding property against an electric field and being copper or iron, the second metal covering layer comprising a second metal having an excellent shielding property against a magnetic field and being nickel, the first and second metal covering layers each having a thickness of greater than 5 μm; and a snipping step for separating the sections by cutting the substrate along the boundaries between the sections to obtain a plurality of the encapsulated circuit modules corresponding to the sections.

2. The method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to claim 1, wherein the first metal covering layer has a thickness of greater than 7 μm.

3. The method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to claim 2, wherein the first metal covering layer has a thickness of greater than 10 μm.

4. The method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first metal covering layer has a thickness of smaller than 20 μm.

5. The method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to claim 1, wherein the second metal covering layer has a thickness of greater than 7 μm.

6. The method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to claim 5, wherein the second metal covering layer has a thickness of greater than 10 μm.

7. The method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second metal covering layer has a thickness of smaller than 20 μm.

8. The method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to claim 1, the method further comprising a second covering step for covering a surface of the first resin covering the substrate with a second resin containing no filler and curing the second resin, wherein a filler-containing resin is used as the first resin; and the metal shield layer being formed, in the shield layer-forming step, on a surface of the second resin and side surfaces of the first resin and the substrate exposed by the snicking step, by applying a paste containing metal powder or metal-plating, the shield layer being electrically connected with the ground electrode.

9. The method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to claim 1, wherein a first resin shaping step is performed after the first covering step and before the shield layer-forming step to scrape a portion of the surface of the cured first resin such that the surface of the cured first resin becomes parallel to the surface of the substrate.

10. An encapsulated circuit module comprising: a substrate having a ground electrode; at least one electronic component mounted on a surface of the substrate; a first resin layer that covers the surface of the substrate together with the electronic component; a shield layer formed by covering a surface of the first resin layer and side surfaces of the first resin layer and the substrate such that the metal shield layer is electrically connected with the ground electrode, wherein the shield layer comprises a first metal covering layer and a second metal covering layer, the first metal covering layer comprising a first metal having an excellent shielding property against an electric field and being copper or iron, the second metal covering layer comprising a second metal having an excellent shielding property against a magnetic field and being nickel, the first and second metal covering layers each having a thickness of greater than 5 μm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0053] [FIG. 1(a)] A side cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a substrate used in a method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0054] [FIG. 1(b)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which electronic components are mounted on the substrate shown in FIG. 1(a).

[0055] [FIG. 1(c)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a partition member is attached to the substrate shown in FIG. 1(b).

[0056] [FIG. 1(d)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the substrate shown in FIG. 1(c) is covered with a first resin together with the components and the first resin is cured.

[0057] [FIG. 1(e)] A side cross-sectional view showing a range to be removed from the first resin shown in FIG. 1(d).

[0058] [FIG. 1(f)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a portion of the first resin shown in FIG. 1(e) that should be removed has been removed.

[0059] [FIG. 1(g)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which an upper surface of the first resin shown in FIG. 1(f) is covered with a second resin and the second resin is cured.

[0060] [FIG. 1(h)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the substrate shown in FIG. 1(g) has been subjected to snicking.

[0061] [FIG. 1(i)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a shield layer is provided to the substrate shown in FIG. 1(h)

[0062] [FIG. 1(j)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the substrate shown in FIG. 1(i) has been subjected to snipping.

[0063] [FIG. 2(a)] A perspective view showing a configuration of a partition member used in a method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules of an embodiment.

[0064] [FIG. 2(b)] A plan view, a left side view, and a front view showing a configuration of another partition member used in the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules of the embodiment.

[0065] [FIG. 2(c)] A plan view, a left side view, and a front view showing a configuration of another partition member used in the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules of the embodiment.

[0066] [FIG. 2(d)] A plan view, a left side view, and a front view showing a configuration of another partition member used in the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules of the embodiment.

[0067] [FIG. 3] A side view showing a principle of vacuum printing used in the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules of the embodiment.

[0068] [FIG. 4] A side cross-sectional view showing an example of a configuration of a shield layer obtained by the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules of the embodiment.

[0069] [FIG. 5] A side cross-sectional view of an encapsulated circuit module obtained by the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to the embodiment.

[0070] [FIG. 6] A transparent plan view of an encapsulated circuit module obtained by the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to the embodiment.

[0071] [FIG. 7(a)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a mask is overlaid on a second resin in a method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules of a modified version 1.

[0072] [FIG. 7(b)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a resist for plating has been applied to the mask shown in FIG. 7(a).

[0073] [FIG. 7(c)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the mask shown in FIG. 7(b) has been removed.

[0074] [FIG. 7(d)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state of the substrate shown in FIG. 7(c) which has been subjected to snicking.

[0075] [FIG. 7(e)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a shield layer is provided onto the substrate shown in FIG. 7(d).

[0076] [FIG. 7(f)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the substrate shown in FIG. 7(e) has been subjected to snipping and removal of the resist for plating.

[0077] [FIG. 8(a)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which an upper surface of a first resin is covered with a second resin and the second resin is cured in a method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules of a modified version 2.

[0078] [FIG. 8(b)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state of the substrate shown in FIG. 8(a) which has been subjected to snicking.

[0079] [FIG. 8(c)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a shield layer is provided onto the substrate shown in FIG. 8(b)

[0080] [FIG. 8(d)] A side cross-sectional view showing a state in which raises on the substrate shown in FIG. 8(c) have been removed and the substrate has been subjected to snipping.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0081] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0082] In this embodiment, encapsulated circuit modules are manufactured using a substrate 100 shown in FIG. 1(a).

[0083] The substrate 100 may be an ordinary substrate, and the substrate 100 in this embodiment is also an ordinary one. The substrate 100 has wiring not shown. The wiring is electrically connected with electronic components described later, and supplies electricity to the electronic components. The wiring is known or widely known and is designed to provide the functions just mentioned. The wiring may be provided on the substrate 100 by any means, and may be provided anywhere on the substrate 100. For example, the wiring may be provided by printing on the surface of the substrate 100. In that case, the substrate 100 is generally referred to as a printed wiring board. The wiring may also be present inside the substrate 100.

[0084] When seen from the above, the shape of the substrate 100 is, for example, a rectangle. The shape of the substrate 100 is, however, usually determined as appropriate so as to reduce waste when a plurality of encapsulated circuit modules are formed as described later.

[0085] At appropriate positions of the substrate 100, ground electrode 110 is provided. In some cases, ground electrode 110 may be entirely or partially present in the substrate 100, or may be entirely or partially present on a surface of the substrate 100. In this embodiment, it is assumed that ground electrode 110 is embedded as a layer in the substrate 100 at an appropriate depth. The ground electrodes 110 are used to ground a shield layer described later when the final encapsulated circuit module is used. The ground electrodes 110 are designed to allow this.

[0086] In the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules described in this embodiment, a large number of encapsulated circuit modules are manufactured from one substrate 100. That is, in this embodiment, multiple encapsulated circuit modules are obtained from a single substrate 100. The substrate 100 is divided into a large number of contiguous assumed sections 120, and each section 120 corresponds to a single encapsulated circuit module manufactured. The encapsulated circuit modules manufactured in association with the respective sections 120 are not necessarily identical, but are usually identical with each other. In the case where the encapsulated circuit modules manufactured in association with these sections 120 are identical with each other, each section 120 has the same size, and each section 120 is provided with wiring and a ground electrode 110 in the same pattern. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the encapsulated circuit modules of these sections 120 are identical with each other, but not limited thereto.

[0087] In order to manufacture the encapsulated circuit modules, first, as shown in FIG. 1(b), the electronic components 200 are attached to one surface (the upper surface in FIG. 1(b) in this embodiment) of the substrate 100. All of the electronic components 200 may be conventional ones and are selected as necessary from, for example, active devices such as integrated circuit (IC) amplifiers, oscillators, wave detectors, transceivers, etc., or passive devices such as resistors, capacitors, coils, etc.

[0088] The electronic components 200 are attached to the respective sections 120 with their terminals (not shown) electrically connected with the wirings of the respective sections 120. In this embodiment, since the identical encapsulated circuit modules are obtained in association with the respective sections 120, identical sets of the electronic components 200 are mounted on the respective sections 120. A known or widely-known technique may be used for attaching the electronic components 200 to each section 120, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0089] The gap between the lower side of the electronic component 200 and the substrate 100 may be smaller than usual, for example, on the order of 30 μm.

[0090] Next, in this embodiment, although not necessarily required, a partition member 300 is attached to the substrate 100 (FIG. 1(c)). The partition member 300 is a member for forming a partition in the encapsulated circuit module. The partition is intended to reduce the influence of electromagnetic waves produced by the electronic component(s) 200 in the encapsulated circuit module on other electronic component(s) 200 in the same encapsulated circuit module. Note that the partition member 300 may be used as necessary when the following circumstances exist, and is not essential.

[0091] For example, in this embodiment, when an electronic component 200A shown in FIG. 1(c) is a high-frequency oscillator, a strong electromagnetic wave is emitted by the electronic component 200A. In such a case and in the case where the electronic components 200 around the electronic component 200A are vulnerable to noises due to strong electromagnetic waves, deteriorating their functions, it is necessary to protect them from the electromagnetic waves emitted by the electronic component 200A. Alternatively, it is conceivable that the electronic component 200A is particularly susceptible to electromagnetic waves emitted by other electronic component(s) 200. In such a case, the electronic component 200A should be protected from the electromagnetic waves emitted by other electronic component(s) 200. In any cases, it is preferable to shield electromagnetic waves between the electronic component 200A and other electronic component(s) 200. The partition provided by the partition member 300 makes this possible.

[0092] The partition member 300 is made of a metal having conductivity so as to shield electromagnetic waves, and is electrically connected with the ground electrode 110 directly or through a shield layer which will be described later in the encapsulated circuit module manufactured. The partition member 300 is designed so that the partition achieved by the partition member 300 alone or a combination of the partition achieved by the partition member 300 and the shield layer described later stretches around (one or more) certain electronic component(s) 200, when the substrate 100 is seen from the above.

[0093] Although not limited thereto, the partition member 300 in this embodiment has a shape as shown in FIG. 2(a). The partition member 300 comprises a roof 310 which is a triangle, more specifically a right triangle when viewed from the above, and rectangular side walls 320 connected with the two sides other than the hypotenuse of the roof 310 with the sides of the side walls 320 adjacent to each other being connected with each other. The partition made by the partition member 300 in this embodiment is designed to be electrically connected with the shield layer when the encapsulated circuit module is completed. For example, the partition made by the partition member 300 is electrically connected to the shield layer on a side of the encapsulated circuit module when it is completed, with the sides of the respective side walls 320 opposite to their sides adjacent to each other being in contact with the shield layer. This will be described later.

[0094] Attachment of the partition member 300 to the substrate 100 may be performed in any manner. For example, the partition member 300 can be attached to the substrate 100 by adhesion. If, for example, a lower end of the partition member 300 is electrically connected with the ground electrode 110, the ground electrode 110 and the partition member 300 can be designed for that purpose and the ground electrode 110 and the partition member 300 can be adhered to each other using a known conductive adhesive or the like. For example, lower ends of the side walls 320 of the partition member 300 can be brought into contact with and electrically connected with the ground electrode 110 which is exposed from the surface of the substrate 100 from the beginning or which is exposed from the substrate 100 by scraping off the surface of the substrate 100.

[0095] The partition member 300 is only required to be electrically connected with the ground electrode 110 at the end of the manufacture. In other words, the partition member 300 may be in direct contact with the ground electrode 110, or in indirect contact with the ground electrode 110 via another conductive metal (for example, a shield layer). Of course, if one of these is achieved, the other is not need to be achieved.

[0096] Other examples of the partition member 300 are shown in FIGS. 2(b), 2(c), and 2(d). In each of FIGS. 2(b), 2(c), and 2(d), illustrated are a plan view of the partition member 300, a left side view thereof on the left, and a front view thereof on the bottom. The partition member 300 shown in the figures has a roof 310, and side walls 320. The roof 310 of the partition member 300 shown in FIGS. 2(b), 2(c), and 2(d) has a plurality of roof holes 311 formed through the roof. The roof holes 311 are for allowing a first resin 400 to flow into the inward of the partition member 300 when the first resin 400 is poured, and serve to prevent separation between the partition member 300 and the first resin 400 after the resin has been cured. Furthermore, the side wall 320 of the partition member 300 shown in FIG. 2(d) has a plurality of side wall holes 321 formed through the side wall. The side wall holes 321 serve to prevent separation between the partition member 300 and the first resin 400 after the resin has been cured.

[0097] Next, the electronic components 200 and, if necessary, the partition member(s) 300 are attached to one surface of the substrate 100, and this surface is covered entirely with the first resin 400 together with the electronic components 200 and the partition member(s) 300. The first resin 400 is then cured (FIG. 1(d)).

[0098] To cover the entire surface of one surface of the substrate 100 with the first resin 400, although a resin encapsulation method such as molding and potting can be used, vacuum printing is used in this embodiment. With vacuum printing, it is possible to prevent any small voids from being incorporated into the first resin 400 used for encapsulation, and thus a process of removing voids from the resin can be omitted.

[0099] Vacuum printing can be performed using a known vacuum printer. An example of a known vacuum printer is a vacuum printing encapsulation system VE500 (trade mark) manufactured and sold by Toray Engineering Co., Ltd.

[0100] The principle of the vacuum printing is described briefly with reference to FIG. 3. In performing the vacuum printing, the substrate 100 is placed between, for example, metal masks 450. Then, a rod-shaped squeegee 460 of which longitudinal direction coincides with a direction perpendicular to the drawing sheet is moved from a position on the one metal mask 450 shown in FIG. 3(a) toward the other metal mask 450 in the direction depicted by an arrow (b) while supplying an uncured first resin 400. The upper surface of the first resin 400 is leveled by the lower surface of the squeegee 460 and completely covers the entire surface of the substrate 100, flowing between the electronic components 200. Vacuum printing is performed after the substrate 100, the metal masks 450 and the squeegee 460 are all placed in a vacuum chamber (not shown) where a vacuum has been established. Accordingly, no voids can be entrapped in the first resin 400. If the squeegee 460 is moved as shown in FIG. 3, the distance or height of the squeegee 460 from the substrate 100 is usually constant.

[0101] The first resin 400 covering the substrate 100 is cured by leaving it stand for an appropriate period of time.

[0102] Note that the roof 310 of the partition member 300 may have the roof holes 311 formed therethrough and the side walls 320 of the partition member 300 may have side wall holes 321 formed therethrough. The first resin 400 before curing flows into the partition member 300 through these holes.

[0103] The side wall holes 321 provided in the side walls 320 of the partition member 300 shown in FIG. 2(d) serve to strengthen a connection between the partition member 300 and the first resin 400 because the first resin 400 is cured within the side wall holes 321. If a step of scraping an upper portion of the first resin 400 as described later is performed, the roof holes 311 in the roof 310 exhibit a similar function as long as the roof 310 of the partition member 300 is left within the first resin 400.

[0104] The first resin 400 is required to have three properties, i.e., a penetrability (which is a property before being cured) to allow the first resin 400 to enter between the electronic components 200, an adhesion to the electronic components 200 as well as the substrate, and an anti-warping feature (which is a property after being cured).

[0105] In order to achieve these properties of the first resin 400, it is preferable that the first resin 400 has the following characteristics. If the first resin 400 has the following characteristics, the aforementioned requirements for the properties of the first resin before and after curing are both met.

[0106] The characteristics of the first resin 400 that are preferably achieved include a content of 80% by weight or more of filler relative to the total weight of the first resin containing the filler before being cured, and a linear expansion coefficient (α1) of 11 ppm/TMA or lower, a linear expansion coefficient (α2) of 25 ppm/TMA or lower, and a modulus of elasticity at 25° C. of 15 GPa/DMA or lower after being cured.

[0107] Examples of the first resin 400 having the aforementioned characteristics include a resin compositions (product ID: CV5385 (trade mark)) manufactured and sold by Panasonic Corporation. These resin compositions contain, for example, silica (as filler), an epoxy resin, a curing agent, and a modifier. The resin composition contains one type of resin. Therefore, the major resin component of the first resin 400 in the present application is an epoxy resin.

[0108] As described above, the first resin 400 contains filler and the aforementioned resin compositions (product ID: CV5385) contain filler. The amount of the filler contained in these resin compositions is 83% by weight, which satisfies the requirement of 80% by weight or more relative to the first resin 400. The filler is made of a material with a small linear expansion coefficient and is typically made of silica. Furthermore, in order to achieve the penetrability of the first resin 400, the particle diameter of the filler may be 30 μm or smaller. The fillers contained in the two resin compositions exemplified above both satisfy these conditions.

[0109] The resin compositions exemplified above have a linear expansion coefficient (α1) of 11 ppm/TMA, a linear expansion coefficient (α2) of 25 ppm/TMA, and a modulus of elasticity at 25° C. of 15 GPa/DMA after being cured, which satisfy the aforementioned preferable conditions.

[0110] Then, although not being essential, the upper portion of the first resin 400 is removed. This is mainly for the purpose of reducing the thickness of the first resin 400 on the substrate 100, thereby reducing the thickness of the final encapsulated circuit modules. In this embodiment, a portion of the first resin 400 positioned above a position depicted by a broken line L in FIG. 1(e) is removed. The state in which the portion of the first resin 400 positioned above the broken line L has been removed is shown in FIG. 1(f).

[0111] In this embodiment, the upper surface of the first resin 400 after the removal of the portion of the first resin 400 positioned above the broken line L is parallel to the one surface of the substrate 100, but not limited thereto. The distance between the uppermost portion of an electronic component 200B which is the tallest in the electronic components 200 and the upper surface of the first resin 400 after the portion of the first resin 400 positioned above the broken line L has been removed is between 30 μm and 80 μm, but not limited thereto.

[0112] In this embodiment, when the portion of the first resin 400 positioned above the broken line L is removed, the roof 310 and a certain upper portion of the side walls 320 of the partition member 300 are also removed, but not limited thereto. Thus, only the side walls 320 of the partition member 300 are left in the first resin 400. The side walls 320 of the partition member 300 left in the first resin 400 serve as the partition for partitioning the first resin 400.

[0113] It is not essential to remove the upper portion of the partition member 300 in the first resin 400 during the removal of the portion of the first resin 400 positioned above the broken line L. Instead, the height of the partition member 300 may be such that the roof 310 is positioned under the broken line L.

[0114] The method of removing the portion of the first resin 400 positioned above the broken line L can be any one of known suitable techniques. For example, the first resin 400 can be removed using a cutting machine such as a milling machine or a grinding/cutting machine such as a dicing machine.

[0115] Next, although not being essential, the upper surface of the first resin 400 (i.e., the surface facing the substrate 100) which is parallel to the substrate 100 is covered with the second resin 500 and the second resin 500 is cured (FIG. 1(g)) in this embodiment. The reason the upper surface of the first resin 400 is covered with the second resin 500 is to prevent the filler contained in the first resin 400 from falling off the first resin 400. At least a portion of the upper surface of the first resin 400 to be covered with the shield layer described later is covered with the second resin 500.

[0116] The second resin 500 does not contain filler. The material of the second resin 500 is selected such that the second resin 500 after being cured has high adhesion to the first resin 400. For example, an epoxy resin or an acrylic resin may be used as a material of the second resin 500. To increase the adhesion of the second resin 500 to the first resin 400, it is easy to use, as the second resin 500, a same type of resin as that contained in the first resin 400 as a major resin component. Since the major resin component in the first resin 400 is an epoxy resin as described above, it is possible to use an epoxy resin as the material of the second resin 500 in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the second resin 500 is an epoxy resin but not limited thereto.

[0117] It is better to reduce the thickness of the second resin 500 as much as possible to the extent that the following two conditions are satisfied. First, since the second resin 500 contributes to keeping the filler in the first resin 400, it should be thick enough to allow this. Second, the second resin 500 should be thick enough not to interfere a process of surface roughening, which can be made to a surface of the second resin 500 to improve the adhesion of metal-plating to the surface of the second resin, because an excessively thin layer of the second resin 500 can cause a problem of the surface roughening. It is better that the second resin 500 is as thin as possible to the extent that these two conditions are satisfied.

[0118] The second resin 500 in this embodiment covers the entire upper surface of the first resin 400, but not limited thereto.

[0119] The technique used to cover the upper surface of the first resin 400 with the second resin 500 can be any one of known techniques. For example, the upper surface of the first resin 400 can be covered with the second resin 500 by spray coating using a spraying device.

[0120] The second resin 500 covering the first resin 400 is cured by leaving it stand for an appropriate period of time.

[0121] Next, the surface of the second resin 500 is roughened. Roughening of the surface of the second resin 500 is for the purpose of allowing a shield layer described later deposited thereon to be adhered better and is thus performed such that this purpose is achieved. Roughening techniques for surfaces of resins are known or widely known such as etching using a strong acid or strong alkali and one of these techniques can be used to roughen the surface of the second resin.

[0122] Subsequently, the substrate 100 is subjected to snicking (FIG. 1(h)). This snicking is a process of forming a groove-like cut 100X through the second resin 500, through the first resin 400 and in the substrate 100.

[0123] The range where the cut 100X is formed is a range with a predetermined width across the boundary between the adjacent sections 120. The depth of the cut 100X is determined such that the cut reaches the ground electrode 110 in the substrate in this embodiment, but not limited thereto. As a result, the edge of the ground electrode 110 is exposed on the periphery of each section 120 after the snicking step. The width of the cut 100X is, for example, between 200 μm and 400 μm but not limited thereto. The width of the cut 100X is determined according to the properties of the first resin and the width of a blade of the dicing machine used for snicking.

[0124] The snicking step can be done using a known technique. For example, snicking can be done using a fully automatic dicing saw DFD641 (trade mark) manufactured and sold by DISCO Corporation equipped with a blade having an appropriate width.

[0125] Then, portions of the first resin 400, the second resin 500, and the substrate 100 which are described below are covered with a shield layer 600 (FIG. 1(i)).

[0126] The shield layer 600 is for protecting, when the final encapsulated circuit module is used, the electronic component(s) 200 in the encapsulated circuit module from the electromagnetic waves emitted by an electronic component or components positioned outside the encapsulated circuit module(s) or for protecting an electronic component or components positioned outside the encapsulated circuit module from the electromagnetic waves emitted by the electronic component(s) 200 in the encapsulated circuit module.

[0127] The shielding layer 600 is formed of a conductive metal suitable for shielding electromagnetic waves.

[0128] The shield layer 600 in this embodiment has two layers. The shield layer is formed to have a two-layered structure with a first metal covering layer 610 comprising a first metal having an excellent shielding property against an electric field and a second metal covering layer 620 comprising a second metal having an excellent shielding property against a magnetic field (FIG. 4). As the first metal, copper or iron can be used. As the second metal, nickel can be used. Either the first metal covering layer 610 or the second metal covering layer 620 may be exposed outside. The second metal covering layer 620 is exposed outside in this embodiment, but not limited thereto. This is for the purpose of avoiding deterioration of the appearance when copper is used as the first metal because it turns black as a result of natural oxidation.

[0129] The shield layer 600 is provided on the surface of the second resin 500 as well as the side surfaces of the first resin 400 and the substrate 100 which have been exposed outside by the snicking. The shield layer 600 is electrically connected with the ground electrode 110 in the substrate 100 at the side surface of the substrate 100. The shield layer 600 is also electrically connected, at the side surface of the first resin 400, with the two sides (which have been exposed on the side surface of the first resin 400 by the snicking step) of the side walls 320 of the partition member 300 constituting the partition which are opposite to their respective sides adjacent to each other. Thus, the partition member 300 will be electrically connected with the ground electrode 110 via the shield layer 600. The partition member 300, however, may have already been electrically connected with the ground electrode 110 at the lower end thereof without the shield layer 600. In such a case, the shield layer 600 can be electrically connected with the ground electrode 110 via the partition member 300 rather than the direct electrical connection between the shield layer 600 and the end surface of the ground electrode 110 at that lower end.

[0130] The shield layer 600 can be formed by applying a paste containing metal powder or metal-plating. If the shield layer 600 is a multilayer, the method of forming the individual layers may be the same or not. In this embodiment, the first metal covering layer 610 and the second metal covering layer 620 are formed using a same method.

[0131] The metal-plating may be either wet plating or dry plating. Examples of the wet plating include electroless plating. Examples of the dry plating include physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Examples of the former include sputtering and vacuum vapor deposition and examples of the latter include thermal CVD and photo CVD.

[0132] Of these, in consideration of costs and its capability of reducing residual stress in the shield layer 600, wet plating should be selected. Furthermore, the wet plating can provide a thicker shield layer 600. It is thus easy to provide a sufficient thickness for shielding electromagnetic waves. Although wet plating includes electrolytic plating and electroless plating, it is preferable to use electroless plating in consideration of possible damages of the electronic components in the encapsulated circuit modules to be processed, because the electroless plating does not require any flow of electrical current through surfaces of the encapsulated circuit modules.

[0133] The first metal covering layer 610 and the second metal covering layer 620 in this embodiment are both formed by electroless plating, but not limited thereto.

[0134] From the viewpoint of shielding the electric field, it is necessary to make the first metal covering layer 610 thicker than 5 μm. The first metal covering layer 610 can basically shield the electric field better as the thickness thereof increases greater from 5 μm. The thickness of the first metal covering layer 610 can be greater than 7 μm. Furthermore, the thickness of the first metal covering layer 610 can be greater than 10 μm. In particular, by making the first metal covering layer 610 thicker than 10 μm, as long as the electronic components used inside and outside the encapsulated circuit module are present, it cannot be expected in terms of the electric field that the electronic component(s) within the encapsulated circuit module is/are affected by the electromagnetic waves emitted by the electronic component(s) outside the encapsulated circuit module and the electromagnetic waves emitted by the electronic component(s) within the encapsulated circuit module affect the electronic component(s) outside the encapsulated circuit module. In other words, from the viewpoint of shielding an electric field for shielding electromagnetic waves, it becomes unnecessary to consider what the electronic components used inside and outside the encapsulated circuit module are like if the first metal covering layer 610 is thicker than 10 μm. On the other hand, it is better to make the thickness of the first metal covering layer 610 thinner than 20 μm. This is because the final encapsulated circuit module can be reduced in size without deteriorating the effect of shielding electromagnetic waves.

[0135] From the viewpoint of shielding the magnetic field, it is necessary to make the second metal covering layer 620 thicker than 5 μm. The second metal covering layer 620 can basically shield the magnetic field better as the thickness thereof increases greater from 5 μm. The thickness of the second metal covering layer 620 can be greater than 7 μm. Furthermore, the thickness of the second metal covering layer 620 can be greater than 10 μm. In particular, by making the second metal covering layer 620 thicker than 10 μm, as long as the electronic components used inside and outside the encapsulated circuit module are present, it cannot be expected in terms of the magnetic field that the electronic component(s) within the encapsulated circuit module is/are affected by the electromagnetic waves emitted by the electronic component(s) outside the encapsulated circuit module and the electromagnetic waves emitted by the electronic component(s) within the encapsulated circuit module affect the electronic component(s) outside the encapsulated circuit module. In other words, from the viewpoint of shielding a magnetic field for shielding electromagnetic waves, it becomes unnecessary to consider what the electronic components used inside and outside the encapsulated circuit module are like if the second metal covering layer 620 is thicker than 10 μm. On the other hand, it is better to make the thickness of the second metal covering layer 620 thinner than 20 μm. This is because the final encapsulated circuit module can be reduced in size without deteriorating the effect of shielding electromagnetic waves.

[0136] Finally, the substrate 100 is snipped into separate sections 120 along the cut 100X made by the snicking step (FIG. 1(j)).

[0137] The snipping step can be done using a known technique. For example, snipping can be done using the aforementioned fully automatic dicing saw DFD641 (trade mark) equipped with a blade having an appropriate width.

[0138] As a result, the encapsulated circuit modules corresponding to the sections of the substrate 100 can be obtained.

[0139] A cross-sectional view of an encapsulated circuit module M obtained using the aforementioned method is shown in FIG. 5 and a perspective plan view of the encapsulated circuit module M in shown in FIG. 6.

[0140] As shown in FIG. 5, the substrate 100 of the encapsulated circuit module M is covered with the first resin 400 together with the electronic components 200. The upper surface of the first resin 400 is covered with the second resin 500. Furthermore, the upper surface of the second resin 500, the side surfaces of the first resin 400 and the second resin 500, and the side surface of the substrate 100 exposed by the snicking are covered with the shield layer 600. The shield layer 600 includes a first metal covering layer 610 and the second metal covering layer 620 as described above, which are electrically connected with the side surface of the ground electrode 110 in the substrate 100 as shown in FIG. 5. With the second resin 500, the portion of the shield layer 600 that covers the first resin 400 with the second resin 500 being interposed between them does not have a problem of falling off which otherwise can occur due to the falling off of the filler from the first resin 400. Although the portion of the shield layer 600 that covers the side surface of the first resin 400 covers the first resin 400 without the interposed second resin, the shield layer 600 adheres to the first resin 400 well because the side surface of the first resin 400 is rather roughened as a result of the snicking step and thus is not likely to be separated from the side surface of the first resin.

[0141] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the shield layer 600 is electrically connected, at the side surface of the first resin 400, with the two sides of the side walls 320 of the partition member 300 constituting the partition which are opposite to their sides adjacent to each other.

[0142] The electronic component 200A is protected by the side walls 320 on two sides thereof, by the shield layer 600 on two sides thereof, and by the shield layer 600 on the upper surface thereof.

[0143] Next, modified versions of the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to the above embodiment are described.

<Modified Version 1>

[0144] A method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to the modified version 1 is generally identical to the one described in the above embodiment. Specifically, it is completely the same as the aforementioned embodiment before the process of covering the upper surface of the first resin 400 with the second resin 500 and curing the latter described with reference to FIG. 1(g).

[0145] The difference between the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to the modified version 1 and the aforementioned embodiment lies in the fact that the shield layer 600 on the upper surface of the encapsulated circuit module manufactured has an opening. To provide an opening at a portion of the shield layer 600 is required in, for example, the following cases.

[0146] If the electronic component 200 is, for example, a transceiver, the electronic component 200 must communicate with an external electronic component using, for example, radio waves. In such a case, the shield layer 600 that cuts off the electromagnetic waves could interfere with the communication using radio waves. In consideration of this, an area without the shield layer 600 is provided as an opening of the shield layer 600 in an area required for such communication, e.g., directly above the electronic component 200 that performs communication. This allows the electronic component 200 in the encapsulated circuit module which performs communication to communicate while protecting other electronic component(s) by the shield layer 600.

[0147] As described above, to make an opening in the shield layer 600 depending on the situation is the feature of the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to the modified version 1.

[0148] In the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to the modified version 1, after the process shown in FIG. 1(g), a mask 700 is laid over the surface of the second resin 500 (FIG. 7(a)). The mask 700 is a mold for forming a layer by resist for plating described later. The mask 700 may be a known one, but the mask 700 has a sheet-like shape. In addition, a mask opening 710 is provided at a position where the layer by the resist for plating is to be formed. In this modified version 1, one mask opening is provided in each section 120 at the same position among all sections 120.

[0149] Then, a resist for plating 800 is applied to the top of the mask 700 (FIG. 7(b)). The resist for plating 800 is made of a material that can prevent the shield layer 600 from being formed on the surface thereof. The resist for plating 800 in this embodiment is made of a material that can prevent the metal from being adhered to the surface thereof when metal plating, more specifically, electroless plating is performed. Since the resist for plating is well known, description thereof will be omitted.

[0150] The resist for plating 800 is adhered to the surface of the second resin 500 at positions corresponding to the mask openings 710 and is not adhered to the surface of the second resin 500 where covered with the mask 700.

[0151] Next, the mask 700 is removed (FIG. 7(c)). Then, the layers of the resist for plating 800 are left at appropriate positions on the surface of the second resin 500. For example, an electronic component 200C directly under the position where the resist for plating 800 is present may be the electronic component 200 such as the aforementioned transceiver over which it is preferable that the shield layer 600 is not present.

[0152] Subsequently, in a manner similar to that described in the aforementioned embodiment, the snicking step is performed (FIG. 7(d)).

[0153] Then, in a manner similar to that described in the aforementioned embodiment, the shield layer 600 having a two-layered structure as described in the above embodiment is formed (FIG. 7(e)). The shield layer 600 is formed at positions where no layer of the resist for plating 800 is present, and is not formed where the layer of the resist for plating 800 is present.

[0154] Next, by removing the resist for plating 800 and performing the snipping step similar to the one described in the above embodiments, the encapsulated circuit modules each having the opening 630 at a desired position in the shield layer 600 are completed (FIG. 7(f)).

<Modified Version 2>

[0155] A method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to a modified version 2 is a method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules with the shield layer 600 having an opening is provided on the upper surface thereof, as in the case of the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to the modified version 1.

[0156] The method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to the modified version 2 is generally identical to the one described in the above embodiment. Specifically, it is almost identical to the aforementioned embodiment before the process of covering the upper surface of the first resin 400 with the second resin 500 and curing the latter described with reference to FIG. 1(g). The differences between the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to the modified version 2 and that of the aforementioned embodiment in the process so far lie in the facts that no partition member 300 is used in the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to the modified version 2 and that raises 410 with a larger height from the substrate 100 than their surroundings are formed at appropriate positions on the first resin 400 when the substrate 100 and the electronic components 200 are covered with the first resin 400 and the process of scraping the upper portion of the first resin 400 as described with reference to FIG. 1(e) is omitted, in the method of manufacturing encapsulated circuit modules according to the modified version 2 (FIG. 8(a)). Openings in the shield layer described later will be formed at positions where the raises 410 are present in the modified version 2. In other words, the raises 410 are formed at positions where the openings are desired to be formed in the shield layer.

[0157] Next, the snicking step is performed in a manner similar to the one described in the aforementioned embodiment (FIG. 8(b)).

[0158] Then, the shield layer 600 having a two-layered structure that is similar to the one described in the aforementioned embodiment is formed in a manner similar to the one described in the aforementioned embodiment (FIG. 8(c)).

[0159] Subsequently, the raises 410 are removed together with the second resin 500 covering the raises 410 and the shield layer 600 covering the second resin 500 covering the raises 410. In this embodiment, the aforementioned portions are removed by leveling the positions where the raises 410 are present with the surface of the shield layer 600 covering the surroundings of the raises 410 with the second resin 500 interposed therebetween, but not limited thereto. The snipping step similar to the one described in the aforementioned embodiment is performed and the encapsulated circuit modules each having an opening 630 at a desired position in the shield layer 600 are completed (FIG. 8(d)).

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0160] 100 substrate [0161] 100X cut [0162] 110 ground electrode [0163] 120 section [0164] 200 electronic component [0165] 300 partition member [0166] 310 roof [0167] 320 side wall [0168] 400 first resin [0169] 410 raise [0170] 500 second resin [0171] 600 shield layer [0172] 630 opening [0173] 700 mask [0174] 800 resist for plating