Method of manufacturing a resilient contact
View Patent ↗Resilient spring contact structures are manufactured by plating the contact structures on a reusable mandrel, as opposed to forming the contact structures on sacrificial layers that are later etched away. In one embodiment, the mandrel includes a form or mold area that is inserted through a plated through hole in a substrate. Plating is then performed to create the spring contact on the mold area of the mandrel as well as to attach the spring contact to the substrate. In a second embodiment, the mandrel includes a form that is initially plated to form the resilient contact structure and then attached to a region of a substrate without being inserted through the substrate. Attachment in the second embodiment can be achieved during the plating process used to form the spring contact, or by using a conductive adhesive or solder either before or after releasing the spring contact from the mandrel.
1. A method for manufacturing a resilient contact, said method comprising:
forming a resilient contact by depositing a material onto a surface of a mandrel, the resilient contact having a body shape defined at least in part by the surface of the mandrel;
attaching the resilient contact to a substrate;
releasing the mandrel after the resilient contact is attached to the substrate and
reusing the mandrel to form a second resilient contact.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
forming a resilient contact on the mandrel comprises forming a plurality of resilient contacts on a plurality of mandrels, the plurality of mandrels attached to a common substrate, each resilient contact having a shape defined at least in part by its corresponding mandrel;
attaching the resilient contact to a substrate comprises simultaneously attaching the plurality of contacts to the substrate; and
releasing the mandrel comprises leaving the plurality of resilient contacts attached to the substrate.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of resilient contacts comprises discrete resilient contacts.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the forming a plurality of resilient contacts on a plurality of mandrels comprises forming the plurality of resilient contacts simultaneously.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the resilient contact comprises plating the resilient contact.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the plating is performed by electroplating.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the plating is performed by electroless plating.
8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the plating the resilient contact comprises:
plating a first material; and
plating a second material,
wherein the first material has a higher electrical conductivity than the second material, and the second material has a greater resiliency than the first material.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first material is selected from the group consisting of: copper, aluminum, cobalt, gold, silver, tungsten and combinations and alloys thereof.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the second material is selected from the group consisting of: nickel, iron, tungsten and combinations and alloys thereof.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the releasing is performed by applying a thermal shock to the mandrel and the resilient contact.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the applying a thermal shock to the mandrel and the resilient contact comprises rinsing the mandrel and the resilient contact with a solution.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the attaching the resilient contact to a substrate comprises positioning the mandrel proximate to the substrate to place the resilient contact in contact with a conductive structure on the substrate.
14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
providing the mandrel with conductive portions and non-conductive portions, wherein the shape of the resilient contact is defined by a conductive portion of the mandrel.
15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming a contact tip feature on the resilient contact.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the attaching the resilient contact to the substrate is performed using any of soldering, welding, brazing, or combinations thereof.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forming a resilient contact on a mandrel comprises plating the material onto the surface of the mandrel.
18. A method for manufacturing a resilient contact, said method comprising:
forming a resilient contact on a mandrel, the resilient contact having a body shape defined at least in part by the mandrel;
attaching the resilient contact to a substrate; and
releasing the mandrel after the resilient contact is attached to the substrate,
wherein forming the resilient contact comprises plating the resilient contact,
wherein the plating the resilient contact comprises:
plating a first material; and
plating a second material,
wherein the first material has a higher electrical conductivity than the second material, and
the second material has a greater resiliency than the first material, and
wherein the first material is plated as a first layer onto the mandrel, and the second material is plated as a second layer onto the first material.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein, after releasing the resilient contact, the mandrel is reused to form another resilient contact.
20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising simultaneously forming a plurality of resilient contacts on a plurality of mandrels.