Wireless communication device with integrated ferrite shield and antenna, and methods of manufacturing the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9947988-B2
Application number	US-201615230348-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 5, 2016
Priority date	Aug 6, 2015
Publication date	Apr 17, 2018
Grant date	Apr 17, 2018

Abstract

A wireless communication device and methods of manufacturing and using the same are disclosed. The wireless communication device includes a substrate with an antenna and/or inductor thereon, a patterned ferrite layer overlapping the antenna and/or inductor, and a capacitor electrically connected to the antenna and/or inductor. The wireless communication device may further include an integrated circuit including a receiver configured to convert a first wireless signal to an electric signal and a transmitter configured to generate a second wireless signal, the antenna being configured to receive the first wireless signal and transmit or broadcast the second wireless signal. The patterned ferrite layer advantageously mitigates the deleterious effect of metal objects in proximity to a reader and/or transponder magnetically coupled to the antenna.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A wireless communication device, comprising:
a) a substrate with an antenna and/or inductor thereon;
b) a patterned ferrite layer having a pattern that is substantially identical to and/or defined by a pattern of the antenna and/or inductor, the patterned ferrite layer overlapping said antenna and/or inductor entirely or to a degree that provides a same shielding of said antenna and/or inductor as an otherwise identical blanket ferrite film; and
c) a capacitor electrically connected to said antenna and/or inductor.

2. The device of claim 1 , further comprising an integrated circuit.

3. The device of claim 2 , wherein:
a) the integrated circuit comprises a receiver configured to convert a first wireless signal to an electric signal and a transmitter configured to generate a second wireless signal; and
b) the antenna and/or inductor comprises the antenna, which is configured to receive said first wireless signal and transmit or broadcast said second wireless signal.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein said substrate comprises a glass, a glass/polymer laminate, a high temperature polymer, or a metal foil.

5. The device of claim 4 , wherein said substrate is a flexible substrate.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein said antenna and/or inductor is on a first surface of the substrate, and the patterned ferrite layer is on a second surface of the substrate.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the patterned ferrite layer is configured to mitigate or counteract an electromagnetic effect of metal on or near a surface of said wireless device.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein said patterned ferrite layer comprises a magnetically soft ferrite.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the pattern of the patterned ferrite layer is substantially identical to the pattern of the antenna and/or inductor, and has an area that (i) overlaps at least 90% of an area of the antenna and/or inductor and (ii) is less than or equal to 200% of the area of the antenna and/or inductor.

10. The device of claim 1 , wherein the pattern of the antenna and/or inductor has an outermost periphery and an innermost periphery, and the pattern of the ferrite layer has an outermost periphery and an innermost periphery that is substantially identical to and/or defined by the outermost periphery and the innermost periphery of the pattern of the antenna and/or inductor.

11. The device of claim 1 , wherein the patterned ferrite layer has a thickness of from 50 μm to 700 μm and a permeability of about 5-25 H·m −1 or N·A −2 .

12. A method of manufacturing a wireless communication device, comprising:
a) forming an antenna and/or inductor on a substrate, said antenna and/or inductor being configured to (i) generate or produce a current in the device sufficient for the device to backscatter detectable electromagnetic radiation in the presence of an oscillating wireless signal having a predetermined frequency, or (ii) receive a first wireless signal and/or transmit or broadcast a second wireless signal; and
b) forming a patterned ferrite layer overlapping said antenna and/or inductor entirely or to a degree that provides the same shielding of said antenna and/or inductor as an otherwise identical blanket ferrite film, the patterned ferrite layer having a pattern that is substantially identical to and/or defined by a pattern of the antenna and/or inductor.

13. The method of claim 12 , comprising forming said antenna on said substrate, said antenna being configured to receive said first wireless signal and transmit or broadcast said second wireless signal, and the method further comprising electrically connecting an integrated circuit and said antenna.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the integrated circuit comprises a receiver configured to convert said first wireless signal to an electric signal and a transmitter configured to generate said second wireless signal.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein said patterned ferrite layer is formed from a hot melt containing a ferrite or a ferrite precursor.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein forming said patterned ferrite layer comprises printing an ink or paste containing said ferrite or said ferrite precursor on (i) a side of said substrate opposite from said antenna and/or inductor, or (ii) a same side of said substrate as said antenna and/or inductor, wherein a dielectric layer is between said patterned ferrite layer and said antenna and/or inductor.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising drying and curing said ferrite-containing ink.

18. The method of claim 12 , wherein forming said patterned ferrite layer comprises printing a composition containing a ferrite or ferrite precursor and a polymer binder, the composition consisting of components that are in the solid phase at 25° C., on (i) a side of said substrate opposite from said antenna and/or inductor, or (ii) a same side of said substrate as said antenna and/or inductor, wherein a dielectric layer is between said patterned ferrite layer and said antenna.

19. The method of claim 12 , wherein the pattern of the ferrite layer is substantially identical to the pattern of the antenna and/or inductor, and has an area that (i) overlaps at least 90% of an area of the antenna and/or inductor and (ii) is less than or equal to 200% of the area of the antenna and/or inductor.

20. The method of claim 12 , wherein the pattern of the antenna and/or inductor has an outermost periphery and an innermost periphery, and the pattern of the ferrite layer has an outermost periphery and an innermost periphery that is substantially identical to and/or defined by the outermost periphery and the innermost periphery of the antenna and/or inductor.

Assignees

• Thin Film Electronics Asa

Inventors

• Takashima Mao
• Chandra Aditi
• Mukherjee Somnath
• Wong Gloria
• Van Tu Khanh
• Li Joey
• Popiolek Anton
• Kamath Arvind

Classifications

• H01Q1/2291 Primary

  used in Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi® devices of Wireless Local Area Networks [WLAN] (H01Q1/241 takes precedence; WLAN in general H04W) · CPC title

• H01Q7/06 Primary

  with core of ferromagnetic material (H01Q7/02 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01Q1/2225

  used in active tags, i.e. provided with its own power source or in passive tags, i.e. deriving power from RF signal · CPC title