KR20220092159A - Antenna package and image display device including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An antenna package includes an antenna device including an antenna pattern and a flexible circuit board electrically connected to the antenna pattern. The flexible circuit board includes: a core layer; a conductive layer formed on the core layer; and a protection layer covering the conductive layer and including a coverlay film and a solidified resin layer. Bending stability of the flexible circuit board may be improved through the solidified resin layer.

Description

Antenna package and image display device including the same

The present invention relates to an antenna package and an image display device including the same. More particularly, it relates to an antenna package including an antenna element and a circuit board, and an image display device including the same.

With the recent development of an information society, wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are combined with an image display device and implemented in the form of, for example, a smart phone. In this case, an antenna may be coupled to the image display device to perform a communication function.

As mobile communication technology evolves in recent years, an antenna for performing communication in a high-frequency or ultra-high frequency band needs to be coupled to the image display device.

For the radiation driving of the antenna, a circuit board for power feeding and control signal transmission may be connected to the antenna. The circuit board may be bent to be connected to, for example, a driving integrated circuit chip, and in this case, circuit wiring may be damaged, and bonding to an antenna may be deteriorated due to bending stress.

In addition, as the thickness of the image display device to which the antenna is coupled recently decreases, the degree of corrugation of the circuit board may also increase. In this case, the above-described bending defect may be further aggravated. Therefore, it is necessary to design an antenna package to secure the reliability of bonding the circuit board and circuit connection while maintaining or improving the radiation characteristics and signal characteristics of the antenna.

For example, Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-0095451 discloses an antenna integrated into a display panel, but does not consider efficient circuit connection as described above.

Korean Patent Publication No. 2013-0095451

One object of the present invention is to provide an antenna package having improved mechanical reliability and signal efficiency.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image display device including an antenna package having improved mechanical reliability and signal efficiency.

1. An antenna element comprising an antenna pattern; and a flexible circuit board electrically connected to the antenna pattern, wherein the flexible circuit board comprises:

core layer; a conductive layer formed on the core layer; and a protective layer covering the conductive layer and including a coverlay film and a cured resin layer.

2. The antenna package according to the above 1, wherein the cured resin layer is formed using a resin ink.

3. The flexible circuit board according to 1 above, wherein the flexible circuit board includes a bonding region bonded to the antenna element, a bending region, and a body region, wherein the bending region is located between the bonding region and the body region;

The cured resin layer is formed in the bending region, the antenna package.

4. The antenna package according to the above 3, wherein the cured resin layer is formed over the bending region and the bonding region.

5. The antenna package of 3 above, wherein the coverlay film is formed in the remaining area except for the area where the cured resin layer is formed.

6. The antenna package according to the above 3, wherein the cured resin layer has a thickness smaller than that of the coverlay film.

7. The antenna package according to the above 3, wherein the cured resin layer has a smaller tensile modulus than that of the coverlay film.

8. The antenna package according to the above 3, further comprising an adhesive layer disposed between the coverlay film and the conductive layer.

9. The antenna package according to 8 above, wherein the cured resin layer is in direct contact with the conductive layer.

10. The antenna package according to 3 above, wherein the flexible circuit board includes a cut region.

11. The antenna package according to 10 above, wherein the cut region is formed in the bending region.

12. The antenna package according to 10 above, wherein the cut region extends over the bending region and the bonding region and is open at one side of the flexible printed circuit board.

13. The antenna package of 1 above, wherein the cured resin layer has a thickness greater than that of the coverlay film.

14. The antenna package of 13 above, wherein the cured resin layer partially overlaps the coverlay film.

15. The antenna package according to the above 1, further comprising a conductive barrier laminated on the cured resin layer.

16. The method of 1 above, wherein the portion of the conductive layer under the cured resin layer includes a mesh pattern or a composite structure of a mesh pattern and a solid structure, and the portion of the conductive layer under the coverlay film has a solid structure. Having, the antenna package.

17. The image display device according to 1 above, wherein the coverlay film and the cured resin layer are in contact with the conductive layer together.

18. Display panel; and the antenna package of the above-described embodiments disposed on the display panel.

19. The method according to 18 above, further comprising an antenna driving integrated circuit chip disposed under the display panel, wherein the flexible circuit board of the antenna package includes a portion formed with the cured resin layer formed therein to form an antenna driving integrated circuit chip and an antenna driving integrated circuit chip; An electrically connected, image display device.

In the antenna package according to the embodiments of the present invention, a cured resin layer having improved bending characteristics may be formed in the bending region of the flexible circuit board connected to the antenna element instead of the coverlay film. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the bending stability of the flexible circuit board and realize a stable circuit connection with the driving integrated circuit chip.

The cured resin layer is formed using, for example, a resin ink composition and may be easily formed to have a thinner thickness and a lower tensile modulus than a coverlay film.

In some embodiments, bending stability may be further improved by forming a cutting region at an end of the flexible circuit board. In some embodiments, bending characteristics may be further improved by applying a mesh structure to the conductive layer in the bending region of the flexible circuit board.

1 to 3 are schematic cross-sectional and plan views illustrating an antenna package according to exemplary embodiments.
4 to 6 are schematic plan views of a flexible circuit board included in an antenna package according to some exemplary embodiments.
7 and 8 are plan views and cross-sectional views, respectively, of a flexible circuit board included in an antenna package according to some exemplary embodiments.
9 and 10 are schematic cross-sectional views of a flexible circuit board included in an antenna package according to some exemplary embodiments.
11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a flexible circuit board included in an antenna package according to some example embodiments.
12 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an image display device including an antenna package according to example embodiments.

SUMMARY Embodiments of the present invention provide an antenna package in which a flexible circuit board including an antenna element and a coverlay film or a protective layer is combined. In addition, there is provided an image display device including the antenna package.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail. However, the following drawings attached to the present specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, and serve to further understand the technical spirit of the present invention together with the above-described contents of the present invention, so the present invention is described in such drawings It should not be construed as being limited only to the matters.

The terms "first", "second", "upper", "lower", "upper surface", "bottom", etc. used in this application do not designate an absolute position, but distinguish different components, or between components. Used to distinguish relative positions.

1 to 3 are schematic cross-sectional views and plan views illustrating an antenna package according to exemplary embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the antenna package. 2 is a schematic plan view illustrating an antenna element included in the antenna package. 3 is a schematic plan view illustrating a flexible circuit board included in the antenna package. 3 is a plan view illustrating a first conductive layer and a protective layer of a flexible circuit board being projected together.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the antenna package includes an antenna element 100 and a flexible circuit board 200 (eg, a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB)). The flexible circuit board 200 may include a core layer 210 and a conductive layer formed on the surface of the core layer 210 . The conductive layer may include, for example, a metal plating layer such as a copper plating layer.

The conductive layer may include a first conductive layer 220a and a second conductive layer 220b. According to example embodiments, the core layer 210 may include a first surface 210a (eg, a bottom surface) and a second surface 210b (eg, an upper surface) facing each other. The first conductive layer 220a and the second conductive layer 220b may be respectively formed on the first surface 210a and the second surface 210b of the core layer 210 .

The core layer 210 may include, for example, a flexible resin such as polyimide resin, modified polyimide (MPI), epoxy resin, polyester, cycloolefin polymer (COP), or liquid crystal polymer (LCP). The core layer 210 may include an internal insulating layer included in the circuit board 200 .

The flexible circuit board 200 may further include a protective layer for protecting the conductive layers 220a and 220b. The protective layer may include a coverlay film 230 and a cured resin layer 240 . A first passivation layer may be stacked on the first conductive layer 220a and a second passivation layer may be stacked on the second conductive layer 220b.

The first protective layer may include a first coverlay film 230a and a first cured resin layer 240a. The second protective layer may include a second coverlay film 230b and a second cured resin layer 240b.

The first coverlay film 230a and the second coverlay film 230b are respectively formed through the first adhesive layer 235a and the second adhesive layer 235b through the first conductive layer 220a and the second conductive layer 220b. ) can be attached to the

Referring to FIG. 2 , the antenna element 100 may include an antenna dielectric layer 110 and an antenna pattern 120 disposed on the antenna dielectric layer 110 .

The antenna dielectric layer 110 may include a polyester-based resin such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene isophthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, and polybutylene terephthalate; Cellulose resins, such as a diacetyl cellulose and a triacetyl cellulose; polycarbonate-based resin; acrylic resins such as polymethyl (meth)acrylate and polyethyl (meth)acrylate; styrenic resins such as polystyrene and acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer; polyolefin-based resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyolefin having a cyclo-based or norbornene structure, and an ethylene-propylene copolymer; vinyl chloride-based resin; amide-based resins such as nylon and aromatic polyamide; imide-based resin; polyether sulfone-based resin; sulfone-based resins; polyether ether ketone resin; sulfide polyphenylene-based resin; vinyl alcohol-based resin; vinylidene chloride-based resin; vinyl butyral-based resin; allylate-based resin; polyoxymethylene-based resins; epoxy resin; urethane-based or acrylic urethane-based resin; It may include a transparent resin film including a silicone-based resin or the like. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The antenna dielectric layer 110 may include an adhesive material such as an optically clear adhesive (OCA), an optically clear resin (OCR), or the like. In some embodiments, the antenna dielectric layer 110 may include an inorganic insulating material such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, glass, or the like.

In some embodiments, the dielectric constant of the antenna dielectric layer 110 may be adjusted in the range of about 1.5 to 12. When the dielectric constant exceeds about 12, the driving frequency is excessively reduced, so that driving in a desired high frequency band may not be realized.

The antenna pattern 120 may be formed on the upper surface of the antenna dielectric layer 110 . For example, the plurality of antenna patterns 120 may be arranged in an array form along the width direction of the antenna dielectric layer 110 or the antenna package to form an antenna pattern row.

The antenna pattern 120 may include a radiation pattern 122 and a transmission line 124 . The radiation pattern 122 may have, for example, a polygonal plate shape, and the transmission line 124 may extend from one side of the radiation pattern 122 . The transmission line 124 is formed as a single member substantially integral with the radiation pattern 122 , and may have a width smaller than that of the radiation pattern 122 .

The antenna pattern 120 may further include a signal pad 126 . The signal pad 126 may be connected to one end of the transmission line 124 . In an embodiment, the signal pad 126 is formed of a member substantially integral with the transmission line 124 , and an end of the transmission line 124 may be provided as the signal pad 126 .

According to some embodiments, a ground pad 128 may be disposed around the signal pad 126 . For example, a pair of ground pads 128 may be disposed to face each other with the signal pad 126 interposed therebetween.

For example, the ground pad 128 may be electrically and physically separated from the transmission line 124 around the signal pad 126 . The ground pad 128 may serve as a bonding pad to improve bonding stability with the conductive bonding structure 150 (see FIG. 1 ).

According to exemplary embodiments, the antenna pattern 120 or the radiation pattern 122 may provide signal transmission/reception in a high frequency or very high frequency (eg, 3G, 4G, 5G or higher) band. For example, the resonant frequency of the antenna pattern 120 or the radiation pattern 122 may be 10 GHz or more, 10 to 40 GHz, and preferably 20 to 40 GHz. As a non-limiting example, the resonant frequency of the antenna pattern 120 may be about 28 GHz, or about 38 GHz.

The antenna patterns 120 include silver (Ag), gold (Au), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), and tungsten (W). ), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta), vanadium (V), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), tin (Sn), molybdenum (Mo) ), calcium (Ca), or an alloy containing at least one of them. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

In one embodiment, the antenna pattern 120 is silver (Ag) or a silver alloy (eg, silver-palladium-copper (APC) alloy), or copper (Cu) in consideration of low resistance and fine linewidth patterning. a copper alloy (eg, a copper-cal (CuCa) alloy).

In some embodiments, the antenna pattern 120 may include a transparent conductive oxide such as indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), indium zinc tin oxide (ITZO), or zinc oxide (ZnOx). .

In some embodiments, the antenna pattern 120 may include a stacked structure of a transparent conductive oxide layer and a metal layer. For example, it may have a two-layer structure of a transparent conductive oxide layer-metal layer or a three-layer structure of a transparent conductive oxide layer-metal layer-transparent conductive oxide layer. In this case, while the flexible characteristic is improved by the metal layer, the signal transmission speed may be improved by lowering the resistance, and corrosion resistance and transparency may be improved by the transparent conductive oxide layer.

In some embodiments, the antenna pattern 120 may include a blackening processing unit. Accordingly, the reflectance on the surface of the antenna pattern 120 may be reduced, and thus pattern recognition due to light reflection may be reduced.

In an embodiment, the blackening layer may be formed by converting the surface of the metal layer included in the antenna pattern 120 into a metal oxide or metal sulfide. In an embodiment, a blackening layer such as a black material coating layer or a plating layer may be formed on the antenna pattern 120 or the metal layer. The black material or plating layer may include silicon, carbon, copper, molybdenum, tin, chromium, molybdenum, nickel, cobalt, or an oxide, sulfide, or alloy containing at least one of these.

The composition and thickness of the blackening layer may be adjusted in consideration of a reflectance reduction effect and antenna radiation characteristics.

In some embodiments, the radiation pattern 122 and the transmission line 124 may include a mesh-pattern structure to improve transmittance. In this case, a dummy mesh electrode (not shown) may be formed around the radiation pattern 122 and the transmission line 124 .

The signal pad 126 and the ground pad 128 may have a solid pattern formed of the above-described metal or alloy in consideration of reduction in feeding resistance and noise absorption efficiency. In one embodiment, the transmission line 124 may also include an at least partially hollow structure.

In some embodiments, the antenna ground layer 130 may be formed on the bottom surface of the antenna dielectric layer 110 . The antenna ground layer 130 may overlap the radiation pattern 122 of the antenna pattern 120 in the thickness direction. A substantially vertical radiation antenna may be implemented through generation of an electric field or inductance between the radiation pattern 122 and the antenna ground layer 130 .

In an embodiment, the antenna ground layer 130 may entirely overlap the radiation pattern 122 and may not overlap the pads 126 and 128 .

The antenna ground layer 130 may include the aforementioned metal and/or alloy. In some embodiments, the antenna ground layer 130 may be included as an independent component of the antenna element 100 . In some embodiments, a conductive member of the image display device on which the antenna element 100 is mounted may be provided as the antenna ground layer 130 .

The conductive member may include, for example, various wires such as a gate electrode, a scan line or a data line of a thin film transistor (TFT) included in the display panel, or various electrodes such as a pixel electrode and a common electrode.

In an embodiment, for example, various structures including a conductive material disposed under the display panel may be provided as the antenna ground layer 130 . For example, a metal plate (eg, a stainless steel plate such as a SUS plate), a pressure sensor, a fingerprint sensor, an electromagnetic wave shielding layer, a heat dissipation sheet, a digitizer, etc. may be provided as the antenna ground layer 130 . .

Referring to FIG. 3 , the flexible circuit board 200 may include a bonding region I, a bending region II, and a body region III. The bonding region I may be a region in which the signal pad 126 of the antenna element 100 and the first conductive layer 220a of the flexible circuit board 200 are electrically connected or bonded.

The first conductive layer 220a may include circuit wiring that supplies power to the signal pad 126 of the antenna pattern 120 . In some embodiments, at least two antenna patterns 120 may be coupled through the circuit wiring. For example, the circuit wiring may include merged wirings 222 and 224 and a driving signal wiring 226 .

The merged interconnections 222 and 224 may include a first merged interconnection 222 and a second merged interconnection 224 . The first merged wiring 222 is bonded to the signal pad 126 of the antenna pattern 120 , and for example, two radiation patterns 120 are coupled through the first merged wiring 222 to form a radiation group. can be formed. The second merging interconnection 224 may be connected to the plurality of first merging interconnections 222 to couple the plurality of radiation groups.

One end of the driving signal line 226 may be branched from the second merged line 224 . The driving signal wiring 226 extends on the core layer 210 portion of the body region III, and the other end of the driving signal wiring 226 may be electrically connected to an antenna driving integrated circuit (IC) chip.

In some embodiments, the first merge interconnection 222 extends on the core layer 210 portion of the bending region II, and the second merge interconnection 224 includes the bending region II and the body region III. may extend over portions of the core layer 210 of

As described above, one end of the circuit wiring (eg, the first combined wiring 222 ) may be bonded to the signal pad 126 of the antenna pattern 120 in the bonding region I.

For example, a conductive bonding structure 150 (eg, an anisotropic conductive film (ACF)) may be disposed on the pads 126 and 128 of the antenna pattern 120 . A portion of the first coverlay film 230a formed in the bonding region I of the flexible circuit board 200 may be removed to expose the one end of the circuit wiring and may be attached to the conductive bonding structure 150 . Thereafter, an electrical connection between the circuit wiring and the signal pad 126 may be implemented through a bonding process including a heating/pressurizing process.

In an embodiment, a bonding pad 223 may be formed at each distal end of the first merged interconnection 222 . In this case, the bonding pad 223 and the signal pad 126 may be electrically connected to each other. In an embodiment, one end of the first merged interconnection 222 may be directly provided as the bonding pad 223 .

In an embodiment, the first conductive layer 220a may further include a ground pattern 225 . For example, the ground pattern 225 may be disposed on the distal end of the first merged interconnection 222 or around the bonding pad 223 .

The ground pattern 225 may be aligned over the ground pad 128 of the antenna element 100 . The ground pattern 225 may also be electrically connected to the ground pad 128 of the antenna element 100 through the conductive junction structure 150 .

As described above, the second conductive layer 220b may be formed on the second surface 210b of the core layer 210 . The second conductive layer 220b may serve as a ground layer of the flexible circuit board 200 .

The second conductive layer 220b may completely cover the circuit wiring included in the first conductive layer 220b in a planar direction. Accordingly, an electric field is generated between the circuit wiring and the second conductive layer 220b, so that the power feeding efficiency to the antenna pattern 120 may be increased. The second conductive layer 220b may be formed as a plate or layer continuously extending over the bonding region I, the bending region II, and the body region III.

In example embodiments, the protective layer of the flexible circuit board 200 may include the cured resin layer 240 formed in the bending region II. For example, the first cured resin layer 240a is formed on the portion of the first conductive layer 220a in the bending region II, and the second cured resin layer 240a is formed on the portion of the second conductive layer 220b in the bending region II. A cured resin layer 240b may be formed.

For example, a gap may be formed by partially removing the coverlay films 230 in the bending region II, and a resin ink may be filled in the gap. Thereafter, the cured resin layer 240 may be formed by thermally curing or UV curing the filled resin ink. For example, the resin ink may be an exposure type ink or a printing type ink.

The resin ink or cured resin layer 240 may include a resin such as polyimide or liquid crystal polymer (LCP).

In some embodiments, the thickness of the cured resin layer 240 may be smaller than the thickness of the coverlay film 230 (or the thickness plus the adhesive layers 235a and 235b).

For example, the coverlay film 230 may have a thickness of about 8 to 25 μm, and the adhesive layers 235a and 235b may have a thickness of about 8 to 25 μm. The cured resin layer 240 may have a thickness of about 3 to 20 μm and may be smaller than the sum of the thicknesses of the coverlay film 230 and the adhesive layer 235 .

In an embodiment, the thickness of the cured resin layer 240 may be smaller than the thickness of each of the coverlay film 230 and the adhesive layer 235 .

In some embodiments, a tensile modulus of the cured resin layer 240 may be smaller than a tensile modulus of the coverlay film 230 .

For example, the tensile modulus of the coverlay film 230 may be about 1 to 100 GPa. The tensile modulus of the cured resin layer 240 may be about 1 to 100 MPa.

As described above, the coverlay film 230 manufactured as a film product may have a relatively large thickness and tensile modulus. Therefore, when the flexible circuit board 200 has relatively low flexibility and is bent to connect the antenna driving IC chip and the driving signal wiring 226 disposed under the display panel, for example, sufficient bending stability may not be ensured. can

However, according to exemplary embodiments, sufficient flexibility may be provided in the bending region II by selectively forming the cured resin layer 240 having a small thickness and tensile modulus in the bending region II.

As described above, since the cured resin layer 240 is formed by filling the bending region II with resin ink, it may be formed to have a relatively small thickness and tensile modulus. Accordingly, bending characteristics and flexibility in the bending region II may be improved.

In addition, the cured resin layer 240 may be formed by directly applying a resin ink on the conductive layers 220a and 220b without adding an adhesive layer. Therefore, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the bending properties due to the adhesive layer.

In some embodiments, the coverlay film 230 may have a lower dielectric constant (Dk) and a loss tangent (Df) than the cured resin layer 240 . Accordingly, in a region other than the bending region II, a signal loss in the flexible circuit board 200 may be suppressed or reduced by utilizing the dielectric properties of the coverlay film 230 .

4 to 6 are schematic plan views of a flexible circuit board included in an antenna package according to some exemplary embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the first conductive layer 220a may include signal wires 227 that are individually and independently connected to each of the antenna patterns 120 . One ends of the signal wires 227 are respectively bonded to the signal pad 126 of the antenna pattern 120 , and the other ends of the signal wires 227 are ends of the body region III of the flexible circuit board 200 . may be electrically connected to the antenna driving IC chip.

Accordingly, a power supply and control signal may be applied to each of the antenna patterns 120 through each signal line 227 by the antenna driving IC chip.

In some embodiments, the signal wires 227 may include bent portions 227a and 227b as indicated by dotted circles. The signal wires 227 may be assembled at a narrower interval through the bent portions 227a and 227b to extend on the core layer 210 portion of the body region III.

For example, the bent portions 227a and 227b may include a first bent portion 227a and a second bent portion 227b. The signal wiring 227 may branch in the longitudinal direction from the bonding pad 223 and then extend in the width direction by the first bent portion 227a. The signal wiring 227 may extend again in the longitudinal direction by the second bent portion 227b.

In some embodiments, the cured resin layer 240 included in the protective layer may overlap the extension portion 227c extending in the longitudinal direction of the signal wiring 227 .

As described above, the bending stability of the flexible circuit board 200 may be improved through the cured resin layer 240 . Also, the bent portions 227a and 227b may be excluded from the bending region II, and mechanical damage to the signal wiring 227 due to the bending stress of the flexible circuit board 200 may be suppressed.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the cured resin layer 240 may also be formed on the bonding region I. For example, the cured resin layer 240 may be formed over the bonding region I and the bending region II.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the flexible circuit board 200 may include a cut region 260 . For example, the cut 260 region may be formed in the bending region II to facilitate bending of the flexible circuit board 200 .

In some embodiments, the cut region 260 may also extend to the bonding region I. For example, the cut region 260 may have an open shape with one side of the flexible circuit board 200 .

The cut region 260 may be formed to penetrate the flexible circuit board 200 in the thickness direction. For example, the cut region 260 may penetrate the second conductive layer 220b and may be formed to avoid the first conductive layer 220a including circuit wirings in a planar direction.

7 and 8 are plan views and cross-sectional views, respectively, of a flexible circuit board included in an antenna package according to some exemplary embodiments. For example, FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged plan view of the area of the flexible circuit board 200 around the ground pattern 225 .

7 and 8 , a via structure 250 electrically connecting the second conductive layer 220b provided as a ground layer and the ground pattern 225 included in the first conductive layer 220a to each other. can be formed.

For example, after forming a via hole penetrating through the core layer 210 , the via structure 250 may be formed by filling the via hole with a metal through a plating process. The via hole may also pass through the second conductive layer 220b.

In an embodiment, the via structure 250 may be formed only in the via hole through, for example, a button plating process. For example, it is possible to prevent an increase in the thickness of the second conductive layer 220b by extending the plating layer to the outside of the via hole.

In an embodiment, the second conductive layer 220b may have a reduced thickness through, for example, a half-etching process. In an embodiment, the second conductive layer 220b may have a smaller thickness than the first conductive layer 220a.

As described above, the ease of bending through the cured resin layer 240 included in the bending part 235 may be further improved by reducing the thickness of the second conductive layer 220b.

9 and 10 are schematic cross-sectional views of a flexible circuit board included in an antenna package according to some exemplary embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 9 , a conductive barrier layer 270 may be formed on the cured resin layer 240 . For example, the conductive barrier layer 270 may be formed to face the second conductive layer 220b provided as a ground layer and the core layer 210 therebetween.

In an embodiment, the conductive barrier layer 270 may be formed on the first cured resin layer 240a. The conductive barrier layer 270 may partially cover the first coverlay film 230a.

As the conductive barrier layer 270 is added, when the flexible circuit board 200 is bent toward the rear surface of the image display device through the bending region II, noise and electromagnetic waves from the image display device may be shielded.

For example, signal loss and signal interference generated by a frame of the image display device may be blocked or suppressed by the conductive barrier layer 270 . In addition, the second conductive layer 220b may serve as a barrier against signal loss and signal interference caused by electromagnetic waves from outside the image display device.

Referring to FIG. 10 , a portion of the second conductive layer 220b included in the bending region II may include a mesh pattern 229 . Accordingly, in combination with the cured resin layer 240 , flexibility and bending stability in the bending region II may be further improved.

The remaining portion of the second conductive layer 220b except for the mesh pattern 229 may have a solid (solid) structure. Accordingly, it is possible to sufficiently provide an effect of generating an electric field with the first conductive layer 220a and shielding external noise.

In some embodiments, a portion of the second conductive layer 220b included in the bending region II may include both a mesh pattern and a solid structure.

As described with reference to FIG. 1 , the coverlay films 230a and 230b may be attached on the conductive layers 220a and 220b through the adhesive layers 235a and 235b.

11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a flexible circuit board included in an antenna package according to some example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 11 , the thickness of the cured resin layers 240a and 240b may be greater than the thickness of the coverlay films 230a and 230b. In some embodiments, the cured resin layers 240a and 240b may be formed to partially overlap the coverlay films 230a and 230b. In this case, the cured resin layers 240a and 240b may be formed through a curing process after filling the resin ink to sufficiently fill the gap.

As the cured resin layers 240a and 240b come into contact with the upper surfaces of the coverlay films 230a and 230b, when bending stress is applied in the bending region II, the cured resin layers 240a and 240b or the coverlay films ( It is possible to prevent lifting or peeling of the conductive layers 220a and 220b from the 230a and 230b.

12 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an image display device including an antenna package according to example embodiments. For convenience of description, the detailed structure and configuration of the flexible circuit board 200 are omitted from FIG. 12 .

The image display apparatus may include a display panel 250 and an antenna package disposed on the display panel 250 according to the above-described exemplary embodiments.

The display panel 250 may include, for example, an OLED panel or an LCD panel, and preferably, an OLED panel. The antenna element 100 may be disposed on the display panel 250 . The radiation pattern 122 of the antenna pattern 120 may be disposed on, for example, an image display device or a display area of the display panel 250 . In this case, the radiation pattern 122 may include a mesh structure to increase transmittance and suppress visibility of the antenna pattern 120 .

The signal pad 126 of the antenna pattern 120 may be disposed on a bezel area or a peripheral area of the image display device or the display panel 250 . The flexible circuit board 200 is bonded to the signal pad 126 through the bonding region I, and may be bent downward of the display pattern 250 through the bending region II.

As described above, since the bending region II includes the cured resin layer 240 , the flexible circuit board 200 may provide improved bending stability. The body region III may enter the rear portion under the display panel 250 by the bending region II.

The circuit wiring or signal wiring included in the body region III may be electrically connected to the antenna driving IC chip 270 through the intermediate circuit board 260 . The intermediate circuit board 260 may include, for example, a main board, a package board, or a rigid printed circuit board.

The antenna driving IC chip 270 is mounted on the intermediate circuit board 260 to supply power to the antenna pattern 120 through the flexible circuit board 200 and control antenna radiation.

In an embodiment, the antenna driving IC chip 270 may be directly mounted on the surface of the flexible circuit board 200 .

100: antenna element 110: antenna dielectric layer
120: antenna pattern 122: radiation electrode
124: transmission line 126: signal pad
128: ground pad 130: antenna ground layer
200: flexible circuit board 210: core layer
220a: first conductive layer 220b: second conductive layer
230a: first coverlay film 230b: second coverlay film
235a: first adhesive layer 230b: second adhesive layer
240a: 1st cured resin layer 240b: 2nd cured resin layer
250: via structure 260: cut area

Claims (19)

An antenna element comprising an antenna pattern; and
and a flexible circuit board electrically connected to the antenna pattern, wherein the flexible circuit board comprises:
core layer;
a conductive layer formed on the core layer; and
An antenna package covering the conductive layer and comprising a protective layer including a coverlay film and a cured resin layer. The antenna package according to claim 1, wherein the cured resin layer is formed using a resin ink. The method according to claim 1, wherein the flexible circuit board includes a bonding region bonded to the antenna element, a bending region and a body region, the bending region is located between the bonding region and the body region,
The cured resin layer is formed in the bending region, the antenna package. The antenna package of claim 3 , wherein the cured resin layer is formed over the bending region and the bonding region. The antenna package of claim 3 , wherein the coverlay film is formed in an area other than the area where the cured resin layer is formed. The antenna package of claim 3 , wherein the cured resin layer has a thickness smaller than that of the coverlay film. The antenna package of claim 3 , wherein the cured resin layer has a tensile modulus smaller than that of the coverlay film. The antenna package of claim 3 , further comprising an adhesive layer disposed between the coverlay film and the conductive layer. The antenna package of claim 8 , wherein the cured resin layer is in direct contact with the conductive layer. The antenna package of claim 3 , wherein the flexible circuit board includes a cut region. The antenna package of claim 10 , wherein the cut region is formed in the bending region. The antenna package of claim 10 , wherein the cut region extends over the bending region and the bonding region and is opened at one side of the flexible printed circuit board. The antenna package of claim 1 , wherein the cured resin layer has a thickness greater than that of the coverlay film. The antenna package of claim 13 , wherein the cured resin layer partially overlaps the coverlay film. The antenna package of claim 1 , further comprising a conductive barrier laminated on the cured resin layer. The method according to claim 1, wherein the portion of the conductive layer under the cured resin layer comprises a mesh pattern, or a composite structure of a mesh pattern and a solid structure,
The portion of the conductive layer under the coverlay film has a hollow structure. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the coverlay film and the cured resin layer are in contact with the conductive layer together. display panel; and
An image display device comprising the antenna package according to claim 1 disposed on the display panel. 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising an antenna driving integrated circuit chip disposed below the display panel,
The flexible circuit board of the antenna package is electrically connected to the antenna driving integrated circuit chip by bending a portion on which the cured resin layer is formed.

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