Thin-laminate panels for capacitive printed-circuit boards and methods for making the same

Abstract

The present invention provides thin-laminate panels (i.e., thin-laminate panels having dielectric layers of about 0.006 inches or less and conductive layers on either side of the dielectric layer), wherein the edges of the dielectric layers of the panels are free of conductive material, such as copper. The thin-laminate panel is designed to provide necessary capacitance for all or a substantial number of the integrated circuits to be formed thereon. The thin-laminate panels of the present invention may be tested for manufacturing defects, such as short circuits, before further processing of the panels to produce PCBs. “Finishing” methods for shearing sheets of unfinished thin-laminate into the finished thin-laminate panels of the present invention in a manner that does not cause smearing of the conductive material onto the dielectric layer are also provided. To assure that conductive material from the conductive layers of an unfinished thin-laminate panel is not smeared onto the edges of the dielectric layer as the panel is sheared, the plane of rotation of a vertically mounted router bit coincides with the plane defined by the surface of the panel. Securing apparatus or fixtures for securing one or more unfinished thin-laminate panels to a surface for shearing of the edges of the panels to produce the finished thin-laminate panels of the present invention are also provided. The securing apparatus allow unfinished panels to be secured to a surface during the finishing process without the need to drill holes through or otherwise diminish the useful area or portions of the panels. Also disclosed is a method for cutting thin-laminate panels from at least one thin laminate sheet using a circular saw blade within specific operating parameters so that the panels have substantially no conductive material on their dielectric layer edges.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.