Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Satcon Technology Corporation

Frank A Lindberg

William B Hall

Frank E Altoz

Ngon B Nguyen

Richard M Young

Stephen G Konsowski

Seymour J Ponemone

Maurice B Shamash

Robert Miles Young

Charles S Kerfoot

Geoffrey B Lansberry

Thomas C Underwood

David L Schantz, Jr

Howard N Fudem

Lawrence E Dickens

Lyon Mandelcorn

James L Munro

Michael J Ankrom

James H DeOms

Ronnie L Starling

Patricia A O'Donnell

Brian H Smith

Joseph J Springer

Beth A Herman

Eric L Mohler

Brian A DeAbreu

Marshall G Jones

William B Winkel

Phillip A Sanger

Todd M Zaranski

Aaron D Valdivia

Fred E Sacks

Gregory DeSalvo

Walter Garcen

Don E Crockett

Leban E Lesster

Philip Albert Sanger

A MEMS switch having spaced-apart RF conductors on a substrate with a bridge structure disposed above the substrate. In one embodiment the bridge structure has two flexible arms supported by two support members and in another embodiment the bridge structure has three flexible arms supported by three support members, the third support member being electrically integral with the second conductor. The bridge structure is drawn down to effect electrical contact between the first and second conductors by application of a control signal to a control electrode, having an opposed electrode on the undersurface of the bridge structure. A central stiffener portion of the bridge prevents any contact between the control and opposed electrodes.

Microelectromechanical RF switch

A low-voltage, low-inductance device for storing electrical charge in a snubber circuit and a method of minimizing inductance in the snubber circuit using the device, wherein the device includes a plurality of extended electrodes, in parallel or series, that are joined to a positive conductor terminal at one end spray and at a negative conductor terminal at the other end spray so that end sprays of adjacent extended electrodes are alternately joined to the positive and negative conductor terminals. Accordingly, current flowing though adjacent extended electrodes is of substantially equal intensity but different in direction. As a result, inductance produced effectively cancels out that of adjacent extended electrodes.

Low-inductance capacitor and a method for minimizing inductance in a snubber circuit

A semiconductor cooling arrangement wherein a semiconductor is affixed to a thermally and electrically conducting carrier such as by brazing. The coefficient of thermal expansion of the semiconductor and carrier are closely matched to one another so that during operation they will not be overstressed mechanically due to thermal cycling. Electrical connection is made to the semiconductor and carrier, and a porous metal heat exchanger is thermally connected to the carrier. The heat exchanger is positioned within an electrically insulating cooling assembly having cooling oil flowing therethrough. The arrangement is particularly well adapted for the cooling of high power switching elements in a power bridge.

Power electronics cooling apparatus

An electric vehicle propulsion system having a motor with first and second electrically isolated windings and a system control unit for controlling the motor, wherein the system control unit includes a first power bridge for driving the first windings and a second power bridge for driving the second windings.

Electric vehicle propulsion system employing AC induction motor control

An electric vehicle motor and related method of cooling wherein coolant is provided to a coolant inlet of the motor housing, directed through a plurality of radial slots of a stator core that is encased within the housing, and exited from a coolant outlet of the motor housing. The radial slots house the stator conductor wires such that the coolant is forced to come in contact with all of the external surface of all of the stator wires.

Electric induction motor and related method of cooling

An apparatus for cooling a switching circuit for an electric vehicle, wherein the switching circuit has at least two switching elements connected in series, includes first and second heat sinks, each having two thermally-conductive planar members forming a passage therebetween for channeling cooling fluid, an inlet port in communication with the passage, and an outlet port in communication with the passage, and a substrate for mounting at least one switching element to each of the first and second heat sinks. An ac terminal connects the switching element attached to the first heat sink in series with the switching element attached to the second heat sink, and inlet and outlet manifolds, coupled to the inlet and outlet ports of the first and second heat sinks, circulate cooling fluid through the passages of the first and second heat sinks to cool the switching elements.

Direct cooled switching module for electric vehicle propulsion system

A hermetically sealed package for one or more integrated circuit chips that is made of three metal, thick-film layers, and one dielectric, thick-film layer to form a mounting surface for the chip. The first applied metal layer includes the power plane, and the fan-out leads including power and ground leads. The dielectric layer overlays the power plane and includes an annular rectangle overlaying a portion of all the leads of the first layer and an outer boundary strip overlaying extreme ends of the leads. The second screened metallic layer serves as the ground plane, and electrically engages the ground leads of the first metallic layer and the extreme outer ends of the signal leads. A third metallic layer includes a metallic sealing ring on the annular portion of the dielectric layer spaced from the perimeter of the power and ground planes and a plurality of spaced test probe pads overlaying the boundary strip in electrical contact with the first metallic layer, and an optional pad of metal in the central chip mount area. The power and ground leads are provided in the same layer which permits them to be closely spaced without shorting due to misregistration. The grounded metallic sealing ring minimizes capacitive coupling between the outwardly extending leads.

Integrated circuit chip package

A large scale integrated circuit package and test assembly wherein a chip is mounted on an insulating package substrate, and the package substrate is easily demountably connectable on a circuit test board. An alignment and electrical connector member bridges between the substrate conductors and the printed circuit board conductors. An elastomeric member is aligned over the alignment and electrical connector and compressed by a cover plate to make the electrical connection between the substrate and the printed circuit board. A plurality of such circuit package can be mounted upon a large area test board, and each of the individual circuit packages can be tested during system analysis.

Large scale integrated circuit test system

A high density, multi-chip module applicable to VHSIC technology utilizing individually hermetically sealed microelectronic chip packages operable to be pretested, breadboarded and burned in prior to final module assembly. This microelectronic module comprises a multiplicity of interconnected chips in a high density fully heat sinked configuration, resulting in high clock speed and low power dissipation. This module further facilitates a short design cycle because no dedicated hard tooling is required. A packaging density is achieved which is about two and one-half times greater than the density achieved utilizing surface mounted leaded chip carriers with leads on 20 mil centers. This is because the packages are reduced in size after testing. This density increase results in a chip-to-chip line capacitance approximately half of conventional packaging due to the fact that the path lengths across the ceramic packages and across the P.C. board are reduced.

High density microelectronic packaging module for high speed chips

A method and apparatus for bonding a plurality of metallic leads to pads of a chip where the force of a thermode, which is placed in contact with the chip is increased at a first rate to a maximum force less than required to effect the bonding over a time period required to bring the metallic leads and pads close to bonding temperature, and then increasing the uniform force at a rate greater than the first rate to a force sufficient to effect the bonding. The apparatus includes a chip holder arrangement that is mounted to automatically align to the plane of the bonding thermode to provide for uniform deformities to the bump portions of the bond.

Lead bonding of integrated circuit chips

An rf module is provided with an integral coaxial connector lead-in and alignment structure about the lead-in. The rf module is readily coupled to mating rf modules or components in modular integrated rf circuit packages. The rf module includes structure for clamping the coupled modules to a flat surface which may be a printed wiring board substrate.

RF module with integral coaxial connector means

A metallic lead frame strip, method of manufacturing same, a test tape, a method of testing together with the art work for same is disclosed. The method of manufacturing includes a method for producing art work that provides for accuracy in etching both sides of the lead frame strip simultaneously and permits a highly accurate positioning of the bonding bumps of at least one integral bonding bump for each lead and also discloses leads having a plurality of bonding bumps for connecting electrically common portions of a chip to be tested. Also, the use of registration aids are disclosed which allow lead bumps to be registered to chip pads even though the bumps cannot be seen in the alignment step. The testing of the chip also includes a method and double-layer test strip that may be used repeatedly for testing successively larger chips having an increasing number of individual leads.

Apparatus and method for tape bonding and testing of integrated circuit

Method for manufacturing tape including lead frames

There is disclosed a method for producing in thick (0.005 inches) polyimide films or sheets, openings, or windows across each of which an electrical conductor, such as copper or aluminum extends. The windows may be of substantial dimensions typically 0.05 inches by 0.1 inches. The conductor is of substantial thickness of about 0.0008 to 0.001 inches. The method is practiced with a sheet in which holes have been preformed. The sheet is coated with the conductor on both surfaces by being rotated in a stream of vapor of the conductor produced by impinging an electron beam (typically at 10 KV and 300 milliamperes) on a block of the conducting material. As the sheet is rotated in the stream of vapor, the walls of the holes as well as the surface of the sheet are coated with a conductor. Photoresist is then deposited on both coated surfaces of the sheet and in the holes and is exposed under masks and developed so as to expose the conducting coating on each surface in the areas of the windows. The exposed coating is then removed with an acid etchant while the remainder of the surfaces including the coating on the walls of the holes remain protected by the developed photoresist. The polyimide in the areas of the windows is thus exposed. The exposed polyimide is then removed by hydrazine leaving windows in each surface with conductors extending across the windows on the respective opposite surfaces.

Formation of openings in dielectric sheet

A method for making beam leads for use in the interconnecting of electronic evices and packages. A first metal is deposited onto a substrate which has poor adhesion with the substrate. A portion of the deposited metal is then etched away leaving on said substrate deposited metal at locations where a second metal is not to adhere to the substrate. Then depositing onto said substrate and over said first deposited metal a plurality of beam leads of a second metal. Then lifting said portions of said first metal from said substrate and then etching away said first metal to provide beam leads partially attached to said substrate.

Method for making beam leads for ceramic substrates

Growing community of inventors

Baltimore, MD, United States of America

Frank A Lindberg