METHOD FOR FORMING RADIO FREQUENCY ANTENNA USING CONDUCTIVE INKS

摘要

A metalized circuit suitable for application as a radio frequency antenna is produced by forming an antenna coil pattern on a flexible substrate (52). The antenna coil pattern is formed using a conductive ink (42) which is patterned on the substrate. The conductive ink is cured and an electrical-short layer (46) is formed across the coils of the conductive ink pattern. An insulating layer (56) is formed over top of the electrical-short layer, a metal layer (58) electroplated on top of the conductive layer, and then the electrical-short layer is removed. The use of the electrical-short layer during the electroplating allows for the voltage at the different points on the conductive ink layer to be relatively similar, so that a uniform electroplate layer is formed on top of the conductive ink layer. This results in a better quality radio frequency antenna at a reduced cost.