Abstract:
An electronic package is provided, which includes: a substrate, an electronic element disposed on the substrate, and an antenna structure disposed on the substrate. The antenna structure has a base portion and at least a support portion, the base portion including a plurality of openings and a frame separating the openings from one another, and the support portion supporting the base portion over the substrate. Therefore, no additional area is required to be defined on a surface of the substrate, and the miniaturization requirement of the electronic package is thus met.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates to electronic packages, and, more particularly, to an electronic package having an antenna structure. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Along with the rapid development of electronic industries, wireless communication technologies have been widely applied in various kinds of consumer electronic products for receiving or transmitting various wireless signals. To meet the miniaturization requirement of consumer electronic products, wireless communication modules are becoming lighter, thinner, shorter and smaller. For example, patch antennas have been widely applied in wireless communication modules of electronic products, such as cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), due to their advantages of small size, light weight and easy fabrication. 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of a conventional wireless communication module  1 . The wireless communication module  1  has a packaging substrate  10 , a plurality of electronic elements  11  disposed on and electrically connected to the packaging substrate  10 , an antenna structure  12  disposed on the packaging substrate  10 , and an encapsulant  13 . The packaging substrate  10  is a rectangular circuit board. The antenna structure  12  is of a planar type and has an antenna body  120  and a conductive wire  121  electrically connecting the antenna body  120  and the electronic elements  11 . The encapsulant  13  encapsulates the electronic elements  11  and a portion of the conductive wire  121 . 
         [0006]    However, during the fabrication process of the wireless communication module  1 , the antenna body  120  of the antenna structure  12  cannot be integrally fabricated with the electronic elements  11  due to the characteristic of electromagnetic radiation between the antenna structure  12  and the electronic elements  11  and the size limitation of the planar-type antenna structure  12 . As such, the electronic elements  11  are encapsulated by the encapsulant  13 , while the antenna body  120  of the antenna structure  12  is exposed from the encapsulant  13 . Therefore, the packaging process for forming the encapsulant  13  needs a mold having a size corresponding to the electronic element-mounting area instead of the overall size of the packaging substrate  10 , thus adversely affecting the packaging process. 
         [0007]    Further, since the surface of the packaging substrate  10  needs an additional area for the antenna body  120  to be disposed therewithin (i.e., an area where the encapsulant  13  is not to be formed), the size of the packaging substrate  10  and thus the size of the wireless communication module  1  are increased. Consequently, the wireless communication module  1  cannot meet the miniaturization requirement. 
         [0008]    Therefore, how to overcome the above-described drawbacks has become critical. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    In view of the above-described drawbacks, the present disclosure provides an electronic package, which comprises: a substrate; at least an electronic element disposed on the substrate; and at least an antenna structure disposed on the substrate and having a base portion and at least a support portion, the base portion including a plurality of openings and a frame separating the openings from one another, and the at least a support portion supporting the base portion over the substrate. 
         [0010]    In an embodiment, the substrate has a circuit layer electrically connected to the electronic element. 
         [0011]    In an embodiment, the antenna structure is electrically connected to the substrate. 
         [0012]    In an embodiment, the antenna structure is electrically connected to the electronic element. 
         [0013]    In an embodiment, the antenna structure is made of metal. 
         [0014]    In an embodiment, the openings are alternately arranged in an array. 
         [0015]    In an embodiment, each of the openings has a polygonal shape, a circular shape or a closed curved shape. 
         [0016]    In an embodiment, the electronic package further comprises an encapsulant formed on the substrate. In an embodiment, the encapsulant encapsulates the electronic element with the frame exposed from the encapsulant. The frame may protrude above the encapsulant or not. In an embodiment, the antenna structure is completely encapsulated by the encapsulant. 
         [0017]    Therefore, the present disclosure provides a vertical type antenna structure instead of a planar type antenna structure. The antenna structure according to the present disclosure can be vertically disposed on the area of the substrate where the electronic element is mounted, thereby allowing a mold in a packaging process to have a size corresponding to the substrate so as to facilitate the packaging process. 
         [0018]    Further, by vertically disposing the antenna structure on the area of the substrate where the electronic element is mounted (i.e., the area where the encapsulant is formed), the present disclosure dispenses with the additional area on the substrate as required in the prior art. As such, the present disclosure effectively reduces the size of the substrate and accordingly the size of the electronic package, and thus meets the miniaturization requirement of the electronic package. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of a conventional wireless communication module; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2A  is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic package according to the present disclosure; 
           [0021]      FIG. 2B  is a schematic partial perspective view of  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0022]      FIGS. 2C and 2C ′ are schematic perspective views of an antenna structure of  FIG. 2A  according to different embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0023]      FIG. 2D  is a schematic perspective view of  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 2D ′ is a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment of  FIG. 2D ; 
           [0025]      FIGS. 3 and 3 ′ are schematic cross-sectional views showing other embodiments of  FIG. 2A ; and 
           [0026]      FIGS. 4 and 4 ′ are schematic perspective views showing other embodiments of  FIG. 2D . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0027]    The following illustrative embodiments are provided to illustrate the disclosure of the present disclosure, these and other advantages and effects can be apparent to those in the art after reading this specification. 
         [0028]    It should be noted that all the drawings are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Further, terms such as “first”, “second”, “on”, “a” etc. are merely for illustrative purposes and should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0029]      FIGS. 2A to 2D  are schematic views of an electronic package  2  according to the present disclosure. The electronic package  2  comprises a substrate  10 , a plurality of electronic elements  21 ,  21 ′ disposed on the substrate  10 , and an antenna structure  22  disposed on the substrate  10 . 
         [0030]    In an embodiment, the electronic package  2  is a system-in-package (SiP) wireless communication module. 
         [0031]    The substrate  20  is a circuit or ceramic board and has a rectangular shape. Referring to  FIG. 2B , the substrate  20  has a circuit layer  200  formed on a surface thereof. Further, the substrate  20  has circuit layers formed therein (not shown). 
         [0032]    Referring to  FIG. 2B , the electronic elements  21 ,  21 ′ are electrically connected to the circuit layer  200  of the substrate  20 . In an embodiment, each of the electronic elements  21 ,  21 ′ is an active element such as a semiconductor chip, a passive element such as a resistor, a capacitor or an inductor, or a combination thereof. In an embodiment, referring to  FIG. 2B , the electronic elements  21  are electrically connected to the circuit layer  200  in a flip-chip manner, and the electronic element  21 ′ is electrically connected to the circuit layer  200  through wire bonding. 
         [0033]    The antenna structure  22  has a base portion  220  and at least a support portion  221 . The support portion  221  is a metal post and vertically disposed on the substrate  20 , and the base portion  220  is supported over the substrate  20  through the support portion  221 . The base portion  220  has a plurality of openings  220   a  and a frame  220   b  separating the openings  220   a  from one another. 
         [0034]    In an embodiment, the antenna structure  22  is prepared from a metal board or frame first, and then directly attached to the substrate  20 . In an embodiment, the antenna structure  22  has a closed configuration, as shown in  FIG. 2C , or has an open configuration, as shown in  FIG. 2C ′. 
         [0035]    Referring to  FIGS. 2C and 2C ′, the openings  220   a  are alternately arranged in an array. In an embodiment, each of the openings  220   a  has, but not limited to, a polygonal shape, a circular shape or other closed curved shape. 
         [0036]    The support portion  221  can be disposed on the frame  220   b  at an edge of the base portion  220  (as shown in  FIG. 2C ) or in the middle of the base portion  220  (as shown in  FIG. 2C ′). According to the practical need, one support portion  221  (as shown in  FIG. 2C ) or a plurality of support portions  221  (as shown in  FIG. 2C ′) can be provided. 
         [0037]    Further, referring to  FIGS. 2A and 3 , the antenna structure  22  is electrically connected to the circuit layer  200  of the substrate  20  through the support portion  221 . Alternatively, referring to  FIG. 3 ′, the antenna structure  22  is electrically connected to the electronic element  21 ′ through the support portion  221 . 
         [0038]    Furthermore, referring to  FIGS. 2A and 2D , the electronic package  2  can optionally have an encapsulant  23 . 
         [0039]    The encapsulant  23  is formed on the substrate  20  to encapsulate the electronic elements  21  and the support portion  221 . The encapsulant  23  has a first surface  23   a  and a second surface  23   b  opposite to the first surface  23   a , and is bonded to the substrate  20  via the first surface  23   a  thereof. 
         [0040]    In an embodiment, the encapsulant  23  is made of an insulating material, such as polyimide, a dry film, an epoxy resin, or a molding compound. 
         [0041]    Referring to  FIGS. 2A and 2D , the frame  220   b  is exposed from the second surface  23   b  of the encapsulant  23 . In an embodiment, the frame  220   b  protrudes above the second surface  23   b  of the encapsulant  23 . 
         [0042]    In other embodiments, referring to electronic packages  3 ,  3 ′ of  FIGS. 3 and 3 ′, the frames  220   b ′,  220   b ″ do not protrude above the encapsulant  23 . In an embodiment, referring to  FIG. 3 , the surface of the frame  220   b ′ is flush with the second surface  23   b  of the encapsulant  23 . Alternatively, referring to  FIG. 3 ′, the surface of the frame  220   b ″ is lower than the second surface  23   b  of the encapsulant  23 . Therefore, in other embodiments, to fabricate the antenna structure  22 , a plurality of slots and through holes are formed on the second surface  23   b  of the encapsulant  23  first, and then a coating process such as sputter coating, plating, spraying or printing is performed to form a metal material in the slots and the through holes. As such, the frame  220   b ′,  220   b ″ is formed from the metal material in the slots, and the support portion  221  is formed from the metal material in the through holes. Alternatively, the coating process can be combined with a metal board or frame for fabricating the antenna structure  22 . 
         [0043]    In another embodiment, referring to an electronic package  4  of  FIG. 4 , the frame  220   b  is exposed from a side surface  23   c  of the encapsulant  23  that is adjacent to and connected to the first surface  23   a  and the second surface  23   b.    
         [0044]    In a further embodiment, referring to an electronic package  4 ′ of  FIG. 4 ′, the antenna structure  22  is completely encapsulated by the encapsulant  23 . 
         [0045]    Further, referring to  FIG. 2D ′, the electronic package  2 ′ can have a plurality of antenna structures. For example, two base portions  220  are exposed from the encapsulant  23 . 
         [0046]    In the electronic package  2 ,  2 ′,  3 ,  3 ′,  4 ,  4 ′ according to the present disclosure, the vertical type antenna structure  22 ,  22 ′ is formed from a metal board or frame by bending or formed through a coating process, and then the frame  220   b ,  220   b ′,  220   b ″ is disposed over the substrate  20  and the electronic elements  21 ,  21 ′. As such, the antenna structure  22  can be integrally fabricated with the electronic elements  21 ,  21 ′. That is, the antenna structure  22  and the electronic elements  21 ,  21 ′ are packaged together, and hence both the antenna structure  22 ,  22 ′ and the electronic elements  21 ,  21 ′ are encapsulated by the encapsulant  23 . Therefore, the present disclosure allows the mold in the packaging process to have a size corresponding to the substrate  20  so as to facilitate the packaging process. 
         [0047]    Further, the encapsulant  23  facilitates to fasten the antenna structure  22 ,  22 ′ and cause the frame  220   b ,  220   b ′,  220   b ″ to be positioned at a fixed height level so as to ensure the stability of the antenna. Furthermore, the dielectric constant of the encapsulant  23  facilitates to reduce the electrical length required by the antenna. 
         [0048]    Moreover, since the frame  220   b ,  220   b ′,  220   b ″ is disposed over the substrate  20  to form a vertical type antenna structure, the antenna structure  22  can be disposed on the same area of the substrate  20  where the electronic elements  21 ,  21 ′ are mounted (i.e., the area where the encapsulant  23  is formed). Consequently, the present disclosure dispenses with the additional area on the substrate  20  as required in the prior art, effectively reduces the size of the substrate  20  and accordingly the size of the electronic package  2 ,  2 ′,  3 ,  3 ′,  4 ,  4 ′, and meets the miniaturization requirement of the electronic package  2 ,  2 ′,  3 ,  3 ′,  4 ,  4 ′. 
         [0049]    In addition, by disposing the frame  220   b ,  220   b ′,  220   b ″ over the substrate  20 , a receiving space is formed between the frame  220   b ,  220   b ′,  220   b ″ and the substrate  20 . The receiving space can be used for receiving other electrical structures or electronic elements. 
         [0050]    The above-described descriptions of the detailed embodiments are only to illustrate the preferred implementation according to the present disclosure, and it is not to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all modifications and variations completed by those with ordinary skill in the art should fall within the scope of present disclosure defined by the appended claims