Patents by Inventor Joel Arthur Gerber

Joel Arthur Gerber has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6246010
    Abstract: The present invention is an ultra-thin circuit package with a thinned electronic device having a thickness of less than about 100 &mgr;m; a flexible circuit substrate; and an adhesive layer with a thickness of less than about 25 &mgr;m between the electronic device and the circuit substrate. The circuit package is less than about 275 &mgr;m thick. In another embodiment, the circuit packages may be stacked on one another and laminated together to create an extremely high-density three-dimensional electronic circuit package.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2001
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Robert L. D. Zenner, Joel Arthur Gerber, Kevin Yu Chen
  • Patent number: 5873161
    Abstract: Method for making Z-axis interconnections between adjacent circuit layers with electrically conductive traces, in multi-layered circuits, include connecting a conducting member of a deformable material to a circuit board layer and depositing an adhesive layer over an adjacent circuit board layer. The adjacent circuit layers are aligned, with the conducting member substantially collinear with the conductive traces of the adjacent circuit layers, and the circuit layers are brought together by pressure, such that the conducting member penetrates the adhesive layer and deforms until it "cracks". The cracking exposes fresh (unoxidized) material that contacts a conductive trace, joining the circuit layers together and creating a low resistance electrical connection. The adhesive serves to bound expansion of the deformable conducting member, reducing any potential contacts with adjacent conducting members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 23, 1999
    Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Yu Chen, Joel Arthur Gerber, Joshua Woodward Smith