Wafer-level lens cutting device and cutting method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a wafer-level lens cutting device and a cutting method thereof.The wafer-level lens cutting device comprises a jig body used for fixing a wafer-level lens, and the jig body comprises a bearing face and a plurality of holding grooves formed in the bearing face in a sunken mode; the plurality of holding grooves are arranged at intervals and are respectively used for accommodating a plurality of lens modules of wafer-level lenses; each lens module is independently fixed, and it is guaranteed that in the cutting process, the cut lens module and the uncut lens module are separated from each other and do not interfere with each other.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of wafer-level lens manufacturing, and in particular to a wafer-level lens cutting device and a cutting method. Background Art

[0002] In the prior art, combined Figure 1 As shown, before the wafer-level optical lens is cut, the lens module with a spherical structure is attached to an adhesive film with adhesive force to fix and protect the lens module. Since the adhesive layer of the adhesive film is thin and soft, it has poor wrapping properties for high spherical structures. For example, when the spherical height is close to 500um, the adhesive film cannot completely fix the lens module to make it stable during cutting. Therefore, during the cutting process, the lens module will be affected by the cutting force generated by the linear movement of the blade, gradually causing positional deviation, resulting in subsequent lens module cutting deviation. Summary of the invention

[0003] One of the purposes of the present invention is to provide a wafer-level lens cutting device to solve the technical problem in the prior art that the cutting force when cutting a lens module causes the subsequent lens module cutting to be offset.

[0004] One of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a method for cutting wafer-level lenses.

[0005] To achieve one of the above-mentioned purposes of the invention, one embodiment of the present invention provides a cutting device for wafer-level lenses, including a jig body for fixing the wafer-level lenses, the jig body including a carrying surface and a plurality of retaining grooves recessed from the carrying surface, the plurality of retaining grooves being arranged at intervals and respectively used to accommodate a plurality of lens modules of the wafer-level lenses.

[0006] As a further improvement of one embodiment of the present invention, the fixture body includes a vacuum channel disposed in the holding groove, and the vacuum channel is connected to the holding groove to achieve vacuum adsorption of the lens module in the holding groove.

[0007] As a further improvement of one embodiment of the present invention, the fixture body includes a vacuum adsorption hole penetrating the bearing surface along the thickness direction thereof, and the vacuum adsorption hole is used to adsorb the substrate of the wafer-level lens.

[0008] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the thickness of the fixture body is between 3-5 mm.

[0009] To achieve one of the above-mentioned purposes of the invention, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for cutting a wafer-level lens, comprising the following steps:

[0010] A wafer-level lens is provided, comprising a substrate and a plurality of lens modules disposed at least on one side of the substrate;

[0011] The wafer-level lens is fixed to a fixture body, wherein the fixture body includes a plurality of holding grooves arranged at intervals, and a plurality of the lens modules are received in the plurality of holding grooves in a one-to-one correspondence;

[0012] The wafer-level lens is cut into pieces to obtain a plurality of individual optical lens components.

[0013] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, "fixing the wafer-level lens to the fixture body" includes: placing the lens module in a holding groove, and evacuating each of the holding grooves.

[0014] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, “fixing the wafer-level lens to a fixture body” includes: placing the substrate on a carrying surface of the fixture body, and evacuating the vacuum adsorption holes of the fixture body.

[0015] As a further improvement of one embodiment of the present invention, the steps are as follows:

[0016] The vacuum of the holding groove is cut off, and the optical lens components are taken out one by one from each holding groove.

[0017] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, each of the lens modules includes a plurality of optical lenses, and the height of each of the optical lenses is not less than 500um.

[0018] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the wafer-level lens includes lens modules arranged on both sides of the substrate, and the lens module located on one side of the substrate is aligned with the lens module located on the other side of the substrate along the height direction of the wafer-level lens.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the present invention provides a wafer-level lens cutting device, in which a fixture body is provided with a separate holding groove for each lens module. During the cutting process, each holding groove provides a holding force to each lens module separately without affecting each other. In this way, the cut lens module and the uncut lens module are isolated from each other without interference. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a wafer-level lens cutting method in the prior art.

[0021] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a wafer-level lens cutting device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a wafer-level lens in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of a method for cutting a wafer-level lens in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of a method for demolding a wafer-level lens in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, these embodiments do not limit the present invention, and any structural, methodological, or functional changes made by a person skilled in the art based on these embodiments are all within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0026] It should be noted that the term "comprises" or any other variation thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device that includes a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0027] The terms "connected", "connected to" or any other variants are intended to cover various relative positions in a connection relationship, so as to include direct connection or indirect connection. Among them, the direct connection can be formed by a gas pipeline, the indirect connection can be a connection relationship established by a device such as a valve body, a sensor, etc., can be a connection relationship established by a gas circuit component such as a brake control unit, or can be a connection relationship established by any other medium such as air.

[0028] See also Figure 2 , is a structural schematic diagram of a cutting device 100 for a wafer-level lens 200 provided in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] In one embodiment, the cutting device 100 of the wafer-level lens 200 includes a fixture body 10 for fixing the wafer-level lens 200, and the fixture body 10 includes a carrying surface 101 and a plurality of retaining grooves 11 recessed from the carrying surface 101, and the plurality of retaining grooves 11 are arranged at intervals and are respectively used to accommodate a plurality of lens modules 210 of the wafer-level lens 200.

[0030] When the wafer-level lens 200 is placed on the fixture body 10 , the carrying surface 101 is used to place the substrate 220 , and the carrying surface 101 is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate 220 , and the holding groove 11 is used to accommodate the lens module 210 .

[0031] Each lens module 210 is matched with a holding groove 11 to obtain an independent holding force, ensuring that a single lens module 210 does not produce deviation and vibration. In this way, when cutting, the position of the lens module 210 does not move, and the cutter does not cut and deviate. Furthermore, the cut lens module 210 and the uncut lens module 210 are separated from each other, and the cutting force generated during cutting will not interfere with the uncut lens module 210, preventing the uncut lens module 210 from deviating. After cutting, each holding groove 11 accommodates the lens module 210 alone, which is convenient for machine picking.

[0032] Combination Figure 3 As shown, the wafer-level lens 200 includes a substrate 220 and a lens module 210 disposed on both sides of the substrate 220. The substrate 220 may be composed of, for example, a semiconductor material, a polymer material, a composite material including a metal and a polymer, or a polymer and a glass material. The substrate 220 is generally cylindrical, with a diameter of, for example, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 12 inches, where one inch is approximately 2.54 cm. The thickness of the substrate 220 is, for example, between 0.2-10 mm, and the preferred thickness in this case is 0.5-3 mm.

[0033] The lens modules 210 on each side are arranged in an array and concentrated on most of the area in the center of the substrate 220, and the edge of the substrate 220 is removed during the subsequent cutting process. Several lens modules 210 are integrated and injection molded on the surface of the substrate 220 at the same time. It can be understood that a demolding process is required after injection molding, and the fixture body 10 of this case can also be used for the demolding process.

[0034] Each of the lens modules 210 includes a plurality of optical lenses, which are formed of resin, and curable resin can be used. Curable resin further includes photocurable resin and thermosetting resin.

[0035] The shape of the fixture body 10 matching the substrate 220 is also set to be circular. Based on the layout of the lens module 210 array on the substrate 220 , the fixture body 10 is individually matched with a retaining groove 11 for each lens module 210 .

[0036] The shape and size of the holding groove 11 match the shape and size of each lens module 210, so as to completely accommodate each lens module 210 without interfering with the surface of the lens module 210. Along the thickness direction of the fixture body 10, the height of the lens module 210 protruding from the substrate 220 is not greater than the depth of the holding groove 11, so as to prevent the lens module 210 from interfering with the bottom surface of the holding groove 11, resulting in surface defects of the lens module 210.

[0037] In one embodiment, the fixture body 10 includes a vacuum channel 12 disposed in the holding groove 11, and the vacuum channel 12 is connected to the holding groove 11 to realize vacuum adsorption of the lens module 210 by the holding groove 11. Specifically, after the wafer-level lens 200 is placed on the carrying surface 101, the holding groove 11 is evacuated through the vacuum channel 12, and the holding groove 11 is formed into a vacuum chamber. The vacuum channel 12 is disposed on the bottom surface of the holding groove 11 and is located at the center of the bottom surface to provide a relatively uniform vacuum adsorption force.

[0038] The fixture body 10 includes a vacuum adsorption hole 102 penetrating the carrying surface 101 along the thickness direction thereof, and the vacuum adsorption hole 102 is used to adsorb the substrate 220 of the wafer-level lens 200 .

[0039] It should be noted that the fixture body 10 can be applied to other scenarios. When applied to other scenarios, the wafer-level lens 200 can be fixed simultaneously or separately by the holding groove 11 and the vacuum adsorption hole 102. However, when the fixture body 10 is used in a cutting scenario, the holding groove 11 is necessarily required to fix each lens module 210 to provide a more stable fixation.

[0040] Specifically, the jig body 10 can be applied to the demolding scenario of the wafer-level lens 200. The jig body 10 is used to carry and hold the wafer-level lens 200. After demolding is completed, the jig body 10 is continued to be used for cutting without transferring the wafer-level lens 200, thereby saving costs and improving efficiency.

[0041] In one embodiment, the cutting device 100 also includes a heat exchange mechanism 13 arranged on the side of the jig body 10 away from the bearing surface 101. When applied to a demolding scenario, the heat exchange mechanism 13 is used to achieve a heating or cooling function. Specifically, the heat exchange mechanism 13 heats or cools the jig body 10, and transfers heat or cold to the wafer-level lens 200 through the jig body 10.

[0042] In one embodiment, each of the lens modules 210 includes a plurality of optical lenses, and the height of each of the optical lenses is not less than 500 um. The fixture body 10 in this case has obvious advantages when applied to the lens module 210 with a high spherical surface.

[0043] In the prior art, when the height of the optical lens is lower than 200um, the thickness of the common adhesive film can cover the spherical surface of the optical lens, and when the common adhesive film is used for fixed cutting, it can also provide a holding force that meets the requirements, achieving a stable cutting effect. However, when the height of the spherical surface of the optical lens is higher, using common adhesive film for fixing will result in obvious cutting deviation, causing the lens module 210 to be cut off-center. At this time, the fixture body 10 of this case is used, and the holding groove 11 cooperates with the vacuum channel 12 to provide a stable holding force, and the cutting deviation phenomenon is significantly improved. In addition, the fixture body 10 can be reused to save costs.

[0044] In one embodiment, the thickness of the fixture body 10 is between 3-5 mm, which meets the height of the lens module 210. The shortened thickness reduces the length of the vacuum channel 12 and improves the efficiency of vacuuming. The fixture body 10 is made of metal material, preferably copper, which has heat conduction properties.

[0045] This case also protects a method for cutting a wafer-level lens 200, combined with Figure 4 As shown, the cutting device using the wafer-level lens 200 includes the following steps:

[0046] S1: Provide a wafer-level lens 200 , including a substrate 220 and a plurality of lens modules 210 disposed at least on one side of the substrate 220 .

[0047] In a specific embodiment, the wafer-level lens 200 includes lens modules 210 arranged on both sides of the substrate, and the lens module 210 located on one side of the substrate 220 is aligned with the lens module 210 located on the other side of the substrate 220 along the height direction of the wafer-level lens 200; the cutting areas on both sides are aligned to facilitate cutting, and the single optical lens assembly obtained after cutting is also a double-sided lens module.

[0048] S2: The wafer-level lens 200 is fixed to the fixture body 10, and the fixture body 10 includes a plurality of spaced holding grooves 11, and the plurality of lens modules 210 are correspondingly received in the plurality of holding grooves 11. A cutting area is formed between adjacent lens modules 210 on the substrate, and the cutting area is completely in contact with the bearing surface 101 to provide a stable supporting force.

[0049] In one embodiment, “fixing the wafer-level lens 200 to the fixture body 10” includes: placing the lens module 210 in the holding groove 11, and evacuating each of the holding grooves 11. When applied to cutting scenarios, the holding grooves 11 must provide vacuum adsorption.

[0050] In one embodiment, “fixing the wafer-level lens 200 to the fixture body 10” includes: placing the substrate 220 on the bearing surface 101 of the fixture body 10, and evacuating the vacuum adsorption hole 102 of the fixture body 10. In other application scenarios, vacuum adsorption can also be provided by the vacuum adsorption hole 102 alone, or by the combination of the vacuum adsorption hole 102 and the holding groove 11.

[0051] The vacuum adsorption hole 102 is located outside the holding groove 11 , and the vacuum adsorption hole 102 is arranged to avoid the cutting area to prevent affecting the cutting and causing abnormal slicing.

[0052] S3: cutting the wafer-level lens 200 to obtain a plurality of individual optical lens components.

[0053] It is understandable that during the cutting process, each lens module 210 is individually accommodated in the holding groove 11 , and a vacuum cavity is formed between each holding groove 11 and the substrate 220 , thereby ensuring that the cut lens modules 210 and the uncut lens modules 210 do not interfere with each other.

[0054] S4: Cut off the vacuum of the holding groove 11, and take out the optical lens components one by one from each holding groove 11. After the cutting is completed, each holding groove 11 contains a corresponding optical lens component, which is convenient for subsequent machines to pick up one by one.

[0055] The optical lens assembly formed by cutting is a double-sided lens structure, including a base and lens modules 210 located on two opposite sides of the base, wherein the base is cut from a substrate 220. A single optical lens assembly has good optical performance and is applied to various cameras and modules thereof.

[0056] Combination Figure 5 As shown, the present case also discloses a demoulding method for a wafer-level lens 200. It can be understood that the wafer-level lens 200 can be cut only after it is demoulded. Therefore, the steps of the demoulding method for the wafer-level lens 200 are before the cutting method of the wafer-level lens 200. The demoulding method includes the following steps:

[0057] S1: The first side of the wafer-level lens 200 is fixed to the first fixture body 10, and the lens module 210 located on the second side of the wafer-level lens 200 is in a combined state with the second mold 302, and the first side and the second side are arranged opposite to each other. Referring to the above description, this is achieved through the holding groove 11 and / or the second vacuum adsorption hole 101 of the first fixture body 10.

[0058] In a specific embodiment, the lens module 210 located on the first side of the wafer-level lens 200 is also combined with the first mold 301, and "fixing the first side of the wafer-level lens 200 to the first fixture body 10" includes: fixing the first mold 301 to the first fixture body 10, that is, vacuum adsorbing the surface of the first mold 301 through the first vacuum adsorption hole 102 and / or the holding groove 11 to facilitate the detachment of the second mold 302.

[0059] Along the height direction of the wafer-level lens 200 , the lens modules 210 on the first side and the lens modules 210 on the second side are aligned one by one, so as to facilitate subsequent cutting to form a single optical lens assembly.

[0060] S2: The second mold 302 is fixed to the second fixture body 20, and the second fixture body 20 is movable along its thickness direction. Specifically, the second fixture body 20 is moved to the surface of the second mold 302, and the vacuum adsorption function of the second vacuum adsorption hole 202 is turned on, so that the second contact surface 201 vacuum adsorbs the upper surface of the second mold 302.

[0061] S3: The heating mechanism 21 of the second fixture body 20 heats the second mold 302 for a period of time; the second mold 302 undergoes thermal expansion and gradually separates from the lens module 210 .

[0062] S4: Move the second fixture body 20 away from the wafer-level lens 200, driving the second mold 302 to separate the lens module 210. In this way, the second mold 302 combined with the second side of the wafer-level lens 200 is separated. In other embodiments, if the wafer-level lens 200 has the lens module 210 only on the second side, the wafer-level lens 200 can be cut after the second mold 302 on this side is separated.

[0063] In one embodiment, when the heating mechanism 21 heats the second mold 302, the heat exchange mechanism 13 provided in the first fixture body 10 cools the first mold 301. This prevents the wafer-level lens 200 from being separated from both sides, and is also beneficial to cooling the wafer-level lens 200, preventing the heating from affecting the wafer-level lens 200.

[0064] S5: Flip the wafer-level lens 200 so that the second side of the wafer-level lens 200 is fixed to the first fixture body 10. It is understandable that after the second side of the wafer-level lens 200 is demolded, it is flipped to demold the first side. At this time, the first vacuum adsorption hole 102 of the first fixture body 10 vacuum adsorbs the substrate of the wafer-level lens 200, and / or the holding groove 11 vacuum adsorbs the lens module 210.

[0065] S6: Fix the first mold 301 to the second fixture body 20. Similarly, move the second fixture body 20 to the surface of the first mold 301 and start the vacuum adsorption function of the second vacuum adsorption hole 202 so that the second contact surface 201 vacuum adsorbs the upper surface of the first mold 301.

[0066] S7: the heating mechanism 21 heats the first mold 301 for a period of time; the first mold 301 undergoes thermal expansion and gradually separates from the lens module 210 .

[0067] S8: Move the second fixture body 20 away from the wafer-level lens 200, and drive the first mold 301 to separate the lens module 210. In this way, the separation of the first mold 301 combined with the first side of the wafer-level lens 200 is completed, that is, the double-sided molds 300 of the wafer-level lens 200 are all separated, and the cutting work can be carried out. The vacuum can be broken to release the fixation of the wafer-level lens 200 and the first fixture body 10, and the wafer-level lens 200 can be taken out for cleaning or other steps are required, and then re-fixed to the first fixture body 10 for cutting; or it can be cut directly after demolding without re-fixing.

[0068] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the fixture body 10 is provided with a one-to-one corresponding holding groove 11 for the lens module 210 arranged on the substrate 220, providing an independent accommodation space and holding force for each lens module 210; the holding groove 11 is connected to the vacuum channel 12, which is performed by vacuum adsorption and fixation, and has little impact on the lens module 210.

[0069] It can be formed by referring to any of the technical solutions provided above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0070] It should be understood that although this specification is described according to implementation modes, not every implementation mode contains only one independent technical solution. This description of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each implementation mode may also be appropriately combined to form other implementation modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0071] The series of detailed descriptions listed above are only specific descriptions of feasible implementation methods of the present invention. They are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any equivalent implementation methods or changes that do not deviate from the technical spirit of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wafer-level lens cutting device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a fixture body for fixing a wafer-level lens, wherein the fixture body comprises a bearing surface and a plurality of holding grooves recessed from the bearing surface, wherein the plurality of holding grooves are arranged at intervals and respectively used for accommodating a plurality of lens modules of the wafer-level lens.

2. The wafer-level lens cutting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fixture body includes a vacuum channel disposed in the holding groove, and the vacuum channel is connected to the holding groove to achieve vacuum adsorption of the lens module in the holding groove.

3. The wafer-level lens cutting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fixture body comprises a vacuum adsorption hole penetrating through the bearing surface along the thickness direction thereof, and the vacuum adsorption hole is used for adsorbing the substrate of the wafer-level lens.

4. The wafer-level lens cutting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the fixture body is between 3-5 mm.

5. A method for cutting a wafer-level lens, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: A wafer-level lens is provided, comprising a substrate and a plurality of lens modules disposed at least on one side of the substrate; The wafer-level lens is fixed to a fixture body, wherein the fixture body includes a plurality of holding grooves arranged at intervals, and a plurality of the lens modules are received in the plurality of holding grooves in a one-to-one correspondence; The wafer-level lens is cut into pieces to obtain a plurality of individual optical lens components.

6. The method for cutting a wafer-level lens according to claim 5, characterized in that: "Fixing the wafer-level lens to the fixture body" includes: placing the lens module in a holding groove and evacuating each of the holding grooves.

7. The method for cutting a wafer-level lens according to claim 5, characterized in that: “Fixing the wafer-level lens to the fixture body” includes: placing the substrate on the carrying surface of the fixture body, and evacuating the vacuum adsorption holes of the fixture body.

8. The method for cutting a wafer-level lens according to claim 6, characterized in that: Includes steps: The vacuum of the holding groove is cut off, and the optical lens components are taken out one by one from each holding groove.

9. The method for cutting a wafer-level lens according to claim 5, characterized in that: Each of the lens modules includes a plurality of optical lenses, and the height of each of the optical lenses is not less than 500um.

10. The method for cutting a wafer-level lens according to claim 5, characterized in that: The wafer-level lens comprises lens modules arranged on both sides of a substrate, and the lens module located on one side of the substrate is aligned with the lens module located on the other side of the substrate along the height direction of the wafer-level lens.

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