Camera module and method for manufacturing the same

Abstract

To determine the position of a lens holder in a plane direction of a substrate without performing additional processing on an imaging element.SOLUTION: A camera module (1) includes a substrate (2), a sensor chip (3), a lens holder (4), and a lens (5). The positional relation between an inner peripheral surface (420) of the lens holder (4) and an outer peripheral surface (30) of the sensor chip (3) is set so that the displacement amount between the center axis (C2) of the sensor chip (3) and the optical axis (C1) of the lens (5) in the plane direction of the substrate (2) is within an acceptable error.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a camera module and a method for manufacturing the camera module. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is an imaging module in which an imaging element and a lens for focusing incident light on the imaging element are modularized. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an imaging module in which a holder member that houses a condenser lens for focusing subject light on a sensor chip is mounted on a substrate so as to cover the sensor chip.

[0003] In the imaging module of Patent Document 1, a protrusion of a holder member is fitted into a recess provided in a peripheral area other than the imaging area on the sensor chip. This precisely defines the heightwise distance between the imaging area of ​​the sensor chip and the condenser lens. In addition, the center position of the imaging area of ​​the sensor chip and the optical axis of the condenser lens are precisely aligned in the direction along the substrate surface. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-74781 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the imaging module of Patent Document 1 has a problem in that it is necessary to provide a recess on the sensor chip as an additional process for the sensor chip.

[0006] An object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide a camera module and a manufacturing method thereof that enable positioning of a lens holder in the surface direction of a substrate without performing additional processing on an imaging element. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a camera module according to one aspect of the present invention includes a substrate, an image sensor having a light receiving unit and mounted on an upper surface of the substrate, a lens holder mounted on the upper surface of the substrate so as to cover the image sensor, and a lens held by the lens holder. The positional relationship between an inner peripheral surface of the lens holder and an outer peripheral surface of the image sensor is such that a deviation amount between a central axis of the image sensor and an optical axis of the lens in a surface direction of the substrate is within an allowable error.

[0008] A method for manufacturing a camera module according to one aspect of the present invention includes a lens mounting step of mounting a lens in a lens holder, an imaging element mounting step of mounting an imaging element on an upper surface of a substrate, a coating step of coating an adhesive for adhering the lens holder on an outer side of the imaging element on the upper surface of the substrate, and a fixing step of fixing the lens holder to the upper surface of the substrate via the adhesive. The positional relationship between an inner peripheral surface of the lens holder and an outer peripheral surface of the imaging element is such that a deviation amount between a central axis of the imaging element and an optical axis of the lens in a surface direction of the substrate is within an allowable error. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, the lens holder can be positioned in the surface direction of the substrate without performing additional processing on the imaging element. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a camera module according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a top view showing a configuration of a camera module according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state after a lens mounting step according to the first embodiment is completed. [Figure 4] 4A to 4C are cross-sectional views showing an imaging element mounting process according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state after a coating step according to the first embodiment is completed. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state after completion of a fixing step according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a camera module according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a top view showing the configuration of a camera module according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] [Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, a camera module 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0012] [Camera module configuration] Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a camera module 1 according to embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a top view showing the configuration of the camera module 1 according to embodiment 1. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the camera module 1 includes a substrate 2, a sensor chip 3, a lens holder 4, a lens 5, and an optical filter 6. Note that the optical filter 6 is omitted in Fig. 2.

[0013] The camera module 1 is mounted on an electronic device such as a mobile terminal. The substrate 2 is a rectangular plate-shaped member, such as a flexible substrate or a rigid substrate. For convenience of explanation, the up-down direction, left-right direction, and front-rear direction of the camera module 1 are defined below as shown by the arrows in Figs. 1 and 2.

[0014] A sensor chip 3 is mounted on an upper surface 2a of the substrate 2. The substrate 2 outputs an electrical signal including image data acquired from the sensor chip 3 to a control unit (not shown) of a mobile terminal on which the camera module 1 is mounted, via a terminal (not shown) connected to the substrate 2.

[0015] The sensor chip 3 is an imaging element. For example, an integrated circuit having a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) can be used as the sensor chip 3. The sensor chip 3 captures an image by receiving light focused by the lens 5 and converting the obtained optical signal into an electrical signal.

[0016] The lower surface 3b of the sensor chip 3 is electrically connected to the substrate 2 by a plurality of solder balls S. The sensor chip 3 may also be electrically connected to the substrate 2 by other means such as wires.

[0017] A rectangular light receiving section 31 is provided on the upper surface 3a of the sensor chip 3. The light receiving section 31 is formed in the center of the upper surface 3a of the sensor chip 3, and is an area that forms an image of the light incident from the lens 5. In the light receiving section 31, a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged in a matrix. The light receiving elements electrically convert the subject image formed on the light receiving section 31.

[0018] A lens holder 4 is mounted on the upper surface 2a of the substrate 2 so as to cover the outside of the sensor chip 3. The lens holder 4 is a hollow member made of resin such as polycarbonate or liquid crystal polymer (LCP). The lens holder 4 is fixed to the upper surface 2a of the substrate 2 by adhesive B. The material of the lens holder 4 is not limited to resin, and may be metal or the like.

[0019] The adhesive B is, for example, an ultraviolet heat-curing adhesive. The ultraviolet heat-curing adhesive is a resin that is photo-curable and heat-curable, and is temporarily cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays and is completely cured by heating. Note that the adhesive B is not limited to an ultraviolet heat-curing adhesive, and may be a heat-curing adhesive. Furthermore, the substrate 2 and the lens holder 4 may be fixed to each other by tape, screws, or the like, other than the adhesive B.

[0020] 1, the lens holder 4 is formed by integrating a first holder 41 and a second holder 42 connected to the lower part of the first holder 41. The lens holder 4 may be formed from a single member.

[0021] The first holder 41 has a cylindrical portion 41a, a step portion 41b connected to the lower portion of the cylindrical portion 41a, and a contact portion 41c protruding downward from the step portion 41b and in contact with the upper surface 3a of the sensor chip 3. The second holder 42 is in the shape of a rectangular box, and is disposed so as to cover the sensor chip 3.

[0022] Two lenses 5 are held on the inner circumferential surface 410 of the cylindrical portion 41a of the lens holder 4. The lenses 5 guide light incident on the camera module 1 to the light receiving portion 31 of the sensor chip 3. The number of lenses 5 is not limited to two and can be changed as appropriate.

[0023] An optical filter 6 is fixed to the step portion 41b of the lens holder 4. The optical filter 6 is a filter for blocking, for example, infrared radiation (IR) from the light collected by the lens 5. Note that a cover glass may be used instead of the optical filter 6. Also, the optical filter 6 is not essential.

[0024] Four contact portions 41c are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer circumferential edge of the lower surface of the first holder 41. The lower surface of each contact portion 41c contacts the sensor chip 3 on the outer circumferential side of the light receiving portion 31 on the upper surface 3a of the sensor chip 3. This determines the positioning of the lens 5 and the sensor chip 3 in the height direction, i.e., the up-down direction in FIG.

[0025] 1 is set so that the distance between the lens 5 and the sensor chip 3 is an appropriate distance. The number of contact parts 41c is not limited to four and may be, for example, three. Also, the contact parts 41c may be provided so as to protrude over the entire circumferential direction of the outer circumferential edge part of the first holder 41.

[0026] The lower surface of the second holder 42 is fixed to the upper surface 2a of the substrate 2 with an adhesive B. Specifically, the lens holder 4 holding the lens 5 is fixed to the upper surface 2a of the substrate 2 so as to cover the sensor chip 3 mounted on the substrate 2.

[0027] 1, a gap G is formed between the inner peripheral surface 420 of the second holder 42 of the lens holder 4 and the outer peripheral surface 30 of the sensor chip 3. The size of the gap G, i.e., the distance d between the inner peripheral surface 420 of the second holder 42 and the outer peripheral surface 30 of the sensor chip 3, changes when the lens holder 4 is shifted in the surface direction of the substrate 2 when the lens holder 4 is fixed to the substrate 2. The change in the distance d means a shift between the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 and the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3.

[0028] In the camera module 1, when the position of the inner peripheral surface 420 of the second holder 42 of the lens holder 4 is shifted in either the left-right direction or the front-back direction in FIG. 2, the inner peripheral surface 420 of the second holder 42 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface 30 of the sensor chip 3, as shown in FIG. 6 described later. At this time, the amount of deviation Δd (see FIG. 6) between the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 and the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 is equal to or less than the allowable error. When the inner peripheral surface 420 of the second holder 42 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface 30 of the sensor chip 3, the deviation of the lens holder 4 is maximum, so in the camera module 1, the above-mentioned amount of deviation Δd does not exceed the allowable error.

[0029] In this way, the positional relationship between the inner surface 420 of the second holder 42 of the lens holder 4 and the outer surface 30 of the sensor chip 3 is such that the deviation Δd between the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 and the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 is within the allowable error.

[0030] Here, the "allowable error" refers to the amount of deviation Δd that does not adversely affect the optical performance, such as the shading characteristics, of the camera module 1. The allowable error is set to, for example, about 50 μm.

[0031] [Camera module manufacturing method] Next, an example of a method for manufacturing the camera module 1 will be described with reference to Figs. 3 to 6. In the method for manufacturing the camera module 1, a lens mounting step S1, an imaging element mounting step S2, a coating step S3, and a fixing step S4 are performed in this order. Note that the lens mounting step S1 and the imaging element mounting step S2 do not have to be performed in this order, and may be performed in the reverse order. Furthermore, the lens mounting step S1 and the imaging element mounting step S2 may be performed in parallel, and for example, the lens mounting step S1 and the imaging element mounting step S2 may be performed in different places.

[0032] First, the lens mounting step S1 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the state after completion of the lens mounting step S1. As shown in Fig. 3, in the lens mounting step S1, two lenses 5 are fixed and mounted in the cylindrical portion 41a of the first holder 41 of the lens holder 4. In addition, an optical filter 6 is fixed to the stepped portion 41b of the first holder 41.

[0033] Next, the imaging element mounting step S2 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the imaging element mounting step S2. As shown in Fig. 4, in the imaging element mounting step S2, the sensor chip 3 is fixed to a predetermined position on the upper surface 2a of the substrate 2 by a plurality of solder balls S. The sensor chip 3 is electrically connected to electrodes (not shown) arranged on the upper surface 2a of the substrate 2 via the plurality of solder balls S.

[0034] Next, the coating step S3 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the state after the coating step S3 is completed. As shown in Fig. 5, in the coating step S3, an adhesive B for adhering the lens holder 4 is applied to the upper surface 2a of the substrate 2 on the outer side of the sensor chip 3.

[0035] It is preferable that the application area of ​​adhesive B be wider than the area where the lower surface of second holder 42 of lens holder 4 and upper surface 2a of substrate 2 contact each other, taking into consideration that lens holder 4 may shift in the surface direction of substrate 2, i.e., in the left-right or front-back direction in Figure 2.

[0036] Next, the fixing step S4 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the state after the fixing step S4 is completed. As shown in Fig. 6, in the fixing step S4, the lens holder 4 is fixed to the upper surface 2a of the substrate 2 via an adhesive B.

[0037] In the fixing process S4, first, the lens holder 4 is placed at a target mounting position on the upper surface 2a of the substrate 2 so that the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 held by the lens holder 4 coincides with the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 mounted on the substrate 2.

[0038] Here, the position of the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 is determined by performing image recognition of the light receiving portion 31 of the sensor chip 3 using an image reading device such as a camera (not shown) to obtain the center of the light receiving portion 31. The position of the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 is also determined by performing image recognition of the lens holder 4 using an image reading device to obtain the center position of the cylindrical portion 41a.

[0039] In addition, a mark indicating the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 may be attached to the upper surface 3a of the sensor chip 3, and the lens holder 4 may be positioned using this mark as a landmark so that the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 and the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 are aligned.

[0040] Next, ultraviolet light is irradiated onto the adhesive B applied between the substrate 2 and the lens holder 4 to temporarily cure the adhesive B, thereby temporarily fixing the lens holder 4 at a predetermined position on the substrate 2. The temporarily fixed substrate 2 and lens holder 4 are then placed in an oven (not shown) or the like and heated to completely cure the adhesive B, thereby completely fixing the lens holder 4 to the substrate 2.

[0041] Here, due to the application of external force when moving the temporarily fixed substrate 2 and lens holder 4 to the oven, or due to the adhesive B shrinking before it completely hardens, the position of the lens holder 4 may shift from the target mounting position on the substrate 2, as shown in Figure 6.

[0042] 6 shows a case where the lens holder 4 moves rightward relative to the substrate 2, as indicated by the outlined arrow A1. In this case, in the camera module 1, the left inner peripheral surface 420 of the second holder 42 of the lens holder 4 abuts against the left outer peripheral surface 30 of the sensor chip 3, thereby restricting the rightward movement of the lens holder 4. As a result, the camera module 1 is structured such that the deviation Δd between the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 and the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 falls within the allowable error.

[0043] [Effects of the First Embodiment] As described above, in the camera module 1 of embodiment 1, as shown in FIG. 1, the positional relationship between the inner surface 420 of the second holder 42 of the lens holder 4 and the outer surface 30 of the sensor chip 3 is such that the deviation Δd (see FIG. 6) between the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 and the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 is within the allowable error.

[0044] In other words, even if the lens holder 4 shifts in the surface direction of the substrate 2, i.e., in the left-right or front-back direction in Figure 2, the inner surface 420 of the second holder 42 and the outer surface 30 of the sensor chip 3 come into contact with each other, as shown in Figure 6, so that the shift of the lens holder 4 in the surface direction of the substrate 2 is regulated.

[0045] This allows the misalignment Δd between the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 and the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 in the surface direction of the substrate 2 to be within the allowable error. Therefore, the positioning of the lens holder 4 in the surface direction of the substrate 2 can be performed with high accuracy without additional processing of the sensor chip 3.

[0046] In addition, a gap G is formed between the inner peripheral surface 420 of the second holder 42 and the outer peripheral surface 30 of the sensor chip 3. Therefore, even if there is slight manufacturing variation in the size of the lens holder 4 and the size of the sensor chip 3, the lens holder 4 can be appropriately disposed on the upper surface 2a of the substrate 2 without interfering with the sensor chip 3.

[0047] Furthermore, in the camera module 1, the abutment portion 41c of the lens holder 4 abuts against the upper surface 3a of the sensor chip 3, so that the lens 5 held by the lens holder 4 and the sensor chip 3 can be positioned in the height direction, i.e., the up and down direction, with high precision.

[0048] Furthermore, the lens holder 4 and the substrate 2 are fixed with an ultraviolet heat curing adhesive B. Therefore, the fixing strength between the lens holder 4 and the substrate 2 can be improved by irradiating the lens holder 4 and the substrate 2 with ultraviolet light to temporarily cure the adhesive B, and then heating the lens holder 4 and the substrate 2 to completely cure the adhesive B.

[0049] [Embodiment 2] Next, a camera module 1A according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. For ease of explanation, the same reference numerals are given to members having the same functions as those described in the first embodiment, and the explanations thereof will not be repeated.

[0050] Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a camera module 1A according to embodiment 2. Fig. 8 is a top view showing the configuration of a camera module 1A according to embodiment 2. For convenience of explanation, the up-down direction, left-right direction, and front-rear direction of the camera module 1A are defined below as shown by the arrows in Figs. 7 and 8.

[0051] [Camera module configuration] As shown in FIG. 7, the camera module 1A of embodiment 2 differs from the camera module 1 of embodiment 1 in that when a portion of the inner surface 420 of the second holder 42 of the lens holder 4 abuts a portion of the outer surface 30 of the sensor chip 3, the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 and the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 coincide with each other.

[0052] That is, in the camera module 1A, as shown in Fig. 8, when the left inner circumferential surface 420a of the second holder 42 is in contact with the left outer circumferential surface 30a of the sensor chip 3, and the front inner circumferential surface 420b of the second holder 42 is in contact with the front outer circumferential surface 30b of the sensor chip 3, the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 coincides with the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3. By designing the size of the lens holder 4 and the size of the sensor chip 3 in this manner, the deviation Δd (see Fig. 6) between the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 and the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 can be kept within the allowable error.

[0053] It should be noted that right inner peripheral surface 420c of lens holder 4 is not in contact with right outer peripheral surface 30c of sensor chip 3. Also, rear inner peripheral surface 420d of lens holder 4 is not in contact with rear outer peripheral surface 30d of sensor chip 3.

[0054] [Camera module manufacturing method] Next, a manufacturing method of the camera module 1A will be described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. In the manufacturing method of the camera module 1A, a lens mounting step S1, an imaging element mounting step S2, a coating step S3, and a fixing step S4 are performed in this order.

[0055] In the manufacturing method of the camera module 1A of the second embodiment, the lens mounting step S1, the image sensor mounting step S2, and the coating step S3 are performed in the same manner as in the manufacturing method of the camera module 1 of the first embodiment, but the processing content of the fixing step S4 is different from that of the first embodiment.

[0056] The fixing step S4 of the second embodiment will be described in detail below. In the fixing step S4, as shown by the white arrow A2 in Fig. 7, the lens holder 4 is pressed along the upper surface 2a of the substrate 2, so that the left inner peripheral surface 420a of the second holder 42 abuts against the left outer peripheral surface 30a of the sensor chip 3. Furthermore, the front inner peripheral surface 420b of the second holder 42 abuts against the front outer peripheral surface 30b of the sensor chip 3.

[0057] That is, the left front corner 421 of the second holder 42 of the lens holder 4 is brought into contact with the left front corner 301 of the sensor chip 3. This performs a positioning step S41 in which the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 and the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 are aligned.

[0058] When the left front corner 421 of the second holder 42 of the lens holder 4 is brought into contact with the left front corner 301 of the sensor chip 3, a load sensor or the like may be used to detect that the inner circumferential surface 420a of the second holder 42 and the outer circumferential surface 30a of the sensor chip 3, and the inner circumferential surface 420b of the second holder 42 and the outer circumferential surface 30b of the sensor chip 3 have come into contact with each other. In this case, when the load sensor or the like detects the contact between the inner circumferential surfaces 420a, 420b of the second holder 42 and the outer circumferential surfaces 30a, 30b of the sensor chip 3, the pressure on the lens holder 4 is stopped, thereby preventing damage to the sensor chip 3, etc.

[0059] Next, ultraviolet light is irradiated onto the adhesive B applied between the substrate 2 and the lens holder 4 to temporarily cure the adhesive B, thereby temporarily fixing the lens holder 4 to the substrate 2. The temporarily fixed substrate 2 and lens holder 4 are then placed in an oven or the like and heated to completely cure the adhesive B, thereby completely fixing the lens holder 4 to the substrate 2. In this manner, the fixing process S4 including the positioning process S41 is completed.

[0060] [Effects of the second embodiment] In the camera module 1A described above, a part of the inner circumferential surface 420 of the second holder 42 of the lens holder 4 is abutted against a part of the outer circumferential surface of the sensor chip 3. That is, the left inner circumferential surface 420a of the second holder 42 is abutted against the left outer circumferential surface 30a of the sensor chip 3, and the front inner circumferential surface 420b of the second holder 42 is abutted against the front outer circumferential surface 30b of the sensor chip 3. This makes it possible to position the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 and the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3.

[0061] Therefore, positioning in the surface direction of the substrate 2 can be performed with a simple configuration without additional processing of the sensor chip 3. For this reason, it is not necessary to determine the position of the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 by reading the outer shape of the sensor chip 3 using an image reading device such as a camera.

[0062] In the camera module 1A of the above-mentioned embodiment 2, the left inner surface 420a of the second holder 42 of the lens holder 4 and the left outer surface 30a of the sensor chip 3, and the front inner surface 420b of the second holder 42 and the front outer surface 30b of the sensor chip 3 are in contact with each other, but this is not limited to the above.

[0063] For example, the camera module 1A may be designed so that the optical axis C1 of the lens 5 coincides with the central axis C2 of the sensor chip 3 when the right inner surface 420c of the second holder 42 is in contact with the right outer peripheral surface 30c of the sensor chip 3, and when the rear inner surface 420d of the second holder 42 is in contact with the rear outer peripheral surface 30d of the sensor chip 3.

[0064] 〔summary〕 A camera module according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a substrate, an image sensor having a light receiving unit and mounted on an upper surface of the substrate, a lens holder mounted on the upper surface of the substrate so as to cover the outside of the image sensor, and a lens held by the lens holder. The positional relationship between an inner peripheral surface of the lens holder and an outer peripheral surface of the image sensor is such that the amount of misalignment between a central axis of the image sensor and an optical axis of the lens in a surface direction of the substrate is within an allowable error.

[0065] In the camera module according to aspect 2 of the present invention, a part of an inner circumferential surface of the lens holder and a part of an outer circumferential surface of the imaging element may be in contact with each other.

[0066] In addition, in the camera module according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in the above aspect 1, the allowable error may be about 50 μm.

[0067] Furthermore, in the camera module according to Aspect 4 of the present invention, in any one of Aspects 1 to 3 above, the lens holder may have an abutment portion that abuts against the imaging element.

[0068] In addition, in the camera module according to aspect 5 of the present invention, in any one of aspects 1 to 4 above, the lens holder and the substrate may be fixed with an adhesive.

[0069] A manufacturing method of a camera module according to a sixth aspect of the present invention includes a lens mounting step of mounting a lens in a lens holder, an imaging element mounting step of mounting an imaging element on an upper surface of a substrate, a coating step of coating an adhesive for adhering the lens holder on an outer side of the imaging element on the upper surface of the substrate, and a fixing step of fixing the lens holder to the upper surface of the substrate via the adhesive. The positional relationship between the inner peripheral surface of the lens holder and the outer peripheral surface of the imaging element is such that the amount of deviation between the central axis of the imaging element and the optical axis of the lens in the surface direction of the substrate is within an allowable error.

[0070] In addition, in the manufacturing method for a camera module according to aspect 7 of the present invention, in the above aspect 6, the fixing process may include a positioning process of aligning the optical axis of the lens with the central axis of the image sensor by abutting a portion of the inner surface of the lens holder against a portion of the outer surface of the image sensor mounted on the upper surface of the substrate.

[0071] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. The technical scope of the present invention also includes embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the different embodiments. Furthermore, new technical features can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in the respective embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1. 1A camera module 2. Board 2a Top side 3 Sensor chip 4 Lens holder 5 Lenses 31 Light receiving part 41c Contact part C1 center axis C2 optical axis

Claims

1. A substrate; an imaging element having a light receiving portion and mounted on an upper surface of the substrate; a lens holder mounted on the upper surface of the substrate so as to cover the imaging element; a lens held by the lens holder; Equipped with A camera module characterized in that the positional relationship between the inner surface of the lens holder and the outer surface of the image sensor is such that the amount of deviation between the central axis of the image sensor and the optical axis of the lens in the surface direction of the substrate is within an allowable error.

2. 2. The camera module according to claim 1, wherein a part of an inner peripheral surface of the lens holder abuts against a part of an outer peripheral surface of the imaging element.

3. 2. The camera module according to claim 1, wherein the tolerance is about 50 [mu]m.

4. 4. The camera module according to claim 1, wherein the lens holder has a contact portion that contacts the image sensor.

5. 3. The camera module according to claim 1, wherein the lens holder and the substrate are fixed together with an adhesive.

6. a lens mounting step of mounting a lens in a lens holder; an imaging element mounting step of mounting an imaging element on an upper surface of the substrate; a coating step of coating an adhesive on the upper surface of the substrate on an outer side of the imaging element for bonding the lens holder; a fixing step of fixing the lens holder to the upper surface of the substrate via the adhesive; Including, A method for manufacturing a camera module, characterized in that the positional relationship between the inner surface of the lens holder and the outer surface of the image sensor is such that the amount of deviation between the central axis of the image sensor and the optical axis of the lens in the surface direction of the substrate is within an allowable error.

7. 7. The method for manufacturing a camera module according to claim 6, characterized in that the fixing process includes a positioning process for aligning the optical axis of the lens with the central axis of the image sensor by abutting a portion of an inner surface of the lens holder against a portion of an outer surface of the image sensor mounted on the upper surface of the substrate.

Images