Image Sensor Groove and Resin Structure for Dicing Moisture Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Image sensors are prone to moisture intrusion during the dicing process, leading to film peeling and crack issues, which can result in image quality deterioration due to condensation, necessitating improved moisture-proof performance.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a substrate with stacked layers, including a photodiode layer and a transparent resin layer with a groove formed to excavate parts of the layers, and a moisture-resistant film or passivation film to prevent moisture intrusion, along with a rib structure in the transparent resin layer for enhanced protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If dicing is performed on the image sensor substrate, then the image sensor can be separated into individual units for assembly, but film peeling and cracks occur during the dicing process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces scribe lines that extend grooves from the substrate surface through the stack to the back surface, creating segmented regions that guide the dicing blade. This segmentation allows the dicing process to follow predetermined paths that avoid critical film regions, preventing film peeling and cracks while enabling clean separation of individual image sensor units.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent forms protective structures (such as encapsulant material filling grooves and forming seams) before the dicing process occurs. These preliminary structures reinforce the substrate and films in advance, preventing damage during subsequent dicing operations while still allowing clean separation when needed.
2Productivity
If the image sensor is diced along manufacturing lines, then individual sensors can be assembled, but moisture intrudes into the sensor causing condensation and image quality deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs encapsulant material that forms a moisture barrier shell around the sensitive regions of the image sensor. This encapsulant fills grooves and creates sealed regions that prevent moisture intrusion during and after the dicing process, protecting the internal films and circuits from condensation and degradation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a nested structure where the encapsulant material is positioned within grooves formed in the substrate, and seams are formed within the encapsulant. This nested arrangement ensures that moisture barriers are integrated at multiple levels, providing comprehensive protection against moisture intrusion while maintaining the compact structure needed for high-density manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
The present technology relates to techniques of preventing intrusion of moisture into a chip.Various illustrative embodiments include image sensors that include: a substrate; a plurality of layers stacked on the substrate; the plurality of layers including a photodiode layer having a plurality of photodiodes formed on a surface of the photodiode layer; the plurality of layers including at least one layer having a groove formed such that a portion of the at least one layer is excavated; and a transparent resin layer formed above the photodiode layer and formed in the groove. The present technology can be applied to, for example, an image sensor.