Integrated Reflective Optical Sensor with Reduced Thickness
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional optical sensors are bulky due to the need for separate emitter and receiver chips mounted on a circuit board, limiting their compactness and flexibility for applications like proximity, gesture, and heart rate sensing.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor device design where a first semiconductor body with a substrate serves as a carrier for a second semiconductor body with a tear-off point, allowing for a highly integrated reflective sensor with reduced thickness, enabling compact chip-scale packaging and eliminating the need for a printed circuit board.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If separate emitter and receiver chips are mounted on a circuit board, then electrical connectivity and optical functionality are achieved, but device thickness and overall size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the emitter chip and receiver chip into a single integrated semiconductor component. The emitter active zone and receiver active zone are formed in different regions of the same semiconductor body, eliminating the need for separate chips and their mechanical assembly on a circuit board. This integration directly reduces device thickness while maintaining all necessary electrical and optical functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a three-dimensional multi-chip assembly (separate chips stacked or mounted on a board) to a planar two-dimensional integration within a single semiconductor body. By forming emitter and receiver active zones in different lateral regions of the same thin semiconductor layer, the design achieves functional separation without vertical stacking, thereby minimizing device thickness.
2Shape
If a circuit board with housing and optical elements is used, then design flexibility and low costs are achieved, but overall device height increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple previously separate components (emitter chip, receiver chip, circuit board, housing) into a single monolithic semiconductor device. The semiconductor body itself serves as both the functional element and the structural housing, eliminating the need for separate mounting and assembly steps while achieving superior flatness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates the circuit board and separate housing from the device architecture. By integrating all functional elements directly into the semiconductor body, the design removes unnecessary intermediate layers and structural components that contribute to device height, resulting in a flatter profile.
3Productivity
If sequential mounting of chips and optical elements is performed, then electrical and optical functionality is achieved, but production time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the emitter and receiver functions into a single semiconductor fabrication process. Both active zones are formed simultaneously during wafer fabrication using standard semiconductor manufacturing techniques, eliminating the need for sequential chip mounting and optical element assembly. This results in dramatically improved production efficiency and reduced process complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design results in extremely compact and cost-effective optical sensors with reduced thickness, suitable for proximity, gesture, and heart rate measurements, while maintaining electrical connectivity and optical functionality.
Implementation Method 1
the second active zone generates radiation and the first active zone detects the radiation
Implementation Method 2
a first active zone that generates or receives radiation... and a second active zone that generates or receives radiation
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes a first semiconductor body including a substrate having a first thickness, wherein the first semiconductor body includes a first active zone that generates or receives radiation, and a second semiconductor body having a second thickness smaller than the first thickness and including a tear-off point is arranged on the substrate and connected in an electrically conducting manner to the first semiconductor body, wherein the second semiconductor body includes a second active zone that generates or receives radiation, and the second active zone generates radiation and the first active zone detects the radiation, and the first semiconductor body includes contacts on its underside for connection to the semiconductor device.