Wafer-Level Camera Lens Plate with Integrated Spacers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wafer-level camera manufacturing is hindered by the difficulty and expense of spacer wafer bonding, particularly due to the need for laser drilling, which is time-consuming and limits design flexibility and rapid prototyping, as well as resulting in uneven bond thickness and limited spacer thickness options.
Innovation Solution
A lens plate is manufactured with a transparent substrate wafer where both lenses and spacers are formed from a single portion of material, eliminating the need for a separate spacer wafer and allowing for a one-step curing process, thereby simplifying the bonding process and increasing design flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If separate spacer wafers are used with laser drilling, then spacer thickness can be controlled, but manufacturing cost increases and production time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the spacer wafer and lens plate into a single integrated component. The spacer structures are formed directly as part of the lens plate manufacturing process, eliminating the need for separate spacer wafer production and laser drilling operations. This merging of functions directly resolves the contradiction by maintaining precision while dramatically improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The lens plate is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it provides optical elements (lenses) and structural support (spacers) in a single component. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate spacer wafers and their associated laser drilling processes, thereby resolving the contradiction between precision and production speed.
2Measurement precision
If separate spacer wafers are bonded to lens plate, then spacer positioning is achieved, but bonding difficulty increases and bond thickness becomes uneven
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating spacers and lenses into a single lens plate component, the patent eliminates the bonding process entirely. The spacer structures are formed directly on the lens plate substrate during the same manufacturing process, ensuring precise positioning without the difficulties of bonding separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer structures are formed in advance as an integral part of the lens plate manufacturing process, before the lens plate is assembled into the camera module. This preliminary formation ensures precise positioning is built-in during fabrication rather than achieved through subsequent bonding operations.
3Manufacturing precision
If laser drilling is used to create spacer openings, then precise opening patterns are achieved, but manufacturing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the spacer formation process with the lens plate fabrication process. Instead of using complex laser drilling to create openings in separate spacer wafers, the spacer structures are formed directly as part of the lens plate manufacturing, simplifying the overall process while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the laser drilling step from the manufacturing process entirely. By forming spacer structures directly during lens plate fabrication, the complex and expensive laser drilling operation is eliminated, reducing both cost and process complexity while maintaining the required precision.
4Ease of manufacture
If standard glass wafer thicknesses are used, then manufacturing is simplified, but design flexibility is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables customization of spacer thickness by controlling the thickness of the lens plate substrate and the depth of spacer structures formed during manufacturing. This allows design flexibility in spacer thickness while maintaining a simplified manufacturing approach, as the thickness parameters can be adjusted during fabrication rather than requiring different standard wafer types.
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 approach reduces manufacturing costs, minimizes misalignment issues, and enables more efficient production of high-quality wafer-level cameras with increased die count and design flexibility, allowing for smaller and lighter end products.
Implementation Method 1
irradiating the UV-curable polymer compound with a UV light source to initiate polymerization
Implementation Method 2
forming the recesses by irradiating a tool with a laser beam
Data Source
AI summary
A lens plate includes a transparent substrate wafer, and a plurality of lenses and spacers that are formed of a single portion of material on the transparent substrate wafer. An assembly includes a first lens plate that includes a first transparent substrate wafer, a plurality of first lenses and a plurality of spacers, the first lenses and spacers being formed of a single portion of material on said first transparent substrate wafer. The assembly also includes a second lens plate that includes a second transparent substrate wafer and a plurality of second lenses formed thereon, each of the plurality of second lenses corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of first lenses. The lens plates are aligned such that each of the plurality of first lenses aligns with the respective one of the plurality of second lenses, and the lens plates are bonded to one another.