Thermally Responsive Ridge Optical Structure for Wafer-Level Focusing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Optical structures, such as lenses in cameras and projectors, face challenges due to temperature-induced changes in refractive index and curvature, leading to varying image quality, and existing adjustment methods require active actuators or complex mechanical components, which are costly and difficult to produce in wafer level technology.
Innovation Solution
An optical apparatus with electrostatic drives and thermally responsive ridges, where different layers with varying coefficients of thermal expansion are used to deform and move the optical structure relative to a reference plane, counteracting thermal changes without additional actuators, allowing for miniaturization and production in wafer level technology.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If active actuators (moving coil drives, piezo motor drives) are used to compensate thermal variations in optical lenses, then image quality can be maintained, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical actuators (moving coil drives, piezo motor drives) with a thermally responsive ridge structure that passively compensates for thermal variations. The ridge is made of material with different thermal expansion coefficients than the lens, causing it to expand or contract with temperature changes and thereby adjust the lens position or focal length automatically, eliminating the need for active mechanical actuators while maintaining image quality consistency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes thermal expansion by constructing the ridge from material with a different coefficient of thermal expansion compared to the lens material. As temperature varies, the ridge expands or contracts, which mechanically adjusts the lens position or curvature. This thermal-mechanical coupling provides automatic compensation for thermal focal length variations without requiring external actuators, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and device complexity
2Manufacturing precision
If complex mechanical adjustment apparatus are introduced for lens repositioning, then manufacturing precision can be improved, but production costs and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-adjusting mechanism where the ridge structure automatically responds to thermal changes and adjusts the lens position accordingly. The system serves itself by using the thermal environment as the actuation source, eliminating the need for external adjustment apparatus. This self-service approach maintains manufacturing precision while dramatically reducing device complexity and production costs
Solution Approach 2:
The ridge is designed with specific thermal expansion properties that enable it to automatically compensate for thermal focal length variations. By selecting materials with appropriate thermal expansion coefficients, the ridge expands or contracts in response to temperature changes, thereby maintaining accurate lens positioning without requiring complex mechanical adjustment devices, thus resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision and device complexity
3Reliability
If additional actuators and adjustment apparatus are added to optical systems, then optical characteristic compensation is achieved, but miniaturization and wafer level production become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the thermal compensation function directly into the structural ridge that supports or positions the lens. Instead of adding separate actuators and adjustment mechanisms, the ridge itself is designed to perform both structural support and thermal compensation functions. This integration enables the entire optical assembly to be manufactured using wafer level technology, as no additional discrete components are required, thus resolving the contradiction between thermal compensation capability and ease of manufacture
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical actuator systems with a simplified thermally responsive ridge structure that can be fabricated using standard wafer level processes. The thermal-mechanical coupling in the ridge provides automatic compensation without requiring additional actuators, making the entire optical assembly compatible with miniaturization and wafer level production techniques, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of manufacture
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 solution enables self-regulation of optical characteristics against temperature variations, reducing production costs and complexity, while maintaining image quality and allowing for variable focusing without additional mechanical components.
Implementation Method 1
the at least two ridges include a first layer and a second layer that include different coefficients of thermal expansion so that the first layer and the second layer are deflectable differently in relation to one another
Implementation Method 2
the ridges are implemented to effect, by heating the ridges, deformation of the ridges and a movement of the optical structure with regard to a reference plane
Implementation Method 3
an electrostatic drive for deflecting the optical structure, wherein the electrostatic drive includes a first electrode and a second electrode at least partly opposing the first electrode
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus having an optical structure, ridges and an electrostatic actuator is described, wherein the ridges connect the optical structure to a supporting structure and the electrostatic drive is implemented to deflect the optical structure.