Yardless Lens Assemblies via Selective Photopolymerization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wafer-level lens manufacturing methods produce lenses with excess cured resin ('yard') surrounding each microlens, which increases the distance between lenses and complicates the production of non-square rectangular lenses, leading to defects and inefficiencies in camera module manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
A wafer-level method involving a transparent substrate with an opaque coating and light-curable lens resin, where the resin is cured only within apertures on the substrate, eliminating the excess resin and allowing for the formation of yardless lenses with precise positioning and improved matching with non-square rectangular image sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional wafer-level lens manufacturing is used, then lenses can be produced efficiently in bulk, but excess cured resin ('yard') surrounds each microlens increasing the distance between lenses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the excess cured resin (yard) from around the microlenses through a washing step, leaving only the necessary lens structure. This extraction eliminates the harmful yard while preserving the bulk production efficiency of wafer-level manufacturing, directly resolving the contradiction between productivity and lens spacing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by selectively curing the lens resin only in the regions where microlenses are needed, while leaving the surrounding areas uncured. This is achieved through photomasking that allows light to reach and cure resin only at specific lens locations, thereby eliminating yard formation while maintaining efficient batch production.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional wafer-level lens manufacturing is used, then cost savings are achieved from molding many microlenses on one wafer, but the yard surrounding each microlens complicates production
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complicating yard structure through a selective washing process that dissolves uncured resin. This extraction eliminates the complexity of handling and removing yard while preserving the cost-efficient wafer-level molding approach, allowing lenses to be produced in bulk without the burdensome yard surrounding each lens.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality through photomasking that selectively cures resin only where needed, preventing yard formation in the first place. This localized curing approach maintains the simplicity and cost-efficiency of batch manufacturing while eliminating the complex yard removal process entirely.
3Productivity
If conventional molding is used, then lenses are formed efficiently, but non-square rectangular lenses are difficult to produce without defects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality through photomasking that selectively cures resin in precise non-square rectangular patterns. This allows complex lens shapes to be formed with high accuracy by controlling where light reaches and cures the resin, while maintaining the efficiency of batch wafer-level production. The masking layer enables precise geometric control that conventional molding cannot achieve.
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 method enables the production of yardless lenses with reduced distance between adjacent lenses, enhancing manufacturing efficiency and yield, while maintaining imaging quality, particularly for non-square rectangular image sensors, and accommodating more lenses on a wafer.
Implementation Method 1
exposing a second side of the transparent substrate, facing away from the first side, to light, thereby illuminating portions of the light-curable lens resin aligned with the plurality of apertures to form a respective plurality of yardless lenses
Data Source
AI summary
A wafer-level method for manufacturing yardless lenses includes (a) depositing light-curable lens resin between a mold and a first side of a transparent substrate, wherein the first side of the transparent substrate has an opaque coating with a plurality of apertures respectively aligned with a plurality of lens-shaped recesses of the mold, and (b) exposing a second side of the transparent substrate, facing away from the first side, to light, thereby illuminating portions of the light-curable lens resin aligned with the plurality of apertures to form a respective plurality of yardless lenses.