Thin camera and associated methods

• US 20070126898A1
• Filed: 07/17/2006
• Published: 06/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FLIR Systems Trading Belgium BVBA (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Digital Optics Corp. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Tekolste, Robert, Feldman, Michael, Morris, James
• Granted Patent: US 8,049,806 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/294
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/0035 having three lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/006 at least one element being a compound optical element, e.g. cemented elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/0085 employing wafer level optics
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 9/12 having three components only
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14625 Optical elements or arrangements associated with the device
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14685 Process for coatings or optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/54 Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils

Abstract

A camera includes a first substrate having a convex refractive element, a second substrate having a concave refractive element, a separation between the first to second substrates, the separation including an air gap between convex refractive element and the concave refractive element, and a third substrate having a detector array thereon, the concave refractive element being closer to the detector than the convex refractive element, at least two of the first to third substrates being secured along a z-axis, wherein the z axis is perpendicular to a plane of the detector array, e.g., at a wafer level. The convex refractive element may include a plurality of convex refractive elements, the concave refractive element may include a plurality of concave refractive elements, and the detector array may include a plurality of detector arrays, each of the plurality forming a plurality of sub-cameras.

Claims

1. A camera, comprising:

a first substrate having a convex refractive element;

a second substrate having a concave refractive element;

a separation between the first to second substrates, the separation including an air gap between convex refractive element and the concave refractive element; and

a third substrate having a detector array thereon, the concave refractive element being closer to the detector than the convex refractive element, at least two of the first to third substrates being secured at a wafer level.

2. The camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a compensation element.

3. The camera as claimed in claim 2, wherein the compensation element is a diffractive element.

4. The camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein an air gap is provided by a structure formed on at least one of the first and second substrates.

5. The camera as claimed in claim 4, wherein the structure includes material deposited on the at least one of the first and second substrates.

6. The camera as claimed in claim 1, further comprising baffle material provided on at least two surfaces of the first and second substrates.

7. The camera as claimed in claim 6, wherein the baffle material is provided on at least one of a surface having the convex refractive element and a surface having the concave refractive surface.

8. The camera as claimed in claim 6, wherein the baffle material on the at least one surface is a lithograph.

9. The camera as claimed in claim 6, wherein the baffle material provides the separation.

10. The camera as claimed in claim 9, wherein the baffle material is an adhesive.

11. The camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second substrate and the third substrate are secured with no air gap there between.

12. The camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein the convex refractive element includes at least two refractive elements.

13. The camera as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a discriminating element between the first and third substrates, the discriminating element providing different characteristics for each of the at least two refractive elements.

14. The camera as claimed in claim 13, wherein the discriminating element is a color filter.

15. The camera as claimed in claim 13, wherein the discriminating element is a patterned color filter.

16. The camera as claimed in claim 12, further comprising baffle material between the at least two refractive lenses.

17. The camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein the concave and convex refractive elements are formed in different materials.

18. The camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the concave and convex refractive elements is formed by replication and another is formed by direct lithography.

19. The camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein the camera includes an array of sub-cameras, each camera having at least a different convex refractive element.

20. A method of making a camera, the method comprising:

forming a convex refractive element on a first planar substrate;

forming a concave refractive element on a second planar substrate;

providing a separator between the first and second planar substrates, the separator providing an air gap between convex refractive element and the concave refractive element;

providing a third planar substrate having a detector array thereon, the third planar substrate being closer to the second planar substrate than the first planar substrate; and

securing the first to third substrates, along a z-axis, wherein the z axis is perpendicular to a plane of the detector array.

21. The method as claimed in claim 20, wherein securing includes securing at least two of the first planar substrate, the second planar substrate, the separator and the third planar substrate on a wafer level.

22. The method as claimed in claim 20, wherein securing hermetically seals the concave lens.

23. The method as claimed in claim 20, wherein securing hermetically seals the detector array.

24. A camera, comprising:

a first substrate having a convex refractive element;

a second substrate having a concave refractive element, wherein a diameter of the concave refractive element is larger than a diameter of the convex refractive element;

a first separation between the first to second substrates, the separation including a first air gap between convex refractive element and the concave refractive element; and

a third substrate having a detector array, the third substrate being closer to the second substrate than the first substrate, the first, second and third substrates being secured along a z-axis, wherein the z axis is perpendicular to a plane of the detector array; and

a second separation between the second and third substrates, wherein the second separation is smaller than the first separation.

25. The camera as claimed in claim 24, wherein the convex refractive element includes a plurality of convex refractive elements, the concave refractive element includes a plurality of concave refractive elements, and the detector array includes a plurality of detector arrays, each of the plurality forming a plurality of sub-cameras, and further comprising:

an array of discriminating elements associated with each of the plurality of sub-cameras.

26. A camera, comprising:

a first substrate having a convex refractive element having a first lens diameter;

a first baffle having a first baffle opening larger than the first lens diameter;

a second substrate having a concave refractive element having a second lens diameter;

a second baffle between the first and second substrates, the second baffle having a second baffle opening that is larger than the first baffle opening and the second lens diameter; and

a third substrate having a detector array, the third substrate being closer to the second substrate than to the first substrate, at least two of the first, second and third substrates being secured along a z-axis, wherein the z axis is perpendicular to a plane of the detector array.

27. The camera as claimed in claim 26, wherein the second lens diameter is larger than the first lens diameter.

28. A color camera, comprising:

at least three sub-cameras, each sub-camera including

a first substrate having a first imaging element,

a second substrate having a second imaging element,

a color filter, and

a third substrate having a detector array thereon, at least two of the first to third substrates being secured at a wafer level; and

means for combining images from the at least three sub-cameras to form a composite multi-color image,. 29. A camera, comprising;

a first substrate having a first imaging element;

a second substrate having a second imaging element; and

a third substrate having a detector array thereon, at least two of the first to third substrates being secured at a wafer level, wherein one of the first and second imaging elements is a replicated lithograph and the other of the first and second imaging elements is a direct lithograph.