LENS BARREL, LENS-BARREL WAFER, AND ASSOCIATED METHOD

• US 20180095235A1
• Filed: 10/05/2016
• Published: 04/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omnivision Technologies Incorporated (Will Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Shanghai)
• Original Assignee: Omnivision Technologies Incorporated (Will Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Shanghai)
• Inventors: CHANG, Chia-Yang, CHEN, Teng-Sheng
• Granted Patent: US 10,459,189 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/003 having two lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/0085 employing wafer level optics
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/005 Diaphragms for cameras G03B9/02
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/021 for more than one lens

Abstract

A method for forming a lens barrel includes aligning each of a plurality of upper apertures of an upper wafer to (i) a respective one of a plurality of middle apertures of a middle wafer and (ii) a respective one of a plurality of lower apertures of a lower wafer. The middle wafer is between the upper wafer and the lower wafer. The method also includes bonding the middle wafer to the upper wafer to form a lens barrel wafer. Each triad of co-aligned upper, middle, and lower apertures forms a wafer aperture spanning between a top surface of the upper wafer and a bottom surface of the lower wafer. Each upper aperture has a respective upper width and each middle aperture has a respective middle width less than the respective upper width to form, in each triad, a ledge for supporting a lens in the upper aperture.

Claims

1. A lens barrel comprising:

an annular lower layer defining a lower aperture therethrough;

an annular upper layer defining an upper aperture therethrough having an upper width; and

an annular middle layer, bonded between the lower layer and the upper layer, and defining a middle aperture having a middle width that is less than the upper width to form a ledge for supporting a lens disposed in the upper aperture,

the lower aperture, the middle aperture, and the upper aperture collectively forming at least part of a barrel aperture through the lower, middle, and upper layers.

2. The lens barrel of claim 1, the middle width being less than a lower width of the lower aperture.

3. The lens barrel of claim 1, the upper width being less than a lower width of the lower aperture.

4. The lens barrel of claim 1, further comprising a notch in the top surface of the upper layer extending to a depth from the top surface that is less than a maximum thickness of the upper layer and adjoining the upper aperture to facilitate adhesive dispensation in the notch for bonding the lens to the at least one of the upper and middle layers.

5. The lens barrel of claim 1, further comprising the lens in the upper aperture, the lens having a flange resting on the ledge.

6. The lens barrel of claim 5, the lens further comprising a non-planar surface at least partially within the middle aperture.

7. A lens-barrel wafer comprising:

a lower wafer including a plurality of lower apertures each having a respective lower width and spanning between a bottom surface and a top surface of the lower wafer;

an upper wafer including a plurality of upper apertures each having a respective upper width and spanning between a bottom surface and a top surface of the upper wafer; and

a middle wafer, bonded between the top surface of the lower wafer and the bottom surface of the upper wafer, and including a plurality of middle apertures each aligned with a respective one of the plurality of lower apertures and a respective one of the plurality of upper apertures,

each middle aperture, a lower aperture aligned thereto, and an upper aperture aligned thereto forming a wafer aperture spanning between the bottom surface of the lower wafer and the top surface of the upper wafer,

each middle aperture having a respective width less than the respective upper width of the upper aperture aligned thereto, to form a ledge for supporting a lens placed in the upper aperture aligned thereto.

8. The lens-barrel wafer of claim 7, the middle width of each middle aperture being less than the lower width of the lower aperture aligned thereto.

9. The lens-barrel wafer of claim 7, the upper width being less than the lower width.

10. The lens-barrel wafer of claim 7, further comprising, in each upper aperture, a lens having a flange resting on the ledge.

11. A method for forming a lens barrel comprising:

aligning each of a plurality of upper apertures of an upper wafer to (i) a respective one of a plurality of middle apertures of a middle wafer and (ii) a respective one of a plurality of lower apertures of a lower wafer, the middle wafer being between the upper wafer and the lower wafer; and

bonding the middle wafer to the upper wafer to form a lens barrel wafer, each triad of co-aligned upper, middle, and lower apertures forming a wafer aperture spanning between a top surface of the upper wafer and a bottom surface of the lower wafer, each of the upper apertures having a respective upper width and each of the middle apertures having a respective middle width that is less than the respective upper width to form, in each triad, a ledge for supporting a lens in the upper aperture.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising singulating the lens-barrel wafer to form a plurality of lens barrels.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising disposing a lens on the ledge of each wafer aperture to form a barreled-lens wafer.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising singulating the lens-barrel wafer to form a plurality of barrel-mounted lenses.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising, before the step of aligning each of a plurality of upper apertures:

aligning each of the plurality of middle apertures of the middle wafer to a respective one of the plurality of lower apertures of the lower wafer.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising bonding the middle wafer to the lower wafer while maintaining alignment of each middle aperture to a respective lower aperture.