Methods and applications of non-planar imaging arrays

• US 9,704,908 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2015
• Issued: 07/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Medidata Solutions Incorporated (Dassault Systemes SA)
• Original Assignee: MC10, Inc.
• Inventors: Graff, Bassel de, Arora, William J., Ghaffari, Roozbeh, Callsen, Gilman
• Primary Examiner(s): NIKMANESH, SEAHVOSH J
• Application Number:
  US14/812,197
• Publication Number:
  US 20160027834A1
• Time in Patent Office: 713 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/04 combined with photographic or television appliances
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/02 Details of sensors specially adapted for in-vivo measurements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0204 Acoustic sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0233 Special features of optical sensors or probes classified in A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0247 Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/164 the sensor is mounted in or on a conformable substrate or carrier
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/145 Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration, pH value; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid, cerebral tissuemeasuring of blood pressure or blood flow A61B5/02; non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/18 High density interconnect [HDI] connectors; Manufacturing methods related thereto
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/24 of an individual high density interconnect connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/24137 the bodies being arranged next to each other, e.g. on a common substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/82 by forming build-up interconnects at chip-level, e.g. for high density interconnects [HDI]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14609 Pixel-elements with integrated switching, control, storage or amplification elements scanning details of imagers (circuitry of solid-state image sensors H04N25/00); circuitry of imagers H04N25/70
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14621 Colour filter arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14636 Interconnect structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14683 Processes or apparatus peculiar to the manufacture or treatment of these devices or parts thereof not peculiar thereto H01L21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14687 Wafer level processing
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/3512 Cracking

Abstract

System, devices and methods are presented that provide an imaging array fabrication process method, comprising fabricating an array of semiconductor imaging elements, interconnecting the elements with stretchable interconnections, and transfer printing the array with a pre-strained elastomeric stamp to a secondary non-planar surface.

Claims

1. A flexible planar imaging array, comprising:

a plurality of semiconductor imaging elements;

at least one stretchable interconnect, the at least one stretchable interconnect coupling at least one semiconductor imaging element of the plurality of semiconductor imaging elements to another semiconductor imaging element.

2. The imaging array of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor is a single-crystalline semiconductor.

3. The imaging array of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor is a non-single crystal silicon material used for photo-detection.

4. The imaging array of claim 3, wherein the material is at least one of amorphous silicon material, polycrystalline silicon material, single-crystal silicon material, conductive oxide material, organic material or carbon nano-tube material.

5. The imaging array of claim 1, wherein one of the semiconductor imaging elements includes at least one imaging pixel and support electronics for controlling and reading out image data from the at least one imaging pixel.

6. The imaging array of claim 1, wherein light impinges either the front-side of the semiconductor imaging elements or the back-side of the semiconductor imaging elements.

7. The imaging array of claim 6, wherein the semiconductor imaging elements including a color filter on the backside or the frontside of the semiconductor imaging elements.

8. The imaging array of claim 7, wherein the color filter allow color image capabilities.

9. The imaging array of claim 1, further comprising a curved package holding the plurality of semiconductor imaging elements.

10. The imaging array of claim 9, wherein the packaging is a chip scale packaging.

11. The imaging array of claim 9, wherein the packaging is a ball grid array.

12. The imaging array of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor imaging elements are arranged as sensor islands.

13. The imaging array of claim 12, wherein the sensor islands include at least one pixel per sensor island.

14. The imaging array of claim 12, wherein the sensor islands are comprised of more than one pixel per sensor island.

15. The imaging array of claim 12, wherein at least one of the sensor islands include support electronics.

16. The imaging array of claim 1, wherein the imaging array is shaped in symmetrical nonplanar geometry.

17. A flexible planar imaging array system, comprising:

a plurality of semiconductor imaging elements, each of the semiconductor imaging elements fabricated on an imaging die;

an image data processing die; and

a plurality of stretchable interconnects, each of the stretchable interconnects coupling one of the semiconductor imaging elements to the image data processing die.