Digital camera with a light-sensitive sensor

• US 20040095502A1
• Filed: 08/28/2003
• Published: 05/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Schaffer, Josef-Paul, Stadler, Bernd, Paulus, Stefan, Petz, Martin, Schroeder, Martin, Losehand, Reinhard
• Granted Patent: US 7,453,509 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/340
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/45124 Aluminium (Al) as principal constituent
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48247 connecting the wire to a bond pad of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/85 using a wire connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/97 the devices being connected to a common substrate, e.g. interposer, said common substrate being separable into individual assemblies after connecting
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/97 the devices being connected to a common substrate, e.g. interposer, said common substrate being separable into individual assemblies after connecting
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14618 Containers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14623 Optical shielding
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14625 Optical elements or arrangements associated with the device
• 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 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00012 Relevant to the scope of the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01006 Carbon [C]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01013 Aluminum [Al]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01019 Potassium [K]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01029 Copper [Cu]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01033 Arsenic [As]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01047 Silver [Ag]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01052 Tellurium [Te]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01068 : Erbium [Er]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01078 : Platinum [Pt]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01079 : Gold [Au]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01082 : Lead [Pb]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01088 : Radium [Ra]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/10253 : Silicon [Si]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/12041 : LED
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/12042 : LASER
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/14 : Integrated circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/181 : Encapsulation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/3025 : Electromagnetic shielding
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0203 : Containers; Encapsulations , e.g. encapsulation of photodiodesfor photovoltaic devices H01L31/048; for organic photosensitive devices H10K30/80
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/02325 : the optical elements not being integrated nor being directly associated with the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 : Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/57 : Mechanical or electrical details of cameras or camera modules specially adapted for being embedded in other devices

Abstract

A digital camera has a lens, a camera housing, and a semiconductor sensor. The camera housing is primarily formed of a transparent plastic block that encloses a semiconductor sensor only on its underside and has an adapted lens on its top side. Between the two there is provided an opaque layer with an aperture that improves the image quality. The invention also relates to a method for producing such a digital camera.

Claims

1. A digital camera, comprising:

a lens having a lens top side and a lens underside;

a camera housing;

a light-sensitive semiconductor sensor having a top side aligned with said lens and an underside;

said camera housing having a plastic body with a top side carrying said lens and an underside with said light-sensitive sensor;

a transparent plastic core filling an interspace between said lens underside and said top side of said semiconductor sensor; and

wherein a circular aperture is formed between said lens underside and said top side of said semiconductor sensor in said transparent plastic core.

2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said camera housing has an underside with a rewiring structure and external connections, and said semiconductor sensor is formed, on said top side thereof, with a matrix of light-sensitive cells having electrodes connected via integrated circuits to contact surfaces cooperating with said rewiring structure and said external connections.

3. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said plastic body is formed of a light-absorbing material, said plastic core is a frustoconical transparent plastic core and said plastic body surrounds said frustoconical transparent plastic core at a center thereof.

4. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said plastic body is formed with optically transparent material.

5. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said aperture is defined by an aperture plate disposed at a spacing distance from said lens top side, said spacing distance is between one half and one third of a distance between said lens top side and said top side of said semiconductor sensor.

6. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said rewiring structure is disposed on said underside of said plastic body.

7. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said rewiring structure is disposed on said underside of said semiconductor sensor.

8. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said rewiring structure is a lead frame, and said semiconductor sensor is mounted on said lead frame.

9. The digital camera according to claim 1, which comprises a lightsafe mask surrounding said lens.

10. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said rewiring structure has conductor tracks connecting said contact surfaces of said semiconductor sensor to external connections on said underside of said housing of the digital camera.

11. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said external connection comprises contact bumps.

12. The digital camera according to claim 1, which comprises a lead frame forming a rewiring structure of the digital camera, said lead frame carrying said semiconductor sensor and having external electric connections, and said semiconductor sensor having contact surfaces connected to said external connections via bond wires.

13. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said plastic body and said lens are integrally formed of a common plastic body of transparent plastic.

14. The digital camera according to claim 13, wherein said transparent plastic body is covered by a lightsafe film, leaving free an opening for said lens.

15. The digital camera according to claim 14, wherein said lightsafe film is a shrink film.

16. The digital camera according to claim 8, wherein said semiconductor sensor is adhesively mounted on said lead frame.

17. The digital camera according to claim 16, which comprises an amount of conductive adhesive mounting said semiconductor sensor on said lead frame.

18. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor sensor is adhesively mounted on said underside of said plastic body with an adhesive.

19. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein said lens is adhesively mounted on said plastic body with an adhesive.

20. The digital camera according to claim 11, wherein said contact bumps are formed of soldering material on said underside of said semiconductor sensor.

21. The digital camera according to claim 11, wherein said external contact bumps include soldering material.

22. A method for producing digital cameras, which comprises the following method steps:

providing an injection mold with at least one cavity for injection-molding a plastic plate for a plurality of camera housings, the plastic plate having a top side formed with openings for holding respective lenses, and an underside for holding semiconductor sensors;

fitting the underside of the plastic plate with semiconductor sensors, rewiring structures, and external connections;

filling plastic cores respectively defined between the semiconductor sensors and the openings for the lenses with transparent adhesive;

fitting the openings on the top side of the plastic plate with lenses;

mounting a lightsafe mask, leaving free each lens on the top side of the plastic plate; and

separating the plastic plate into individual digital cameras each according to claim 1.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the step of fitting the underside of the plastic plate comprises mounting semiconductor sensors with external contact bumps in openings provided therefor by way of flip-chip technology.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein the filling step comprises forming a frustoconical plastic core under a vacuum.

25. A method for producing a digital camera, which comprises the following method steps:

providing a lead frame for a plurality of semiconductor sensors and with flat conductors for external connections;

mounting semiconductor sensors onto the lead frame;

connecting contact surfaces on a top side of the semiconductor sensors to the external connections;

potting the lead frame with a transparent plastic to form a transparent lower plastic plate half while embedding the lead frame, the external connections, and the connections on an underside of the plastic plate;

selectively coating a top side of the lower plastic plate half with an aperture plate layer;

mounting an upper transparent plastic plate half, provided with dome-shaped protuberances on the top side, onto the aperture plate layer; and

separating the plastic plate into individual transparent digital cameras with an integral lens, with a built-in semiconductor sensor, and with external connections.

26. The method according to claim 25, which comprises mounting a lightsafe film onto outsides of the transparent digital camera, while leaving free an opening for the lens and openings for the external connections.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the lightsafe film is a shrink film shrunk as a camera housing onto the outsides of the otherwise transparent digital camera.