Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090284837 | Method and apparatus providing uniform separation of lens wafer and structure bonded thereto - Methods and apparatus providing a master wafer having standoffs to control a bondline thickness between one wafer produced indirectly from the master wafer and another wafer bonded to the produced wafer. Standoffs may be formed as a single standoff, standoff walls, or as a number of discrete standoffs. The standoffs provide a balanced support base and a uniform spacing between the one wafer and another wafer bonded thereto. | 11-19-2009 |
20090321863 | Method and apparatus providing an imager module with a permanent carrier - Method and apparatus providing a wafer level fabrication of imager modules in which a permanent carrier protects imager devices on an imager wafer and is used to support a lens wafer. | 12-31-2009 |
20090323206 | IMAGING MODULE WITH SYMMETRICAL LENS SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE - An imaging module and method of fabrication. The method comprises forming a first lens wafer with a plurality of outer negative lenses and forming a second lens wafer with a plurality of inner negative lenses The method further comprises bonding the first lens wafer and second lens wafer to create a bonded stack; forming a plurality of inner positive lenses on the second lens wafer and bonding a spacer wafer to the second lens wafer; and forming a plurality of outer positive lenses on the first lens wafer. | 12-31-2009 |
20100127412 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FABRICATING LENS MASTERS - A method and apparatus used for forming a lens master for forming lenses on a wafer. The method includes using an inverted lens pin mold in conjunction with a dispense method to create both concave and convex lens masters for making lens stamps containing lens-shaped cavities. The lens-shaped cavities are used to imprint a plurality of lenses into a curable material. | 05-27-2010 |
20100177408 | METHOD OF FORMING LENS ARRAYS AND TRANSFERRING SUCH ONTO MOVABLE-MEMS STRUCTURES - Micro-electrical-mechanical (MEMS) wafers in which a lens is formed on a micro-electrical-mechanical structure. The micro-electrical-mechanical wafers can comprise a substrate, MEMS structures, and a lens array. A method of forming a micro-electrical-mechanical wafer comprises providing a substrate, forming a micro-electrical-mechanical structure on the substrate, forming a carrier, forming a lens array on the carrier, and transferring the lens array from the carrier onto the micro-electrical-mechanical structure. The lens array is placed above the micro-electrical-mechanical structure. | 07-15-2010 |
20100177411 | WAFER LEVEL LENS REPLICATION ON MICRO-ELECTRICAL-MECHANICAL SYSTEMS - Movable lens structures in which a lens is formed on a micro-electrical-mechanical system and methods of making the same. A method of forming the lens includes forming a micro-electrical-mechanical system on a substrate, arranging a first mold inside the micro-electrical-mechanical system, and forming a lens on the micro-electrical-mechanical system using the first mold. | 07-15-2010 |
20100244165 | METHOD AND APPARATUS PROVIDING COMBINED SPACER AND OPTICAL LENS ELEMENT - A method and apparatus used for forming a lens and spacer combination, and imager module employing the spacer and lens combination. The apparatus includes a mold having a base, spacer section, and mold feature. The method includes using the mold with a blank to create a spacer that includes an integral lens. The spacer and lens combination and imager modules can be formed on a wafer level. | 09-30-2010 |
20100323469 | METHODS FOR SEPARATING INDIVIDUAL SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES FROM A CARRIER - A wafer of integrated circuits may be bonded to a carrier wafer using a layer of bonding material. The thickness of the wafer of integrated circuits may then be reduced using a series of grinding operations. After grinding, backside processing operations may be performed to form scribe channels that separate the die from each other and to form through-wafer vias. The scribe channels may be formed by dry etching and may have rectangular shapes, circular shapes, or other shapes. A pick and place tool may have a heated head. The bonding layer material may be based on a thermoplastic or other material that can be released by application of heat by the heated head of the pick and place tool. The pick and place tool may individually debond each of the integrated circuits from the carrier wafer and may mount the debonded circuits in packages. | 12-23-2010 |
20110204462 | METHOD AND APPARATUS PROVIDING AN IMAGER MODULE WITH A PERMANENT CARRIER - Method and apparatus providing a wafer level fabrication of imager modules in which a permanent carrier protects imager devices on an imager wafer and is used to support a lens wafer. | 08-25-2011 |
20120194719 | IMAGE SENSOR UNITS WITH STACKED IMAGE SENSORS AND IMAGE PROCESSORS - An image sensor unit has stacked imager and processor integrated circuits. The imager may have an image sensor pixel array on its front surface. Processor die may be mounted back-to-back with respective imagers on a wafer. A photodefinable dielectric film may cover the rear surface of the wafer. Metal traces in the photodefinable dielectric and through-silicon vias in each imager may be used to interconnect the processing circuitry on the front surface of a processor to the image sensor pixel array on the front surface of the imager. Openings may be formed in the photo definable dielectric to allow solder balls to form electrical connections with the metal traces. A cavity may be formed in a photo definable dielectric layer or an imager to accommodate the processor. The processor may also be mounted in a cavity in a separate silicon standoff structure before attaching the standoff structure to the imager. | 08-02-2012 |
20130237002 | METHOD AND APPARATUS PROVIDING COMBINED SPACER AND OPTICAL LENS ELEMENT - A method and apparatus used for forming a lens and spacer combination, and imager module employing the spacer and lens combination. The apparatus includes a mold having a base, spacer section, and mold feature. The method includes using the mold with a blank to create a spacer that includes an integral lens. The spacer and lens combination and imager modules can be formed on a wafer level. | 09-12-2013 |
20140055654 | BACKSIDE ILLUMINATED IMAGE SENSORS WITH STACKED DIES - An image sensor unit may have a backside-illuminated imager and an image co-processor stacked together. The image co-processor may be mounted in a cavity in a permanent carrier. The permanent carrier may include fluid channels that allow cooling fluid to flow past the image co-process and past the imager, thereby removing excess heat generated by the image sensor unit during operation. | 02-27-2014 |
20150054993 | ARRAY CAMERAS WITH LIGHT BARRIERS - An imaging system such as an array camera may include an array of image sensors. The image sensors may each include an array of image pixels formed in a common image sensor substrate. A protective glass cover layer may be provided over the array of image sensors. The cover layer may be attached to the image sensor substrate using an adhesive. The adhesive may be formed on the image sensor substrate in a grid-like pattern in between adjacent image sensors in the array. A light blocking material may be formed on the adhesive grid to minimize optical crosstalk between neighboring image sensors. The light blocking material may fill or partially fill a trench in the adhesive, may coat the outer surfaces of the adhesive, and/or may coat the inner surfaces of the adhesive. If desired, light barriers may also be formed in openings in the glass cover layer. | 02-26-2015 |