Optical devices and opto-electronic modules and methods for manufacturing the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9490287-B2
Application number	US-201214366770-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2012
Priority date	Dec 21, 2011
Publication date	Nov 8, 2016
Grant date	Nov 8, 2016

Abstract

The optical device comprises a first substrate (SI) comprising at least one optical structure ( 1 ) comprising a main portion ( 2 ) and a surrounding portion ( 3 ) at least partially surrounding said main portion. The device furthermore comprises non-transparent material ( 5, 5 a, 5 b ) applied onto said surrounding portion. The opto-electronic module comprises a plurality of these optical devices comprised in said first substrate. The method for manufacturing an optical device comprises the steps of a) providing a first substrate comprising at least one optical structure comprising a main portion and a surrounding portion at least partially surrounding said main portion; and b) applying a non-transparent material onto at least said surrounding portion. Said non-transparent material is present on at least said surrounding portion still in the finished optical device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An opto-electronic module comprising a first substrate comprising a plurality of optical devices, each of the optical devices comprising at least one optical structure comprising:
a main portion; and
a surrounding portion at least partially surrounding said main portion laterally,

each main portion and its respective surrounding portion forming a unitary part;
wherein the optical structures are sitting on the first substrate or are located, at least in part, in the first substrate;
each of the optical devices further comprising non-transparent material on the respective surrounding portion,
wherein the opto-electronic module comprises:
a second substrate comprising a plurality of active optical components; and
a spacer member arranged between said first substrate and said second substrate, for establishing a well-defined distance between said first substrate and said second substrate;

wherein at least one of
said spacer member is not in contact with said first substrate in any area of said first substrate between any two of said plurality of optical structures;
said spacer member is not in contact with said second substrate in any area of said second substrate between any two of said plurality of active optical components.

2. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein said spacer member forms an opening, and said spacer member comprises at least one wall member at least partially surrounding said opening.

3. The opto-electronic module according to claim 2 , wherein said at least one wall member forms a portion of a housing of said module.

4. The opto-electronic module according to claim 2 , wherein in said opening, no material portion of said spacer member is located.

5. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein said first and second substrates are generally planar in parallel planes, and wherein, in a projection into any one of these parallel planes, each of said plurality of optical structures and each of said plurality of active optical components lie within said spacer member.

6. The opto-electronic module according to claim 5 , wherein, in said projection into any of the parallel planes, no portion of said spacer member is located between any two of said plurality of optical structures or between any two of said plurality of active optical components.

7. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein said active optical components are light detectors.

8. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein each of said active optical components is a multi-pixel light detector.

9. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein the module is a multi-channel camera or a module for a multi-channel camera or a multi-aperture camera or a module for a multi-aperture camera.

10. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein said spacer member is integrated in said first substrate or in said second substrate.

11. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein each of said main portion forms a passive optical component.

12. The opto-electronic module according to claim 11 , wherein each of the passive optical components is a lens or a lens element.

13. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein each of the optical devices comprises further non-transparent material on a surface portion of said first substrate adjacent to the respective surrounding portion.

14. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein each of the optical devices comprises a layer of said non-transparent material, said layer substantially coating the respective surrounding portion.

15. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein for each of the optical devices, said layer substantially coating, in addition, a surface portion of said first substrate adjacent to the respective surrounding portion.

16. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein for each of the optical devices, said non-transparent material is a resist material.

17. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein said non-transparent material is a photostructurable material.

18. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein the optical structures are sitting on the first substrate.

19. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein the optical structures are located at least in part in an opening of the first substrate.

20. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein the first substrate is planar.

21. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein the optical structures are sitting one and the same side of the first substrate.

22. An opto-electronic module comprising a first substrate comprising a plurality of optical devices, each of the optical devices comprising N≧2 optical structures each of which comprises:
a main portion; and
a surrounding portion at least partially surrounding said main portion laterally,

each main portion and its respective surrounding portion forming a unitary part;
wherein the optical structures are sitting on the first substrate or are located, at least in part, in the first substrate;
each of the optical devices further comprising non-transparent material on the respective surrounding portion,
wherein the opto-electronic module comprises:
a second substrate comprising N≧2 active optical components, each of said N active optical components being assigned to and aligned with a respective one of said N optical structures; and
a spacer member arranged between said first substrate and said second substrate, for establishing a well-defined distance between said first substrate and said second substrate;

wherein at least one of
said spacer member is not in contact with said first substrate in any area of said first substrate between any two of said plurality of optical structures;
said spacer member is not in contact with said second substrate in any area of said second substrate between any two of said plurality of active optical components.

23. An opto-electronic module comprising a first substrate comprising a plurality of optical devices, each of the optical devices comprising N≧2 optical structures each of which comprises:
a main portion; and
a surrounding portion at least partially surrounding said main portion laterally,

each main portion and its respective surrounding portion forming a unitary part;
wherein the optical structures are sitting on the first substrate or are located, at least in part, in the first substrate;
each of the optical devices further comprising non-transparent material on the respective surrounding portion,
wherein the opto-electronic module comprises:
a second substrate comprising N≧2 active optical components, each of said N active optical components being assigned to and aligned with a respective one of said N optical structures; and
a spacer member arranged between said first substrate and said second substrate, for establishing a well-defined distance between said first substrate and said second substrate;

wherein said spacer member is not in contact with said first substrate in any area of said first substrate between any two of said plurality of optical structures.

24. The opto-electronic module according to claim 1 , wherein the spacer member is directly attached to the first substrate and the second

Assignees

• Heptagon Micro Optics Pte Ltd
• Heptagon Oy

Inventors

• Rossi Markus
• Rudmann Hartmut
• Heimgartner Stephan
• Bietsch Alexander
• Lenart Robert

Classifications

• B29D11/00307

  Producing lens wafers · CPC title

• H01L27/14687

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L27/14685

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L27/14618

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L27/14683

  Electricity · mapped topic