Thermal management structures for optoelectronic modules

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9788417-B2
Application number	US-201414266783-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 30, 2014
Priority date	Apr 30, 2013
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

An example embodiment includes optoelectronic module. The optoelectronic module may include a lens assembly, a module board, heat-generating components, and a thermally conductive plate. The lens assembly may be secured to the module board. The module board may include a printed circuit board (PCB). The heat-generating components may be mounted to the PCB. The thermally conductive plate may be secured to a surface of the module board. The thermally conductive plate may define an opening that receives at least a portion of the lens assembly. The thermally conductive plate may be configured to absorb at least a portion of thermal energy generated during operation of the heat-generating components and to transfer the thermal energy away from the heat-generating components.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An optoelectronic module comprising:
a lens assembly;
a module board including a printed circuit board (PCB) on a central portion of a top surface of the module board, wherein the lens assembly is secured to the top surface of the module board;
heat-generating components mounted to the PCB;
a thermally conductive plate; and
a cover positioned on the module board such that the cover encloses a top surface of the module board, wherein:
the cover defines a cavity into which the lens assembly, the heat-generating component, and the thermally conductive plate are positioned,
the module board borders the cavity such that the cover and the module board surround the lens assembly and the thermally conductive plate, and enclose the heat-generating components,
the thermally conductive plate defines an opening in which at least a portion of the lens assembly is positioned,
the thermally conductive plate includes a rear portion, a front portion, two plate feet coupled to the front portion, and two plate feet coupled to the rear portion,
the rear portion includes a bottom surface and a rear thickness,
the plate feet include a foot thickness that is greater than the rear thickness of the rear portion,
the front portion is opposite the rear portion and includes a front thickness that is less than the foot thickness,
the front thickness is sized to provide clearance for introduction of an optical interface to the lens assembly,
the plate feet are secured directly to the top surface of the module board such that the rear portion and the front portion are separated from the top surface of the module board,
at least one of the heat-generating components is positioned between the bottom surface of the rear portion and the PCB, and
the rear thickness of the rear portion is configured such that the bottom surface of the rear portion of the thermally conductive plate directly physically contacts the at least one of the heat-generating components to absorb at least a portion of thermal energy generated during operation of the at least one of the heat-generating components.

2. The optoelectronic module of claim 1 , wherein the opening is configured to receive a lens base of the lens assembly and to allow for positional adjustment of the lens assembly with respect to at least one of the heat-generating components.

3. The optoelectronic module of claim 2 , wherein the lens assembly is further secured to a portion of a sidewall of the thermally conductive plate that defines a perimeter of the opening.

4. The optoelectronic module of claim 1 , wherein the lens assembly includes:
a lens base that is secured to at least a portion of a sidewall of the opening; and
one or more lens supports that extend from the lens base and contact the PCB.

5. The optoelectronic module of claim 4 , wherein the lens base is secured to the thermally conductive plate along the sidewall to reduce electromagnetic radiation emission from the heat-generating components.

6. The optoelectronic module of claim 1 , wherein the cover contacts at least a portion of the thermally conductive plate to receive at least some of the thermal energy from the thermally conductive plate.

7. The optoelectronic module of claim 1 , further comprising:
a cover including a lower surface that is separated from an upper surface of the thermally conductive plate by a cover separation; and
a thermal pad positioned in between the lower surface and the upper surface that is configured to accommodate imperfections of the upper surface or the lower surface.

8. The optoelectronic module of claim 1 , wherein the heat-generating components include one or more clock and data recovery (CDR) chips.

9. The optoelectronic module of claim 1 , wherein the thermally conductive plate is comprised of copper.

10. The optoelectronic module of claim 1 , wherein:
the thermally conductive plate further includes two side portions that are each coupled to two of the plate feet.

11. The optoelectronic module of claim 1 , wherein:
the thermally conductive plate includes two side portions; and
the plate feet are configured to directly contact a top surface of the module board such that the side portions are separated from the top surface of the module board.

12. The optoelectronic module of claim 1 , wherein the cover includes a lower surface configured to be positioned above a portion of an upper surface of the thermally conductive plate, and the optoelectronic module further comprises a thermal pad positioned in between the lower surface and the upper surface that is configured to accommodate imperfections of the upper surface or the lower surface.

13. The optoelectronic module of claim 1 , wherein:
the thermally conductive plate includes two side portions connecting the front portion to the rear portion, and the front portion, the rear portion, and the two side portions define the opening configured to receive at least a portion of the lens assembly.

14. The optoelectronic module of claim 1 , wherein the rear portion includes a portion of a sidewall that defines at least a portion of a perimeter of the opening.

15. The optoelectronic module of claim 1 , wherein the cover includes a lower surface that physically contacts an upper surface of two side portions of the thermally conductive plate such that thermal energy may be transferred from the thermally conductive plate to the cover via thermal conduction.

Assignees

• Finisar Corp

Inventors

• Hsieh Cindy H
• Flens Frank J
• Lipkin Ziv

Classifications

• G02B6/4202

  for coupling an active element with fibres without intermediate optical elements, e.g. fibres with plane ends, fibres with shaped ends, bundles · CPC title

• G02B6/428

  containing printed circuit boards [PCB] · CPC title

• G02B7/028

  with means for compensating for changes in temperature or for controlling the temperature; thermal stabilisation · CPC title

• G02B6/4272 Primary

  with mounting substrates of high thermal conductivity · CPC title

• H05K2201/10121

  Optical component, e.g. opto-electronic component · CPC title