Patent Application
20080054447
Many aspects of the present chip package and digital camera module using the package can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the chip package and digital camera module using the package. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Referring to
The chip package 20 includes a carrier 21, a chip 23, a plurality of wires 24, a supporting member 25, a first adhesive 26, a second adhesive 27, and a cover 28.
Referring to
The chip 23 can be, for example a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor transistor (CMOS) image sensor, or a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor, and is mounted to the top surface 211 of the carrier 21. A top surface of the chip 23 is arranged with an active area 231 (e.g., a photo-registering zone) and a number of pads 233 arranged around the active area 231. The pads 233 are configured for electrically connecting with other electronic components to transmit electrical signal from the chip 23 to other electronic components.
The wires 24 can be made of a conductive material with good electric conductivity, such as gold or aluminum alloy. One end of each wire 24 is connected/joined with a respective pad 233 of the chip 23, and the other end of the wire 24 is connected/joined with a respective top contact 215 of the carrier 21.
The supporting member 25 is adapted for spacing the cover 28 over the top surface of the chip 23. The supporting member 25 includes four columns which are respectively disposed at a corner of the top surface 211 of the carrier 21. The supporting member 25 can be fixed to the carrier 21 via mount members such as adhesives or screws.
The first adhesive 26 is applied to the top surface of the chip 23 along a peripheral circumference, and covers connecting areas/joints where the wires 23 connect/join with the pads 233. The first adhesive 26 can be further applied to the wires 23 in a manner so as to cover the whole of each wire 23 in order to protect wires 23 from damage due to external force.
The second adhesive 27 is applied to the top of the supporting member 26.
The cover 28 is transparent plate member made of glass or plastic so as to permit light transmit therethrough, and is disposed over the top surface of the chip 23. The cover 28 has a dimension approximately equal to that of the carrier 21. The cover 28 is placed over the active area 231 of the chip 23, and is adhered to the top surface of the chip 23 via the first adhesive 26, and is adhered to the supporting member 25 via the second adhesive 27 so as to be supported by the supporting member 25 thereby being spaced a certain distance from the top surface of the chip 23 to avoid damaging/ruining the wires 24. The cover 28 and the first adhesive 26 cooperatively define a sealing space to close the active area 231 of the chip 23.
The third adhesive 40 is applied to a periphery of a top surface of the cover 28.
The lens module 50 includes a barrel 51, at least one lens 52 and a filter 53. The barrel 51 is a hollow cylinder for receiving the at least one lens 52 and the filter 53 therein, and has an external thread 513 formed on an external surface thereof. One end of the barrel 51 is covered by a plate 511 which has a transparent region 512 formed in a central portion thereof so that light can be transmitted therethrough.
The holder 60 includes a cylinder portion 61 configured (i.e., structured and arranged) for receiving the lens module 50, a seat portion 63 from which the cylinder portion 61 projects, and a through hole defined by the respective interiors of the cylinder portion 61 and the seat portion 63 and penetrating therethrough. The cylinder portion 61 has an internal thread 612 formed thereon for mating with the external thread 513 of the lens module 50. The seat portion 63 has an inner circumferential wall 631, an end surface 633 positioned opposite to the cylinder portion 61, and a frame section 635 axially protruding from a periphery of the end surface 633. The inner circumferential wall 631 has a dimension smaller than that of the peripheral circumference of the cover 28. The frame section 633 has an inner periphery which has a dimension approximately equal to that of the peripheral circumference of the cover 28.
The seat portion 63 of the holder 60 is mounted to the chip package 20, wherein the end surface 633 of seat portion 63 of the holder 60 is adhered to the cover 28 via the third adhesive 40, and an inner wall of the frame section 635 tightly contacts with a peripheral sidewall of the cover 28. The cylinder portion 61 receives the lens module 50 therein, with the internal thread 612 of the cylinder portion 61 engaging with the internal thread 513 of the barrel 51. The at least one lens 52 faces toward the active area 231 of the chip 23 to form an image thereon.
It is to be understood that the lens module 50 can be omitted so long as at least one lens is received in the cylinder portion 61 of the holder 60 to form a focused image on the active area 231 of the chip 23.
Additionally, the columns of the supporting member 25 each can have an end integrally formed with a respect corner of the top surface 211 of the carrier 21.
Alternatively, the columns of the supporting members 25 each can have an end integrally formed with a respect corner of a bottom surface of the cover 28. Accordingly, the second adhesive 27 should be applied to the corners of the top surface 211 of the carrier 21 to adhere the cover 28 thereto.
In the aforesaid chip package 20 of the digital camera module 10, the carrier 21 defines an open space convenient for movement of a wire bonding tool. Thus, the size of the carrier 21 can be sufficiently minimized to approach the size of the chip 23, and the volume of the chip package 21 and the digital camera module 200 using the package can also be minimized.
In addition, the cover 28 and the first adhesive 26 cooperatively form a relative small sealing space to seal the active area 231 of the chip 23. Thus, the sealing space contains relatively little dust particles therein, the pollution and/or contamination of the active area 231 is reduced and the quality and reliability of the digital camera module 10 is much improved.
Moreover, the inner wall 631 of the seat section 635 of the holder 60 tightly contacts with the peripheral sidewall of the cover 28, thus the holder 61 can be easily and precisely mounted to the chip package 20. Accordingly, the lens module 50 received in the holder 60 can be aligned with the chip 23. Therefore, the quality of the digital camera module 10 can be further improved.
It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200610062246.7 | Aug 2006 | CN | national |
This application is related to two co-pending U.S. patent applications (Attorney Docket No. US11425; and US11426), respectively entitled “CHIP PACKAGE AND DIGITAL CAMERA MODULE USING SAME” and “CHIP PACKAGE AND DIGITAL CAMERA MODULE USING SAME”, by Chih-Cheng Wu et al. Such applications have the same assignee as the present application and have been concurrently filed herewith. The above-identified applications are incorporated herein by reference.
