This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-182214, filed on Aug. 21, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a semiconductor device.
It is required to reduce the sizes of semiconductor devices, but, in a photocoupler including a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element which are housed in the same package, for example, a space to ensure withstand voltage between an input side (a primary side) and an output side (a secondary side) is required. More specifically, it is necessary to provide a gap, which is equal to or more than a certain level, between the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element. In contrast, a method to reduce the size (making it thinner) by reducing the thickness of a sealing resin is proposed. However, when the thickness of the sealing resin is reduced, shielding of external light becomes insufficient, and the dark current of the light-receiving element increases. Accordingly, the light-receiving sensitivity is degraded, and the reliability of signal transmission may be reduced.
According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a light-emitting element to emit light, a light-receiving element to detect the light emitted from the light-emitting element, a primary side lead electrically connected to the light-emitting element, a secondary side lead electrically connected to the light-receiving element and a molded body. The molded body covers the light-emitting element, the light-receiving element, a portion of the primary side lead, and a portion of the secondary side lead, and includes a first surface in a same direction as a mounting surface of the primary side lead and a mounting surface of the secondary side lead, and a second surface at a side opposite to the first surface. The molded body includes an internal resin, an external resin and a light shielding layer. The internal resin covers a portion fixed with the light-emitting element of the primary side lead and a portion fixed with the light-receiving element of the secondary side lead. The external resin covers the internal resin, and shields external light to which the light-receiving element is sensitive. The light shielding layer is provided at a position closer to the second surface than any of the light-emitting element, the light-receiving element, the primary side lead, and the secondary side lead, and shields the external light to which the light-receiving element is sensitive.
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, same reference characters denote the same or similar portions.
The semiconductor device 100 is a photocoupler including a light-emitting element 3 and a light-receiving element 5 to detect light of the light-emitting element 3 which are housed in the inside of the resin package (molded body 10).
As illustrated in
More specifically as illustrated in
On the other hand, the lead 9 includes three leads 9c, 9d, and 9e disposed apart from each other, for example. The mount bed 9f is provided at the distal end of the lead 9c. The light-receiving element 5 is a photodiode with preamp or a phototransistor, for example, and is die-bonded onto the mount bed 9f with an adhesive agent 27 interposed therebetween. Metal wires 23 are respectively bonded between multiple electrodes of the light-receiving element 5 and the leads 9c, 9d, and 9e. Accordingly, the light-receiving element 5 is electrically connected to the leads 9c, 9d, and 9e.
The molded body 10 covers a portion where the light-emitting element 3 is connected which is a portion of the lead 7 and a portion where the light-receiving element 5 is connected which is a portion of the lead 9. The molded body 10 includes an internal resin 13 which is a transparent resin to transmit light emitted from the light-emitting element 3 and an external resin 15 which is a light-shielding resin to shield external light in a wavelength band to which at least the light-receiving element 5 is sensitive. A portion where the light-emitting element 3 is die-bonded and a portion where the light-receiving element 5 is die-bonded are both covered with the internal resin 13.
Portions of the lead 7 and the lead 9 extending from the molded body 10 are bent downward, and are soldered to wirings of a print circuit board when mounted on the print circuit board, for example. More specifically, the semiconductor device 100 is mounted such that a lower surface 15a (first surface) of the molded body 10 faces the print circuit board. The lower surface 15a of the molded body 10 is in the same direction as a mounting surface 7a of the lead 7 and a mounting surface 9a of the lead 9.
In the embodiment, the light-emitting element 3 and the light-receiving element 5 are disposed in the molded body 10 so as to face each other. Preferably, as illustrated in
The semiconductor device 100 is mounted such that the lower surface 15a of the molded body 10 faces the print circuit board. Therefore, external light to transmit through the external resin 15 and enter into the internal resin 13 is mainly incident from an upper surface 15b (second surface) of the molded body 10. Accordingly, when the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element 5 faces the lower side, it is possible to suppress increase of a dark current (background level) caused by the external light.
On the other hand, in order to ensure a predetermined withstand voltage between the lead 7 at the primary side in which a signal is input and the lead 9 at the secondary side in which a signal is output, it is desired to widen the space between the light-emitting element 3 and the light-receiving element 5 disposed so as to face each other. More specifically, the thickness of the internal resin 13 in the vertical direction is not to be less than a thickness obtained by adding the thicknesses of the leads 7, 9, the light-emitting element 3, and the light-receiving element 5 and the width of the space between the light-emitting element 3 and the light-receiving element 5. For this reason, the thickness of the external resin 15 to cover the internal resin 13 is reduced, whereby the molded body 10 is made thin, and the height of the semiconductor device 100 can be reduced.
However, when the thickness of the external resin 15 is reduced, the shielding effect of the external light is reduced, and the external light entering into the internal resin 13 increases. Accordingly, in the embodiment, in addition to the arrangement of the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element 5 facing the lower side, a light shielding layer 17 is provided between the internal resin 13 and the external resin 15. The light shielding layer 17 is provided at the interface of the upper surface side between the internal resin 13 and the external resin 15, and is made of a material of which transmittance of external light to which the light-receiving element 5 is sensitive is less than the transmittance of the external light of the external resin 15. Accordingly, without increasing the thickness of the shielding layer including the light shielding layer 17 and the external resin 15, it is possible to improve the shielding effect of the external light.
The light shielding layer 17 may be made of a metal film such as aluminum, for example, and may be made of a resin in which absorption material or reflection material is dispersed. The light shielding layer 17 disperses the optical absorption material or reflection material with a high degree of density than the external resin 15.
Subsequently, method of manufacturing the semiconductor device 100 will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
The light-emitting element 3 mounted at the distal end of the lead 7 is covered with a transparent encapsulated resin 19, for example. In order to ensure the withstand voltage between the primary side and the secondary side, for example, a gap between an apex of a loop of the metal wire 21 and an apex of a loop of the metal wire 23 is 0.4 mm or more. More specifically, the minimum gap between a conductive body at the primary side and a conductive body at the secondary side is 0.4 mm or more.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The light shielding layer 17 may be made of a resin including a member to absorb or to reflect visible light, infrared light, and the like. In the case, a resin film may be pasted, or application method may be used to form the light shielding layer 17.
As illustrated in
Subsequently, the leads 7 and 9 are cut and separated from the lead frames 20 and 30 after the leads 7, 9 are subjected to bending process. The leads 7, 9 are bent and processed in a direction of the lower surface 15a of the molded body 10, and the mounting surfaces 7a and 9a in the same direction as the lower surface 15a are formed at the distal end portions. Accordingly, the light-receiving element 5 is disposed such that the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element 5 faces the lower surface 15a, and the light shielding layer 17 is disposed at the side of the upper surface 15b.
The portion where the light shielding layer 17 is provided is the entire upper surface 13b of the internal resin 13 or the portion corresponding to the cross section of the encapsulated resin 19 which is projected above, for example. The size of area of the portion where the light shielding layer 17 is provided is more than the size of area of the portion corresponding to the cross section of the encapsulated resin 19 which is projected above. Further, the thickness of the light shielding layer 17 is preferably the minimum thickness that does not cause peeling after mounted as long as it is a thickness in a range that does not deteriorate the reliability of the semiconductor device 100. For example, in the metal film, the thickness may be about several micron meters. When a resin including the optical absorption material or reflection material is used, it is preferable to increase the amount of resin therein and make the light shielding layer 17 thinner.
For example, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Further, as illustrated in
The size of the light shielding film 50 used in
In a semiconductor device 200 as illustrated in
In a semiconductor device 300 as illustrated in
In the modifications, the portion where the light shielding layer 17 is formed is preferably the entire upper surface 13b of the internal resin 13, the portion corresponding to the cross section of the encapsulated resin 19 which is projected above, or the portion corresponding to the cross section of the internal resin 13 which is projected above.
As described above, in the embodiment, the shield against the external light can be strengthened by providing the light shielding layer 17. Accordingly the height of the package (molded body 10) can be reduced by reducing the thickness of the external resin 15. In addition, higher degree of sensitivity can be achieved by reducing the dark current of the light-receiving element 5, and therefore, the reliability of the signal transmission can be improved.
For example, when the thickness of the external resin 15 obtained by mixing epoxy resin with fine particles of SiC and alumina is about 0.2 mm, it is possible to ensure a gap distance of 0.4 mm or more between the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element, so that while the withstand voltage between the primary side and the secondary side is maintained, the height of the molded body 10 can be reduced. Therefore, small and highly reliable products can be provided at a low price. By increasing the sensitivity of the light-receiving element 5, the reliability of analog operation can also be improved.
In a semiconductor device 400 as illustrated in
The light shielding layer 17 may be provided on the entire surface of the upper surface 13b of the internal resin 13, or may be provided to cover a portion where the light-receiving element 5 is disposed.
In a semiconductor device 500 as illustrated in
The light shielding layer 17 may be provided on the entire surface of the upper surface 13b of the internal resin 13, or may be provided to cover a portion where the light-receiving element 5 is disposed. However, when in contact with both of the lead 7 and the lead 9, the light shielding layer 17 is made of an insulator.
In a semiconductor device 600 as illustrated in
In the second embodiment, since the light-emitting element 3 and the light-receiving element 5 do not face each other, the limitation in terms of space for ensuring the withstand voltage between the primary side and the secondary side is alleviated. The second embodiment is useful for reducing the height of the package.
In a semiconductor device 700 as illustrated in
The semiconductor device 900 is a photocoupler housing a light-emitting element 3 and a light-receiving element 5 to detect light of the light-emitting element 3 in the inside of the resin package (molded body 10). As illustrated in
The molded body 10 covers a portion where the light-emitting element 3 is connected which is a portion of the lead 7 and a portion where the light-receiving element 5 is connected which is a portion of the lead 9. The molded body 10 includes an internal resin 13 made of a transparent resin and an external resin 15 made of a light-shielding resin to shield external light. Portions of the lead 7 and the lead 9 extending from the molded body 10 are bent downward. A mounting surface 7a of the lead 7 and a mounting surface 9a of the lead 9 are in the same direction as a lower surface 15a of the molded body 10.
The light-emitting element 3 and the light-receiving element 5 are disposed so as to face each other in the molded body 10. The light-emitting surface of the light-emitting element 3 is disposed so as to face an upper surface 15b, and the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element 5 is disposed so as to face the lower surface 15a.
In the third embodiment, a back surface 9g of the lead 9 mounting the light-receiving element 5 is exposed on the upper surface 13b of the internal resin 13, and is covered with the external resin 15. Further, a thickness d2 of the external resin 15 at the side of the upper surface 15b is thicker than a thickness d1 of the external resin 15 at the side of the lower surface 15a.
In the comparative example as illustrated in
In the third embodiment, the back surface 9g of the lead 9 is exposed from the internal resin 13, and the external resin 15 is molded thereupon. Accordingly, a structure of which no transparent resin is interposed between the lead 9 and the external resin 15 is obtained. Since the external, light incident upon the back surface 9g of the lead 9 is shielded, the dark current of the light-receiving element 5 can be reduced.
Further, by increasing the thickness at the side of the upper surface of the external resin 15, the external light L1 is suppressed, and the dark current of the light-receiving element 5 is reduced, so that the light-receiving sensitivity is improved. Even when the external resin 15 at the side of the upper surface 15b is made thicker, the thickness of the molded body 10 can be maintained or made thinner by making the external resin 15 at the side of the lower surface 15a thinner.
As illustrated in
As described above, as explained using the first and second embodiments as examples, the light shielding layer 17 is provided at a position closer to the upper surface 15b of the molded body 10 than any one of the light-emitting element 3, the light-receiving element 5, the primary side lead 7, and secondary side lead 9, so that the external light is effectively shielded, and the sensitivity of the light-receiving element 5 can be improved. As explained using the third embodiment as an example, the structure is such that no transparent resin is interposed between the lead and the external resin, so that the external light is reduced, and the sensitivity of the light-receiving element 5 can be enhanced. Therefore, the semiconductor device having the thin and highly reliable package that is less likely to be affected by disturbance can be achieved.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel devices described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the devices described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2012-182214 | Aug 2012 | JP | national |