JP2006108450A - Optical communication module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical communication module which is capable of restraining an electronic device from being increased in mounting space so as to reduce a circuit board in size, keeping treatment such as reflow etc, high in reliability, and limiting the effect of light irradiation on a circuit function to the irreducible minimum. <P>SOLUTION: The optical communication module 21 is equipped with the circuit board 22 where a board electrode unit 27 is formed; a light emitting device 23, a light receiving device 24, and an electronic device 25 which are provided with element electrode units connected to the board electrode unit 27; and a translucent resin body 26 which seals up the light emitting device 23, the light receiving device 24, and the electronic device 25 on the circuit board 22. The electronic device 25 is provided with the element electrode unit which is located on its undersurface and mounted on the board electrode unit 27 through solder bumps 29, and underfill resin 31 mixed with a filler is made to fill up a joint between the element electrode unit and the board electrode unit 27. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical communication module in which optical devices and electronic devices are mixedly mounted on a single circuit board.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, an optical communication module 1 that performs communication via light includes a light emitting device such as an LED on a single circuit board 2 on which a plurality of substrate electrode portions 7 are formed. 3 and an optical device group including a light receiving device 4 such as a photodiode, and an electronic device 5 in which a driver circuit and an amplifier circuit for driving and controlling the optical device group are integrated. The light emitting device 3, the light receiving device 4, and the electronic device 5 are sealed with a translucent resin body 6 formed on the circuit board 2.

  The light emitting device 3, the light receiving device 4 and the electronic device 5 are connected to the substrate electrode portion 7 on the circuit board 2 via bonding wires 10, and the circuit is mounted when mounted on an external mounting substrate such as a mother board. This is performed through the through-hole electrode 8 formed on the side surface of the substrate 2.

The optical communication module 1 having the above configuration is formed by mounting the light emitting device 3, the light receiving device 4, and the electronic device 5 on the surface of the circuit board 2, and is configured by using both the front and back surfaces of the circuit board. A configuration example of a communication device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In this optical communication device, the substrate electrode part is formed on the front and back surfaces of the circuit board, the optical device is mounted on one surface, and the electronic device is mounted on the other surface. The entire module is downsized. Note that the mounting of the optical device and the electronic device in the above-described conventional optical communication module is performed via a bonding wire.
JP 2001-267628 A

  The light-emitting device 3, the light-receiving device 4, and the electronic device 5 in the conventional optical communication module 1 are all mounted via bonding wires 10. In the mounting form by such wire bonding, the configuration shown in FIG. Thus, since the wiring around the electronic device 5 is crowded, a large space must be secured on the circuit board surface. For this reason, there exists a problem that the size of the circuit board 2 becomes large. In particular, the electronic device 5 for driving and controlling the optical device group such as the light emitting device 3 and the light receiving device 4 has many element electrode portions for interface with the outside, and corresponds to the element electrode portions. The number of substrate electrode portions 7 routed between the through-hole electrodes 8 provided in this manner tends to increase. For this reason, the space for wiring further increases. As described above, as the wiring space increases, the entire optical communication module 1 may become large, and it may be difficult to incorporate it into portable electronic devices that are small and thin.

  In addition, if the module is composed only of electronic devices, it is possible to keep the thermal expansion of the sealing resin body low during reflow processing by mixing a large amount of filler inside the sealing resin body. Wire breakage and the like can be prevented. However, in the case of a module in which an optical device group as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is mixed, mixing a large amount of the filler reduces light transmittance. Must be kept low or limited to avoid contamination. For this reason, there is a limit to keeping the defective rate of products during reflow processing low.

  The optical communication module 1 is irradiated with a large amount of light mainly in the optical device group due to its nature. However, the electronic device 5 is preferable because the irradiated light may affect the circuit function. Absent. For this reason, a mask may be applied so as to shield the portion where the electronic device 5 is mounted. However, there is a problem that the cost and man-hour for applying such a mask are excessive and productivity is deteriorated.

  As described above, the conventional optical communication module 1 does not satisfy any of the restrictions on downsizing, the reliability of the product in the reflow process, and the difference in device characteristics due to light.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the circuit board by reducing the mounting space of the electronic device, and to ensure the reliability in processing such as reflow and minimize the influence on the circuit function due to light irradiation. An optical communication module that can be suppressed is provided.

  In order to solve the above problems, an optical communication module of the present invention includes a circuit board on which an electrode pattern is formed, an optical device and an electronic device having an element electrode portion connected to the electrode pattern, and a through-hole in the electrode pattern. In an optical communication module comprising an external connection electrode connected through a hole and a translucent resin body that seals at least the optical device on the circuit board, the electronic device includes the circuit board. It is mounted on the electrode pattern formed on the front surface or the back surface through bumps provided in the element electrode portion.

  The bumps may be lead-free solder or gold bumps. This makes it possible to provide a lead-free optical communication module.

  In addition, the entire electronic device mounted on the circuit board is sealed with a light-shielding resin, or the light-shielding resin is filled in the gap between the element electrode portion and the electrode pattern that are joined via bumps. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the malfunction of the circuit function. Moreover, by mixing a carbon filler into the light-shielding resin, the light-shielding rate is increased, and the effect of improving reliability is achieved.

  According to the optical communication module of the present invention, the mounting space for the electronic device can be kept small, so that the whole is downsized and can be easily incorporated into a small electronic device for portable use. Further, since the electronic device is performed by flip chip mounting in which the element electrode portion is directly mounted on the electrode pattern provided on the circuit board, there is no connection portion by the bonding wire, and there is no fear of disconnection failure due to the reflow process. Further, the entire electronic device mounted, or the gap between the element electrode part bonded via the bump and the electrode pattern on the circuit board is sealed or filled with a light-shielding resin to increase the bonding strength. At the same time, it can effectively block light that may affect the function of the electronic device.

  Embodiments of an optical communication module according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical communication module according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the optical communication module, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the optical communication module.

  In this embodiment, an infrared data communication module using infrared rays, which is one of optical communication means, will be described as an example. This infrared data communication module (hereinafter referred to as an optical communication module) is often used as a communication means in a relatively short distance between a personal computer and peripheral devices such as a mouse and a keyboard. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical communication module 21 includes a rectangular circuit board 22 having a plurality of electrode patterns (substrate electrode portions) 27 formed on the surface thereof, and a first circuit mounted on the circuit board 22. An optical device (light emitting device) 23, a second optical device (light receiving device) 24, an electronic device 25, and a light-transmitting property that seals the light emitting device 23, the light receiving device 24, and the electronic device 25 on the circuit board 22. The resin body 26.

  The circuit board 22 is formed in a rectangular shape with an insulating material such as glass epoxy resin or BT resin (Bismaleimide Triazine Resin), and a substrate electrode portion 27 for mounting the light emitting device 23, the light receiving device 24, and the electronic device 25 on its surface 22a. Is patterned. The electronic device 25 is placed with a surface having an element electrode portion (not shown) facing down, and is flip-chip mounted on the substrate electrode portion 27 via a solder bump 29 provided on the element electrode portion. . This flip chip mounting is performed by positioning and placing the element electrode part on which the solder bumps 29 are formed on the substrate electrode part 27, and then performing a reflow process step of about 10 seconds or less at a peak temperature of 250 degrees. Done. The element electrode portions on the upper surface side of the light emitting device 23 and the light receiving device 24 are connected to the substrate electrode portion 27 by bonding wires 30. For the bonding wire 30, it is desirable to use an Au wire of about 30 μm in order to increase the bonding strength and minimize the influence of thermal expansion when sealed with the resin body 26. A through-hole electrode 28 for connecting to another mounting board such as a mother board is provided on the side surface of the circuit board 22.

  The light emitting device 23 is an LED, and the light receiving device 24 is a photodiode, each having an element electrode portion composed of an anode electrode and a cathode electrode. The electronic device 25 is an IC chip in which a drive circuit and an amplifier circuit for driving and controlling the light emitting device 23 and the light receiving device 24 are integrated, and the number of elements corresponding to the circuit function and the interface with the outside. It has an electrode part.

  The resin body 26 is formed of an epoxy resin having translucency. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, hemispherical lens portions 26 a and 26 b are provided on the upper surface of the resin body 26 in correspondence with the mounted light emitting device 23 and light receiving device 24. The lens unit 26 a can collect the light emitted from the light emitting device 23 and irradiate the light outside, and the lens unit 26 b can collect the light received from the outside toward the light receiving device 24. By providing such lens portions 26a and 26b, light can be transmitted and received efficiently. Before the resin body 26 is formed on the circuit board 22, as shown in FIG. 4, an underfill resin 31 is filled and formed in the joint portion between the electronic device 25 and the substrate electrode portion 27 that are flip-chip mounted. . By forming the underfill resin 31, the electronic device 25 can be shielded from light and the reliability of the joint can be improved.

  The characteristic point of the optical communication module 21 having the above structure is that the electronic device 25 is mounted by a flip chip method instead of a bonding wire method. Here, the optical communication module 21 of the present invention (FIG. 3) and the conventional optical communication module (FIG. 9) will be compared and described. As described above, in the electronic device 25, the element electrodes have a high density, and when all of them are connected by bonding wires, the circuit board 22 is proportional to the number of bonding wires as shown in FIG. Since the formation of the substrate electrode portions 7 to be formed is crowded, it is necessary to form the substrate electrode portions 7 at a predetermined interval so that adjacent substrate electrode portions 7 are not in contact with each other and short-circuited. For this reason, a large space must be secured around the mounting space of the electronic device 25, and both the vertical width d1 and the horizontal width w1 of the circuit board 2 are increased. Moreover, the wire which can be used becomes a thin thing of 25 micrometers, and lacks in reliability. On the other hand, when the electronic device 25 is flip-chip mounted, as shown in FIG. 3, only the mounting space for the electronic device 25 itself is required. Therefore, both the vertical width d2 and the horizontal width w2 of the circuit board 22 are the conventional circuit board 2. Smaller than the vertical width d1 and the horizontal width w1. Since the light emitting device 23 and the light receiving device 24 have few element electrode portions and limited functions, a 30 μ Au wire can be used, and the size of the circuit board 22 is hardly affected.

  Further, since the 30 μm Au bonding wire formed on the circuit board 22 is reliable, a normal epoxy resin can be used. By using such a pure epoxy resin, the light irradiation rate to the light emitting device 23 and the light receiving device 24 can be sufficiently ensured, so that the stability of the communication function is achieved.

  Further, since the electronic device 25 is flip-chip mounted, it is not affected by light from the outside. In particular, by mixing a carbon material having a light shielding property into the underfill resin 31, the light shielding property can be further enhanced.

  In addition, about sealing of the electronic device 25, you may seal with the light-emitting device 23 and the light-receiving device 24 by translucent resin, after sealing with carbon resin instead of the underfill as mentioned above.

  In the optical communication module 21 according to the first embodiment, the light emitting device 23, the light receiving device 24, and the electronic device 25 are mounted on the surface 22a of the circuit board 22. However, the circuit board 22 according to the second embodiment that achieves further downsizing. A configuration example of the optical communication module is shown in FIG. The optical communication module 41 is configured by mounting the light emitting device 23 and the light receiving device 24 on the front surface 42a of the circuit board 42 and mounting the electronic device 25 on the back surface 42b. In the light emitting device 23 and the light receiving device 24, the element electrode portion on the lower surface side is mounted on the surface of the circuit board 42 as it is, and the element electrode portion on the upper surface side is connected by a bonding wire. The electronic device 25 is flip-chip mounted on the back surface 42b of the circuit board 42. When mounting on both surfaces of the circuit board 42 in this way, the light emitting device 23 and the light receiving device 24 mounted on the front surface 42a side and the electronic device 25 mounted on the back surface 42b side penetrate the circuit board 42. The connection is made through a through hole (not shown). Other details and mounting forms of the light emitting device 23, the light receiving device 24, and the electronic device 25 are the same as those of the optical communication device 21 shown in the first embodiment, and will not be described. According to the optical communication module 41 of this embodiment, since the mounting direction of the electronic device 25 is opposite to that of the light emitting device 23 and the light receiving device 24, there is an advantage that it is not affected by light.

  6 and 7 show an optical communication module 51 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The optical communication module 51 is provided with an external connection substrate 52 on the back surface of the circuit board 42 in the optical communication module 41 of the second embodiment, and is mounted on a mother board (not shown) via the external connection substrate 52. be able to. The external connection substrate 52 is provided with a hole 54 for accommodating the electronic device 25, and a through-hole external connection electrode 53 that allows the optical device and the electronic device 25 to input and output signals from the outside on the side surface. Is formed.

  In the electronic device 25, the element electrode portion and the electrode pattern on the circuit board are bonded to the gold bump by an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) or an anisotropic conductive paste (ACP). The joint is filled with a light-shielding resin mixed with a carbon filler in order to prevent electrical deterioration due to light. In this way, the underfill is not required by bonding with ACF or ACP.

  By providing the external connection board 52 on the back surface of the circuit board 42, the optical communication module 51 can be easily mounted on the motherboard, and the mounting height is adjusted by the thickness of the external connection board 52. Can do. Further, when the electronic device 25 is mounted on the back surface of the circuit board 42, it is not necessary to provide a hole for accommodating the electronic device 25 on the motherboard side, and resin sealing for protecting the electronic device 25 is also unnecessary. . Furthermore, since the electronic device 25 is not mounted with a bonding wire, the thickness of the optical communication module 51 can be kept low.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the infrared data communication module, which is one embodiment of the optical communication module, has been described as an example. However, the present invention is generally applied to modules including other optical devices and electronic devices. The present invention is applicable, and a great effect can be obtained particularly in a module composed of many devices.

1 is a perspective view of an optical communication device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the optical communication device of the said 1st Embodiment. It is a top view of the optical communication device of the said 1st Embodiment. It is principal part sectional drawing of the mounting part of an electronic device. It is sectional drawing of the optical communication device of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing of the optical communication device of 3rd Embodiment which provided the board | substrate for external connection in the back surface side of the said optical communication device. It is the top view seen from the back surface side of the optical communication device of the said 3rd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the conventional optical communication device. It is a top view of the said conventional optical communication device.

Explanation of symbols

21, 41 Optical communication module 22, 42 Circuit board 23 Light emitting device 24 Light receiving device 25 Electronic device 26 Resin body 27 Substrate electrode part 28 Through-hole electrode 29 Solder bump 30 Bonding wire 31 Underfill resin 52 Substrate for external connection 53 For external connection electrode

Claims (6)

A circuit board on which an electrode pattern is formed; an optical device and an electronic device having an element electrode portion connected to the electrode pattern; an external connection electrode connected to the electrode pattern through a through hole; and at least the light In an optical communication module comprising a translucent resin body for sealing a device on the circuit board,
An optical communication module, wherein the electronic device is mounted on an electrode pattern formed on a front surface or a back surface of the circuit board via a bump provided in an element electrode portion. The optical communication module according to claim 1, wherein the bump is a lead-free solder or a gold bump. The optical communication module according to claim 1, wherein the entire electronic device or a gap portion between an element electrode portion and an electrode pattern of the electronic device is filled with a light shielding resin. The optical communication module according to claim 3, wherein the light shielding resin is mixed with a carbon filler. The optical communication module according to claim 1, wherein the element electrode portion of the electronic device and the electrode pattern on the circuit board are bonded to each other by an anisotropic conductive film or an anisotropic conductive paste via a gold bump. The optical communication module according to claim 1, wherein an external connection board is provided below the circuit board.

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