JP2007306307A - Camera module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new camera module capable of achieving downsizing, thinning and weight reduction. <P>SOLUTION: The camera module is constituted of an electric/electronic component embedded in an insulating base material, wiring patterns formed at least on the main surface of the insulating base material and electrically and mechanically connected to the electric/electronic component, a solid state imaging element formed on one main surface of the insulating base material, and a lens arranged oppositely to the solid state imaging element. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera module, and more particularly to a camera module that is reduced in size, thickness, and weight.

  In recent years, camera modules have been actively adopted in mobile phones, portable computers, and the like, and accordingly, camera modules have been required to be smaller, thinner, and lighter. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-120615, a solid-state imaging device is mounted on a DSP as a structure in which a solid-state imaging device and other semiconductor components such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processing) are mounted as means for downsizing a camera module. A structure of a camera module is disclosed in which chip components such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors other than the solid-state imaging device and the DSP are mounted on the same plane as the solid-state imaging device. Yes.

  However, in the case where the chip parts are arranged two-dimensionally on the same plane as the solid-state imaging device as described above, the size of the camera module depends on the arrangement area of the chip parts, and the arrangement area Due to this limitation, the size of the camera module could not be reduced sufficiently.

In particular, in recent years, there has been a demand for simultaneously increasing the number of pixels of the image sensor and reducing the size of the camera module, and the above-described conventional methods have not been able to satisfy such requirements.
JP 2004-120615 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a novel camera module that can be reduced in size, thickness, and weight.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:
Electrical / electronic components embedded in an insulating substrate;
A wiring pattern provided on at least the main surface of the insulating base material and electrically and mechanically connected to the electrical / electronic component;
A solid-state imaging device provided on one main surface of the insulating substrate;
Regarding the solid-state image sensor, a lens disposed so as to face the solid-state image sensor on the side opposite to the insulating substrate;
It is related with the camera module characterized by comprising.

  The present inventor has intensively studied to solve the above problems. As a result, for example, chip parts that are electrical / electronic parts such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-120615 are mounted on the same plane as the solid-state imaging device. Instead, a predetermined insulating base is prepared, the solid-state imaging device is arranged on the main surface of the insulating base, and electrical / electronic components such as the chip parts are embedded in the insulating base. By doing so, the electric / electronic component or the like is not located on the same plane as the solid-state imaging device or the like.

  Therefore, the size of the camera module obtained in this way is mainly determined by the size of the solid-state imaging device, particularly in the area. Therefore, the camera module can be sufficiently downsized.

  In addition, since the electric / electronic component is embedded in the insulating base material, the camera module obtained as described above can be made sufficiently thin.

  Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-120615, it is not necessary to prepare a housing that particularly holds the entire camera module, and in addition to an insulating base material (insulating layer), an overcoat layer or undercoat There is no need for a coat layer or the like. Therefore, the camera module of the present invention can be sufficiently reduced in weight.

  The above-described electrical / electronic component is connected to a predetermined external circuit by being electrically and mechanically connected to a wiring pattern provided on at least the main surface, and the camera module is actually centered on the solid-state imaging device. It is configured to function as a camera.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the wiring pattern includes a plurality of wiring patterns, and a pair of wiring patterns among the plurality of wiring patterns are provided on the main surface of the insulating base material, and the remaining wirings A pattern is embedded in the insulating substrate, and at least a part of the plurality of wiring patterns and at least a part of the plurality of wiring patterns are electrically and mechanically connected to each other. can do. According to this aspect, it is possible to freely control the embedded state of the electrical / electronic component in the insulating base material, and to appropriately deal with the size, type, number, and the like of the electrical / electronic component. become able to.

  In the above aspect, the plurality of wiring patterns have an axis coinciding with the thickness direction of the insulating base material, and the at least part of the wiring pattern is electrically connected by a first interlayer connection body having a constant diameter in the axial direction. It can be configured to connect mechanically.

  Further, in the above aspect, the plurality of wiring patterns have an axis that coincides with a thickness direction of the insulating base material, and a second diameter in which the diameter in the axial direction changes in the thickness direction of the insulating base material. It is possible to connect the at least one part electromechanically by the interlayer connector.

  Further, the plurality of wiring patterns may be electrically and mechanically connected to each other by an inner wall conductor formed in a through hole formed in a thickness direction of the insulating base. it can.

  According to the first interlayer connection body, the second interlayer connection body, and the inner wall conductor as described above, the electrical and mechanical connection of the plurality of wiring patterns described above can be easily performed.

  Further, the first interlayer connector, the second interlayer connector, and the inner wall conductor can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  As mentioned above, according to this invention, the novel camera module which can implement | achieve size reduction, thickness reduction, and weight reduction can be provided.

  Hereinafter, specific features of the present invention will be described based on the best mode for carrying out the invention.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram showing an example of a camera module of the present invention. The camera module 10 shown in FIG. 1 is fixed by an insulating base 11, a solid-state image sensor 13 formed on the main surface of the insulating base 11, and a fixing member 18 so as to face the solid-state image sensor 13. Lens 14.

  The insulating base 11 is composed of a first insulating layer 111, a second insulating layer 112, and a third insulating layer 113, and the electric / electronic component 12 is in the second insulating layer 112 located in the center. Buried.

  Further, the first wiring pattern 21 is formed on the surface of the first insulating layer 111 so as to be at least partially exposed, and the second wiring pattern 22 is formed on the main surface of the third insulating layer 113. However, it is formed so that at least a part is exposed. In addition, a third wiring pattern 23 and a fourth wiring pattern 24 are formed on the surface of the second insulating layer 113, respectively, and the fifth wiring pattern 25 and the sixth wiring pattern 26 are described above in the inside. The wiring patterns are formed so as to be substantially parallel to the wiring patterns.

  Note that the solid-state imaging device 13 and the first wiring pattern 21 are bonded by a wire 19 and are electrically and mechanically connected.

  The first wiring pattern 21, the third wiring pattern 23, and the fifth wiring pattern 25 each have an axis that coincides with the thickness direction of the insulating base material 11, and the diameter in the axial direction is the insulating base material 11. A part of them are electrically and mechanically connected to each other by an interlayer connector 15 that changes in the thickness direction. The second wiring pattern 22, the fourth wiring pattern 24, and the sixth wiring pattern 26 are also electrically and mechanically connected to each other by the interlayer connector 15.

  In addition, the fifth wiring pattern 25 and the sixth wiring pattern 26 formed in the second insulating layer 112 in the insulating base material 11 are part of the inner wall conductor 17 formed in the through hole 16. Are electrically and mechanically connected.

  In FIG. 1, the fifth wiring pattern 25 and the sixth wiring pattern 26 are arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of rectangular components drawn by broken lines in the second insulating layer 112. The rectangular portion indicated by a broken line is described due to the manufacturing method described in detail below, and may be integrated with other portions of the second insulating layer 112 and cannot be identified. For example, as in the manufacturing method described below, when the prepreg is added to the second insulating layer 112, it may be distinguished to some extent from the difference in the curing process.

  In addition, the electrical / electronic component 12 is electrically and mechanically connected and fixed by a part of the fourth wiring pattern 24 and the solder 30.

  The electrical / electronic component 12 can include at least one of a chip capacitor, a chip resistor, and an inductor. The solid-state image sensor 13 can be composed of a CCD or a CMOS.

  According to the camera module having the configuration shown in FIG. 1, instead of mounting the electrical / electronic component 12, which is a chip component such as a resistor, a capacitor, or an inductor, on the same plane as the solid-state imaging device 13, the insulating base 11 is The solid-state imaging device 13 is arranged on the main surface of the insulating base material 11 and the electrical / electronic component 12 is embedded in the insulating base material 11. Accordingly, since the electric / electronic component 12 is not positioned on the same plane as the solid-state imaging device 13, the two-dimensional size (area) of the camera module 10 is mainly determined by the size of the solid-state imaging device 13. become. Therefore, the camera module 10 can be sufficiently downsized.

  In addition, since the electric / electronic component 12 is embedded in the insulating base material 11, the camera module 10 obtained as described above can be sufficiently thinned.

  Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-120615, it is not necessary to prepare a housing that particularly holds the entire camera module, and in addition to an insulating base material (insulating layer), an overcoat layer or undercoat There is no need for a coat layer or the like. Therefore, the camera module 10 of the present invention can be sufficiently reduced in weight.

  In the camera module 10 shown in FIG. 1, each wiring pattern is electrically and mechanically connected by the interlayer connector 15 and the inner wall conductor 17 described above. Therefore, the electrical mechanical connection between the wiring patterns can be easily performed.

  The interlayer connector 15 and the inner wall conductor 17 can be made of a single material such as gold, silver, or copper, which is a good conductor, or a material in which the metal fine particles are dispersed in a predetermined resin. Further, in addition to the metal or the like, a carbon material can be used, and similarly to the above, the carbon material can be constituted by dispersing carbon fine powder in a predetermined resin.

  In the example shown in FIG. 1, the insulating base material 11 has a three-layer structure including the first insulating layer 111 to the third insulating layer 113. However, as shown in FIG. Alternatively, the third insulating layer 113 may be omitted and the second insulating layer 112 alone may be used.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the fifth wiring pattern 25 and the sixth wiring pattern 26, the seventh wiring pattern 27 and the eighth wiring are provided in the second insulating layer 112 of the insulating base material 11. The wiring pattern 28 can also be formed so as to be substantially parallel to the wiring patterns. In this example, instead of electrically and mechanically connecting the sixth wiring pattern 26, the seventh wiring pattern 27, and the eighth wiring pattern 28 with the inner wall conductor formed in the through hole, the interlayer connector 15 Connected with.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the same reference numerals are used to denote the same components as those shown in FIG.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to freely control the embedded state of the electrical / electronic component 12 in the insulating base material 11 and to appropriately deal with the size, type, number, and the like of the electrical / electronic component 12. Thus, it is possible to freely control the number of wiring patterns formed in the insulating base material 11 and their electromechanical connection.

  In the above specific example, the interlayer connector 15 having an axis that coincides with the thickness direction of the insulating base material 11 and having a diameter in the axial direction that changes in the thickness direction of the insulating base material 11 is used. Instead of such an interlayer connection body, an interlayer connection body having an axis coinciding with the thickness direction of the insulating base material 11 and having a diameter in the axial direction constant in the thickness direction of the insulating base material 11 may be used. it can.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, these interlayer connection bodies and inner wall conductors can be used in appropriate combinations.

  A method for manufacturing the camera module of the present invention will be described. As a typical manufacturing method, a manufacturing method of the camera module shown in FIG. 1 will be described. 4 to 12 are process diagrams showing a method of manufacturing the camera module shown in FIG.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, conical bumps 52 made of the above-described conductive material constituting the interlayer connector 15 are formed on a metal (for example, copper) foil 51 by, for example, screen printing. Next, as shown in FIG. 5, an insulating layer 53 is formed so that the bumps 52 penetrate therethrough. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, a metal (for example, copper) foil 56 is disposed on the insulating layer 53, and then the insulating layer 53 is cured by performing a heating and pressing press, and a double-sided metal (copper) foil-clad plate Form.

  Next, the metal foil 51 is patterned by photolithography to form a third wiring pattern 23 as shown in FIG. Next, as shown in FIG. 8, a conical bump 55 is formed on the third wiring pattern 23, and an insulating layer 54 is formed so that the bump 55 penetrates and is embedded therein.

  Note that the assembly shown in FIG. 8 constitutes a part of the insulating base material 11 (a vicinity where the first wiring pattern 21 and the third wiring pattern 23 are formed) through the following steps. become.

  In addition, the prepregs 53 and 54 in the above process are cured by a heating operation under a subsequent pressure to become an insulating layer, and the bumps 52 and 55 become the interlayer connector 15.

  Further, through the same steps as in FIGS. 4 to 7, the metal foil 62 and the fourth wiring pattern 24 to be the second wiring pattern 22 are formed on the main surface of the prepreg 61 as shown in FIG. In addition, a part of the insulating base material 11 (a vicinity where the second wiring pattern 22 and the fourth wiring pattern 24 are formed) on which the bump 63 provided so as to penetrate the prepreg 61 is formed. Get the component assembly.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the cream-like solder 30 is printed and attached to the assembly obtained in FIG. 9 by screen printing on the fourth wiring pattern 24 as shown in FIG. The electric / electronic component 12 (for example, a 0603 size or 0402 size chip resistor having a thickness of 0.1 mm) is placed so that both terminals thereof are in contact with the solder 30, and then the solder 30 is reflowed to make the electric / electronic component. 12 is electrically and mechanically connected to the wiring pattern 24.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 12, a fifth wiring pattern 25 and a sixth wiring pattern 26 are formed on the assembly obtained in the step of FIG. 8 and the assembly obtained in the step of FIG. Heating is performed under pressure in the vertical direction through an insulating layer 71 having an inner wall conductor 17 formed therein and a prepreg 73 provided so as to be in close contact with the insulating layer 71 and through which the bump 72 penetrates.

  At this time, the prepregs 53, 54, and 61 described above are cured to become insulating layers, and the bumps 52, 55, and 72 are formed as the interlayer connector 15. Further, the prepreg 73 is fluidized, and is cured in a state where the space around the electrical / electronic component 12 is buried and closely adhered to form an insulating layer.

  Next, the metal foils 56 and 57 are patterned by photolithography to form the first wiring pattern 21 and the second wiring pattern 22. As a result, the insulating base material 11 of the camera module 10 shown in FIG. 1 is formed through the above-described steps.

  Next, the solid-state imaging device 13 is disposed at substantially the center of the insulating base material 11 formed as described above, and the fixing member 18 is disposed at the end of the insulating base material 11 so as to face the solid-state imaging device 13. Then, the lens 14 is arranged. Furthermore, the camera module as shown in FIG. 1 is completed by bonding the solid-state imaging device 13 and the first wiring pattern 21 with the wire 19.

  The manufacturing method described above is merely an example of the camera module shown in FIG. 1 and can be manufactured in the same manner by using other methods.

  The present invention has been described in detail based on the above specific examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the above specific examples, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, a reinforcing material such as a glass cloth, an aramid cloth, a glass nonwoven fabric, or an aramid nonwoven fabric may be appropriately contained in the prepreg when the insulating base material 11 is manufactured.

  Also, a camera module as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 can be attached to a predetermined lens holder.

  Since the camera module of the present invention has been reduced in size, thickness, and weight, it can be used in various fields such as a mobile phone and a portable computer.

It is a section lineblock diagram showing an example of a camera module of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional block diagram which shows the other example of the camera module of this invention. It is a cross-sectional block diagram which shows the other example of the camera module of this invention. It is a figure which shows 1 process in the manufacturing method of the camera module shown in FIG. Similarly, it is a figure which shows one process in the manufacturing method of the camera module shown in FIG. Similarly, it is a figure which shows one process in the manufacturing method of the camera module shown in FIG. Similarly, it is a figure which shows one process in the manufacturing method of the camera module shown in FIG. Similarly, it is a figure which shows one process in the manufacturing method of the camera module shown in FIG. Similarly, it is a figure which shows one process in the manufacturing method of the camera module shown in FIG. Similarly, it is a figure which shows one process in the manufacturing method of the camera module shown in FIG. Similarly, it is a figure which shows one process in the manufacturing method of the camera module shown in FIG. Similarly, it is a figure which shows one process in the manufacturing method of the camera module shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Camera module 11 Insulation base material 111 1st insulating layer 112 2nd insulating layer 113 3rd insulating layer 12 Electrical / electronic component 13 Solid-state image sensor 14 Lens 15 Interlayer connection body 16 Through hole 17 Inner wall conductor 18 Fixing member 19 wire 21 first wiring pattern 22 second wiring pattern 23 third wiring pattern 24 fourth wiring pattern 25 fifth wiring pattern 26 sixth wiring pattern 27 seventh wiring pattern 28 eighth wiring pattern 30 Solder 51, 56 Metal foil 52, 55, 63, 72 Bump 53, 54, 61, 73 Prepreg 71 Insulating layer

Claims (7)

Electrical / electronic components embedded in an insulating substrate;
A wiring pattern provided on at least the main surface of the insulating base material and electrically and mechanically connected to the electrical / electronic component;
A solid-state imaging device provided on one main surface of the insulating substrate;
Regarding the solid-state image sensor, a lens disposed so as to face the solid-state image sensor on the side opposite to the insulating substrate;
A camera module characterized by comprising:   The wiring pattern includes a plurality of wiring patterns, a pair of wiring patterns among the plurality of wiring patterns are provided on the main surface of the insulating base material, and the remaining wiring patterns are embedded in the insulating base material. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the plurality of wiring patterns and at least a part of the plurality of wiring patterns are electrically and mechanically connected to the electrical / electronic component. module.   The plurality of wiring patterns have an axis coinciding with the thickness direction of the insulating base material, and the at least some of the wiring patterns are electromechanically connected by a first interlayer connection body having a constant diameter in the axial direction. The camera module according to claim 2, wherein the camera module is connected.   The plurality of wiring patterns have an axis coinciding with the thickness direction of the insulating base material, and the second interlayer connector has a diameter in the axial direction that changes in the thickness direction of the insulating base material. The camera module according to claim 2, wherein at least a part of the camera modules is electrically and mechanically connected.   The plurality of wiring patterns are characterized in that the at least some of the wiring patterns are electrically and mechanically connected by an inner wall conductor formed in a through hole formed in a thickness direction of the insulating base material. The camera module according to any one of claims 2 to 4.   The camera module according to claim 1, wherein the electrical / electronic component includes at least one of a chip capacitor, a chip resistor, and an inductor.   The camera module according to claim 1, wherein the solid-state imaging device is a CCD or a CMOS.

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