JP2009170741A - Semiconductor laser device and its production process - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid being forced to do a complicated work in a manufacturing process, and to provide a semiconductor laser device which can promote heat dissipation from a semiconductor laser element, and to provide its production process. <P>SOLUTION: The semiconductor laser device A1 comprises a semiconductor laser element 2, and a conduction support member 1 comprising a mounting part 11 where the semiconductor laser element 2 is mounted, a cover part 12 located on the opposite side of the mounting part 11 relative to the semiconductor laser device 2, and a linking part 13 which connects the mounting part 11 and the cover part 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser device used for an optical pickup device used for reading information recorded on an optical recording medium or writing to the optical recording medium, and a method for manufacturing the same.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of a conventional semiconductor laser device. The semiconductor laser device X shown in the figure includes a semiconductor laser element 92 as a laser light source. The semiconductor laser element 92 is mounted on a mounting portion 91 made of a metal plate via a submount 93. The semiconductor laser element 92 is surrounded by a resin portion 94. A cover 95 is fitted in the resin portion 94. The cover 95 is made of the same resin as the resin portion 94 and covers the semiconductor laser element 92. By providing the cover 95, it is possible to prevent the semiconductor laser element 92 from being accidentally damaged by tweezers or the like in the operation of incorporating the semiconductor laser device X into the optical pickup.

  However, when manufacturing the semiconductor laser device X, it is necessary to fit the cover 95 into the resin portion 94. Prior to this operation, for example, a large number of covers 95 are collectively formed by mold forming. In order to perform the above assembling work, it is compelled to pick up one cover 95 from these covers 95 in the correct orientation. The smaller the semiconductor laser device X is, the more difficult it is to pick up the cover 95 appropriately. The semiconductor laser element 92 is surrounded by the resin portion 94 and the cover 95. Since both the resin portion 94 and the cover 95 are made of resin, it is difficult to transfer heat. As a result, there has been a problem that heat generated from the semiconductor laser element 92 tends to be stored due to laser emission.

JP 2006-19332 A

  The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances described above, and is a semiconductor laser capable of promoting heat dissipation from a semiconductor laser element while avoiding compulsory work in the manufacturing process. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a manufacturing method thereof.

  A semiconductor laser device provided by the first aspect of the present invention includes a semiconductor laser element, a mounting portion on which the semiconductor laser element is mounted, and a cover positioned on the opposite side of the mounting portion with respect to the semiconductor laser element. And a conduction support member having a connecting portion for connecting the mounting portion and the cover portion.

  According to such a configuration, heat generated from the semiconductor laser element during laser emission can be transmitted from the mounting portion to the cover portion via the connecting portion. Therefore, heat radiation from the semiconductor laser element can be promoted, and the output of the semiconductor laser device can be increased.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further includes a resin portion interposed between the mounting portion and the cover portion and joined to the mounting portion, and the resin portion is formed on the cover portion. A protrusion that engages with the formed through-hole. According to such a structure, the attitude | position with respect to the said mounting part of the said cover part can be stabilized.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the through hole comprises a small diameter portion and a large diameter portion located on the opposite side of the small diameter portion from the semiconductor laser element, and the tip of the protrusion is It is housed in the large diameter part. According to such a structure, the said protrusion and the said through-hole can be engaged more firmly.

  A semiconductor laser device manufacturing method provided by the second aspect of the present invention includes a conductive support member having a mounting part and a cover part, each of which is plate-shaped, and a connecting part that connects the mounting part and the cover part. And mounting the semiconductor laser element on the mounting part, and bending the connecting part so that the cover part faces the mounting part across the semiconductor laser element. Yes.

  According to such a configuration, there is no need to prepare a single piece-like member for forming the cover portion. For this reason, the operation | work which picks up such a small piece member is not forced. Therefore, as described above, the semiconductor laser device capable of promoting heat dissipation can be efficiently manufactured. Even if the cover portion is small, the bending process is not extremely complicated. This is advantageous in reducing the size of the semiconductor laser device.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cover portion is formed with a through hole, and is joined to the mounting portion and the semiconductor laser element is mounted before the step of bending the conduction support member. A step of forming a resin portion having a protrusion protruding in a direction in which the opposite surface faces, and in the step of bending the conduction support member, the step of inserting the protrusion into the through hole and bending the conduction support member. After that, there is a step of engaging the protrusion and the through hole by deforming the tip of the protrusion. According to such a structure, it can prevent that the said cover part leaves | separates from the said mounting part by springback.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  1 and 2 show a semiconductor laser device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The semiconductor laser device A1 of this embodiment includes a conduction support member 1, a semiconductor laser element 2, and a resin portion 3. The semiconductor laser device A1 is mounted on a pickup device used for reading or writing of an optical recording medium, for example.

  The conduction support member 1 is made of, for example, a Cu alloy, and supports the semiconductor laser element 2 and conducts the semiconductor laser element 2 and the power supply circuit of the pickup device. The conduction support member 1 includes a mounting part 11, a cover part 12, a connecting part 13, and terminals 14 and 15.

  The mounting portion 11 has a substantially rectangular shape and is a portion where the semiconductor laser element 2 is mounted. In the present embodiment, both side portions of the mounting portion 11 extend from the resin portion 3. This portion is used for positioning with respect to the pickup device, for example.

  The cover portion 12 has a substantially rectangular shape and is disposed substantially parallel to the mounting portion 11. The distance between the mounting portion 11 and the cover portion 12 is set to be large enough to accommodate the semiconductor laser element 2 and a wire (not shown) connected thereto. A through hole 16 is formed in the cover portion 12. The through hole 16 has a small diameter portion 16a and a large diameter portion 16b. In the pickup device described above, it is assumed that a heat radiating member that contacts the mounting portion 11 and the cover portion 12 is employed.

  The connection part 13 is a part which connects the mounting part 11 and the cover part 12, and consists of two strip | belt-shaped parts in this embodiment. The two strips are arranged in parallel at a sufficient interval to allow the laser light from the semiconductor laser element 2 to pass therethrough.

  The terminals 14 and 15 are parts used for connecting the semiconductor laser device A1 to the pickup device. In the present embodiment, two terminals 14 extend from the mounting portion 11, and terminals 15 extend from the cover portion 12. Any two of the terminals 14 and 15 are used for power supply to the semiconductor laser element 2, and the remaining one is for an output current from a monitor element provided in the semiconductor laser element 2. When the semiconductor laser element 2 not provided with the monitor element is used, two terminals 14 and 15 are sufficient.

  The semiconductor laser element 2 is a light source of the semiconductor laser device A1, and is made of, for example, GaAs, and emits laser light in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. In the present embodiment, the semiconductor laser element 2 is mounted on the mounting portion 11 via the submount 21. The submount 21 is made of, for example, AlN or Si, and fulfills a function of reducing the difference in thermal expansion between the mounting portion 11 and the semiconductor laser element 2. Unlike the present embodiment, the submount 21 may not be provided.

  The resin part 3 consists of thermoplastic resins, such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin, for example, and is dark black in this embodiment. The resin portion 3 is bonded to the mounting portion 11 and has a substantially U shape that surrounds the semiconductor laser element 2 and opens in the direction in which the laser light from the semiconductor laser element 2 is emitted.

  A protrusion 31 is formed on the resin portion 3. The protrusion 31 is for fixing the cover part 12 by engaging with the through hole 16 of the cover part 12. Specifically, the protrusion 31 penetrates the small diameter portion 16a, and the tip thereof is accommodated in the large diameter portion 16b. This tip portion is larger than the small diameter portion 16a. In the present embodiment, the tip of the protrusion 31 does not protrude from the through hole 16.

  Next, an example of a manufacturing method of the semiconductor laser device A1 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3, a lead frame 1A is prepared. 1 A of lead frames are equipped with the mounting part 11, the cover part 12, the connection part 13, and the terminal parts 14 and 15 which were connected in series, and the frames 17 and 18 which pinch | interpose these. In this drawing, elements for manufacturing one semiconductor laser device A1 are shown for convenience of understanding, but elements capable of manufacturing a plurality of semiconductor laser devices A1 are arranged between the frames 17 and 18. It is common. The semiconductor laser element 2 bonded in advance to the submount 21 is mounted on the mounting portion 11 of the lead frame 1A using, for example, Ag paste (not shown). Further, the resin portion 3 having the protrusion 31A is formed on the mounting portion 11 by, for example, molding. The protrusion 31A has, for example, a cylindrical shape.

  Next, the lead frame 1A is bent as shown in FIG. Specifically, the terminal 15 is disconnected from the frame 18. The connecting portion 13 is bent so as to lift the cover portion 12 and the terminal 15. Further, the connecting portion 13 is bent until the cover portion 12 faces the mounting portion 11. At this time, the protrusion 31 </ b> A of the resin part 3 is inserted into the through hole 16 of the cover part 12.

  FIG. 5A shows a state in which the protrusion 31 </ b> A is inserted into the through hole 16. In this state, the portion near the tip of the protrusion 31A is heated and crushed downward. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), a protrusion 31 whose tip end portion is larger than the root portion is formed. The protrusion 31 has a shape well along the through hole 16 and is firmly engaged with the through hole 16. Thereafter, the semiconductor laser device A1 is obtained by separating the terminal 14 from the frame 17 shown in FIG.

  Next, the operation of the semiconductor laser device A1 and the manufacturing method thereof will be described.

  According to this embodiment, in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor laser device A1, it is not necessary to prepare a small piece-like member that becomes the cover portion 12 alone. For this reason, it is not necessary to perform a complicated operation of picking up a small piece of member while aligning the directions. And the operation | work which forms the cover part 12 by bending a part of lead frame 1A is remarkably easy. Therefore, the semiconductor laser device A1 can be manufactured more efficiently. Further, since the formation of the cover portion 12 is achieved by a simple bending process, even if the size of the cover portion 12 is reduced, the operation is not extremely difficult. This is advantageous for reducing the size of the semiconductor laser device A1.

  The mounting part 11 and the cover part 12 are integrally connected by a connecting part 13. In addition, these are made of a Cu alloy excellent in heat conduction. For this reason, it can be expected that heat generated from the semiconductor laser element 2 during laser emission is transmitted from the mounting portion 11 to the cover portion 12 via the connecting portion 13. Therefore, heat radiation from the semiconductor laser element 2 can be promoted, and the output of the semiconductor laser device A1 can be increased.

  By engaging the protrusion 31 with the through hole 16, it is possible to prevent the cover portion 12 from being unduly separated from the mounting portion 11 after the bending step. Since the through-hole 16 has a shape having the small-diameter portion 16a and the large-diameter portion 16b, the engagement with the protrusion 31 can be further strengthened. Further, the protrusion 31 does not protrude from the through hole 16. This is suitable for avoiding problems such as the protrusion 31 being caught when the semiconductor laser device A1 is incorporated in the pickup device.

  6 and 7 show another embodiment of the present invention. In these drawings, the same or similar elements as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the above embodiment.

  FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the semiconductor laser device according to the present invention. The semiconductor laser device A2 of this embodiment is different from the above-described embodiment in the structure of the connecting portion 13. In the present embodiment, the connecting portion 13 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the laser beam emission direction from the semiconductor laser element 2 with respect to the semiconductor laser element 2. In this case, since the connection part 13 does not need to let a laser beam pass, it is much wider than the embodiment mentioned above. According to such an embodiment, it is possible to increase the amount of heat transferred from the mounting portion 11 to the cover portion 12 by the connecting portion 13. Thereby, the heat radiation of the semiconductor laser element 2 can be further promoted.

  FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the semiconductor laser apparatus according to the present invention. The semiconductor laser device A3 of this embodiment is different from the above-described second embodiment in that it includes two cover portions 12 and two connecting portions 13 that connect these to the mounting portion 11. Similar to the second embodiment described above, the two connecting portions 13 are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the laser beam emission direction from the semiconductor laser element 2 with respect to the semiconductor laser element 2 and are wide. Yes. According to such an embodiment, it is possible to transfer the heat from the mounting portion 11 to the cover portion 12 via the two wide connecting portions 13. This is suitable for promoting heat dissipation of the semiconductor laser element 2.

  The semiconductor laser device and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments. The specific configuration of the semiconductor laser device and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention can be changed in various ways.

1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a semiconductor laser device according to the present invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the II-II line | wire of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state before the bending process in an example of the manufacturing method of the semiconductor laser apparatus shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the bending process in an example of the manufacturing method of the semiconductor laser apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the main part showing the step of engaging the protrusion with the through hole in the example of the method for manufacturing the semiconductor laser device shown in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view which shows 2nd Embodiment of the semiconductor laser apparatus based on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows 3rd Embodiment of the semiconductor laser apparatus based on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the conventional semiconductor laser apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

A1, A2, A3 Semiconductor laser device 1 Conductive support member 1A Lead frame 2 Semiconductor laser element 3 Resin portion 11 Mounting portion 12 Cover portion 13 Connection portion 14, 15 Terminal 16 Through hole 16a Small diameter portion 16b Large diameter portion 17, 18 Frame 21 Submount 31 Projection

Claims (5)

A semiconductor laser element;
A conductive support member having a mounting portion on which the semiconductor laser element is mounted, a cover portion located on the opposite side of the mounting portion with respect to the semiconductor laser element, and a connecting portion for connecting the mounting portion and the cover portion; ,
A semiconductor laser device comprising: It further includes a resin part interposed between the mounting part and the cover part and joined to the mounting part,
The semiconductor laser device according to claim 1, wherein the resin portion has a protrusion that engages with a through hole formed in the cover portion. The through hole is composed of a small diameter portion and a large diameter portion located on the opposite side to the semiconductor laser element with respect to the small diameter portion,
The semiconductor laser device according to claim 2, wherein a tip of the protrusion is accommodated in the large diameter portion. Using a conduction support member having a mounting part and a cover part, each of which is plate-shaped, and a connecting part for connecting the mounting part and the cover part,
Mounting a semiconductor laser element on the mounting portion;
Bending the connecting portion so that the cover portion faces the mounting portion across the semiconductor laser element;
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor laser device, comprising: A through hole is formed in the cover part,
Before the step of bending the conduction support member, further comprising a step of forming a resin portion having a protrusion that is bonded to the mounting portion and protrudes in a direction in which the surface on which the semiconductor laser element is mounted is directed;
In the step of bending the conduction support member, the protrusion is inserted into the through hole,
The method of manufacturing a semiconductor laser device according to claim 4, further comprising a step of engaging the protrusion and the through hole by deforming a tip of the protrusion after the step of bending the conductive support member.