Patent Publication Number: US-2013234272-A1

Title: Image-sensing module

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The instant disclosure relates to an image-sensing module, and more particularly, to an image-sensing module for reducing its whole thickness. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The advantage of CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) is low power consumption and small size, thus the CMOS image-sensing chip package module can integrate into portable electronic device with small size such as mobile phone and notebook. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1A  to  FIG. 1C , the prior art provides an image-sensing module, including: a hard substrate  1   a,  an image sensor  2   a,  a plurality of electronic elements  3   a,  an anti-EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) element  4   a,  and a USB connector  5   a.  The image sensor  2   a  and the electronic elements  3   a  are electrically connected to the hard substrate  1   a . The image sensor  2   a  is exposed from the first opening  40   a  of the anti-EMI element  4   a,  and the hard substrate  1   a  and the electronic elements  3   a  are encircled by the anti-EMI element  4   a.  Hence, the thickness h 1  of the hard substrate  1   a  and the thickness h 2  of the anti-EMI element  4   a  cannot be reduced, thus the whole thickness of the image-sensing module of the prior art cannot be reduced. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One aspect of the instant disclosure relates to an image-sensing module for reducing the thickness and avoiding the electromagnetic interference. 
     One of the embodiments of the instant disclosure provides an image-sensing module, comprising: a substrate unit, a light-transmitting unit, an image-sensing unit and a lens unit. The substrate unit includes at least one flexible substrate, wherein the at least one flexible substrate has at least one through opening. The light-transmitting unit includes at least one light-transmitting element disposed on the top surface of the at least one flexible substrate and corresponding to the at least one through opening. The image-sensing unit includes at least one image-sensing element disposed on the bottom surface of the at least one light-transmitting element and embedded in the at least one through opening, wherein the at least one image-sensing element is electrically connected to the at least one flexible substrate. The lens unit includes an opaque frame disposed on the top surface of the at least one flexible substrate to surround the at least one light-transmitting element and a lens positioned on the opaque frame to correspond to the at least one light-transmitting element. 
     Furthermore, the at least one flexible substrate has a main portion and at least two extending portions extended upwardly from two opposite lateral sides of the main portion, and the at least two extending portions are respectively close to two opposite lateral sides of the lens unit. The substrate unit includes a plurality of electronic elements disposed on the at least one flexible substrate, and two of the electronic elements are electrically connected to each other through a first conductive track disposed on the main portion, or the substrate unit includes a plurality of electronic elements disposed on the at least one flexible substrate, and two of the electronic elements are electrically connected to each other through a first conductive track simultaneously disposed on the main portion and one of the at least two extending portions. 
     Moreover, the image-sensing module further comprises a conductive unit including a plurality of first conductive bodies disposed between the at least one light-transmitting element and the at least one flexible substrate and a plurality of second conductive bodies disposed between the at least one light-transmitting element and the at least one image-sensing element. The at least one flexible substrate has at least one first conductive track disposed on the top surface thereof, the at least one light-transmitting element has at least one second conductive track disposed on the bottom surface thereof and electrically connected to the at least one first conductive track through one of the first conductive bodies, and the at least one image-sensing element has at least one third conductive track disposed on the top surface thereof and electrically connected to the at least one second conductive track through one of the second conductive bodies. 
     In addition, the image-sensing module further comprises a connection unit including a plurality of connection elements disposed between the at least one light-transmitting element and the at least one image-sensing element. The bottom surface of the at least one flexible substrate are flushed with the bottom surface of the at least one image-sensing element. 
     Another one of the embodiments of the instant disclosure provides an image-sensing module, comprising: a substrate unit, a light-transmitting unit and an image-sensing unit. The substrate unit includes at least one flexible substrate, wherein the at least one flexible substrate has at least one through opening. The light-transmitting unit includes at least one light-transmitting element disposed on the top surface of the at least one flexible substrate and corresponding to the at least one through opening. The image-sensing unit includes at least one image-sensing element disposed on the bottom surface of the at least one light-transmitting element and embedded in the at least one through opening, wherein the at least one image-sensing element is electrically connected to the at least one flexible substrate. 
     Yet another one of the embodiments of the instant disclosure provides an image-sensing module, comprising: a substrate unit, a light-transmitting unit and an image-sensing unit. The substrate unit includes at least one flexible substrate, wherein the at least one flexible substrate has at least one through opening, and the at least one flexible substrate has at least one first conductive track disposed on the top surface thereof The light-transmitting unit includes at least one light-transmitting element disposed on the top surface of the at least one flexible substrate and corresponding to the at least one through opening, wherein the at least one light-transmitting element has at least one second conductive track disposed on the bottom surface thereof and electrically connected to the at least one first conductive track through a first conductive body. The image-sensing unit includes at least one image-sensing element disposed on the bottom surface of the at least one light-transmitting element and embedded in the at least one through opening, wherein the at least one image-sensing element has at least one third conductive track disposed on the top surface thereof and electrically connected to the at least one second conductive track through a second conductive body, thus the at least one image-sensing element is electrically connected to the at least one flexible substrate. 
     Therefore, because the at least one image-sensing element can be disposed on the bottom surface of the at least one light-transmitting element and embedded in the at least one through opening, the thickness of the image-sensing module can be reduced. 
     To further understand the techniques, means and effects of the instant disclosure applied for achieving the prescribed objectives, the following detailed descriptions and appended drawings are hereby referred, such that, through which, the purposes, features and aspects of the instant disclosure can be thoroughly and concretely appreciated. However, the appended drawings are provided solely for reference and illustration, without any intention to limit the instant disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a top, schematic view of the image-sensing module of the prior art; 
         FIG. 1B  is a front, schematic view of the image-sensing module of the prior art; 
         FIG. 1C  is a cross-sectional, schematic view along line  1 C- 1 C of  FIG. 1B ; 
         FIG. 2A  shows a top, schematic view of the image-sensing module before bending the flexible substrate according to the first embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 2B  shows a cross-sectional view taken along the section line  2 B- 2 B of  FIG. 2A ; 
         FIG. 2C  shows a lateral, schematic view of the image-sensing module before bending the flexible substrate according to the first embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 2D  shows a lateral, schematic view of the image-sensing module after bending the flexible substrate according to the first embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  shows a top, schematic view of the image-sensing module before bending the flexible substrate according to the second embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  shows a partial, cross-sectional, schematic view of the image-sensing module before bending the flexible substrate according to the third embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  shows a partial, cross-sectional, schematic view of the image-sensing module before bending the flexible substrate according to the fourth embodiment of the instant disclosure; and 
         FIG. 6  shows a partial, cross-sectional, schematic view of the image-sensing module before bending the flexible substrate according to the fifth embodiment of the instant disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     First Embodiment 
     Referring to  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2D , where the first embodiment of the instant disclosure provides an image-sensing module Z, comprising: a substrate unit  1 , a light-transmitting unit  2 , an image-sensing unit  3  and a lens unit  4 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B , the substrate unit  1  includes at least one flexible substrate  10 , and the flexible substrate  10  has at least one through opening  100 . The light-transmitting unit  2  includes at least one light-transmitting element  20  disposed on the top surface of the flexible substrate  10  and corresponding to the through opening  100 . The image-sensing unit  3  includes at least one image-sensing element  30  disposed on the bottom surface of the light-transmitting element  20  and embedded in the through opening  100 , where the image-sensing element  30  is electrically connected to the flexible substrate  10 . The lens unit  4  includes an opaque frame  40  disposed on the top surface of the flexible substrate  10  to surround the light-transmitting element  20  and a lens  41  positioned on the opaque frame  40  to correspond to the light-transmitting element  20 . For example, the flexible substrate  10  may be a flexible circuit substrate. The light-transmitting element  20  can be made of light-transmitting material or transparent material, such as glass. The image-sensing element  30  may be a sensor for capturing images, such as a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) sensor, and the bottom surface of the flexible substrate  10  can be flushed with the bottom surface of the image-sensing element  30 . However, the flexible substrate  10 , the light-transmitting element  20  and the image-sensing element  30  used in the first embodiment are merely examples and are not meant to limit the instant disclosure. 
     For example, referring to  FIG. 2A ,  FIG. 2C  and  FIG. 2D , when the flexible substrate  10  has not been bent yet (as shown in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2C ), the flexible substrate  10  has a main portion  1  OA and at least two extending portions  10 B extended outwardly from two opposite lateral sides of the main portion  10 A and parallel to the main portion  10 A. When the flexible substrate  10  is bent along two bending lines L as shown in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2D , the flexible substrate  10  has a main portion  10 A and at least two extending portions  10 B extended upwardly from two opposite lateral sides of the main portion  10 A. The two extending portions  10 B are respectively close to two opposite lateral sides of the lens unit  4 , and the electromagnetic interference (EMI) of the instant disclosure can be reduced by using the two extending portions  10 B. In addition, referring to  FIG. 2A , the substrate unit  1  further includes a plurality of electronic elements  11  disposed on the flexible substrate  10 , and two of the electronic elements  11  are electrically connected to each other through a first conductive track W 1  only disposed on the main portion  10 A. However, the substrate unit  1  used in the first embodiment is merely example and is not meant to limit the instant disclosure. 
     Moreover, referring to  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B , The image-sensing module Z further comprises: a conductive unit  5  including a plurality of first conductive bodies  51  disposed between the light-transmitting element  20  and the flexible substrate  10  and a plurality of second conductive bodies  52  disposed between the light-transmitting element  20  and the image-sensing element  30 , and each first conductive body  51  and each second conductive body  52  may be solder balls or solder paste. Moreover, the flexible substrate  10  has at least one first conductive track W 1  disposed on the top surface thereof, the light-transmitting element  20  has at least one second conductive track W 2  disposed on the bottom surface thereof and electrically connected to the first conductive track W 1  through one of the first conductive bodies  51 , and the image-sensing element  30  has at least one third conductive track W 3  disposed on the top surface thereof and electrically connected to the second conductive track W 2  through one of the second conductive bodies  52 , thus the image-sensing element  30  can sequentially pass through the third conductive track W 3 , the corresponding second conductive body  52 , the second conductive track W 2 , the corresponding first conductive body  51  and the first conductive track W 1  to electrically connect to the flexible substrate  10 . Of course, the first conductive body  51  and the second conductive body  52  can be replaced by a conductive substance (not shown) connected between the first conductive track W 1  of the flexible substrate  10 , the second conductive track W 2  of the light-transmitting element  20  and the third conductive track W 3  of the image-sensing element  30  or between the first conductive track W 1  of the flexible substrate  1  and the third conductive track W 3  of the image-sensing element  30 , thus the image-sensing element  30  can electrically connect to the flexible substrate  10  through the third conductive track W 3 , the conductive substance (not shown) and the first conductive track W 1 . However, the conductive unit  5  used in the first embodiment is merely example and is not meant to limit the instant disclosure. In other words, the image-sensing element  30  can electrically connect to the flexible substrate  10  by any connection method. 
     Furthermore, referring to  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B , the image-sensing module Z further comprising: a connection unit  6  including a plurality of connection elements  60  disposed between the light-transmitting element  20  and the image-sensing element  30 , thus the image-sensing element  30  can be firmly fixed on the bottom surface of the light-transmitting element  20 . For example, each connection element  60  may be an adhesive substance. Of course, the connection elements  60  can be replaced by a single surrounding connection element  60 . However, the connection unit  6  used in the first embodiment is merely example and is not meant to limit the instant disclosure. 
     Second Embodiment 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , where the second embodiment of the instant disclosure provides an image-sensing module Z, comprising: a substrate unit  1 , a light-transmitting unit (not shown), an image-sensing unit (not shown) and a lens unit  4 . Comparing  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 2A , the difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is as follows: in the second embodiment, the substrate unit  1  further includes a plurality of electronic elements  11  disposed on the flexible substrate  10 , and two of the electronic elements  11  are electrically connected to each other through a first conductive track W 1  simultaneously disposed on the main portion  10 A and one of the two extending portions  10 B. In other words, any two of the electronic elements  11  can be electrically connected to each other through the first conductive track W 1  that is only disposed on the main portion  10 A (as shown in the first embodiment of  FIG. 2A ) or is simultaneously disposed on the main portion  10 A and one of the two extending portions  10 B (as shown in the second embodiment of  FIG. 3 ). 
     Third Embodiment 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , where the second embodiment of the instant disclosure provides an image-sensing module Z, comprising: a substrate unit  1 , a light-transmitting unit  2 , an image-sensing unit  3  and a lens unit  4 . The substrate unit  1  includes at least one flexible substrate  10 , and the flexible substrate  10  has at least one through opening  100 . The light-transmitting unit  2  includes at least one light-transmitting element  20  disposed on the top surface of the flexible substrate  10  and corresponding to the through opening  100 . The image-sensing unit  3  includes at least one image-sensing element  30  disposed on the bottom surface of the light-transmitting element  20  and embedded in the through opening  100 , where the image-sensing element  30  is electrically connected to the flexible substrate  10 . The lens unit  4  includes an opaque frame  40  disposed on the top surface of the flexible substrate  10  to surround the light-transmitting element  20  and a lens  41  positioned on the opaque frame  40  to correspond to the light-transmitting element  20 . 
     Comparing  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 2B , the difference between the third embodiment and the first embodiment is as follows: in the third embodiment, the bottom surface of the flexible substrate  10  is not flushed with the bottom surface of the image-sensing element  30 . For example, the top surface of the image-sensing element  30  is convex outside the through opening  100  and the bottom surface of the image-sensing element  30  is concave inside the through opening  100 , thus when the image-sensing module Z is disposed on any carrier (not shown), the image-sensing element  30  can be enclosed totally. 
     Fourth Embodiment 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , where the fourth embodiment of the instant disclosure provides an image-sensing module Z, comprising: a substrate unit  1 , a light-transmitting unit  2 , an image-sensing unit  3  and a lens unit  4 . The substrate unit  1  includes at least one flexible substrate  10 , and the flexible substrate  10  has at least one receiving groove  100 ′. The light-transmitting unit  2  includes at least one light-transmitting element  20  disposed on the top surface of the flexible substrate  10  and corresponding to the receiving groove  100 ′. The image-sensing unit  3  includes at least one image-sensing element  30  disposed on the bottom surface of the light-transmitting element  20  and embedded in the receiving groove  100 ′, where the image-sensing element  30  is electrically connected to the flexible substrate  10 . The lens unit  4  includes an opaque frame  40  disposed on the top surface of the flexible substrate  10  to surround the light-transmitting element  20  and a lens  41  positioned on the opaque frame  40  to correspond to the light-transmitting element  20 . 
     Comparing  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 4 , the difference between the fourth embodiment and the third embodiment is as follows: in the fourth embodiment, the through opening  100  is replaced by the receiving groove  100 ′, thus when the image-sensing element  30  is disposed on the bottom surface of the light-transmitting element  20  and embedded in the receiving groove  100 ′, the image-sensing element  30  can be enclosed totally. 
     Fifth Embodiment 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , where the fifth embodiment of the instant disclosure provides an image-sensing module Z, comprising: a substrate unit  1 , a light-transmitting unit  2 , an image-sensing unit  3  and a lens unit  4 . The substrate unit  1  includes at least one flexible substrate  10 , and the flexible substrate  10  has at least one through opening  100 . The light-transmitting unit  2  includes at least one light-transmitting element  20  disposed on the top surface of the flexible substrate  10  and corresponding to the through opening  100 . The image-sensing unit  3  includes at least one image-sensing element  30  disposed on the bottom surface of the light-transmitting element  20  and embedded in the through opening  100 , where the image-sensing element  30  is electrically connected to the flexible substrate  10 . The lens unit  4  includes an opaque frame  40  disposed on the top surface of the flexible substrate  10  to surround the light-transmitting element  20  and a lens  41  positioned on the opaque frame  40  to correspond to the light-transmitting element  20 . 
     Comparing  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 2B , the difference between the fifth embodiment and the first embodiment is as follows: in the fifth embodiment, the bottom surface of the flexible substrate  10  is not flushed with the bottom surface of the image-sensing element  30 . For example, the top surface of the image-sensing element  30  is concave inside the through opening  100  and the bottom surface of the image-sensing element  30  is convex outside the through opening  100 , thus one part of the image-sensing element  30  can be exposed from the through opening  100 . 
     In conclusion, because the at least one image-sensing element can be disposed on the bottom surface of the at least one light-transmitting element and embedded in the at least one through opening, the thickness of the image-sensing module can be reduced. 
     The above-mentioned descriptions merely represent the preferred embodiments of the instant disclosure, without any intention or ability to limit the scope of the instant disclosure which is fully described only within the following claims. Various equivalent changes, alterations or modifications based on the claims of instant disclosure are all, consequently, viewed as being embraced by the scope of the instant disclosure.