Patent ID: 12248188

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a substrate; a holding member located on the substrate, the holding member including a module placement part and an opening arranged in a first direction; an optical module located in the module placement part and mounted on the substrate; and an optical fiber passing through the opening, the optical fiber being connected with the optical module. The holding member includes a first corner part and a second corner part. The opening is between the first corner part and the second corner part in a direction crossing the first direction. The first corner part and the second corner part are beveled.

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings.

The drawings are schematic or conceptual; and the relationships between the thickness and width of portions, the proportional coefficients of sizes among portions, etc., are not necessarily the same as the actual values thereof. Furthermore, the dimensions and proportional coefficients may be illustrated differently among drawings, even for identical portions.

The same or similar components are marked with the same reference numerals.

As shown inFIGS.1and2, a semiconductor device1of the embodiment includes a substrate20, a holding member10, an optical module40, and an optical fiber51.

The holding member10and the optical module40are located on a mounting surface20aof the substrate20. The substrate20is made of an insulative material. For example, a resin or ceramic can be used as the material of the substrate20. Two directions that cross, e.g., are orthogonal to, each other in a plane parallel to the mounting surface20aof the substrate20are taken as a first direction Y and a second direction X. A direction that crosses, e.g., is orthogonal to, the first direction Y and the second direction X is taken as a vertical direction Z. “Up” refers to the side at which the mounting surface20ais located with respect to the substrate20in the vertical direction Z, or the direction in which the holding member10is located when referenced to the substrate20. “Down” refers to the direction opposite to “up” in the vertical direction Z. The upper or lower surface of a component refers to the surface of the component at the upper side or the lower side. A side surface of the component refers to a surface of the component that includes the Z-direction.

The holding member10includes an opening10A, a space10C, and the module placement part10B arranged in the first direction Y. Multiple spaces10C are arranged in the second direction X; and multiple module placement parts10B are arranged in the second direction X. The holding member10includes a first holding part11and a second holding part12. For example, the module placement part10B is formed as a space that is open upward in the first holding part11. The second holding part12has a shape that extends in the first and second directions Y and X and covers the module placement part10B from above. The opening10A is positioned at the end part in the first direction Y of the holding member10. The opening10A is positioned between the end part in the first direction Y of the first holding part11and the end part in the first direction Y of the second holding part12in the vertical direction Z. The first holding part11and the second holding part12may be formed to have a continuous body.

FIG.3is a schematic plan view of the first holding part11. The shape of a first corner part11ais not illustrated inFIG.3. The first holding part11includes a first thickness part11b, a third thickness part11c, and a second thickness part11dand is fixed to the mounting surface20aof the substrate20.

The first thickness part11bhas a first thickness in the vertical direction Z. The first thickness part11bcontacts the substrate20and has, for example, a comb-shaped configuration that includes a component11b1gextending in the second direction X and components11b2extending in the first direction Y. The second holding part12is supported on the first thickness part11bat a prescribed spacing from the substrate20. The space10C and the module placement part10B are positioned to be spatially connected.

The second thickness part11dis positioned at the opening10A side of the first holding part11in the first direction Y, and is positioned between the components11b2of the first thickness part11bin the second direction X. The second thickness part11dhas a shape that extends in the second direction X, and has a second thickness in the vertical direction Z that is less than the first thickness. The second thickness part11dcontacts the substrate20.

The third thickness part11cis positioned between the second thickness part11dand the module placement part10B of the first holding part11in the first direction Y, and is positioned between the components11b2of the first thickness part11bin the second direction X. The third thickness part11chas a shape that extends in the first and second directions Y and X, and includes a third thickness in the vertical direction Z that is less than the second thickness. The third thickness part11ccontacts the substrate20. The third thickness part11cis included to reinforce the mechanical strength of the first holding part11and may be omitted according to the material properties, size, etc.

The module placement part10B is formed as a through-part extending through the first holding part11in the vertical direction Z, is positioned between the third thickness part11cand a component11b1of the first thickness part11bin the first direction Y, and is positioned between the components11b2of the first thickness part11bin the second direction X. Although an example is shown inFIG.3in which the multiple openings10A are arranged in the second direction X and the multiple module placement parts10B are arranged in the second direction X, there may be one opening10A and one module placement part10B.

The optical module40includes an optical element42that is optically coupled with the optical fiber51, and a semiconductor element41that is electrically connected with the optical element42. The optical element42is a light-receiving element that converts an optical signal from the optical fiber51into an electrical signal and transmits the electrical signal to the semiconductor element41. Or, the optical element42is a light-emitting element that converts an electrical signal from the semiconductor element41into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to the optical fiber51. The semiconductor element41is, for example, an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip.

The optical fiber51extends in the first direction Y, passes through the opening10A and the space10C between the opening10A and the module placement part10B, and is connected with the optical module40. For example, the optical fiber51is connected to the optical module40by an adhesive. The optical fiber51may be directly connected with the optical module40, or may be connected with the optical module40by providing a lens52at the vicinity of the optical module40. The optical fiber51may be a ribbon fiber bundle of multiple optical fibers. For example, the lens52is made of glass or a resin. As shown inFIG.1, for example, multiple optical fibers51that are arranged in the second direction X can be connected to the optical module40.

Multiple mounting pads are located at the mounting surface20aof the substrate20. The optical module40includes a terminal placement surface40afacing the mounting surface20aof the substrate20. Multiple terminals that are electrically connected with at least the semiconductor element41are located at the terminal placement surface40a.

The optical module40is pressed onto the mounting surface20aof the substrate20by the lower surface of the second holding part12pressing on an upper surface40bof the optical module40. The electrical connection between the terminals located at the terminal placement surface40aof the optical module40and the mounting pads located at the mounting surface20aof the substrate20are ensured thereby. The terminals and the mounting pads may be in direct contact or may be electrically connected via an anisotropic conductive member. The optical module40can be detached from the module placement part10B and replaced by detaching the second holding part12from the first holding part11.

The holding member10includes the first corner part11aand a second corner part12athat are positioned so that the opening10A is between the first corner part11aand the second corner part12ain the vertical direction Z. The first corner part11ais positioned below the opening10A in the vertical direction Z. The second corner part12ais positioned above the opening10A in the vertical direction Z. The first corner part11ais positioned at the end part in the first direction Y of the first holding part11. The second corner part12ais positioned at the end part in the first direction Y of the second holding part12.

The first corner part11aand the second corner part12aare beveled. For example, the first corner part11aand the second corner part12ainclude curved surfaces. In the example shown inFIG.2, the first corner part11aand the second corner part12aare made of only curved surfaces and do not include edges. Damage of the optical fiber51can be prevented by beveling the first corner part11aand the second corner part12abecause there are no sharp edges above and below the opening10A and the optical fiber51does not strike an edge when the optical fiber51moves in the vertical direction Z. The connection points of the optical fiber51, the lens52, and the optical element42are positioned between the substrate20and the second holding part12in the vertical direction Z and are protected from contact with components outside the semiconductor device1. The curved surfaces of the first and second corner parts11aand12acontact the optical fiber51when the optical fiber51is greatly bent in the vertical direction Z. In such a case, compared to when an edge is contacted, the stress on the optical fiber51from the first holding part11or the second holding part12can be reduced.

In the example shown inFIG.4A, the first corner part11ais beveled into a shape that includes a sloped surface sloped with respect to the vertical direction Z. A shape in which the first corner part11ais not beveled is illustrated by a double dot-dash line inFIG.4A. When the optical fiber51moves in the vertical direction Z, the optical fiber51undesirably strikes an unbeveled sharp edge if the first corner part11ais not beveled; however, by beveling the first corner part11a, the optical fiber51may be prevented from contacting the first holding part11, and damage of the optical fiber51can be prevented. Or, by beveling the first corner part11aand the second corner part12ato form multiple obtuse edges, the stress on the optical fiber51from the edges can be reduced even when the optical fiber51contacts the first holding part11or the second holding part12; and damage of the optical fiber51can be prevented.

As shown inFIG.4B, the first corner part11amay be beveled into a shape that includes multiple sloped surfaces sloped with respect to the vertical direction Z. InFIG.4B, the shape in which the first corner part11ais not beveled is illustrated by a double dot-dash line.

When the first corner part11ais beveled into a shape that includes sloped surfaces, obtuse edges E are formed at the boundaries between the sloped surfaces and the other surfaces. The number, angles, and area of the beveling is set so that the optical fiber51does not strike the edges E when the optical fiber51has the maximum bend without breaking. Or, the number of bevels, the bevel angles, and the beveling area are set so that the optical fiber51contacts the obtuse edges E at one or more points without breaking when the radius of the optical fiber51is not more than the radius of the maximum bend of the optical fiber51. Compared to the case without beveling, the stress received when the optical fiber51contacts the first holding part11or the second holding part12can be reduced thereby, and damage of the optical fiber51can be prevented.

The second corner part12aalso may be beveled into a shape that includes a sloped surface similarly to the first corner part11ashown inFIG.4AorFIG.4B. The first corner part11aand the second corner part12aeach may be beveled into shapes that include both curved surfaces and sloped surfaces.

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 embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments 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 modification as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.