Patent ID: 7534656

Claim:
A method of manufacturing an image sensor device comprising: preparing a wafer having a plurality of image sensor chips formed on an active surface, wherein each image sensor chip includes chip pads formed in a peripheral region, a microlens formed in a central region and an intermediate region between the peripheral and central regions; preparing a protective plate having an adhesive pattern corresponding to the intermediate regions of the image sensor chips; attaching the protective plate to the active surface of the wafer with the adhesive pattern while maintaining a separation distance between the protective plate and the microlens; forming connection holes through the wafer from a back surface of the wafer to expose a portion of the lower surface of the chip pads; forming conductive plugs in the connection holes to establish electrical connections to the chip pads, the conductive plugs extending from the chip pads to the back surface of the wafer; forming solder balls on the back surface of the wafer and in electrical contact with the conductive plugs; and separating individual image sensor chips and corresponding individual protective plates from the wafer.