Wafer Level Cameras

Wafer-Level Camera (WLC) is supposed to be the technology of choice to address the technical issues and, more importantly, the requirement for a low cost manufacturing method. New wafer-based manufacturing technologies like SUSS MicroTec Lens Imprint Lithography (SMILE) and wafer-level packaging (WLP) support the WLC idea.

This paper explores the latest fabrication techniques as used in the Wafer Level Cameras (WLC) where Opto Wafers and CMOS-Wafers are mounted by Wafer Level Packaging (WLP) and describes all the challenges and available solutions. The processing issues encountered in those techniques are discussed with a focus on each WLC process step.

A combination of ultraprecision diamond-turned hard tools and microlithography, as well as advances in metrology, pave the way for high-volume production of wafer-level stacks of lenses required for next-generation cameras.

Wafer Level Cameras (WLC) are a novel technology to manufacture low-cost CMOS cameras for mobile phones. The optical components are fabricated on glass wafers by microlens imprint lithography using a SUSS MicroTec mask aligner. Opto-Wafers and the CMOS-Wafer are mounted by Wafer-Level Packaging (WLP). A technology overview and recent trends will be presented.