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EP-4738857-A1 - CAMERA SYSTEM, MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF AND OPTICAL ELEMENT MOUNTABLE TO A CIRCUIT PLATFORM

EP4738857A1EP 4738857 A1EP4738857 A1EP 4738857A1EP-4738857-A1

Abstract

A camera system comprising a circuit platform and an optical element mounted to the circuit platform is provided, wherein the optical element comprises a bonding surface, wherein the bonding surface of the optical element is in contact with and bonded to a bonding surface of the circuit platform, wherein at least a part of the bonding surface of the optical element comprises a surface texture deviating from a smooth plane.

Inventors

  • RAFALOWSKI, Arkadiusz
  • Duralek, Janusz
  • HEBDA, PAWEL

Assignees

  • Aptiv Technologies AG

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20241030

Claims (15)

  1. Camera system comprising a circuit platform (200) and an optical element (100) mounted to the circuit platform (200), wherein the optical element (100) comprises a bonding surface (10), wherein the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) is in contact with and bonded to a bonding surface (20) of the circuit platform (200), wherein at least a part of the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) comprises a surface texture (11, 12) deviating from a smooth plane.
  2. The camera system according to claim 1, wherein the circuit platform (200) comprises a Printed Circuit Board, PCB, and/or wherein the optical element (100) comprises a lens.
  3. The camera system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) comprises a surface roughness, waviness, and/or at least one geometric form (11, 12).
  4. The camera system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) comprises at least one geometric (11, 12) form comprising a bump, indentation, protrusion, prism, polyhedron, recess, trench, wall, ridge, bar, and/or groove.
  5. The camera system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) comprises a multitude of irregularly or regularly spaced, oriented, shaped and/or sized geometric forms (11, 12).
  6. The camera system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) comprises a multitude of prism shapes and/or pyramidal shapes (11).
  7. The camera system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the surface texture (11, 12) covers the complete bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100).
  8. The camera system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) comprises at least one recess and/or groove (12) that connects an interface between the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) and the bonding surface (20) of the circuit platform (200) to the outside and/or inside (13) of the optical element (100), and/or connects an inside (13) and an outside of the optical element (100).
  9. The camera system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the geometric form (11, 12) has a height, width, length, depth, and/or thickness of equal to or larger than 1 µm, preferably equal to or larger than 10 µm, and more preferably equal to or larger than 25 µm.
  10. The camera system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the camera system further comprises an adhesive layer (300) between the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) and the bonding surface (20) of the circuit platform (200).
  11. The camera system according to claim 10, wherein the adhesive layer (300) comprises a sealing layer covering, filling, or being present on the complete interface between the bonding surface (20) of the optical element (100) and the bonding surface (20) of the circuit platform (200), or wherein the adhesive layer (300) only covers, fills, or is present on a part of the interface between the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) and the bonding surface (20) of the circuit platform (200), wherein the part of the interface with the adhesive layer (300) preferably corresponds to the part of the interface where the surface texture (11, 12) of the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) is or is not present.
  12. The camera system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bonding surface (20) of the circuit platform (200) comprises a surface texture deviating from a smooth plane.
  13. Method of manufacturing a camera system, particularly a method of mounting an optical element (100) to a circuit platform (200), comprising providing a circuit platform (200) comprising a bonding surface (20), wherein the circuit platform (200) is preferably a Printed Circuit Board; providing an optical element (100) comprising a bonding surface (10), wherein the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) comprises a surface texture (11, 12) deviating from a smooth plane; applying an adhesive on the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) and/or the bonding surface (20) on the circuit platform (200), wherein the adhesive is preferably applied on the complete interface between the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) and the bonding surface (20) of the circuit platform (200), or wherein the adhesive is preferably applied only on a part of the interface between the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) and the bonding surface (20) of the circuit platform (200).
  14. The method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises curing the adhesive after bringing the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) into contact with the bonding surface (20) of the circuit platform (200) to form an adhesive layer (300).
  15. Optical element (100) for a camera system according to any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the optical element (100) is mountable to a circuit platform (200) of the camera system, wherein the optical element (100) comprises a bonding surface (10), wherein the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) can be brought in contact with and bonded to a bonding surface (20) of the circuit platform (200), wherein at least a part of the bonding surface (10) of the optical element (100) comprises a surface texture (11, 12) deviating from a smooth plane.

Description

FIELD The present disclosure relates to a camera system, a method of manufacturing a camera system, and an optical element for a camera system, wherein a bonding surface of the optical element that is mountable to a circuit platform has a surface texture deviating from a smooth plane. BACKGROUND Manufacturing processes of camera systems may comprise steps that require mounting of an optical element, such as a lens, to a circuit platform, such as a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). The manufactured cameras can be intended for, but are not limited to, the use in automotive applications such as driver monitoring systems. Mounting of an optical element to a circuit platform is usually done by bonding a bonding surface of the optical element to a bonding surface of the circuit platform, typically by use of an adhesive. However, since the bonding surface of common optical elements is smooth, the bonding strength may be lacking and the optical element and the circuit platform may separate during or after manufacturing of the camera system. Furthermore, there may be an unwanted formation of bubbles and/or voids at the interface between the bonding surface of the optical element and the bonding surface of the circuit platform, particularly in the adhesive. Any of these effects can lead to a deterioration in performance or even complete failure of the manufactured camera system. Accordingly, there is a need to improve the fail-safety of a camera system and manufacturing method thereof, particularly with respect to mounting an optical element to a circuit platform. SUMMARY The present disclosure provides a camera system, a method of manufacturing a camera system, particularly a method of mounting an optical element to a circuit platform, and an optical element for a camera system according to the independent claims. Embodiments are given in the subclaims, the description and the drawings. In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed at a camera system comprising a circuit platform and an optical element mounted to the circuit platform. The optical element comprises a bonding surface, wherein the bonding surface of the optical element is in contact with and bonded to a bonding surface of the circuit platform. Therein, at least a part of the bonding surface of the optical element comprises a surface texture deviating from a smooth plane, particularly deviating from an ideal smooth plane. In other words, at least a part of the bonding surface of the optical element may have (irregularly or regularly spaced) deviations in the surface texture. By introducing said surface texture to the bonding surface of the optical element, the contact area (i.e. the area where the bonding surface of the optical element and the bonding surface of the circuit platform are interfacing when brought into contact with each other) can be increased on the same footprint (of the optical element and/or the circuit platform) and thereby, the bonding strength can be increased. The camera system me be a part or element of a larger camera system or assembly. Alternatively or additionally, the camera system may comprise further components such as other optical elements and/or circuit platforms, wherein not all of these other optical elements are necessarily (directly) mounted to a circuit platform. The camera system may be able to capture or used for acquisition of color images, black-and-white images, and/or depth images (e.g. as 3D camera or ToF-camera). The circuit platform may comprise an electronics substrate, a mechanical support, and/or wiring for assembly of electronic components. According to an embodiment, the circuit platform is a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). The optical element may comprise or be an optical component designed to manipulate light to achieve, for example, imaging or focusing effects. The optical element may or may not comprise electronic or electric components. According to an embodiment, the optical element comprises or is a lens. The bonding surface of the optical element is preferably in direct contact with and directly bonded to a bonding surface of the circuit platform (besides an adhesive layer or adhesive coating in between). A bonding surface may refer to a surface that can be bonded to, joined with, adhered to, and/or be brought into contact with another bonding surface such that both surfaces are bonded together with a certain bonding strength, which can be measured, for example, in units of Pascal in pulling experiments. The optical element may comprise a body and/or a housing. The body and/or the housing of the optical element may comprise a metal, plastic, rubber and/or ceramic material. The bonding surface of the optical element may be at least partly located on the housing and/or the body. According to an embodiment, the optical element comprises a body, wherein the body comprises at least a part of the bonding surface of the optical element. Additionally or alternatively, the optical element comprises a housin