Patents Assigned to Heptagon Oy
  • Patent number: 9011742
    Abstract: According to the invention, a micro-structured element is manufactured by replicating/shaping (molding or embossing or the like) a 3D-structure in a preliminary product using an replication tool (1). The replication tool comprises a spacer portion (1c) protruding from a replication surface (1a). The replica (the micro-structured element, for example the micro-optical element or micro-optical element component) may be made of epoxy, which is cured—for example UV cured—while the replication tool is still in place. The replication process may be an embossing process, where the deformable or viscous or liquid component of the preliminary product to be shaped is placed on a surface and then the replication tool is pressed against this surface. As an alternative, the replication process may be a molding process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Heptagon Oy
    Inventors: Hartmut Rudmann, Markus Rossi
  • Publication number: 20140002726
    Abstract: In accordance with the invention, a camera or optical module for a camera is provided, the camera or optical module comprising: —a first substrate with a plurality of first optical devices, —a second substrate with a plurality of second optical devices, —and a spacer between the first substrate and the second substrate, the spacer having a first and a second attachment surface, the first substrate attached to the first attachment surface and the second spacer attached to the second attachment surface, —the spacer having a through hole from the first attachment surface to the second attachment surface so that there is an interior space between the first substrate and the second substrate, the interior space being hermetically closed off, —the first optical devices and the second optical devices being mutually arranged so that light impinging, from an object side, on a first optical device is directed to an assigned second optical device through the interior space, —the camera further comprising a screen device
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2011
    Publication date: January 2, 2014
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Hartmut Rudmann, Stephan Heimgartner
  • Publication number: 20130162882
    Abstract: In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing, on a waver scale, a plurality of optical devices comprises the steps of providing a wafer scale spacer with a plurality of holes arranged in a hole pattern at the positions of camera modules, providing a wafer scale substrate with an infrared (IR) filter that is patterned to comprise a plurality of IR filter sections, the IR filter sections being arranged in an IR filter pattern that is such that radiation paths through the substrate and onto the camera modules go through the IR filter sections, and stacking the substrate and the spacer on each other with the holes and the filter sections being aligned.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2011
    Publication date: June 27, 2013
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Hartmut Rudmann, Peter Riel
  • Patent number: 8221665
    Abstract: The invention concerns a process of manufacturing optical components. A replication tool, a sub-master or a replica is manufactured using a structured element (for example a master) and a substrate. A structure of the structured element is replicated into liquid or plastically deformable material disposed at a first place on said substrate, then hardened to make it dimensionally stable, whereon the structured element is removed. These replicating, hardening and removing steps are repeated for a second, third, etc. place on said substrate the same structured element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Heptagon Oy
    Inventors: Hartmut Rudmann, Andreas Maciossek, Markus Rossi
  • Publication number: 20110220278
    Abstract: A method wherein firstly a spacer arrangement and a first wafer are brought together with each other with a first portion of curable adhesive between a first side of the spacer arrangement and the first substrate, to produce a partial stack, and then a second wafer is brought together with a second side of the spacer arrangement, with a second portion of curable adhesive between the second side of the spacer arrangement and the second wafer. Then, the first portion of the curable adhesive and the second portion of the curable adhesive are cured simultaneously.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2009
    Publication date: September 15, 2011
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Hartmut Rudmann, Susanne Westenhofer, Diane Morgan
  • Publication number: 20110050979
    Abstract: An optical module for an electro-optical device with a functional element, in particular for a camera device, and to an electro-optical device with such a module. The optical module includes a lens substrate portion with at least one lens element, and a spacer. The spacer serves to keep the lens substrate at a well defined axial distance from a base substrate portion of the fully assembled electro-optical device. In order to ensure improved performance of the functional element, an EMC shield is provided. The spacer is at least in parts electrically conductive and thus forms the EMC shield or a part thereof. A method of manufacturing a plurality of such modules on a wafer scale is also provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2008
    Publication date: March 3, 2011
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventor: Hartmut Rudmann
  • Publication number: 20110043923
    Abstract: A method of replicating at least one optical element is provided, the method including the steps of: providing a substrate with two large sides and at least one pre-defined replication site defined by a through hole or blind holes at corresponding locations on both large sides of the substrate; and adding, by replication, a replicated structure to the substrate, the replicated structure adhering to the substrate and having, at the replication site, replication material in the through hole or in the two blind holes, respectively and a first replicated surface and a second replicated surface, the first and second replication surfaces facing towards opposite sides.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2008
    Publication date: February 24, 2011
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Markus Rossi, Hartmut Rudmann
  • Publication number: 20110039048
    Abstract: A spacer wafer for a wafer stack includes a spacer body with a first surface and a second surface, and is intended to be sandwiched between a first wafer and a second wafer. That is, the spacer is to keep a first wafer placed against the first surface and a second wafer placed against the second surface at a constant distance from each other. The spacer provides openings arranged such that functional elements of the first wafer and of the second wafer can be aligned with the openings. The spacer is formed from a forming tool by means of a shape replication process and is preferably made of a material hardened by curing. At least one of the first and second surface includes edges separating the surface from the openings, and the thickness of the spacer wafer at the edges exceeds the thickness of the spacer wafer at surface locations around the edges.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2008
    Publication date: February 17, 2011
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Markus Rossi, Hartmut Rudmann, Nicola Spring, Alexander Bietsch
  • Publication number: 20110031510
    Abstract: A wafer scale package includes two or more substrates (wafers) that are stacked in an axial direction and a plurality of replicated optical elements. An optical device includes one or more optical elements. The wafer scale package and the device include one or more cavities that house the optical elements, while the end faces of the package or the device are planar and do not have replicated optical elements thereon. The number of double sided substrates is reduced, and design and manufacture of the optical device is improved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2008
    Publication date: February 10, 2011
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Markus Rossi, Hartmut Rudmann, Ville Kettunen
  • Publication number: 20110032712
    Abstract: An illumination system including at least one light source such as an electroluminescent element, e.g. a light emitting diode (LED), and at least one optical element whose surface is structured by diffraction and/or refraction type optical microstructures. In order to shape the beam, the optical element includes at least two sections whose optical microstructures and therefore optical properties are different from one another. The pattern of the microstructures in each of the at least two sections is, at least over a predetermined angular range, rotationally symmetric with respect to the optical axis or another symmetry axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2008
    Publication date: February 10, 2011
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Daniel Dias, Ville Kettunen, Markus Rossi
  • Publication number: 20110032409
    Abstract: An optical module for a camera device, the camera device including an image capturing element arranged on a base substrate portion, and has a top lens element and optionally further lens elements for imaging an object on the image capturing element, and further a baffle defining a predetermined field of view of the image capturing element. The baffle includes a generally transparent baffle substrate portion having a front surface and a rear surface, a generally non-transparent first layer with a plurality of first openings on the front surface and a generally non-transparent second layer with a plurality of second openings on the rear surface. The top lens element is arranged on the front and/or the rear surface of the baffle substrate, which leads to a reduced number layers/substrates in the module and to a reduced number of reflections on material-air interfaces, for example.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2008
    Publication date: February 10, 2011
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Markus Rossi, Hartmut Rudmann, Ville Kettunen
  • Publication number: 20110024030
    Abstract: A method includes the steps of: providing a substrate; providing a tool having, on a replication side, a plurality of replication sections, each replication section defining a surface structure of one of an optical element(s), the tool further including at least one contact spacer portion, the contact spacer portion protruding, on the replication side, further than an outermost feature of the replication sections; aligning the tool with a feature of the substrate and bringing the tool and a first side of the substrate together, with replication material between the tool and the substrate, the contact spacer portion contacting the first side of the substrate, and thereby causing the spacer portion to adhere to the first side of the substrate, thereby producing a substrate-tool-assembly; dislocating the substrate-tool-assembly to a hardening station; causing the replication material to harden at the hardening station; and separating the tool from the substrate with the hardened replication material adhering to
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2008
    Publication date: February 3, 2011
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Hartmut Rudmann, Susanne Westenhofer, Stephan Heimgartner, Diane Morgan, Markus Rossi
  • Publication number: 20110013292
    Abstract: In a method for fabricating an integrated optical device by creating a wafer stack by stacking at least a top wafer carrying as functional elements a plurality of lenses on at least one further wafer including further functional elements, and separating the wafer stack into a plurality of integrated optical devices, wherein corresponding functional elements of the top and further wafer are aligned with each other and define a plurality of main optical axes, a method for providing a sunshade plate as part of an integrated optical device (10), including the steps of: providing a sunshade plate having a plurality of through holes, the through holes being arranged to correspond to the arrangement of the functional elements on the top wafer; and stacking the sunshade plate on the top wafer, with the through holes being aligned with said main optical axes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2008
    Publication date: January 20, 2011
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Markus Rossi, Hartmut Rudmann
  • Publication number: 20100183760
    Abstract: According to the invention, a micro-structured element is manufactured by replicating/shaping (molding or embossing or the like) a 3D-structure in a preliminary product using an replication tool (1). The replication tool comprises a spacer portion (1c) protruding from a replication surface (1a). The replica (the micro-structured element, for example the micro-optical element or micro-optical element component) may be made of epoxy, which is cured—for example UV cured—while the replication tool is still in place. The replication process may be an embossing process, where the deformable or viscous or liquid component of the preliminary product to be shaped is placed on a surface and then the replication tool is pressed against this surface. As an alternative, the replication process may be a molding process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2010
    Publication date: July 22, 2010
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Hartmut Rudmann, Markus Rossi
  • Patent number: 7704418
    Abstract: An optical element is manufactured using a replication tool comprising a negative structural feature defined in a replication side of the replication tool, and a peripheral feature formed in the replication side of the replication tool adjacent the negative structural feature. The negative structural feature defines the shape of the optical element. A replication material is disposed between a substrate and the replication tool, which are moved toward each other. The peripheral feature confines the replication material to a predetermined area of the substrate. The replication material can be hardened to form the optical element from the replication material attached to the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2010
    Assignee: Heptagon Oy
    Inventors: Harmut Rudmann, Stephan Heimgartner, Susanne Westenhöfer, Markus Rossi
  • Patent number: 7692256
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a wafer scale package including at least one substrate having replicated optical elements. The method uses two substrates, at least one of which is pre-shaped and has at least one recess in its front surface. Optical elements are replicated on a first substrate by causing a replication tool to abut the first substrate. The second substrate is then attached to the first substrate in an abutting relationship in such a way that the optical element is contained in a cavity formed by the recess in one of the substrates in combination with the other substrate. Thereby, a well defined axial distance between the optical elements and the second substrate is achieved. Consequently, a well defined axial distance between the optical elements and any other objects attached to the second substrate, e.g. further optical elements, image capturing devices, light sources, is also established.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2010
    Assignee: Heptagon Oy
    Inventors: Hartmut Rudmann, Stephan Heimgartner, Markus Rossi
  • Publication number: 20100072640
    Abstract: In a process of manufacturing, by replication, a plurality of optical elements each having geometrical surface features, a method of manufacturing an element that includes a plurality of replicated structures is provided. The method comprises the steps of providing an element substrate, of replicating, by embossing, a surface of a tool element, which surface comprises a negative copy of the geometrical surface feature, into replication material disposed at a first place on a surface of the element substrate, of subsequently hardening the replication material, of replicating said surface of the tool element into replication material disposed at a second place on said substrate, of hardening said replication material, the method comprising the further step of subsequently filling a gap between replication material disposed at the first place and replication material disposed at the second place by filler material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 9, 2006
    Publication date: March 25, 2010
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Hartmut Rudmann, Susanne Westenhofer, Stephan Heimgartner, Markus Rossi
  • Patent number: 7658877
    Abstract: According to the invention, a micro-structured element is manufactured by replicating/shaping (molding or embossing or the like) a 3D-structure in a preliminary product using an replication tool (1). The replication tool comprises a spacer portion (1c) protruding from a replication surface (1a). The replica (the micro-structured element, for example the micro-optical element or micro-optical element component) may be made of epoxy, which is cured—for example UV cured—while the replication tool is still in place. The replication process may be an embossing process, where the deformable or viscous or liquid component of the preliminary product to be shaped is placed on a surface and then the replication tool is pressed against this surface. As an alternative, the replication process may be a molding process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2010
    Assignee: Heptagon Oy
    Inventors: Hartmut Rudmann, Andreas Maciossek, Markus Rossi
  • Publication number: 20090159200
    Abstract: A spacer wafer (1) for a wafer stack (8) includes a spacer body (10) with a first surface (11) and a second surface (12), and is intended to be sandwiched between a first wafer (6) and a second wafer (7). That is, the spacer (1) is to keep a first wafer (6) placed against the first surface (11) and a second wafer (7) placed against the second surface (12) at a constant distance from each other. The spacer (1) provides openings (13) arranged such that functional elements (9) of the first wafer (6) and of the second wafer (7) can be aligned with the openings. The spacer (1) is formed from a forming tool (2) by means of a shape replication process and is preferably made of a material hardened by curing. In a preferred embodiment, at least one of the first and second surface (11, 12) has edges (15) separating the surface (11, 12) from the openings (13), and the thickness of the spacer wafer (1) at the edges (15) exceeds the thickness of the spacer wafer (1) at surface locations around the edges (15).
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2008
    Publication date: June 25, 2009
    Applicant: HEPTAGON OY
    Inventors: Markus Rossi, Hartmut Rudmann, Nicola Spring, Alexander Bietsch
  • Patent number: 7457490
    Abstract: The invention concerns the combination of optical elements with active optoelectronic to monolithic optoelectronic systems. An optoelectronic wafer (1) comprising active optical components (2) is provided with (micro-)optical structures. The optical structures (12, 13) are allocated to the active optical components (2), i.e. they are configured to influence light impinging on the active optical components (2) and/or originating from them in a desired manner. To this end they are either aligned to the optical components or otherwise adjusted to serve this purpose. The combined active optical components/optical structures are separated for example by dicing the semiconductor wafer with the optical structures into parts containing at least one active optical component (2) and at least one optical structure (12, 13).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2008
    Assignee: Heptagon Oy
    Inventors: Hartmut Rudmann, Markus Rossi