JP6000654B2 - Lens, lens unit, and lens array - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lens, a lens unit configured by combining a plurality of lenses, and a lens array formed by molding a plurality of lenses on a wafer.

  In recent years, the market for small information terminals has expanded. An imaging device is mounted on many of the information terminals. The imaging devices are becoming smaller and more accurate with increasing demand. For this reason, high-precision assembly is also required for the lens unit mounted on the camera module of the imaging device. Under these circumstances, development of a technology relating to mass production of lens units typified by wafer level lenses and a technology for constructing a lens unit by combining a plurality of lenses with high accuracy has become active.

  In order to configure a lens unit by combining a plurality of lenses with high accuracy, it is important to properly align the plurality of lenses.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a lens in which an edge provided with a projecting portion having a conical surface and an effective aperture portion of the lens are integrally provided. Further, by providing a conical receiving surface on the lens barrel and engaging the conical surface of the edge and the conical receiving surface of the lens barrel, the lens and the lens barrel can be relatively positioned. Furthermore, by providing a conical surface in another lens and engaging the conical surfaces of the edge and the other lens, the relative positioning of these lenses can be performed.

  In Patent Documents 2 and 3, for each of a plurality of lenses, a protrusion having a conical surface centered on the optical axis is provided on the edge, and these conical surfaces are brought into surface contact with each other so that the light from these lenses can be obtained. A technique for positioning in the axial direction is disclosed.

  However, with the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, there is a high possibility that the manufacturing process of lenses and the like will be complicated.

  That is, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the relative shapes of the conical surface of the edge and the conical receiving surface of the lens barrel greatly affect the positioning accuracy. For this reason, it is necessary to make the manufacturing tolerances of the conical surface of the edge and the conical receiving surface of the lens barrel extremely strict, and it is necessary to mold the lens with extremely high accuracy. The same applies to the case where a conical surface is provided on another lens.

  Similarly, in the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the relative shapes of the conical surfaces provided in the plurality of lenses greatly affect the positioning accuracy. For this reason, it is necessary to make manufacturing tolerances of each conical surface extremely strict, and it is required to mold lenses with extremely high accuracy.

  On the other hand, it is considered that the possibility of complicating the manufacturing process can be reduced by a technique for positioning the lens based on the image obtained by irradiating the lens with light.

  As an example of the above technique, Patent Document 4 discloses a lens in which an edge reflection slope portion is provided on the edge. In the image by the light transmitted through the lens, a contrast difference is generated between a portion corresponding to the edge reflection slope portion and a portion corresponding to the other portion. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 4, this contrast difference is used for lens positioning.

JP 2012-22074 A (published February 2, 2012) JP 2006-84621 A (published March 30, 2006) JP 2005-338869 A (published on December 8, 2005) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2011-227773 (published on November 10, 2011)

  The edge reflection slope portion provided on the lens according to Patent Document 4 is inclined but is a flat surface. Due to this, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 4 has the following problems.

  First, when forming the molding part of the edge reflection slope part in a mold for molding a lens on a molding object (resin etc.), it is necessary to apply a die processing blade (ball end mill etc.) with a small tip diameter. is there. As a result, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 4 has a problem that it is difficult to manufacture a mold.

  Further, when the edge reflection slope portion is a flat surface, the light transmitted through the edge reflection slope portion is not converged or diverged. As a result, the contrast difference becomes insufficient, and the lens positioning may be inaccurate or difficult.

  In order to obtain a sufficient contrast difference, it is necessary to enlarge the edge reflection slope area. However, if the edge reflection slope area is increased, the design freedom of the edge will decrease, and the optical characteristics of the lens will be improved, or a design that will contact other members for positioning will be adopted. Difficult to do.

  The techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are also similar to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 4 because most of the regions in the conical surface or the conical surface of the edge are flat or substantially flat surfaces. A problem occurs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to facilitate the manufacture of a lens mold and to realize accurate and easy positioning of the lens in a space-saving manner. And a lens unit formed by combining a plurality of lenses, and a lens array formed by molding a plurality of lenses on a wafer.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the lens of the present invention is a lens in which a protruding portion that protrudes in parallel with the optical axis is provided on the outer periphery of the effective aperture, and is parallel to the optical axis. Regarding the cross section extending in the normal direction with respect to the optical axis, the side surface of the projecting portion is an arc, light is incident on the projecting portion, the lens is provided with the projecting portion on both sides, and the projecting portion is The diameter of the side surface provided on one surface of the lens having an upper surface and a side surface is larger than the diameter of the side surface provided on the other surface of the lens, which is a surface opposite to the one surface. The upper surface of the protruding portion provided on the other surface is larger than the end portion on the side of the protruding portion provided on the one surface on the effective aperture side adjacent to the side surface. extends away from the axis, relates to the aforementioned cross section, the Effective side adjacent to the side surface of the projecting portion provided on the other side, the end portion on the effective diameter side adjacent to the side surface, and the side surface of the projecting portion provided on the other surface. The end opposite to the diameter is characterized by being separated by 10 μm or more in the normal direction.

  According to said structure, when forming the molding part of the side surface of a protrusion part in the metal mold | die for shape | molding a lens in a to-be-molded object (resin etc.), a metal mold | die blade (ball end mill etc.) with a small tip diameter Can be applied. As a result, the mold can be easily manufactured.

In addition, regarding the cross section, when the side surface is formed of an arc, the side surface functions as a lens, so that transmitted light can be converged or diverged. As a result, in the image by the light transmitted through the lens, a sufficient contrast difference is obtained between the portion corresponding to the side surface and the portion corresponding to the side other than the side surface, so that the lens can be positioned accurately and easily. It becomes. That is, the light irradiated to the lens is refracted on the side surface, and a contrast of light and dark is obtained in the transmitted image. It is possible to detect the end of the protrusion from this contrast. When the eccentricity of the lens is large, there is a concern that the transmission image corresponding to the side surface of one protrusion and the transmission image corresponding to the side surface of the other protrusion overlap, and the contrast difference is not sufficiently clear. According to said structure, it becomes possible to suppress the ambiguity of this contrast difference. As a result, the contrast difference can be easily measured with a general measuring instrument.

  Further, regarding the cross section, when the side surface is formed of an arc, the shape change amount of the side surface is larger than the size of the side surface region, and a clearer contrast is obtained. Therefore, it can be said that this aspect can save space. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the degree of freedom in designing the edge (outer peripheral portion of the effective diameter), and the design is adopted that improves the optical characteristics of the lens or contacts other members for positioning. It is also possible to do.

  In the lens of the present invention, it is preferable that the protrusions are provided rotationally symmetrically about the optical axis.

  In addition, the lens unit of the present invention is characterized by including two or more lenses of the present invention. The lens array of the present invention is a lens array formed by molding a plurality of lenses on a wafer, and the lens is the lens of the present invention.

  According to each configuration described above, the lens unit and the lens array can achieve the same effects as the lens of the present invention.

  As described above, the lens of the present invention is a lens in which an outer peripheral portion of an effective aperture is provided with a protruding portion that protrudes in parallel with the optical axis, and is parallel to the optical axis and normal to the optical axis. Regarding the cross section extending in the direction, the side surface of the projecting portion is an arc.

  Therefore, it is possible to easily manufacture the lens mold, and to achieve accurate and easy positioning of the lens in a space-saving manner.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a lens and a lens unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a plan view showing a transmission image of the lens unit. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a common lens and a lens unit. It is sectional drawing which shows the side surface of a protrusion part and its shaping | molding part based on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the side surface of a protrusion part and its shaping | molding part based on a prior art. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the metal mold | die which molds the lens of this invention, and shaping | molding. It is sectional drawing which shows the specific example of the method of manufacturing the metal mold | die shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that light permeate | transmits a protrusion part in a graph format. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the position of a lens planar direction in a protrusion part, and shape variation. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the lens which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the lens array which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the structure of the lens array which concerns on the modification of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail.

[Conventional lens and lens unit configuration]
First, with reference to FIG. 2, a general configuration of a lens and a lens unit targeted by the present application will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a general lens and a lens unit.

  A group lens (lens unit) 200 shown in FIG. 2 is obtained by bonding a first lens (lens) 101 and a second lens (lens) 102 with an adhesive 103.

  The first lens 101 has an effective aperture 104a that functions as a lens on one surface and an effective aperture 104b that functions as a lens on the other surface. The outer peripheral portion of the effective diameter 104a is an edge (outer peripheral portion of the effective diameter) 105a, and the outer peripheral portion of the effective diameter 104b is an edge 105b.

  The second lens 102 includes an effective aperture 106a that functions as a lens on one surface and an effective aperture 106b that functions as a lens on the other surface. The outer peripheral portion of the effective aperture 106a is an edge 107a, and the outer peripheral portion of the effective aperture 106b is an edge 107b.

  Specifically, the first lens 101 and the second lens 102 are bonded so that their optical axes are in a straight line. Here, the optical axis of the first lens 101 and the optical axis of the second lens 102 that are in a straight line relationship are collectively referred to as an optical axis La that is an optical axis of the group lens.

  In FIG. 2, the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction, which are three directions perpendicular to each other, are defined. The Z direction is a direction parallel to the optical axis La. On the other hand, both the X direction and the Y direction are one of the normal directions with respect to the optical axis La. In other words, the normal direction with respect to the optical axis La is a general term for a direction in which a straight line (normal line) extending from the optical axis La and perpendicular to the optical axis La extends.

[Configuration of lens and lens unit according to the present embodiment]
Subsequently, the lens and the lens unit according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a lens and a lens unit according to the present embodiment, and a plan view showing a transmission image of the lens unit.

  In FIG. 1, members having the same or substantially the same functions as those in FIG. 2 are given the same member numbers in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted in this section. Hereinafter, only the difference between the combined lens 200 (see FIG. 2) in the combined lens (lens unit) 100 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

  As for the 1st lens 101 of the group lens 100, the protrusion part 108a is provided in the edge 105a, and the protrusion part 108b is provided in the edge 105b.

  The protruding portion 108a and the protruding portion 108b are provided so as to protrude in parallel with the optical axis La at the edge 105a and the edge 105b, respectively, and are provided rotationally symmetrically about the optical axis La. The protrusion 108a includes an upper surface 109a and a side surface 110a, and the protrusion 108b includes an upper surface 109b and a side surface 110b.

  The upper surface 109a is a plane including the apex of the protrusion 108a, and the upper surface 109b is a plane including the apex of the protrusion 108b. The side surface 110a is a region from the edge on the effective aperture 104a side of the upper surface 109a to the edge on the effective aperture 104a side of the entire protrusion 108a. The side surface 110b is a region from the edge on the effective aperture 104b side of the upper surface 109b to the edge on the effective aperture 104b side of the entire protrusion 108b.

  As for the 2nd lens 102 of the group lens 100, the protrusion part 111a is provided in the edge 107a, and the protrusion part 111b is provided in the edge 107b.

  The protrusion 111a and the protrusion 111b are provided so as to protrude parallel to the optical axis La at the edge 107a and the edge 107b, respectively, and are provided rotationally symmetrically about the optical axis La. And the protrusion part 111a is provided with the upper surface 112a and the side surface 113a, and the protrusion part 111b is provided with the upper surface 112b and the side surface 113b.

  The upper surface 112a is a plane including the apex of the protrusion 111a, and the upper surface 112b is a plane including the apex of the protrusion 111b. The side surface 113a is a region from the edge on the effective aperture 106a side of the upper surface 112a to the edge on the effective aperture 106a side of the entire protrusion 111a. The side surface 113b is a region from the edge on the effective aperture 106b side of the upper surface 112b to the edge on the effective aperture 106b side of the entire protrusion 111b.

  It should be noted that the side surface 110a, the side surface 110b, the side surface 113a, and the side surface 113b are all arcs with respect to the cross section shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, that is, the cross section composed of the Y direction and the Z direction. As described above, the Z direction is a direction parallel to the optical axis La, and the Y direction is a normal direction to the optical axis La.

  That is, each of the side surface 110a, the side surface 110b, the side surface 113a, and the side surface 113b is a cross section that is parallel to the optical axis La and extends in the normal direction with respect to the optical axis La.

  FIG. 1 further shows a plan view of an image (transmission image) obtained by transmitting light to the lens group 100 from the first lens 101 side, for example. As shown in FIG. 1, the portions of the transmission image corresponding to the side surface 110 a, the side surface 110 b, the side surface 113 a, and the side surface 113 b become dark (in FIG. 1, the optical rings R <b> 1 to R <b> 4). A difference in contrast is produced between this part and the other part. By positioning the first lens 101 and the second lens 102 so that the relative positions of the optical rings R1 to R4 are appropriate, the positioning can be easily performed. In other words, it is possible to easily detect the eccentricity (eccentricity) of the first lens 101 and / or the second lens 102 by detecting the relative positional deviation (deviation amount) of the optical wheels R1 to R4. Can do. Here, the eccentricity is a deviation of the optical axis between both surfaces of the first lens 101, between both surfaces of the second lens 102, or between the first lens 101 and the second lens 102. Details of the contrast difference will be described later.

  Further, the second lens 102 is provided with protruding portions (that is, the protruding portion 111a and the protruding portion 111b) on both surfaces. Here, with respect to the cross-section, the end portion of the side surface 113b on the side of the effective aperture 106b adjacent to the side surface 113b and the end portion of the side surface 113a adjacent to the side surface 113a opposite to the effective aperture 106a are separated by 10 μm or more in the Y direction. It is preferable. Referring to FIG. 1, the distance Y1 is preferably 10 μm or more.

  When the decentering of the combined lens 100 is large, there is a concern that the transmission image corresponding to the side surface 113a and the transmission image corresponding to the side surface 113b overlap and the contrast difference is not sufficiently clear. According to said structure, it becomes possible to suppress the ambiguity of this contrast difference. As a result, the contrast difference can be easily measured with a general measuring instrument.

  In the group lens 100, the amount of eccentricity assumed in the lens or lens unit to which the eccentricity detection is applied is about 5 to 10 μm for coarse alignment, and about 1 to 3 μm for fine adjustment. . In the lens and the lens unit, it is considered that a physical restriction that allows a separation distance of approximately 10 μm or more is allowed.

  Usually, a plastic lens is manufactured by injection molding. In this case, in order to obtain a shape in which the fluidity of the plastic at the time of injection molding is good, all of the protrusions 108a, the protrusions 108b, the protrusions 111a, and the protrusions 111b are lowered in height.

  In FIG. 1, the assembled lens 100 including two lenses has been described, but the number of lenses in the lens unit according to the present invention is not limited to two and may be three or more. That is, it can be said that the lens unit according to the present invention is intended for all group lenses including two or more lenses.

[Specific structure of the side of the protrusion]
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the side surface 110a of the protruding portion 108a and the molded portion thereof.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a side surface of a protruding portion and a molded portion thereof according to the prior art.

  In this section, only the protruding portion 108a will be described for convenience, but the same applies to the protruding portion 108b, the protruding portion 111a, and the protruding portion 111b.

  As shown in FIG. 3, with respect to the cross sections shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, that is, the cross sections formed in the Y direction and Z direction in these drawings, the side surface 110 a is formed by an arc of a circle C <b> 1 and does not include other shapes. .

  On the other hand, the protruding portion 208a shown in FIG. 4 includes an upper surface 209a having substantially the same configuration as the upper surface 109a shown in FIG. 3, and a side surface 210a that is an inclined but substantially flat surface unlike the side surface 110a. Yes.

  In the protruding portion 208a, the side surface 210a is only slightly rounded at the boundary with the upper surface 209a and the vicinity thereof, and with respect to the above-described cross section (the same cross section as FIG. 3), the boundary and the vicinity thereof are negligible. The region only includes the arc of the circle C2.

  It is clear that the circle C1 is larger than the circle C2 when the size of the protrusion 108a and the size of the protrusion 208a are the same. Further, unlike the side surface 210a, the side surface 110a does not include a portion that is not an arc with respect to the cross section.

[Ease of mold manufacture]
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the first lens 101 and the mold 301 for molding.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a specific example of a method for manufacturing the mold 301.

  In this section, only the first lens 101 will be described for convenience, but the same can be said for the second lens 102 as well.

  The mold 301 is for molding the first lens 101 on an object to be molded (resin or the like). As shown in FIG. 5, the mold 301 has a molding part 304 a that molds the effective aperture 104 a, a molding part 305 a that molds the edge 105 a, a molding part 309 a that molds the upper surface 109 a, and a side surface 110 a on one surface. A molding part 310a is provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the mold 301 has, on the other surface, a molding part 304b for molding the effective diameter 104b, a molding part 305b for molding the edge 105b, a molding part 309b for molding the upper surface 109b, and a side surface 110b. A molding part 310b for molding is provided.

  When manufacturing the one surface of the mold 301, a metal (not shown) as a prototype of the one surface is processed using a mold processing blade 302, which is a ball end mill, as shown in FIG. To do.

  That is, first, the metal is flattened ((1) in FIG. 6). Subsequently, while forming the molding part 309a by providing a recess in a part of the flat part, the die machining blade 302 or the metal is placed in a direction perpendicular to the flat part at the end of the molding part 309a. Forming portion 310a is formed by aligning the metal and die machining blade 302 while rotating ((2) in FIG. 6). Finally, a molded portion 304a is formed on another part of the flat portion ((3) in FIG. 6). The remaining flat portion that has not been processed in any of the molded portion 304a, the molded portion 309a, or the molded portion 310a becomes the molded portion 305a.

  According to said structure, when forming the shaping | molding part 310a in the metal mold | die 301, it becomes possible to apply the metal mold | die cutting blade 302 with a big tip diameter. As a result, the mold 301 can be easily manufactured, so that productivity can be improved.

  Up to this point, only the one surface of the mold 301 has been described, but the same applies to the other surface of the mold 301.

[Improve contrast and save space]
FIG. 7 is a graph showing how light passes through the protrusions.

  FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the position in the lens plane direction and the shape change amount in the protrusion.

  In the graph shown in FIG. 7, the horizontal axis is the position in the lens plane direction (generally, the normal direction to the optical axis), and the vertical axis is the position in the optical axis direction. Needless to say, the lens plane direction and the optical axis direction are perpendicular to each other.

  The lens 401 is either the first lens 101 or the second lens 102, and for convenience, only the upper surface 403 and the side surface 404 constituting the protruding portion 402 on one surface are illustrated. That is, the side surface 404 is any one of the side surface 110a, the side surface 110b, the side surface 113a, and the side surface 113b.

  When light is incident on the protrusion 402, the light incident on the upper surface 403 is hardly refracted, whereas the light incident on the side surface 404 is refracted on the upper surface 403 side, that is, on the left side of FIG.

  Further, since the side surface 404 functions as a convex lens, the transmitted light, that is, the light refracted toward the upper surface 403 is converged. As a result, in the image by the light transmitted through the lens 401, the portion corresponding to the side surface 404 (dark region D1 in FIG. 7) and the portion other than the side surface 404 (bright region B1 in FIG. 7) are between. Since a sufficient contrast difference is obtained, the lens 401 can be positioned accurately and easily.

  That is, the light irradiated to the lens 401 is refracted by the side surface 404, and a contrast of light and dark is obtained in the transmitted image. It is possible to detect the end of the protrusion 402 from this contrast.

  In the graph shown in FIG. 8, the horizontal axis is the position in the lens plane direction, and the vertical axis is the amount of shape change in the optical axis direction.

  A region 403 ′ illustrated in FIG. 8 indicates the amount of change in shape in the optical axis direction with respect to the position in the lens plane direction on the upper surface 403 corresponding to the upper surface 403 on a one-to-one basis. A region 404 ′ illustrated in FIG. 8 indicates the amount of change in shape in the optical axis direction with respect to the position in the lens plane direction on the side surface 404 corresponding to the side surface 404 on a one-to-one basis.

  As can be seen from the region 403 ′ and the region 404 ′, the shape change amount is remarkably large at the end of the side surface 404 on the side opposite to the upper surface 403 (the right side in FIG. 8). As a result, the light can be converged more in the portion of the side surface 404 where the shape change amount is large, so that the distinction between the dark region D1 and the bright region B1 can be clarified and a sufficient contrast difference between them can be obtained. it can.

[Lens modification]
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a lens according to a modification.

  A first lens 101 ′ shown in FIG. 9 is a modification of the first lens 101. The first lens 101 ′ is the same as the first lens 101 except that it includes a side surface 110a ′ instead of the side surface 110a and a side surface 110b ′ instead of the side surface 110b.

  Regarding the cross section shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, that is, the cross section composed of the Y direction and the Z direction, the side surface 110a and the side surface 110b are arcs that swell outward, but the side surface 110a ′ and the side surface 110b ′ are arcs constricted inward. It is made up of.

  FIG. 9 also shows a mold 301 ′ for molding the first lens 101 ′ on an object to be molded (resin or the like). Similar to the first lens 101 ′, the mold 301 ′ includes a molding portion 310a ′ instead of the molding portion 310a, and a mold 301b ′ is provided instead of the molding portion 310b. It is the same as the mold 301. Regarding the cross section, the molding part 310a and the molding part 310b consist of arcs constricted inward, whereas the molding part 310a 'and molding part 310b' consist of arcs bulging outward.

  Also with the above configuration, it is possible to easily manufacture the mold.

[Lens Array]
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the lens array according to the present embodiment.

  A lens array 500 shown in FIG. 10 is a lens array formed by molding a plurality of first lenses 101 on a wafer. FIG. 10 further shows a mold 501 for molding the lens array 500 on a molding object (resin or the like).

  There is a wafer level lens process as a high production method by mass batch molding and a method for producing a heat-resistant lens using a thermosetting resin because of its productivity. In contrast to injection molding in which molding is performed by pouring resin into a space formed by a plurality of molds, in the wafer level lens process, as shown in FIG. 10, the shape is formed using two pairs of integrated molds in an array shape. The lens array 500 is manufactured by transferring.

  In the wafer level lens process, it is not necessary to consider the fluidity of the resin as in the case of injection molding, and a shape with a large sag amount can be applied.

  Note that FIG. 10 illustrates an example in which a plurality of first lenses 101 are formed on a wafer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the second lens 102 or other lenses may be used. There may be. In addition, it is not essential that one lens is molded into one lens array.

  Alignment of the lens array is facilitated by disposing a detection pattern (that is, the side surface of the protrusion) on each lens, and arranging the detection pattern at a position where the relative pitch between the lens and the lens is known. (See FIG. 11).

  That is, in the lens array 600 shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of lens optical surfaces 601 as lenses are formed in an array. An eccentricity detection pattern 602 is provided on the outer periphery of the plurality of lens optical surfaces 601. The eccentricity detection pattern 602 is a side surface (formed of a projecting portion) formed of an arc with respect to a cross section (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface) that is parallel to the optical axis of at least one lens optical surface 601 and extends in the normal direction to the optical axis. That is, for example, it has the same structure as the side surface 110a.

  The features of the present invention can also be interpreted as follows.

  At least one surface of the lens is provided with a protruding portion that protrudes in parallel with the optical axis of the lens on the outer periphery thereof. The projecting portion is composed of a top portion that is a plane including the apex of the projecting portion and a side portion that is a region from the lens side edge at the top portion to the lens side edge at the projecting portion, and is along a normal to the optical axis of the lens. The contour of the cross section of the side portion parallel to the optical axis of the extending lens is an arc.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The present invention can be used for a lens, a lens unit configured by combining a plurality of lenses, and a lens array formed by molding a plurality of lenses on a wafer.

100 lenses (lens unit)
101 First lens (lens)
102 Second lens (lens)
104a Effective aperture 104b Effective aperture 105a Edge (outer periphery of effective aperture)
105b Edge 106a Effective aperture 106b Effective aperture 107a Edge 107b Edge 108a Projection 108b Projection 110a Side 110b Side 111a Projection 111b Projection 113a Side 113b Side 401 Lens 402 Projection 404 Side 500 Lens array 600 Lens array 601 Lens optical surface ( lens)
La optical axis Y1 distance

Claims (4)

A lens provided with a projecting portion projecting parallel to the optical axis on the outer periphery of the effective aperture,
With respect to a cross section that is parallel to the optical axis and extends in a direction normal to the optical axis, the side surface of the projecting portion is an arc,
Light is incident on the protrusion,
The lens has the protrusions on both sides,
The protrusion includes an upper surface and a side surface,
The diameter of the side surface provided on one surface of the lens is larger than the diameter of the side surface provided on the other surface of the lens, which is a surface opposite to the one surface,
The upper surface of the projecting portion provided on the other surface is closer to the optical axis than the end on the side of the projecting portion provided on the one surface is adjacent to the side surface of the effective aperture. Extending in the direction of leaving,
Regarding the above section,
In the side surface of the protruding portion provided on the one surface, an end portion on the effective diameter side adjacent to the side surface;
The lens according to claim 1, wherein a side surface of the protruding portion provided on the other surface is separated from an end opposite to the effective aperture adjacent to the side surface by 10 μm or more in the normal direction.   The lens according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is provided rotationally symmetric about the optical axis.   A lens unit comprising two or more lenses according to claim 1 or 2. A lens array formed by molding a plurality of lenses on a wafer,
The lens array according to claim 1, wherein the lens is the lens according to claim 1.

Images