JP2005258266A - Method for manufacturing metal coated optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing a metal coated optical fiber in which electric power can be easily and stably supplied for forming a metal coating layer on a seed layer by electroplating and high productivity, high quality and high economic advantage can be achieved. <P>SOLUTION: When a metal coating layer is formed by electroplating on the surface of a conductive seed layer 4 which is applied on a primary coated fiber 3 and is exposed by removing a resin coating 2 in a required length of an optical fiber 1, the top end of the primary coated fiber having the exposed sheet layer 4 is gripped and supported by a pair of gripping pieces 5a, 5b at least one of which is made of a conductor. The conductor gripping piece 5a is used as a cathode to supply electric power. The conductive gripping piece 5a is masked with an insulator except at the part being in contact with the primary coated fiber 3 having the seed layer 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a metal-coated optical fiber.

  As a method for producing a metal-coated optical fiber, there is a method in which a conductive seed layer is provided on a glass or plastic core wire, and a metal coating layer is formed on the surface of the seed layer by electrolytic Ni plating or electrolytic Au plating. Are known. As a method for forming the seed layer, a method of depositing or sputtering carbon (C), chromium (Cr) or the like, a method of electroless plating of nickel (Ni) or copper (Cu), or the like is known.

  However, when a metal coating layer is formed on a seed layer by electrolytic Ni plating or electrolytic Au plating, there are few proposals for a power feeding method. As a typical power supply method, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-27356 proposes a method of supplying power by bringing the tip of a cathode bar into contact with a seed layer. Japanese Patent No. 2942374 proposes a method of applying a thick conductive paint to a part of the seed layer and supplying power to the conductive paint portion.

JP-A-6-27356 Japanese Patent No. 2942374

  In the production of a metal-coated optical fiber, as a power feeding method when forming a metal coating layer on a seed layer by electrolytic Ni plating or electrolytic Au plating, when electroplating is performed by the above-described conventional method, the plating layer is caused by a conduction failure. In other words, the electroplating solution or the metal-coated optical fiber is contaminated, the process is complicated and inefficient, and the manufacturing cost is high.

  For example, in the method of contacting the cathode rod described in JP-A-6-27356, since the core of the optical fiber is very thin as 125 μm, the tip contact portion of the cathode rod must be made thin, and the high contact position Accuracy is required. For this reason, there is a problem in that a predetermined current is difficult to flow and electrolytic plating cannot be performed or a predetermined film thickness cannot be obtained due to a shortage of electric capacity as a cathode, contact position deviation easily occurring, or a small contact area. was there.

  Further, in the method of supplying power to the conductive paint part disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2942374, the steps of applying and drying the conductive paint increase, and when the conductive paint part is unnecessary, the conductive paint part is applied after electroplating. A process for removing the film is also required. In addition, when removing the plating at the tip of the core wire for incorporation in an optical device, the removal time is long because there is a thick plating layer up to the tip. Further, there are problems such as contamination of the plating solution in contact with the conductive paint portion and residue contamination at the time of removing the conductive paint, resulting in a decrease in yield and high manufacturing cost.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and can easily and stably supply power when a metal coating layer is formed on a seed layer by electroplating. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing a metal-coated optical fiber capable of achieving productivity, high quality, and high economic efficiency.

  In order to achieve the above object, the method for producing a metal-coated optical fiber according to the present invention removes the resin coating of the optical fiber by a required length and coats the surface of the conductive seed layer on the exposed core wire by electroplating. In the method of manufacturing a metal-coated optical fiber for forming a layer, a tip end portion of a core wire having an exposed seed layer is sandwiched between a pair of holding jigs made of a conductor, and the holding jig for the conductor is used as a cathode side. It is characterized by supplying power.

  In this method of manufacturing a metal-coated optical fiber according to the present invention, it is preferable that the gripping jig for the conductor is masked with a chemical-resistant and heat-resistant insulator except for a portion in contact with the core wire having the seed layer. .

  According to the present invention, when the metal coating layer is formed on the seed layer by electroplating, since simple and stable power feeding can be performed, the metal coating layer can be stably formed by electroplating. Contamination of the liquid and the metal-coated optical fiber can be eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to simultaneously achieve high productivity, high quality, and high economic efficiency in the production of the metal-coated optical fiber.

  A method for producing a metal-coated optical fiber according to the present invention will be described in the order of steps with reference to the drawings. First, as shown in FIG. 1A, the resin coating 2 of the optical fiber 1 is removed by a length necessary for forming a metal coating layer, and a conductive seed layer 4 is formed on the exposed core wire 3. . As the material and formation method of the seed layer 4, carbon (C), chromium (Cr), etc. are deposited or sputtered, and in the case of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), titanium (Ti), etc., electroless plating It is preferable to form by. It is also possible to use an optical fiber in which a seed layer 4 is previously formed on the entire core wire 3 and a resin coating 2 is provided thereon. In this case, only a part of the resin coating 2 may be removed. There is no need to form a layer.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, the tip of the core wire 3 (having the seed layer 4 on the surface) exposed from the resin coating 2 of the optical fiber 1 is sandwiched between a pair of gripping jigs 5. Since at least one of the pair of gripping jigs 5 supplies power to the seed layer 4 on the core wire 3, it is necessary to use the conductor gripping jig 5a. The other gripping jig only needs to have chemical resistance and heat resistance so that it can withstand electroplating. For example, a rubber gripping jig 5b can be used.

  The conductor gripping jig 5a is preferably a conductive metal material such as Cu or Cu alloy, Fe or Fe alloy, Ti or Ti alloy, and other than the contact surface with the core wire 3, chemical and heat resistant insulation. Unnecessary plating can be prevented by masking with a body. The surface of the conductor holding jig 5a that contacts the core wire 3 may be a flat surface, but it is desirable to form a fixing groove so that the contact area with the core wire 3 is increased.

  The optical fiber 1 sandwiched and gripped by the pair of gripping jigs 5a and 5b sandwiching the tip of the core wire 3 is immersed in the electroplating solution to expose the conductor gripping jig 5a as the cathode. Electroplating is performed by supplying power as the side. By this electroplating, as shown in FIG. 1C, the metal coating layer 6 having a predetermined thickness is formed on the exposed seed layer 4 of the core wire 3 except for the tip portion sandwiched between the holding jigs 5a and 5b. Is formed. By using the gripping jig 5 in this way, it is possible to reliably and stably supply power to the seed layer 4, so that the metal coating layer 6 having a uniform thickness can be stably formed.

  Moreover, since the gripping jig 5 can be easily removed after the electroplating is completed, no power feeding portion remains in the obtained metal-coated optical fiber. Further, since the metal coating layer 6 is hardly formed at the tip of the core wire 3 sandwiched by the gripping jig 5, as shown in FIG. 1 (d), the exposed core wire 3 is later incorporated into the optical device apparatus. It is possible to shorten the time for removing the metal coating layer 6 and the seed layer 3 from the front end portion. Furthermore, even when the tip end portion of the core wire 3 is distorted from the gripping jig 5, the tip end portion can be cut and removed, so that the deterioration problem of the core wire 3 can be solved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows a specific example of the electroplating apparatus according to the present invention. The tip of a core wire 3 having a seed layer 4 on the surface is sandwiched between a conductor gripping jig 5a and a rubber gripping apparatus 5b. Both ends of 5b are held and fixed by the jig holding member 7, and the resin coating 2 portion of the optical fiber 1 is fixed by the optical fiber fixing member 8.

  Then, by lowering or raising the jig holding member 7 and the optical fiber fixing member 8, the core wire 3 having the seed layer 4 exposed from the resin coating 2 of the optical fiber 1 is attached to the electroplating tank 11 in which the anode 9 is set. It is immersed in or removed from the electroplating solution 10. In addition, since the jig holding member 7 is immersed in the electroplating solution 10, it is preferably a material having chemical resistance and heat resistance, but the optical fiber fixing member 8 is not immersed in the electroplating solution 10. Any material having sufficient strength for fixing the optical fiber 1 may be used.

  A metal-coated optical fiber was manufactured using this electroplating apparatus. That is, as shown in FIG. 1A, after the resin coating 2 of the optical fiber 1 is removed by a predetermined length to expose the core wire 3, the thickness is about 0.5 μm by Ni vapor deposition or electroless Ni plating. A seed layer 4 was formed. As shown in FIG. 1B, a conductor gripping jig 5a and a rubber gripping jig having chemical resistance and heat resistance are attached to the tip of the core wire 3 on which the Ni seed layer 4 is formed. 5b was sandwiched and supported. In addition, it masked with the chemical-resistant and heat resistant resin except the surface where the core wire 2 of the used holding jig 5a of the conductor contacts.

Both ends of the gripping jigs 5 a and 5 b were held and fixed by the jig holding member 7, and the resin coating 2 portion of the optical fiber 1 was fixed to the optical fiber fixing member 8. Thereafter, the jig holding member 7 holding and fixing the optical fiber 1 and the optical fiber fixing member 8 are lowered, and the core wire 3 having the seed layer 4 exposed from the resin coating 2 is electroplated as shown in FIG. Was immersed in the electroplating solution 10. The anode 9 in the electroplating tank 11 and the conductor holding jig 5a (cathode) were connected to a rectifier, and a predetermined current was passed to perform electroplating. In the case of electrolytic Ni plating, a current of 5 A / dm ² was passed, and in the case of electrolytic Au plating, a current of 0.5 A / dm ² was passed.

  After the electroplating is finished, the jig holding member 7 and the optical fiber fixing member 8 are pulled up from the plating solution 11, and the conductor holding jig 5a and the rubber holding jig 5b are removed, and the optical fiber fixing member is removed. The optical fiber 1 was taken out from 8 and collected. The portion exposed from the resin coating 2 of the collected optical fiber 1 was gripped by the gripping jigs 5a and 5b on the surface of the seed layer 4 provided on the core wire 3, as shown in FIG. Except for the tip, a metal coating layer 6 having an electrolytic Ni plating thickness of about 2 μm and an electrolytic Au plating thickness of about 0.5 μm was formed thereon.

  When this metal-coated optical fiber is subsequently incorporated into an optical device, there is almost no thick metal coating layer 6 at the tip of the core wire 3 and only a thin seed layer 3 is present. Polishing is extremely easy. Further, the tip of the core wire 3 including the end face is removed by removing the Ni seed layer 3 as shown in FIG. 1D by immersing the tip without the metal coating layer 6 in a dilute nitric acid solution. The part can also be exposed. Furthermore, if the tip of the core wire 3 without the metal coating layer 6 is cut, the strained portion generated when the metal wires are sandwiched between the holding jigs 5a and 5b can be removed, so that a high-quality metal-coated optical fiber can be provided. .

It is a schematic diagram which shows the manufacturing process of the metal-coated optical fiber which concerns on this invention in order. It is a schematic diagram which shows one specific example of the electroplating apparatus used for manufacture of the metal-coated optical fiber which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical fiber 2 Resin coating 3 Core wire 4 Seed layer 5 Holding jig 5a Conductor holding jig 5b Rubber holding jig 6 Metal coating layer 7 Jig holding member 8 Optical fiber fixing member 9 Anode 10 Electroplating solution 11 Electroplating bath

Claims (2)

In the method of manufacturing a metal-coated optical fiber, the resin coating of the optical fiber is removed by a required length, and a metal coating layer is formed by electroplating on the surface of the conductive seed layer on the exposed core wire. A method for producing a metal-coated optical fiber, wherein at least one end portion of a core wire is sandwiched between a pair of gripping jigs made of a conductor, and power is fed as the gripping jig for the conductor as a cathode side. 2. The metal-coated optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the gripping jig for the conductor is masked with a chemical-resistant and heat-resistant insulator except for a portion in contact with the core wire having the seed layer. Manufacturing method.

Images