JP4614264B2 - Polishing method and polishing system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is a polishing method, particularly a method for polishing an optical fiber module including an optical fiber, to Migaku Ken system that is used with it.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, optical devices using optical fibers have been widely used in, for example, the optical communication field, and various optical devices such as an optical switch for switching an optical path as an information transmission path and an optical attenuator for attenuating a beam. Is used. The basic configuration of an optical device is an optical fiber module in which an optical fiber is mounted on a support substrate, and various optical functional parts such as lenses, mirrors, and optical filters are arranged in front of the tip of the optical fiber. It is common. In such an optical device, not only the optical axis of the optical fiber of the optical fiber module and the optical functional component facing the optical fiber are not exactly aligned, but also the distance between the two is not accurate. There is a possibility that desired optical characteristics cannot be obtained.

  Also, in an optical device, the light travels between the optical fiber and the optical functional component both when light is emitted from the optical fiber toward the optical functional component and when light enters the optical fiber from the optical functional component. It may be preferred that the light to be a substantially parallel beam that is not focused or diverged. In such a case, in order to obtain a parallel beam, a so-called fiber collimator in which a lens functional component is joined to the end of a normal optical fiber, for example, a single mode type optical fiber (SM type optical fiber) is widely used. Yes. An example of a lens functional component in a fiber collimator is a relatively short graded index optical fiber (GI optical fiber). However, if the lens functional component such as the GI type optical fiber is not of an appropriate length, there is a possibility that desired parallel light cannot be obtained due to diverging or focusing. The fact that the length of the GI optical fiber needs to be accurately formed is disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the like.

  Since the tip surface of the optical fiber of the optical fiber module is formed by a polishing operation, the accuracy of the tip of the optical fiber and the optical functional part is improved, and the length accuracy of the GI type optical fiber of the fiber collimator is improved. As a measure for this, it is conceivable to increase the accuracy of the polishing amount of the optical fiber. In a normal polishing operation, a workpiece is set in a polishing apparatus, and the workpiece is pushed toward the polishing member while being pressed against a polishing member (for example, a polishing pad) of the polishing apparatus, and reaches a predetermined length. Stop working at that point. In this polishing operation, the polishing amount of the optical fiber is controlled by the polishing time, so it is impossible to accurately recognize that the optical fiber as the workpiece has reached a predetermined length and stop the polishing operation immediately. It's not easy. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to measure the amount of polishing and perform polishing while monitoring the measured value, and at least to measure and monitor the amount of polishing constantly from the point of time when it approaches a certain length. There is. Therefore, the optical fiber modules must be individually monitored and polished one by one, and monitoring equipment is required, which makes the operation very complicated. In order to automate this polishing operation, it is necessary to prepare a very precise, complicated and expensive control device, which is generally difficult. When this polishing operation is performed individually for each optical fiber module, the work efficiency is very poor, the manufacturing cost increases, and it is completely unsuitable for mass production.

On the other hand, in the configuration described in Patent Document 2, a large number of optical fiber modules can be set in one polishing jig, and the polishing jig can be set in a polishing apparatus and polished at a time. In the configuration described in Patent Document 2, after setting the jig board to the contact jig, the optical fiber module is fixed to the jig board with the end face of the optical fiber module pressed against the jig. That is, a large number of optical fiber modules are fixed to the jig board so that the distance from the bottom surface of the jig board to the tip of the optical fiber module is constant. Then, this jig board is set in a polishing apparatus, and a large number of optical fiber modules are collectively polished.
JP-A-6-138342 ([0017] to [0020], [0026]) JP 2001-205558 A ([0014], FIG. 7) JP 2003-19649 A ([0025] to [0063], FIGS. 1 to 5)

  In the configuration described in Patent Document 2, the end face of the optical fiber module is abutted against the jig and the optical fiber module is aligned with the jig board along the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber. Yes. In this method, the end face of the optical fiber module is used as a reference, and the optical fiber is polished by a predetermined amount from this end face. In addition, the variation in the polishing amount of the optical fiber greatly depends on the processing accuracy of the end face of the optical fiber module. The end face of the optical fiber module, which serves as a reference for polishing, is usually formed by mechanical cutting such as dicing, but its accuracy is lower than the processing accuracy such as etching. Moreover, the positioning accuracy by the degree is not so high. If these errors include an error at the time of setting on the jig board, an error of about 25 μm occurs when the optical fiber module is set on the jig board. If an error of the polishing operation is added to this, an error of about 35 to 40 μm is finally generated in the polishing amount. Furthermore, when configuring the optical device, it is necessary to relatively align the optical fiber module with the optical functional component which is another member. Appropriate optical connection cannot be made and desired characteristics cannot be obtained.

It is an object of the present invention, a number of the manufacturing cost can be polished collectively optical fiber module can be mass-produced low, and a polishing method capable of obtaining a more accurate optical fiber modules, that are used to it It is to provide a Migaku Ken system.

The polishing method of the present invention polishes a plurality of optical fiber modules in which optical fibers are fixed to a support substrate so as to allow movement in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module and to regulate movement in the thickness direction of the optical fiber module. Each of the optical fiber modules temporarily fixed to the polishing jig is displayed on the display area one by one in the display area by rotating the polishing jig and temporarily fixing each to the jig. as the positioning reference portion has become a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the polishing jig, a fine adjustment process for finely adjusting individually the mounting position of the respective polishing jig provisionally fixed the optical fiber module, at fine adjustment step, after the fine adjustment of the attachment positions of all of the optical fiber module held by the polishing jig is completed, it sets the polishing jig in the polishing apparatus, And a step of polishing at the same time collectively at least optical fiber of any of the optical fiber module held by the MigakuOsamugu, fine adjustment step includes a jig-side reference portion provided on the polishing jig, positioning The reference portion is displayed in a display area provided with a plurality of reference lines corresponding to each of the jig side reference portion and the positioning reference portion, and the jig side reference portion and the positioning reference portion are respectively displayed in the display region. to match with the reference line corresponding to, viewing including moving the optical fiber module is temporarily fixed to the polishing jig in the longitudinal direction, the supporting substrate of the optical fiber module, the optical axis passing through the optical fiber The other member positioning portion used for positioning of the other member mounted on the support substrate so as to be positioned at the position is formed in the same process as the positioning reference portion . According to this method, an optical fiber module with extremely good accuracy can be manufactured.

The optical fiber module is preferably movable only in the longitudinal direction of the temporarily fixed optical fiber module while being temporarily fixed to the polishing jig. Thereby, the fine adjustment process of the next process can be performed smoothly.

According to the method of the present invention , accurate alignment can be easily performed. Further, the fine adjustment of the mounting position of the optical fiber module may be performed by pressing the tip of the optical fiber module with a feeding mechanism and pushing it into the polishing jig. In that case, the configuration for performing fine adjustment is simplified. For example, the feed mechanism may be a micrometer. In addition, the optical fiber module is temporarily fixed to the polishing jig and held in a predetermined position with respect to the polishing jig or in a state protruding from the predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module. Fine adjustment can be easily and accurately performed by the mechanism.

  The polishing jig is provided with a polishing stop reference portion, and polishing of the optical fiber module is preferably stopped when the polishing stop reference portion abuts against a stopper portion of the polishing apparatus. As a result, predetermined polishing can be achieved even if monitoring is not always performed during polishing.

The support substrate of the optical fiber module is provided with a positioning portion for other members that serves as a reference for positioning for mounting other members mounted on the support substrate so as to be positioned on the optical axis passing through the optical fiber, the positioning reference and the other member positioning part is formed in the same step Runode, relative positional accuracy of the positioning reference portion and the other member positioning part is very good. The positioning reference portion is used as a reference for alignment of the optical fiber module with the polishing jig, and substantially determines the tip position of the optical fiber module after polishing. Since the relative positional accuracy between the positioning reference portion and the other member positioning portion is good, the relative positional accuracy between the tip of the optical fiber module and the other member is increased.

The other member positioning portion may be positioned standards unit.

  The optical fiber has a configuration in which a lens functional component is bonded to the tip of an optical fiber for light transmission, and these bonded portions may be aligned with a positioning reference portion. According to this, the accuracy of the length of the lens functional component can be improved. The optical fiber for light transmission may be a single mode optical fiber, and the lens functional component may be a graded index optical fiber.

  Temporary fixing of the optical fiber module to the polishing jig is performed by bringing a holding member into contact with the support substrate in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the support substrate. After fine adjustment of the mounting position of the optical fiber module, the stopper member is attached to the optical fiber. It is preferable to fix the optical fiber module to the polishing jig by fixing the module in contact with the rear end of the module support substrate. Further, the stopper member is movable in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module, and is moved until it comes into contact with the rear end of the support substrate of the optical fiber module, and is then moved and fixed in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the support substrate. It is preferable that the main surface of the support substrate does not come into contact. In this case, excessive pressure is not applied to the optical fiber module, and damage and deformation can be prevented. Moreover, the optical fiber module is not pressed more than necessary during polishing by the stopper member, so that the polishing amount does not become too large.

The polishing jig can hold a plurality of optical fiber modules, and each optical fiber module is individually finely adjusted for the mounting position, and the mounting positions of all the optical fiber modules held by the polishing jig are finely adjusted. When the adjustment is completed, all the optical fiber modules held in the polishing jig are polished simultaneously by the polishing device at the same time, so fine adjustment of the optical fiber module can be performed with high accuracy and polishing can be performed very efficiently. Also suitable for mass production.

An apparatus for setting a polishing system according to the present invention is an optical fiber module set in a polishing apparatus in a state where an optical fiber module in which an optical fiber is fixed to a support substrate is held so that at least a part of the optical fiber protrudes. a polishing jig for performing polishing, has a plurality of workpiece mounting section capable of holding each fiber optic module, the polishing target mounting portion, restricting the movement of other than the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module has a temporary fixing means, and fixing means for restricting the longitudinal movement of the fiber optic module are respectively provided, a polishing jig for. The temporarily fixing means of the polishing jig is a pressing member that temporarily contacts the main surface of the support substrate and temporarily fixes the optical fiber module, and the fixing means contacts the end surface opposite to the polishing side of the optical fiber module, And it is preferable that it is a stopper member which fixes an optical fiber module, without contact | abutting to the main surface of an optical fiber module. The holding member can be brought into contact with the main surface of the optical fiber module by screwing a holding member lock screw that is screwed in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the support substrate, and the stopper member is disposed behind the support substrate of the optical fiber module. After moving in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module until it comes into contact with the end, it is preferably fixed by screwing a stopper member fixing screw that is screwed in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the support substrate. With such a configuration, temporary fixation before fine adjustment and strong fixation after fine adjustment can be easily performed, and an excessive pressure is not applied to the optical fiber module.

The setting device of the polishing system according to the present invention has a holding portion for holding a polishing jig and a tip of the optical fiber module in order to finely adjust the mounting position on the polishing jig and direct it toward the polishing jig. A setting jig having a feeding mechanism for pushing in. The feeding mechanism may be a micrometer, and the shaft portion of the micrometer may come into contact with the tip of the optical fiber module.

Further, the setting device of the polishing system of the present invention can display the periphery of the contact portion between the tip of the optical fiber module held by the polishing jig held by such a setting jig and the feed mechanism. Yes, the same step as the jig side reference part provided in the polishing jig and the other member positioning part used for positioning of the other member mounted on the support substrate so as to be positioned on the optical axis passing through the optical fiber in further comprising a display means having a positioning reference portion formed on the supporting substrate, a display region in which a plurality of reference lines corresponding to the respectively provided.

In the polishing system of the present invention, the setting device having the above-described configuration and the polishing jig removed from the setting jig are set, and all the optical fiber modules held by the polishing jig are simultaneously and collectively And a polishing apparatus capable of polishing. According to this polishing system, the polishing method of the present invention can be easily implemented, and the configuration is relatively simple. The polishing jig can be rotated to position the plurality of optical fiber modules temporarily fixed to the polishing jig one by one at a position facing the feeding mechanism.
Further, the feeding mechanism of the set jig is an optical fiber module temporarily fixed to the polishing jig so that the jig-side reference portion and the positioning reference portion coincide with the corresponding reference lines in the display area. Is moved in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module to finely adjust the mounting position with respect to the polishing jig.

  The polishing apparatus has a stopper portion that prevents further polishing of the optical fiber module by preventing further approach of the polishing jig when the polishing stop reference portion provided on the polishing jig contacts. Preferably it is.

  According to the present invention, an optical fiber module can be manufactured with high accuracy. The position of the tip of the optical fiber can be accurately determined by polishing by performing positioning after positioning to the polishing jig with reference to the positioning reference portion instead of the end face of the support substrate of the optical fiber module. In particular, if the positioning reference part and the positioning part for other member are formed with high relative positional accuracy, the relative position between the tip of the optical fiber and the other member can be accurately controlled, contributing to the reliable production of an optical device having a desired performance. . Moreover, damage and deformation of the optical fiber module can be suppressed.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, the outline of the polishing method of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. A number of optical fiber modules 1 are temporarily fixed to the polishing jig 2 (step S1). Then, the polishing jig 2 is attached to the setting jig 3, and the attachment position of the optical fiber module 1 with respect to the polishing jig 2 is enlarged and observed. For example, this position is imaged by an imaging means such as a CCD camera 4, fine adjustment is performed while monitoring the imaging result, and the optical fiber module 1 is permanently fixed to the polishing jig 2 (step S2).

  This fine adjustment is performed for each of the optical fiber modules 1, and when the fine adjustment of the mounting positions for all the optical fiber modules 1 is completed (step S3), the polishing jig 2 is removed from the setting jig 3 and the polishing apparatus 5 is removed. Install. Then, all the optical fiber modules 1 attached to the polishing jig 2 are collectively polished by the polishing apparatus 5 (step S4).

[First Embodiment]
Specific embodiments of the polishing method of the present invention will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the basic configuration of the optical fiber module 1 to be polished in this embodiment is such that a holding groove 6a is formed in the support substrate 6, and the optical fiber 7 is held in the holding groove 6a. The plate 8 is fixed on the support substrate 6 with the optical fiber 7 pressed against the support substrate 6. The optical fiber 7 is a tape-like fiber whose base is integrally covered, and a plurality of core wires extend from the base. FIG. 2 shows the optical fiber module 1 before polishing, and the end face after polishing is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  In the present embodiment, the support substrate 6 is provided with a positioning reference portion 6b and another member positioning portion 6c. Specifically, the support substrate 6 is a substrate made of glass, ceramic, silicon, resin, or the like, and the holding groove 6a, the positioning reference portion 6b, and the other member positioning portion 6c are formed by etching or molding. The holding plate 8 is made of glass, ceramic, silicon, resin, or the like, like the support substrate 6, and is fixed on the support substrate 6 using an adhesive, for example. The positioning reference portion 6 b is a groove or a line-shaped mark that can be seen from the side surface of the support substrate 6. As schematically shown in FIG. 3, the other-member positioning unit 6c includes the optical fiber module 1 and another member (a substrate 62 on which another optical functional component 61 is mounted) with a ball-shaped positioning means 60 interposed therebetween. It is a recessed part for performing position alignment. In the present embodiment, at least the positioning reference portion 6b and the other member positioning portion 6c are simultaneously formed in the same process.

  In the present embodiment, the support substrate 6, the optical fiber 7, and the pressing plate 8 of the optical fiber module 1 are simultaneously polished and formed so that the end surface is inclined with respect to the plate surface of the support substrate 6. This inclination angle is formed for the purpose of reducing the reflected return light from the end face of the optical fiber, and is generally about 4 to 11 degrees, so there are some places that do not appear clearly in the drawing.

  Next, the process (step S1) of temporarily fixing the optical fiber module 1 to the polishing jig 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the polishing jig 2 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which a guide member 10 for stopping polishing is attached to a jig board 9, and a plurality of (this embodiment) the jig board 9 having a substantially polygonal shape. In this example, eight workpiece attachment portions 9a are provided. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the pressing member 12 is disposed at a position facing the protruding portion 11 on the workpiece mounting portion 9 a of the jig board 9, and the pressing member 12 is protruded by the pressing member lock screw 13. 11 can advance and retreat. The optical fiber module 1 is sandwiched between the pressing member 12 and the protruding portion 11, and the side surface is regulated by the guide portion 9d in FIG. A stopper member 15 is disposed above the space in which the optical fiber module 1 is inserted, and is fixed by a stopper member fixing screw 16. A guide rail portion 17 for guiding the stopper member 15 is provided.

  When temporarily fixing the optical fiber module 1 to the workpiece attaching portion 9a, first, as shown in a part of FIG. 6, the stopper member 15 and the stopper member fixing screw 16 are removed and the pressing member lock screw 13 is loosened. Then, the optical fiber module 1 is inserted into the space between the pressing member 12 and the protruding portion 11 in a state where a sufficiently wide space is secured between the pressing member 12 and the protruding portion 11 (step S1 (a)). The surface to be polished of the optical fiber module 1 (the side on which the tip surface of the optical fiber 7 is located) faces downward in FIGS. Therefore, the holding member lock screw 13 is tightened to temporarily fix the optical fiber module. At this time, the holding member lock screw 13 is used so that the support substrate 6 and the holding plate 8 of the optical fiber module 1 are not damaged, and the optical fiber module is not damaged. Although the fiber module 1 is not easily detached from the space between the pressing member 12 and the protrusion 11, it is only lightly tightened to such an extent that it can move in the insertion direction (vertical direction in FIGS. 6 and 7) (step) S1 (b)). After temporarily fixing the optical fiber module 1 to the jig board 9 in this way, the stopper member 15 is disposed above the optical fiber module 1 along the guide rail portion 17. Specifically, a part of the stopper member 15 is brought into contact with the rear end (the upper end surface in FIGS. 6 and 7) of the support substrate 6 (step S1 (c)). At this time, the stopper member fixing screw 16 is loosened, and the stopper member 15 is movable along the guide rail portion 17 in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module 1. The optical fiber 7 of the optical fiber module 1 extends through the recess of the stopper member 15, but is omitted in FIG. Since fine adjustment is performed using a feed mechanism such as the micrometer 20 in a fine adjustment step (step S2) described later, the optical fiber module 1 is temporarily fixed in advance in a state of excessively protruding from the polishing jig 2. .

  The optical fiber module 1 to be collectively polished is temporarily fixed to the jig board 9 individually by the method described above. In the present embodiment, description will be made on the assumption that eight optical fiber modules 1 are collectively polished. However, in order to facilitate the description of the polishing jig 2, the setting jig 3 and the polishing apparatus 5, which will be described later, the optical fiber module 1 is omitted from the drawings in many parts. Further, as described above, in order to give the end face of the optical fiber module 1 an inclination of several degrees, each object holding portion 9a is inclined with respect to the bottom surface of the polishing jig.

  When all the optical fiber modules 1 to be held by the polishing jig 2 are temporarily fixed, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, the polishing jig 2 is set to the setting jig 3 with the guide member 10 removed. Set (step S2 (a)). As shown in FIG. 10, the setting jig 3 has a holding part 19 and a micrometer 20. The holding part 19 holds the polishing jig 2 by fitting a holding column part 19 b provided on the frame 19 a into a not-shown recess in the bottom part of the polishing jig 2. The micrometer 20 has a main body part fixed to a frame 19a, and the shaft part 20a can be moved back and forth. The shaft portion 20 a of the micrometer 20 is disposed at a position facing one of the workpiece attachment portions 9 a when the polishing jig 2 is fixed by the holding portion 19.

  A CCD camera (imaging means) 4 capable of imaging the vicinity of the tip end of the shaft portion 20a of the micrometer 20 is arranged in the vicinity of the setting jig 3, and a display (display means) 21 for displaying the imaging result by the CCD camera 4 is arranged thereon. It is connected. Thus, the set device is configured. Therefore, fine adjustment of the mounting position of the optical fiber module 1 of the set polishing jig 2 is performed using the setting device (the setting jig 3, the CCD camera 4, and the display 21).

  The operator picked up an image with the CCD camera 4 while holding one of the optical fiber modules 1 temporarily fixed to the polishing jig 2 at a position facing the shaft portion 20a of the micrometer 20 as described above. The result is displayed on the display 21 (step S2 (b)). An example of the imaging screen (enlarged observation screen) displayed on the display 21 is shown in FIG. The display 21 is drawn with reference lines 21a and 21b indicating predetermined intervals. The reference lines 21a and 21b are adjusted so as to always remain fixed and show a constant interval L regardless of the fluctuation of the imaging target, and one of them (reference line 21a) is the bottom surface portion of the polishing jig 2. It is made to correspond to the reference | standard part 2a provided in this. In FIG. 11, a two-dot chain line 21c indicating a polishing end position not provided on the actual screen is drawn. This polishing end position will be described later.

  In the state shown in FIG. 11, the positioning reference portion 6 b formed on the support substrate 6 of the optical fiber module 1 is displayed on the screen, but deviates from the reference line 21 b to the micrometer 20 side (right side in FIG. 11). In the position. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, the micrometer 20 is operated to extend the shaft portion 20 a and bring it into contact with the tip portion of the optical fiber module 1. Then, the micrometer 20 is further operated to extend the shaft portion 20a and press the tip portion of the optical fiber module 1 (step S2 (c)). As described above, the holding member lock screw 13 and the stopper member fixing screw 16 are both loosely tightened, and the optical fiber module 1 is only temporarily fixed so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction. The optical fiber module 1 is moved to the polishing jig 2 side (left side in FIG. 12). At this time, the operator extends the shaft portion 20a of the micrometer 20 little by little while monitoring the screen of the display 21, and the positioning reference portion 6b of the support substrate 6 of the optical fiber module 1 serves as a reference as shown in FIG. When it coincides with the line 21b (step S2 (d)), the operation of the micrometer 20 is stopped (step S2 (e)). Then, the holding member lock screw 13 is tightened to such an extent that the support substrate 6 is not damaged, so that the optical fiber module 1 is completely brought into contact with the protrusion 11, and the stopper member 15 of the polishing jig 2 is moved to the rear end of the support substrate 6. By tightening the stopper member fixing screw 16 in contact with the optical fiber module 1, the optical fiber module 1 is fixed so as not to move further (step S2 (f)).

  In this manner, the optical fiber module 1 is fixed to the polishing jig 2 in a state where the distance between the positioning reference portion 6b and the reference portion 2a of the polishing jig 2 is accurately defined. When the stopper member fixing screw 16 is tightened so as not to directly apply pressure to the optical fiber module 1, the stopper member 15 is in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the support substrate 6 (vertical direction in FIG. 12). It is structured to move toward. If the stopper member 15 has a threaded hole parallel to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module 1 and the stopper member 15 advances in the parallel direction when the stopper member fixing screw 16 is tightened, the stopper member fixing screw 16 is When tightening, pressure is applied to the optical fiber module 1, and the position may be shifted or damaged, which may cause a polishing amount error in a polishing process described later. However, in this embodiment, the stopper member 15 is threaded in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the support substrate 6, and the stopper member fixing screw 16 is tightened in a state where the stopper member 15 is securely in contact with the rear end of the support substrate 6. Since the stopper member 15 advances in the vertical direction, no pressure is applied to the optical fiber module 1 when the stopper member fixing screw 16 is tightened. In this state, the optical fiber module 1 cannot be moved by the pressing member 12 in the direction (left and right direction in FIG. 12) perpendicular to the main surface (plate surface), and is parallel to the main surface and in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module 1. In the vertical direction, it cannot be moved by the guide portion 9 d of the workpiece attachment portion 9 a, and in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module 1, it cannot be retracted by the stopper member 15. Accordingly, even when the tip of the optical fiber module 1 is pushed by a polishing pad or the like due to a load during polishing and a force is applied in the direction of being pushed into the polishing jig 2, the movement of the optical fiber module 1 relative to the polishing jig 2 is restricted. can do. Although the optical fiber module 1 can move in the direction in which it is pulled out from the polishing jig 2 (right side in FIG. 12), the force in the direction to push out the optical fiber module 1 from the rear end side (force from the left side in FIG. 12). ) Is not possible because the rear end of the optical fiber module is blocked by the stopper member 15. When a very small portion protruding from the polishing member 2 at the tip of the optical fiber module 1 is grasped and pulled out, the optical fiber module 1 moves, but such a force is usually not possible. Therefore, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the optical fiber module 1 is held so as not to move substantially in a state of being aligned with the polishing jig 2 in a predetermined positional relationship as shown in FIG.

  Note that the holding unit 19 of the setting jig 3 is not limited to the micrometer 20, and other means may be provided as long as it functions as a feeding mechanism for pushing the optical fiber module 1 into the polishing jig 2 side. May be. Such a feed mechanism including the micrometer 20 may be manually operated or may be operated via mechanical control means. Further, as described above, since the optical fiber module 1 is temporarily fixed in a state of excessively protruding from the polishing jig 2, fine adjustment can be performed using a feeding mechanism such as a micrometer 20. If the optical fiber module 1 is temporarily fixed in a state of being excessively retracted into the polishing jig 2, fine adjustment cannot be performed using a feed mechanism such as the micrometer 20 or the like. In this case, fine adjustment is difficult even if other means are used.

  In this embodiment, the CCD camera 4 and the display 21 are used as a method for magnifying observation. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the magnifying observation may be performed directly with a normal microscope. In this case, it is preferable to have a function of displaying the reference lines 21a and 21b inside the microscope.

  The fine adjustment of the mounting position between the optical fiber module 1 and the polishing jig 2 described above is performed individually for all the optical fiber modules 1 temporarily fixed to the polishing jig 2. That is, when the fine adjustment of one optical fiber module 1 is completed, the polishing jig 2 is slightly rotated with respect to the setting jig 3 (step S2 (g)), and the next optical fiber module 1 is moved to the micrometer 20. The fine adjustment process (steps S2 (a) to S2 (f)) described above is performed in opposition to the above. When fine adjustment of all the optical fiber modules 1 is completed (step S3), as shown in FIG. 5, a guide member 10 for stopping polishing is attached to the jig board 9 of the polishing jig 2. Specifically, the hole 10c of the guide member 10 is fitted into the central protrusion 9b surrounded by the eight workpiece attachment portions 9a, and the fixing screw 18 is tightened to fix the guide member 10 to the jig board. Attach to 9. In addition, although it is also possible to implement all the above-described steps with the guide member 10 attached to the jig board 9, in consideration of ease of work, the above-described steps are performed with the guide member 10 removed. It is preferable to carry out each step.

  As described above, the optical fiber module 1 is aligned and fixed, and the completed polishing jig 2 is attached to the polishing apparatus 5 and polished as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 (step S4). .

  Here, the configuration of the polishing apparatus 5 will be described. This polishing apparatus 5 may have a known configuration as shown in Patent Document 3. That is, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the object to be polished (the optical fiber module 1 fixed to the polishing jig 2) supported by the arm-shaped support portion 24 is pressed against the polishing plate 23 on the surface plate 22. On the other hand, the surface plate 22, the polishing plate 23 and the support portion 24 are relatively swung to polish the object to be polished. The detailed configuration will be described below.

  First, the swing mechanism of the polishing apparatus 5 shown in FIG. 16 will be described. A central portion of the first rotation transmission board 26 is connected to a rotation shaft of the motor 25 for rotation, and a plurality of first connection pins 27 are fixed to the first rotation transmission board 26 on a concentric circle centering on the rotation center. Yes. Each first connection pin 27 is rotatably connected to an eccentric part of the corresponding rotation transmission board 28, and a second connection pin 29 is fixed to the eccentric part of each rotation transmission board 28. Each second connection pin 29 is rotatably connected to the second rotation transmission board 30.

  On the other hand, a central portion of a drive gear 32 is connected to the rotation shaft of the revolution motor 31, and a driven gear 33 is engaged with the drive gear 32. The driven gear 33 is connected to the lower outer periphery of the revolution transmission shaft 40, and the bearing cylinder portion 42 of the polishing apparatus main body 41 is fitted to the upper outer periphery of the revolution transmission shaft 40. A rotation shaft 43 is rotatably inserted into the revolution transmission shaft 40 at a position eccentric from the rotation center by a predetermined amount, and a lower end portion of the rotation shaft 43 is a central portion of the second rotation transmission plate 30. It is connected to.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the upper end portion of the rotating rotation shaft 43 is coupled to the surface plate 22 via a coupling member 44, and is further detachably fitted to the upper surface portion of the surface plate 22. Further, a polishing plate 23 to which a polishing member 45 such as a polishing sheet including a medium such as an electroformed diamond is attached is placed via the surface plate boss portion 39. On the surface plate 22, the annular member 46 is placed in a state where movement in the radial direction and the circumferential direction is restricted, and in a state where one end surface is in contact with the surface of the surface plate 22.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, the annular member 46 has a tube shape with an inner diameter larger than that of the polishing jig 2 described above, and protrudes toward the surface plate 22 on one end surface that contacts the surface of the surface plate 22. At least three convex portions 47 are provided at equal intervals. By fitting the convex portion 47 into the concave portion 48 provided on the surface plate 22, the movement of the annular member 46 in the radial direction and the circumferential direction is restricted. 18A is a perspective view of the surface plate 22, the annular member 46, and the polishing plate 23, and FIG. 18B is a plan view of the annular member 46.

  Since the annular member 46 is formed so as to have a constant height from the surface plate 22, it is necessary to perform circumferential positioning on the surface plate 22. For this reason, in this embodiment, by providing another convex portion 47 between the three convex portions 47 necessary for restricting the movement in the radial direction and the circumferential direction, the mounting direction of the annular member 46 is provided. Are always the same. Thus, by always making the mounting direction of the annular member 46 the same, the height of the annular member 46 can be made highly accurate. The number and shape of the convex portions 47 and the concave portions 48 provided on the annular member 46 and the surface plate 22 are not particularly limited. For example, the intervals between the three convex portions 47 are not uniform, and the mounting directions are always the same. Alternatively, four or more convex portions 47 may be provided.

  The annular member 46 is placed in close contact with the surface plate 22. This close contact is performed by magnetic force. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, the annular member 46 is in close contact with the surface plate 22 by the magnetic force of a plurality of permanent magnets 46 a embedded in the surface of the annular member 46 that contacts the surface plate 22.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 17, the height of the surface plate 22 on which the polishing plate 23 is placed and the position on which the annular member 46 is placed are the same. Controlling the height of the surface plate 22 in this way is performed with high accuracy by utilizing grinding, and the heights of the annular member 46 and the polishing plate 23 are similarly formed with high accuracy by grinding. . That is, the height of the end surface of the annular member 46 on the polishing jig 2 side and the polishing surface of the polishing board 23 is controlled with high accuracy, so that no error occurs in the height depending on the position in the plane. Yes. The annular member 46 can be ground on the surface plate 22 in a state where the mounting direction is always the same, so that the height from the surface plate 22 can be made high accuracy. Similarly, it is preferable to prepare a plurality of annular members 46 having different heights formed with high accuracy. As a result, the polishing height can be easily changed with high accuracy. Since the annular member 46 moves in contact with the guide member 10 attached to the jig board 9 of the polishing jig 2, it is preferable to form the annular member 46 with an oilless metal having a low frictional resistance when moving in contact with the annular member 46. .

  On the other hand, in the polishing apparatus main body 41, the polishing jig 2 to which the plurality of optical fiber modules 1 are fixed is supported by a support mechanism 50.

  As shown in FIGS. 14 to 17, a center protrusion 9 b is fixed to the center of the upper surface of the jig 9 of the polishing jig 2 by a fixing screw 49, and the center protrusion 9 b has a thickness direction in the center. A rectangular notch 9c is provided that penetrates through the aperture and opens on the side surface. In addition, a chamfered plastic flat lid 38 is provided on the upper portion of the central protrusion 9b.

  As described above, the guide member 10 having the rod-like portions 10 a that protrude radially outward from the jig board 9 is provided on the upper surface of the jig board 9. The rod-like portion 10a of the guide member 10 abuts against the end surface of the annular member 46 that rotates as the surface plate 22 rotates, restricts the movement of the jig board 9 in the pressing direction, and keeps the jig board 9 parallel. . For this reason, at least 3 or more rod-shaped parts 10a of the guide member 10 are required. However, when there are only three rod-like portions 10a, when the jig board 9 is in sliding contact with the annular member 46 at an angle, a part of the jig board 9 is between the two rod-like parts 10a in sliding contact. There is a possibility that the height of the annular member 46 becomes lower and the optical fiber module 1 is excessively shaved. Therefore, it is preferable that the guide member 10 has six or more rod-like portions 10a. On the other hand, if a large number of rod-shaped portions 10a are provided, the weight of the polishing jig 2 becomes heavy and the polishing accuracy may be deteriorated. Therefore, the number of the rod-shaped portions 10a of the guide member 10 is preferably six.

  The support mechanism 50 of the polishing apparatus 5 is held such that a support portion 24 provided in the polishing apparatus main body 41 substantially parallel to the polishing board 23 is urged downward with a predetermined pressing force. Specifically, a through hole 52 that penetrates in the thickness direction is provided at the base end portion of the support portion 24, and an adjustment screw 53 passes through the through hole 52 and is screwed into the polishing apparatus main body 41. The adjustment screw 53 passes through the biasing spring 54, and the biasing spring 54 abuts against the flange portion 53a of the adjustment screw 53 and the support portion 24 to bias the support portion 24 downward with a predetermined pressing force. is doing. The pressing force by the urging spring 54 can be adjusted by the position of the flange portion 53a of the adjusting screw 53, that is, the screwing amount of the adjusting screw 53.

  In the support portion 24, a slide pin 56 provided in the polishing apparatus main body 41 is inserted into the base end portion, and thereby the movement of the adjustment screw 53 in the rotational direction is restricted. At the tip of the support portion 24, there is provided a quadrangular columnar pressing portion 55 that protrudes toward the polishing jig 2 and fits into the notch portion 9c of the central projection portion 9a. The pressing portion 55 engages with the notch portion 9c of the central projection portion 9a, and the polishing jig 2 is pressed downward with a predetermined pressing force by the support portion 24, and the movement in the rotational direction is restricted. It has become so. That is, the polishing jig 2 is urged toward the polishing board 23 by the support portion 24 in a state where movement in the rotation direction is restricted by the pressing portion 55 of the support portion 24, and is fixed as described above. 1 is supported in a state in which the tip end portion 1 is in contact with the polishing board 23.

  In the polishing apparatus 5 having the above-described configuration, when the revolution motor 31 is driven, the revolution transmission shaft 40 rotates through the gears 32 and 33, and the polishing disk 23 revolves with a predetermined eccentric amount. In this case, the rotation transmission shaft 40 includes the rotation shaft 43 for rotation, but a plurality of rotation transmission plates 28 are disposed between the rotation transmission plate 26 and the rotation transmission plate 28. Rotate around the first connecting pin 27 at the same phase as the rotation of 40. Therefore, even if the first rotation transmission board 26 is stopped or rotating, the rotation of the revolution transmission shaft 40 is not restricted.

  On the other hand, when the rotation motor 25 is driven, the first rotation transmission board 26 rotates. However, since the first connection pin 27 is located on the concentric circle of the first rotation transmission board 26, the first rotation transmission board 26 follows the same trajectory as described above. The diverting rotary shaft 43 is eccentric by a predetermined amount, but since it is connected via the rotation transmission board 28, the rotation with the same rotational speed as that of the first rotation transmission board 26 is transmitted to the rotary axis 43 for rotation.

  Thus, the surface plate 22 revolves while rotating by the rotational movement of the revolution transmission shaft 40 and the rotation shaft 43, and the polishing plate 23 and the annular member 46 on the surface plate 22 are rotated.

  On the other hand, with respect to the polishing member 45 of the polishing plate 23, the polishing jig 2 is moved by the support portion 24 in a state where the movement in the rotation direction is restricted by the pressing portion 55 of the support portion 24 as described above. The tip portion of the optical fiber module 1 that is biased in the direction and fixed is pressed against the polishing member 45. FIG. 19 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a polished portion depicted in a simplified manner in FIG. Due to the variation in the length of each optical fiber module 1, the jig board 9 is not parallel to the polishing board 23 and the tip surface of the optical fiber module 1 is inclined and polished, but the polishing progresses, When the polishing amount reaches a predetermined amount, the rod-like portion 10a of the guide member 10, specifically, the polishing stop reference portion 10b, which is the lower surface of the rod-like portion 10a, becomes an annular member 46 on the surface plate 22, specifically annular. The jig board 9 is supported in parallel with the polishing board 23 in contact with the stopper portion 46b which is the upper surface of the member 46, and the tip of the optical fiber module 1 is polished using the polishing board 23 as a polishing reference. be able to. As a result, the length of the optical fiber module 1 can be made uniform, and the curvature radius, the polishing angle, and the deviation or variation in eccentricity can be reduced. Further, by controlling the height of the surface of the surface plate 22 on which the annular member 46 and the polishing plate 23 are provided with high precision, the length of the optical fiber module 1 can be easily defined and It is possible to prevent an error from occurring.

  As described above, when the polishing of the optical fiber module 1 is started and the optical fiber module 1 held by the support portion 24 and the polishing jig 2 is pushed toward the polishing board 23, the guide member 10 of the polishing jig 2. The polishing stop reference portion 10 b comes into contact with the stopper portion 46 b of the annular member 46 of the polishing apparatus 5. Since the polishing stop reference portion 10b and the stopper portion 46b are both sufficiently rigid and have a shape that makes sure surface contact with each other, when they come into contact with each other, the polishing stop reference portion 10b and the stopper portion 46b are directed toward the polishing plate 23 of the optical fiber module 1. Progress is stopped. Thus, when the approach of the optical fiber module 1 to the polishing board 23 is stopped, no further polishing is performed and the polishing process is substantially stopped. Then, the operator stops the operation of the polishing apparatus 5. Thus, polishing of the optical fiber module 1 is completed. It should be noted that when the polishing stop reference portion 10b and the stopper portion 46b are in contact with each other, the support portion 24 points the optical fiber module 1 toward the polishing plate 23 so that each member is not damaged or an excessive load is applied to the driving means. The pushing force is set relatively weak.

  In order to make the end face of the optical fiber module 1 obliquely contact the polishing board 23, the end faces after polishing of the support substrate 6, the optical fiber 7, and the pressing plate 8 are inclined as shown in FIG. After this polishing method, an antireflection coating may be applied to the end face of the optical fiber 7 in order to further reduce reflected return light.

  When the optical fiber module 1 is manufactured by the polishing method described above, the positional accuracy of the optical fiber module 1 is improved by polishing. This will be described below.

  In the optical fiber module 1, the positional accuracy is most important is the relative positional accuracy of the tip of the optical fiber 7 with respect to other optical functional members. If these relative positions are highly accurate, it is possible to input and output light with desired characteristics between them. However, if the relative positions are out of order, the characteristics (light intensity, diameter, parallelism, optical axis Light that is out of position, etc.) will be input and output. Therefore, an optical device with desired performance cannot be configured.

  In the present embodiment, other optical functional components (for example, the optical functional component 61 shown in FIG. 3) are arranged with reference to the other member positioning portion 6 c of the support substrate 6. The other member positioning portion 6c is formed at the same time as the positioning reference portion 6b by a method with high processing accuracy such as etching, so that the relative position accuracy between the other member positioning portion 6c and the positioning reference portion 6b is as follows. Extremely high. Therefore, if the accuracy of the relative position (length A in FIG. 3) between the tip of the optical fiber 7 after polishing and the positioning reference portion 6b is high, the relative position between the tip of the optical fiber 7 and the positioning portion 6c for other members ( The accuracy of length B) in FIG. 3 is also high. This means that the accuracy of the relative position (length C in FIG. 3) between the tip of the optical fiber 7 and the other member (optical functional component 61) arranged with the other member positioning portion 6c as a reference is increased. means. According to the theory described above, it is possible to improve the relative positional accuracy between the tip of the optical fiber 7 after polishing and the positioning reference portion 6b, that is, accurately the tip of the optical fiber 7 up to a predetermined distance with respect to the positioning reference portion 6b. If it can be polished, it can be seen that it is very effective for manufacturing a high-performance optical device.

  In the present embodiment, when the polishing stop reference portion 10b comes into contact with the stopper portion 46b of the polishing apparatus 5, no further polishing is possible, and the polishing ends. The position of the polishing stop reference portion 10b in the polishing jig 2 is fixed, and the polishing jig 2 is attached to the polishing apparatus 5 with high accuracy, so that the optical fiber module 1 can be attached to the polishing jig 2 with high accuracy. Thus, a desired polishing amount can be obtained. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the optical fiber module 1 is attached to the polishing jig 2, as described above, monitoring is performed using the CCD camera 4 and the display 21, and the optical fiber module 1 is polished using the micrometer 20. Push it into the jig 2 and fix it. At this time, while the operator looks at the screen, fine adjustment is performed so that the positioning reference portion 6b is positioned at a predetermined distance L with respect to the reference surface 2a of the polishing jig 2 (see FIG. 13). Since the positional relationship between the reference surface 2a of the polishing jig 2 and the polishing stop reference portion 10b is accurately known, the polishing end position when polishing is performed using the polishing jig 2 (see 2 in FIG. 13). The polishing end position indicated by the chain line 21c is not normally displayed on the actual screen, but may be displayed if necessary. Therefore, by accurately aligning the positioning reference portion 6b on the screen with a predetermined position, the polishing end position, that is, the relative position between the polished optical fiber 7 and the positioning reference portion 6b can be accurately matched. . This means that the relative position between the other optical functional component 61 and the tip of the optical fiber 7 becomes highly accurate as described above, and is very effective for manufacturing a high-performance optical device. Further, the advantage of this method is that even if an error occurs during the manufacture of the optical fiber module 1 and the length between the end face before polishing and the positioning reference portion 6b varies, the end face after polishing and the positioning reference portion 6b The length A can be made accurate. For example, as shown in FIG. 20, even when the end surface before polishing protrudes longer from the positioning reference portion 6b than in the case of FIG. 13, as shown in FIG. 21, from the positioning reference portion 6b of the end surface before polishing. Even when the protrusion amount of the optical fiber 7 is short, all are accurately polished up to the polishing end position indicated by the two-dot chain line 21c. Therefore, in any of FIGS. 13, 20, and 21, the tip of the optical fiber 7 and the positioning reference portion 6b The relative position of is always accurate.

  According to the conventional method, since the polishing is performed by a predetermined amount from the end face of the optical fiber module as a reference, the position of the end face before polishing varies as in the examples shown in FIGS. In this case, the relative position between the polished end face and the other member positioning portion (that is, with respect to the other optical functional component) varies. Therefore, it becomes difficult to configure an optical device having a predetermined performance. On the other hand, according to the present invention, the positioning reference portion 6b having a good relative positional accuracy with respect to the positioning portion 6c for other members (that is, with respect to the other optical functional component 61) is used as a reference. By increasing the positional accuracy with 6b, the accuracy of the optical fiber module 1 is greatly improved.

  For example, conventionally, an error of about 25 μm occurs when an optical fiber module is set on a jig board, and an error of about 35-40 μm occurs after polishing of about 50 μm. When the same optical fiber module is polished, the error when the optical fiber module is set on the jig board is suppressed to about 5 μm, and the error after polishing is suppressed to about 15 to 20 μm.

  Further, in this embodiment, the object to be polished (optical fiber module 1) is finely adjusted while monitoring the image instead of the frequency, so that the object to be polished (ferrule in Patent Document 3) is a buttock as in Patent Document 3. Even if it is not the shape which has, it can grind | polish by adjusting a position accurately.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment described above, in order to improve the relative positional accuracy between the end face of the polished optical fiber 7 and the other optical functional parts, the positioning with good relative positional accuracy with respect to the positioning member 6c for other members. The reference part 6b is used. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 22, as the optical fiber 70, a lens functional component is attached to the tip of a normal optical transmission optical fiber (for example, an SM (single mode) optical fiber 70a). A fiber collimator joined with (for example, a GI (graded index) type optical fiber 70b) is used. In this case, if the length of the GI optical fiber 70b is not accurate, desired parallel light cannot be input / output, and divergent light or convergent light is input / output. Therefore, the accuracy of the length of the GI type optical fiber 70b is very important.

  In this case, a joining portion of the SM type optical fiber 70a and the GI type optical fiber 70b is arranged in accordance with the positioning reference portion 6b formed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Then, when Steps S1 to S5 are performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the relative positional accuracy between the end face of the polished optical fiber 70 and the positioning reference portion 6b is high, and the GI type light existing between the two. Since the accuracy of the length of the fiber 70b is good, a highly accurate fiber collimator can be obtained. In addition, in this embodiment, the positioning part 6c for other members is not necessarily required. However, if the positioning member 6c for other members is formed at the same time as the positioning reference portion 6b with high relative positional accuracy, not only the accuracy of the length of the GI optical fiber 70b is improved as described above, but also the optical fiber 70 The relative position accuracy between the end face of the optical member and other optical functional parts is also good, and a very large effect can be obtained. The optical fiber for transmitting light is not limited to the SM type optical fiber 70a, and the lens functional component is not limited to the GI type optical fiber 70b. For example, a rod lens or the like may be used as a lens functional component. The optical fiber and the lens functional component can be joined by various methods such as fusion or adhesion.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, glass, ceramic, silicon, or resin is used as one or all of the support substrate 6 and the pressing plate 8. In that case, it is easy to produce by etching or molding. Further, when both members are made of the same material or a material having a similar coefficient of thermal expansion, there is an advantage that misalignment or damage due to heat hardly occurs. As the bonding between the support substrate 6 and the pressing plate 8, bonding with an adhesive, soldering, bonding with wax, or the like can be considered. The inclination of the tips of the optical fibers 7 and 70 may be opposite to the configuration shown in FIG.

  In the first and second embodiments, an example is shown in which the support substrate 6, the pressing plate 8, and the optical fibers 7 and 70 are polished at the same time so as to align the end faces. However, it is only the optical fibers 7 and 70 that need to be polished, and only the end surfaces of the optical fibers 7 and 70 may be polished with the optical fibers 7 and 70 protruding from the support substrate 6 and the holding plate 8. Good.

  The optical fiber module 1 of the present invention may be a fiber array including a large number of optical fibers, but may be a single-core module including only a single optical fiber. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the configuration is not limited to a tape-like fiber, and a configuration in which a plurality of independent optical fibers are arranged side by side may be used. In this case, since the polishing is performed after the plurality of optical fibers are fixed on the support substrate 6 by the pressing plate 8, it is possible to easily align all the end faces of the polished optical fibers. In particular, in the configuration in which the end face is inclined as shown in FIG. 1, according to this method, the inclination direction of the end face is different for each optical fiber as in the case where a plurality of optical fibers are fixed on the support substrate 6 after polishing. There is no risk of differing, and it is very effective.

It is a flowchart which shows the grinding | polishing method of this invention. (A) is a flowchart which shows the optical fiber module ground by the grinding | polishing method shown in FIG. 1, (b) is the side view. It is a schematic side view of an optical device including an optical fiber module subjected to the polishing method of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the optical fiber module temporary fixing process of the grinding | polishing method of this invention in detail. It is a perspective view which shows the grinding | polishing jig | tool of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the jig | tool board and optical fiber module of the grinding | polishing jig | tool of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the jig | tool board and optical fiber module of the grinding | polishing jig | tool of this invention. It is a principal part top view which shows the detail of the optical fiber module attachment part of the grinding | polishing jig | tool of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the fine adjustment process of the attachment position to the grinding | polishing jig | tool of the optical fiber module of the grinding | polishing method of this invention in detail. It is the schematic which shows the setting jig | tool of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the imaging screen before the fine adjustment process shown in FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the fine adjustment process shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the imaging screen after the fine adjustment process shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which attached the grinding | polishing jig | tool to the grinding | polishing apparatus of this invention. It is a principal part top view which shows the state which attached the grinding | polishing jig | tool to the grinding | polishing apparatus shown in FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the state which attached the grinding | polishing jig | tool to the grinding | polishing apparatus shown in FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing cut | disconnected in the position different from FIG. 16 which shows the state which attached the grinding | polishing jig | tool to the grinding | polishing apparatus shown in FIG. (A) is a disassembled perspective view which shows the surface plate of the grinding | polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 14, a grinding | polishing board, and an annular member, (b) is a bottom view of an annular member. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows the grinding | polishing part of the grinding | polishing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of the imaging screen after the fine adjustment process shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the further another example of the imaging screen after the fine adjustment process shown in FIG. It is a schematic plan view which shows the optical fiber module to which the grinding | polishing method of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention was given.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical fiber module 2 Polishing jig 3 Set jig 4 CCD camera 5 Polishing device 6 Support substrate 6a Holding groove 6b Positioning reference part 6c Positioning part 7 for other members Optical fiber 8 Holding plate 9 Jig board 9a Abrasive attachment part 9b Central protrusion 9c Notch 10 Guide member 10a Bar-shaped part 10b Polishing stop reference part 10c Hole 11 Projection 12 Pressing member 13 Pressing member lock screw 15 Stopper member 16 Stopper member fixing screw 17 Guide rail 18 Fixing screw 19 Holding Part 19a Frame 19b Holding column part 20 Micrometer 20a Shaft part 21 Display 21a, 21b Reference line 21c Two-dot chain line 22 showing polishing end position Surface plate 23 Polishing board 24 Supporting part 25 Motor for rotation 26 First rotation transmission board 27 First 1 connection pin 28 rotation transmission board 29 second connection pin 30 second rotation transmission board 31 Revolution motor 32 Drive gear 33 Driven gear 38 Lid 39 Surface plate boss part 40 Revolution transmission shaft 41 Polishing apparatus main body 42 Bearing cylinder part 43 Rotating rotation shaft 44 Coupling member 45 Polishing member 46 Annular member 46a Permanent magnet 46b Stopper part 47 Convex part 48 Concave part 49 Fixing screw 50 Support mechanism 52 Through hole 53 Adjustment screw 53a Flange part 54 Biasing spring 55 Holding part 56 Slide pin 60 Positioning means 61 Other optical functional parts 62 Substrate 70 Optical fiber 70a SM (single mode) type Optical fiber 70b GI (graded index) type optical fiber

Claims (19)

A plurality of optical fiber modules each having an optical fiber fixed to a support substrate are temporarily attached to a polishing jig so as to allow movement of the optical fiber module in the longitudinal direction and restrict movement of the optical fiber module in the thickness direction. Fixing, and
By rotating the polishing jig, the plurality of optical fiber modules temporarily fixed to the polishing jig are displayed one by one in the display area, and a positioning reference portion provided on the support substrate is provided. A fine adjustment step of individually finely adjusting the mounting position of each of the temporarily fixed optical fiber modules to the polishing jig so as to have a predetermined positional relationship with the polishing jig;
In the fine adjustment step , after the fine adjustment of the mounting positions of all the optical fiber modules held by the polishing jig is completed, the polishing jig is set in a polishing apparatus, and the polishing jig is attached to the polishing jig. Polishing at least the optical fibers of all the optical fiber modules held at the same time ,
The fine adjustment step includes
Wherein the jig-side reference portion provided on the polishing jig, said positioning reference portion, the plurality of reference lines corresponding to each of the jig-side reference section and the positioning reference portion is provided display Display in the area,
The optical fiber module temporarily fixed to the polishing jig is arranged in the longitudinal direction so that the jig side reference portion and the positioning reference portion respectively correspond to the corresponding reference lines in the display area. look at including that the cell moved,
The support substrate of the optical fiber module includes a positioning part for other member used for positioning of another member mounted on the support substrate so as to be positioned on an optical axis passing through the optical fiber, and the positioning reference part. A polishing method formed in the same process .   2. The polishing method according to claim 1, wherein the fine adjustment of the mounting position of the optical fiber module is performed by pressing the tip of the optical fiber module with a feeding mechanism and pushing the optical fiber module into the polishing jig.   The polishing method according to claim 2, wherein the feed mechanism is a micrometer. In a state where the optical fiber module is temporarily fixed to the polishing jig, a predetermined position with respect to the polishing jig , or a state protruding from the predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module temporarily fixed The polishing method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein   The polishing jig is provided with a polishing stop reference portion, and polishing of the optical fiber module stops when the polishing stop reference portion abuts against a stopper portion of the polishing apparatus. The polishing method according to any one of the above items. The support substrate polishing method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 thickness is 1.0mm or less. The support substrate material is silicon, ceramic, polishing method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 made of glass or resin. The optical fiber has a configuration in which the lens function part to the tip of the optical fiber for light transmission are joined, these joints are aligned with the positioning reference portion, one of the claims 1-7 1 The polishing method according to item. The polishing method according to claim 8 , wherein the optical fiber for light transmission is a single-mode optical fiber, and the lens functional component is a graded index optical fiber. Temporary fixing of the optical fiber module to the polishing jig is performed by contacting a pressing member in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the support substrate,
After fine adjustment of the mounting position of the optical fiber module, the optical fiber module is fixed to the polishing jig by fixing the stopper member in contact with the rear end of the support substrate of the optical fiber module. The polishing method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 . The polishing method according to claim 10 , wherein the stopper member is moved and fixed in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the support substrate, and does not contact the main surface of the support substrate. A polishing jig for polishing the optical fiber module, which is set in a polishing apparatus in a state where an optical fiber module in which an optical fiber is fixed to a support substrate is held so that at least a part of the optical fiber protrudes. A plurality of objects to be polished attached to each of the optical fiber modules, wherein the objects to be polished are temporarily fixed means for restricting movement of the optical fiber module in a direction other than the longitudinal direction. a fixing means for restricting the longitudinal movement of the optical fiber module are respectively provided, a polishing jig,
A holding unit that holds the polishing jig, and a feed mechanism that abuts the tip of the optical fiber module and pushes it toward the polishing jig in order to finely adjust the mounting position on the polishing jig. A setting jig having
The periphery of the contact portion between the tip of the optical fiber module held by the polishing jig held by the setting jig and the feed mechanism can be displayed, and is provided on the polishing jig. It is formed on the support substrate in the same process as the jig side reference portion and the other member positioning portion used for positioning the other member mounted on the support substrate so as to be positioned on the optical axis passing through the optical fiber. the positioning reference portions are a display unit in which a plurality of reference lines corresponding to each having a display area provided,
A polishing apparatus in which the polishing jig in a state of being removed from the setting jig is set, and all the optical fiber modules held by the polishing jig can be simultaneously polished at the same time;
Have
The feed mechanism of the setting jig is temporarily fixed to the polishing jig so that the jig side reference portion and the positioning reference portion respectively match the corresponding reference lines in the display area. der those used to finely adjust the mounting position for said polishing jig the optical fiber module is moved in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module is,
The polishing jig is capable of positioning the plurality of optical fiber modules temporarily fixed to the polishing jig one by one at a position facing the feeding mechanism by rotating. A characteristic polishing system. A polishing jig used for a polishing process according to any one of claims 1 to 11 and the optical fiber module having a plurality of workpiece mounting section capable of holding each of the workpiece attached the parts, the temporarily fixing means for restricting the movement of other than the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module, and a fixing means for restricting the longitudinal movement of the optical fiber module are respectively provided, a polishing jig,
A holding unit that holds the polishing jig, and a feed mechanism that abuts the tip of the optical fiber module and pushes it toward the polishing jig in order to finely adjust the mounting position on the polishing jig. A setting jig having
The periphery of the contact portion between the tip of the optical fiber module held by the polishing jig held by the setting jig and the feed mechanism can be displayed, and is provided on the polishing jig. Display means having a display area provided with a plurality of reference lines corresponding to each of a jig-side reference portion and a positioning reference portion provided on the support substrate;
A polishing apparatus in which the polishing jig in a state of being removed from the setting jig is set, and all the optical fiber modules held by the polishing jig can be simultaneously polished at the same time;
Have
The feed mechanism of the setting jig is temporarily fixed to the polishing jig so that the jig side reference portion and the positioning reference portion respectively match the corresponding reference lines in the display area. der those used to finely adjust the mounting position for said polishing jig the optical fiber module is moved in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module is,
The polishing jig is configured such that by rotating, the plurality of optical fiber modules temporarily fixed to the polishing jig can be sequentially positioned at positions facing the feeding mechanism one by one. A characteristic polishing system. The temporary fixing means of the polishing jig is a pressing member that temporarily contacts the main surface of the support substrate and fixes the optical fiber module,
The fixing means of the polishing jig is in contact with a rear end of the support substrate of the optical fiber module, and is a stopper member that fixes the optical fiber module without contacting the main surface of the optical fiber module. The polishing system according to claim 12 or 13 , wherein: The pressing member can be brought into contact with the main surface of the optical fiber module by screwing a pressing member lock screw screwed in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the support substrate,
The polishing system according to claim 14 , wherein the stopper member is movable by moving in a longitudinal direction of the optical fiber module and is fixed by screwing a stopper member fixing screw that is screwed in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the support substrate. . The polishing system according to any one of claims 12 to 15 , wherein the polishing jig has a polishing stop reference portion that prevents further polishing by abutting against a stopper portion of a polishing apparatus . The polishing system according to any one of claims 12 to 16 , wherein the feeding mechanism of the setting jig is a micrometer, and a shaft portion of the micrometer abuts on a tip of the optical fiber module . Having imaging means capable of imaging the periphery of the abutting portion between the tip of the optical fiber module held by the polishing jig held by the set jig and the feed mechanism;
The polishing system according to any one of claims 12 to 17 , wherein an imaging result by the imaging unit and the plurality of reference lines are displayed in the display area of the display unit . In the polishing apparatus, when a polishing stop reference portion provided in the polishing jig contacts, a stopper portion that prevents further approach of the polishing jig and prevents further polishing of the optical fiber module. The grinding | polishing system of any one of Claims 12-18 which has.

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