CN116088105A - Optical module - Google Patents

Abstract

The application discloses an optical module, which comprises a shell, a circuit board assembly, an optical assembly and an optical socket; the housing comprises a first housing, a second housing and an optical fiber adapter, and the circuit board assembly comprises a hard circuit board; the optical component is fixed on the first shell and comprises an optical processing component and an optoelectronic chip, wherein the optical processing component comprises a wavelength division multiplexer, a lens group positioned between the wavelength division multiplexer and the optoelectronic chip and a lens group positioned between the wavelength division multiplexer and an optical socket; the photoelectric chip is adjacent to the hard circuit board and is electrically connected with the hard circuit board; the optical fiber adapter is arranged at the optical interface of the shell, is integrally formed with the optical interface, and one end of the optical socket extends into the optical fiber adapter; the optical fiber adapter, the optical plug optical component and the hard circuit board are all hard-connected. All parts in the optical module are hard links, flexible connection such as FPC, optical fibers or movable heads is not needed to absorb tolerance, the quantity of materials is reduced, the assembly process is simplified, the assembly is simpler and more convenient, and the cost can be effectively reduced.

Description

Optical module

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of optical communication, in particular to an optical module.

Background

Optical modules, as core devices for optical-to-electrical and electro-optical conversion in optical communication systems, typically include a housing, a circuit board assembly disposed within the housing, and an optical transmitting assembly and/or an optical receiving assembly. The shell is provided with an electric interface and an optical interface, one end of a circuit board in the shell is an electric connection end, the electric connection end is electrically connected with the electric interface in the optical cage of the optical communication host through the electric interface, the optical interface is used for connecting an external optical fiber, and optical transmission between the optical module and an optical module in the far-end optical communication host is realized through the external optical fiber.

As disclosed in the background art of the chinese patent application "optical module" with application number 201410851476.6 published in year 2015, the light emitting component and the light receiving component in the conventional optical module are generally packaged into a light emitting sub-module and a light receiving sub-module respectively, and are electrically connected with the hard circuit board through the flexible circuit board respectively, so as to realize signal transmission between the hard circuit board and the optical chips in the light emitting sub-module and the light receiving sub-module. Alternatively, as disclosed in embodiments thereof, both the light emitting assembly and the light receiving assembly are assembled within the same sub-module, which is in turn electrically connected to the rigid circuit board through the flexible circuit board.

The optical module disclosed in China patent application No. 201710590788.X published in 7/19/2017 comprises a shell, a heat sink device arranged in the shell and in heat conduction connection with the shell, a printed circuit board partially arranged on the heat sink device, and a laser chip and a detector chip arranged on the heat sink device, wherein the laser chip and the detector chip are electrically connected with the circuit board. In order to absorb the processing errors and assembly errors of the heat sink device, the circuit board and the like, the optical interface structure at one end of the shell needs to be arranged into a separated structure with the shell, namely a movable head, so that the assembly tolerance is improved by adjusting the optical interface structure (the movable head) in the assembly process.

However, in either packaging method, the laser chip, the detector chip, the wavelength division multiplexer/demultiplexer, the lens, and other optical processing elements are assembled on a carrier, then connected to the circuit board, and finally assembled into the housing of the optical module. The above-mentioned various packaging methods have the following disadvantages: 1. the structural parts are more, the production process is complex, and the production flow is long; 2. the heat dissipation path of the device is longer, and part of the heat dissipation path needs to use low-heat-conductivity materials, so that the working performance of the module in the whole temperature range is improved; 3. the occupation of dead space in the module is relatively high, which is unfavorable for the development of the miniaturization and high-density integration of the module; 4. the structure is changeable, the module assembling flow and the production cost are higher, and barriers and the like are arranged for the mass application of the modules. On the one hand, the heat dissipation performance and the integration level of the optical module are affected by the various problems, and on the other hand, the cost of the optical module is high, so that the cost is difficult to reduce.

Disclosure of Invention

The utility model aims at providing an optical module, it is more convenient to assemble, is convenient for reworking, can effectively reduce product cost.

In order to achieve one of the above objects, the present application provides an optical module including a housing, a circuit board assembly, an optical assembly, and an optical receptacle; the housing comprises a first housing, a second housing and an optical fiber adapter, wherein the first housing and the second housing are covered to form an inner accommodating cavity; the circuit board assembly and the optical assembly are arranged in the inner accommodating cavity; the circuit board assembly comprises a hard circuit board;

The shell is provided with an electric interface and an optical interface, and the circuit board assembly is fixed on the first shell and is close to one end of the electric interface;

the optical component is fixed on the first shell and comprises an optical processing component and an optoelectronic chip, wherein the optical processing component comprises a wavelength division multiplexer, a lens group and a lens group, the lens group is respectively positioned between the wavelength division multiplexer and the optoelectronic chip, and the lens group is respectively positioned between the wavelength division multiplexer and the optical socket; the optical processing assembly is used for optical transmission between the photoelectric chip and the optical socket, and the photoelectric chip is adjacent to the hard circuit board and is electrically connected with the hard circuit board;

the optical fiber adapter is arranged at the optical interface of the shell, the optical fiber adapter and the optical interface are integrally formed, and one end of the optical socket extends into the optical fiber adapter; the optical fiber adapter, the optical receptacle, the optical assembly and the rigid circuit board are all hard-wired.

As a further improvement of the embodiment, the optical fiber adapter is formed by partially integrating the first shell and partially integrating the second shell, and the first shell and the second shell are covered at the optical interface to form the optical fiber adapter; alternatively, the fiber optic adapter is integrally formed with the first housing.

As a further improvement of the embodiment, the circuit board assembly is fixed in the first housing by glue, fasteners and/or snaps.

As a further improvement of the embodiment, the optoelectronic chip comprises a laser chip,

the laser chip is arranged on a substrate; the laser chip is electrically connected with the substrate;

the substrate is electrically connected with the hard circuit board through bonding wires or an adapter plate, or the hard circuit board is in lap joint electrical connection with the substrate.

As a further improvement of the embodiment, the optical module further comprises a transimpedance amplifier, the photoelectric chip comprises a light detector chip, the light detector chip is electrically connected with the transimpedance amplifier through a bonding wire, and the transimpedance amplifier is electrically connected with the hard circuit board through the bonding wire.

As a further improvement of the embodiment, the first housing comprises a bottom plate, and the light treatment component is directly fixed on the bottom plate through an adhesive layer.

As a further improvement of the embodiment, the optical assembly further comprises an optical device carrier plate, and the optical processing assembly and the photoelectric chip are arranged on the optical device carrier plate; the optical device carrier plate is fixed in the first shell.

As a further improvement of the implementation mode, the optical device carrier plate is provided with a first bearing surface, the lens group between the wavelength division multiplexer and the optical socket is a third lens group, and the third lens group is fixed on the first bearing surface.

As a further improvement of the embodiment, the lens group between the wavelength division multiplexer and the optical socket is a third lens group; the optical socket comprises a sleeve component and an optical fiber inserting core, wherein the optical fiber inserting core is arranged at one end, close to the optical processing component, in the sleeve component, and the other end, far away from the optical processing component, of the sleeve component is used for receiving an optical fiber inserting core of an external optical fiber when being connected with the external optical fiber;

and one end of the sleeve assembly, which is close to the light treatment assembly, is provided with an extension structure, and the third lens group is arranged on the extension structure.

As a further improvement of the embodiment, the light socket is fixed in the first housing.

As a further improvement of the embodiment, the optical processing assembly comprises a transmitting end optical processing assembly and a receiving end optical processing assembly, and the transmitting end optical processing assembly comprises the wavelength division multiplexer and a first periscope; the receiving end light processing assembly comprises a wavelength division multiplexer and a second periscope.

As a further improvement of the embodiment, the optical socket comprises a transmitting-end optical socket and a receiving-end optical socket; the photoelectric chip comprises a laser chip and a light detector chip;

the laser chip, the wavelength division multiplexer and the optical socket of the receiving end are positioned on the same side in the first shell, and the optical detector chip, the wavelength division multiplexer and the optical socket of the transmitting end are positioned on the other side in the first shell;

the first periscope and the second periscope are overlapped with each other, the first periscope guides the optical signals output by the wavelength division multiplexer to one side of the transmitting end optical socket, and the second periscope guides the optical signals received by the receiving end optical socket into the wavelength division multiplexer.

The beneficial effects of this application: all parts in the optical module are hard links, flexible connection such as FPC, optical fibers or movable heads is not needed to absorb tolerance, the quantity of materials is reduced, the assembly process is simplified, the assembly is simpler and more convenient, and the cost can be effectively reduced.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional optical module and an optical cage of an optical communication host;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an optical module in embodiment 1 of the present application;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the optical module of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an optical receptacle;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of another configuration of an optical receptacle;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an optical module in embodiment 2 of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an optical module in embodiment 3 of the present application.

Detailed Description

The present application will be described in detail with reference to the following detailed description of the embodiments shown in the drawings. However, these embodiments are not intended to limit the present application, and structural, methodological, or functional modifications made by one of ordinary skill in the art based on these embodiments are included within the scope of the present application.

In the various illustrations of the present application, certain dimensions of structures or portions may be exaggerated relative to other structures or portions for convenience of illustration, and thus serve only to illustrate the basic structure of the subject matter of the present application.

In addition, terms such as "upper", "above", "lower", "below", and the like, used herein to denote spatially relative positions are used for convenience of description to describe one element or feature relative to another element or feature as illustrated in the figures. The term spatially relative position may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term "below" can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. When an element or layer is referred to as being "on" or "connected to" another element or layer, it can be directly on, connected to, or intervening elements or layers may be present.

As shown in fig. 1, the optical module 200 is generally configured in the optical cage 100 of the optical communication host in a pluggable manner. The optical module 200 generally includes a housing, a circuit board assembly disposed within the housing, and a light emitting assembly and/or a light receiving assembly. The housing is provided with an electrical interface 200a and an optical interface 200b, wherein one end of the circuit board assembly therein is an electrical connection end, the electrical connection end (usually a golden finger) is electrically connected with the electrical interface in the optical cage 100 of the optical communication host through the electrical interface 200a, and the optical interface 200b is an optical fiber adapter for connecting an external optical fiber, and optical transmission between the optical module and the optical module at the far-end optical communication host end is realized through the external optical fiber.

Example 1

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the optical module of this embodiment includes a housing 210, a circuit board assembly 220, and an optical assembly including a photo-electric chip 230 and a light processing assembly 240. The housing 210 includes a first housing 211 and a second housing 212, wherein the first housing 211 and the second housing 212 are covered to form an internal accommodating cavity, and the housing 210 has an optical interface 200b and an electrical interface 200a; the circuit board assembly 220, the optoelectronic chip 230 and the light processing assembly 240 are disposed in the internal accommodating cavity of the housing 210.

In this embodiment, the circuit board assembly 220 includes a hard circuit board 221 (simply referred to as a circuit board) and electronic components (not shown), an electrical chip, such as a controller, a signal processor, a driver, a transimpedance amplifier, etc., wherein the driver and the transimpedance amplifier may be disposed on the hard circuit board 221 or may not be disposed on the hard circuit board 221, but may be disposed on the bottom plate 213 of the first housing 211 together with the optoelectronic chip. The hard circuit board 221 is fixed on the first housing 211, and one end (the electrical connection end 222) of the hard circuit board 221 extends out of the electrical interface 200a for electrically connecting with the electrical interface in the optical cage of the optical communication host. The hard circuit board 221 may be fastened, or glued to the first housing 211 by a fastener such as a screw, or fastened, or glued to the first housing 211 by a screw. In this embodiment, the hard circuit board 221 is fastened to the first housing 211 by screw locking. Specifically, the bottom plate 213 of the first housing 211 is provided with a carrier 216 for supporting the hard circuit board 221, the carrier 216 is provided with a threaded hole 216a, the hard circuit board 221 is provided with a through hole 223 corresponding to the threaded hole 216a, a screw is locked into the threaded hole 216a through the through hole 223, and a nut presses the hard circuit board 221, thereby fixing the hard circuit board 221 on the carrier 216. In this embodiment, the carriers 216 are respectively located inside the two side walls 215 of the first housing 211 and are used for supporting two edges of the hard circuit board 221. In other embodiments, the carrier may also be disposed in a middle region of the bottom plate of the first housing, for supporting a middle position of the hard circuit board.

The first housing 211 includes a bottom plate 213, side walls 215 respectively located at two sides of the bottom plate 213, a photo-electric chip 230 disposed on the bottom plate 213, and the photo-electric chip 230 electrically connected to the hard circuit board 221; the optical processing component 240 is disposed on the bottom plate 213 and adjacent to the optical interface 200b, and the optical processing component 240 is used for optical transmission between the optoelectronic chip 230 and the optical interface 200 b.

In this embodiment, the optical module 200 is a transceiver integrated optical module, the optoelectronic chip 230 includes a laser chip 231 and a photodetector chip 232, and the optical processing component 240 includes a transmitting-end optical processing component and a receiving-end optical processing component. The laser chip 231 is fixed on the bottom plate 213 of the first housing 211 through a substrate 236, and the substrate 236 is bonded or welded with the bottom plate 213; the laser chip 231 is electrically connected to the substrate 236, and the substrate 236 is electrically connected to the hard circuit board 221. In general, the laser chip 231 is mounted on the substrate 236 by a eutectic soldering process to form a COC (chip on carrier) structure, the laser chip 231 may be electrically connected to the substrate 236 by the eutectic soldering bonding wire (wire bonding), and the substrate 236 is electrically connected to the hard circuit board 221 by a bonding wire or an interposer, so as to electrically connect the hard circuit board 221 to the laser chip 231. In this embodiment, the substrate 236 is disposed on a semiconductor refrigerator (Thermo Electric Cooler, TEC) 233, the temperature of the COC is controlled by the TEC233, and the other side of the TEC233 is fixed to the bottom plate 213, and heat is directly dissipated through the bottom plate 213. In other embodiments, the substrate may also be directly bonded to the base plate by an adhesive, where the substrate itself has an electrical isolation function, and the substrate conductive layer and the laser chip are electrically isolated from the first housing. Alternatively, an electrical isolation layer, such as an aluminum nitride sheet, may be disposed between the substrate and the bottom plate of the first housing to electrically isolate the laser chip from the first housing.

To shorten the signal transmission distance between the laser chip 231 and the hard circuit board 221, the substrate 236 is typically located outside the hard circuit board 221 adjacent to the board edge of the hard circuit board 221. In this embodiment, the driver is disposed on the hard circuit board 221, and in other embodiments, the driver may be disposed on the substrate.

In this embodiment, the hard circuit board 221 is provided with a avoidance hole 224, the photodetector chip 232 and the transimpedance amplifier 235 are disposed in the avoidance hole 224, and are fixed on the bottom plate 213 of the first housing 211 at a position corresponding to the avoidance hole 224. The bottom plate 213 is provided with an electrical isolation layer 234 corresponding to the avoidance hole 224, such as an aluminum nitride sheet, and the photo-detector chip 232 and the transimpedance amplifier 235 are bonded on the electrical isolation layer 234, the photo-detector chip 232 is electrically connected with the transimpedance amplifier 235 through bonding wires, and the transimpedance amplifier 235 is electrically connected with the hard circuit board 221 through bonding wires, so that electrical connection from the photo-detector chip 232 to the hard circuit board 221 is realized. The relief holes 224 may be square through holes in the hard circuit board 221 or U-shaped through holes in the ends or sides of the hard circuit board 211. In other embodiments, the photodetector chip and the transimpedance amplifier may be disposed outside the rigid circuit board adjacent to the edges of the rigid circuit board, or the transimpedance amplifier may be disposed on the rigid circuit board.

In optical communication, the optical module has a main heat dissipation case and a sub heat dissipation case (Top surface and Bottom surface are specified in the multi-source protocol), and in this embodiment, the first case 211 is the main heat dissipation case of the optical module, and the second case 212 is the sub heat dissipation case. When the optical module is inserted into the optical cage of the optical communication host, the first housing 211 is adjacent to the heat dissipation mechanism of the optical cage and is a main area for dissipating heat between the optical module and the outside. The optoelectronic chip 230, such as the laser chip 231 and the substrate 236 (COC structure) thereof, the photodetector chip 232, etc., and the main power consumption chip, such as the transimpedance amplifier, the driver, etc., are disposed on the bottom plate of the first housing 213, and heat generated during operation can be directly and rapidly diffused out from the first housing 213, which is faster than the heat dissipation path from the heat sink and the heat dissipation paste to the first housing in the prior art, and the heat dissipation speed is faster, thereby effectively improving the heat dissipation performance of the optical module.

The optical module of this embodiment is a multi-channel optical transceiver module, and the optical interface 200b of the housing 210 is provided with a transmitting-end optical receptacle 260a and a receiving-end optical receptacle 260b. The transmitting-end optical processing component includes a wavelength division multiplexer 241, a first collimating lens array (i.e. a first lens group) 271 is disposed between the wavelength division multiplexer 241 and the laser chip 231, and a first coupling lens group 250a is disposed between the wavelength division multiplexer 241 and the transmitting-end optical receptacle 260 a. The multiple beams of light reflected by the multiple laser chips 231 are collimated by the collimating lenses of the first collimating lens array 271, and then are incident on the wavelength division multiplexer 241, and are combined into a combined beam by the wavelength division multiplexer 241, and the combined beam is coupled into the transmitting-end optical receptacle 260a through the first coupling lens group 250a, and is transmitted into the external optical fiber through the transmitting-end optical receptacle 260 a. The receiving-end optical processing component includes a wavelength-division demultiplexer 242, a second coupling lens array (i.e., a second lens group) 272 is disposed between the wavelength-division demultiplexer 242 and the optical detector chip 232, a second collimating lens group 250b is disposed between the second coupling lens group and the receiving-end optical receptacle 260b, and the first coupling lens group 250a and the second collimating lens group 250b form a third lens group 250, which are respectively located at the ports of the transmitting-end optical receptacle 260a and the receiving-end optical receptacle 260b. After the receiving-end optical receptacle 26b receives the composite optical signal transmitted by the external optical fiber, the received composite optical signal is transmitted to the second collimating lens group 250b, the composite optical signal is collimated by the second collimating lens group 250b and then is incident to the wavelength-division multiplexer 242, the composite optical signal is divided into multiple single-channel optical signals by the wavelength-division multiplexer 242, each single-channel optical signal is coupled to the corresponding optical detector chip 232 through each coupling lens of the second coupling lens array 272, each optical detector chip 232 converts each single-channel optical signal into an electrical signal and transmits the electrical signal to the transimpedance amplifier 235, the transimpedance amplifier 235 amplifies each electrical signal and then transmits the electrical signal to the hard circuit board 221, and the electrical signal is uploaded to the optical communication host through the electrical interface 200a after being processed by the signals on the hard circuit board 221. In other embodiments, the wavelength division and wavelength division demultiplexers may also be replaced by photonic integrated chips (Photonic Integrated Chip, PIC) or other optical waveguide chips that are soldered or thermally conductive glued to the bottom plate of the first housing of the optical module.

In this embodiment, taking a dual-port optical module as an example, i.e. a transmitting port and a receiving port, the first coupling lens group 250a is a coupling lens, and the second collimating lens group 250b is a collimating lens. In the optical module with more than two ports, for example, two transmitting ports and two receiving ports, the first coupling lens is two coupling lenses corresponding to the two transmitting ports respectively, and the second collimating lens group is two collimating lenses corresponding to the two receiving ports respectively. Of course, in other embodiments, the optical module may be a single port bi-directional transmission optical module, where the third lens group is a single lens, and is used to couple the optical signals into the optical receptacle and collimate the optical signals received by the optical module onto the optical processing component at the receiving end.

In this embodiment, the light processing assembly further includes an optical path deflecting prism (periscope) 260, and the transmitting-end light processing assembly is provided with a first periscope 243a between the wavelength division multiplexer 241 and the first coupling lens group 250a, for adjusting the optical path between the wavelength division multiplexer 241 and the first coupling lens group 250a and the transmitting-end light receptacle 260 a. The receiving-end optical processing module is provided with a second periscope 243b between the second collimating lens group 250b and the wavelength-division multiplexer 242, for adjusting the optical paths between the receiving-end optical receptacle 260b and the second collimating lens group 250b and the wavelength-division multiplexer 242. In order to make the design of the transmitting-end optical component and the receiving-end optical component in the optical module and the high-speed signal line of the circuit board component more reasonable, and meet the requirements of MSA (multi-source protocol) at the same time, in this embodiment, the transmitting-end optical component such as a laser chip and a wavelength division multiplexer in the optical module housing and the optical receptacle of the receiving end are located on the same side in the first housing (i.e. on the left side or the right side when facing the optical interface), and the receiving-end optical component such as a photodetector chip and a wavelength division multiplexer and the optical receptacle of the transmitting end are located on the other side in the first housing. The first periscope 243a and the second periscope 243b overlap each other, the first periscope 243a guides the optical signal outputted from the wavelength division multiplexer to the side of the transmitting-side optical receptacle 260a on the side different from the wavelength division multiplexer, and the second periscope 243b guides the optical signal received by the receiving-side optical receptacle 260b to the wavelength division demultiplexer on the side different from the receiving-side optical receptacle 260 b. In this way, as long as the inclination angle of the periscope 243 relative to the bottom plate 211 of the first housing 210 is designed according to the requirement, the light path can be guided to a corresponding height, so that the layout design in the optical module housing is more flexible. In addition, the design can lengthen the length of the periscope, so as to facilitate the manufacture of the periscope and the coupling of the light path.

In this embodiment, the light processing assembly is bonded to the bottom plate 213 of the first housing 211 by an adhesive layer. At the transmitting end, the first collimating lens array 271 is disposed on the TEC 233 or the electrical isolation layer, and the wavelength division multiplexer 241 and the first periscope 243a at the transmitting end are directly adhered to the bottom plate 213 through a glue layer (not shown in the figure), and the glue layer thickness is adjusted according to the optical path, so that the wavelength division multiplexer 241 and the first periscope 243a are aligned with each other and with the front and rear optical paths, respectively. At the receiving end, the optical detector chip 232 is a surface receiving chip, a reflecting mirror is arranged above the optical detector chip 232, the second coupling lens array 272 and the reflecting mirror are arranged above the optical detector chip 232 together, and each path of optical signals output by the wavelength division demultiplexer 242 are reflected and coupled to each optical detector chip 232 respectively. In other embodiments, the second coupling lens array may be replaced with a single large lens. The wavelength-division multiplexer 242 and the second periscope 243b at the receiving end are directly adhered to the bottom plate 213 through glue layers, and the glue layer thickness is adjusted according to the optical path, so that the wavelength-division multiplexer 243 and the second periscope 243b are aligned with each other and with the front and rear optical paths respectively.

The optical module directly takes the optical module shell as a carrier to bear the optical processing assembly and the main power consumption chip, so that a heat sink for bearing the photoelectric chip and a carrier plate for bearing the optical processing assembly are omitted, structural members in the optical module are reduced, the assembly flow is optimized, the cost is reduced, the duty ratio of the ineffective space is reduced, the utilization rate of the effective space in the optical module is improved, and the optical module has higher integration level.

In this embodiment, the bottom plate 213 of the first housing 211 includes a first mounting region 217 and a second mounting region 218, the hard circuit board 221 is fixed to the first mounting region 217, and the laser chip 231 and the light processing assembly are fixed to the second mounting region 218. The first housing 211 has a first reference, and the light processing assembly is fixed to the second mounting region 218 at a first predetermined position with reference to the first reference. Here, the first reference may be a mark provided in the second mounting region 218, or a boundary between the port and the sidewall of the first housing 211, or a limit structure in the first housing 211, or the like. In this embodiment, the second mounting region 218 is provided with a periscope positioning slot, a wavelength division multiplexer limiting slot, a wavelength division demultiplexer limiting slot, and the like, according to the optical path design. In other embodiments, the second mounting area may also be a plane on which the optical elements such as periscopes, wavelength division multiplexers, and wavelength demultiplexers are mounted, with the optical elements being aligned by adjusting the thickness of the glue layer between the optical elements and the plane. Or the second installation area comprises a plurality of installation platforms with different heights, which are respectively used for installing periscope, wavelength division multiplexer, wavelength division demultiplexer, photoelectric chip and the like, and one end of the hard circuit board, which is close to the photoelectric chip, can be glued and fixed on the installation platform of the first installation area of the bottom plate for bearing the photoelectric chip. The structure has lower requirements on the machining precision of the first installation area and the second installation area, and can effectively reduce the machining cost of the shell.

When assembled, the optical receptacle 260, the optical processing assembly 240, the optoelectronic chip 230, and the circuit board assembly 220 are each mounted in the first housing 211 with reference to the optical module first housing 211, and the optoelectronic chip 230 and the hard circuit board 221 are electrically connected between the optoelectronic chip 230 and the hard circuit board 221 with wire bonding (e.g., wire bonding) or an interposer. By adjusting the third lens group 250 to couple optical signals between the optical processing component 240 and the optical receptacle 260; the first collimating lens array (first lens group) 271 is adjusted to collimate the optical signals emitted by the laser chips 231 and then make the collimated optical signals incident on the optical processing component 240, and the second coupling lens array (second lens group) 272 is adjusted to couple each optical signal output by the optical processing component 240 to each optical detector chip 232. All components are installed by taking the optical module shell as a reference, and the assembly tolerance among the optical processing component, the photoelectric chip and the circuit board can be absorbed by adjusting the third lens group, so that the optical interface of the shell is not required to be adjusted, the optical interface of the shell can be integrally formed with the first shell, and the full hard connection among all the components in the optical module is realized. Namely, all the parts from the hard circuit board to the photoelectric chip, the optical processing assembly and the optical socket in the shell are hard connected, the flexible circuit board or the optical fiber is not required to absorb assembly tolerance, and the optical interface is not required to be set as a movable head, so that the structure of the optical module is further simplified. In addition, the optical socket, the optical processing assembly, the laser chip, the optical detector chip, the circuit board assembly and the like are all installed and placed in the first shell by taking the optical module shell (the first shell) as a reference, so that the production and assembly process flow is simplified, the production efficiency can be further improved, and the cost is reduced. Meanwhile, more space is saved around each device, more important components can be configured, the internal layout of the module is further optimized, the integration level is improved, and the miniaturized packaging of the high-speed optical module is facilitated.

As shown in fig. 4, the optical receptacle 260 (the transmitting-end optical receptacle and the receiving-end optical receptacle) employed in this embodiment includes a ferrule assembly 261 and a fiber stub 262, the fiber stub 262 being provided within the ferrule assembly 261. The ferrule assembly 261 has a first end 263 and a second end 264 therethrough, the first end 263 for coupling with a light processing assembly within the light module and the second end 264 for connection with an external optical fiber. The fiber stub 262 is disposed within the ferrule assembly 261 adjacent a first end 263, and a section of the ferrule assembly 261 adjacent a second end 264 is configured to receive a fiber stub of an external optical fiber when connected to the external optical fiber, the end face of the fiber stub 262 facing the second end 264 being configured to interface with a ferrule of an external optical fiber connector. The first end 263 of the ferrule assembly 261 is provided with an extension 265 extending axially along the optical receptacle 260, the extension 265 having an open mounting surface 265a for mounting a lens (e.g., the third lens group described above), i.e., a first coupling lens at the emitter end or a second collimating lens at the receiver end, such that the lens is positioned in the optical path conveyed by the optical receptacle. In other embodiments, the mounting surface 265a may also be used to mount other passive optical components such as isolators or filters. The third lens group may be fixed to the mounting surface 265a by welding or gluing. The open mounting surface 265a means that the mounting surface 265a has an opening in the radial direction of the ferrule assembly 261 to facilitate adjustment and fixation of the lens during coupling. In this embodiment, the mounting surface 265a is a bearing plane, and is located below the extended core line of the optical fiber ferrule 262 for bearing the lens. In other embodiments, the mounting surface may be located at other positions on the side of the fiber core extension of the fiber stub 262, and may be planar or have other shapes, such as L-shaped, U-shaped, arcuate, V-shaped, etc., to facilitate adjustment and fixation of the lens. I.e. the mounting surface is located outside the core extension of the optical fiber stub and towards the core extension to let out the optical transmission path so that the light passing surface of the external optical element fixed on the mounting surface is aligned with the optical fiber core. In this embodiment, the extension structure and the sleeve assembly are integrally formed, and the outer contour of the extension structure is an extension of the outer contour of the first end of the sleeve assembly. In other embodiments, the extension structure may also be welded or bonded integrally with the sleeve assembly.

The third lens group is arranged on the extending structure integrated with the optical socket, so that the problem that the optical socket drops light due to displacement such as stress displacement or aging creep is avoided, and the reliability of the optical module is effectively improved. In addition, in the assembly process, the optical coupling between the optical socket and the optical processing assembly can be conveniently realized by adjusting the third lens group, and the lens is fixed on the extending structure after the adjustment is finished, so that the optical coupling difficulty is reduced. In this embodiment, the extension 265 is integrally formed with the sleeve assembly 261, and in other embodiments, the extension may be integrally secured to the sleeve assembly by welding or bonding.

As shown in fig. 3, in this embodiment, the optical interface 200b of the optical module 200 is provided with a receiving groove 214, and the optical receptacle 260 is disposed in the receiving groove 214. The accommodating groove 214 is provided with a first limiting structure, the optical socket 260 is provided with a second limiting structure 266, and the first limiting structure and the second limiting structure 266 cooperate to limit the position of the optical socket 260 in the accommodating groove 214. In this embodiment, the optical interface 200b is integrally formed with the first housing 211, and the optical receptacle 260 may be fixed in the receiving groove 214 by gluing or welding, or may be fixed in the receiving groove 214 by other means such as fastening or screw locking. The first limiting structure may be a first protrusion or recess, such as a protrusion or flange, in the first housing 211, and the second limiting structure 266 may be a second protrusion, such as a protrusion or flange, on the outer periphery of the sleeve assembly 261. When assembled, the second protrusion abuts against the first protrusion to define the position of the optical receptacle 260 in the length direction of the optical module 200.

As shown in fig. 5, another embodiment of the optical receptacle is provided, and the optical module may also use the optical plug of this embodiment, and the optical plug is assembled in the optical module in the same manner as the optical receptacle of the foregoing embodiment. The optical receptacle 260 of this embodiment also includes a ferrule assembly 261 and a fiber stub 262. The fiber optic ferrule 262 is disposed within the ferrule assembly 261. Wherein the ferrule assembly 261 has a first end 263 and a second end 264, the first end 263 for coupling with a light processing assembly within the light module and the second end 264 for connection with an external optical fiber. The fiber stub 262 is disposed within the ferrule assembly 261 adjacent the first end 263 and a section of the ferrule assembly 261 adjacent the second end 264 is configured to receive a fiber stub of an external optical fiber when connected thereto. In contrast, in this embodiment, an optical window 267 is disposed at the port of the ferrule assembly 261 at the first end 263 of the optical receptacle 260 to seal the optical fiber stub 262 within the ferrule assembly 261 and effectively seal the end face of the optical fiber stub 262. In other embodiments, the optical window may be attached directly to the ferrule end face of the fiber optic ferrule adjacent the first end. In this embodiment, the optical window 267 is an optical flat, such as a glass sheet, and an anti-reflection film may be disposed on a light-transmitting surface of the optical flat to reduce surface reflection.

The ferrule assembly of the optical receptacle of this embodiment may be a ferrule assembly of a conventional optical receptacle, i.e. a ferrule assembly without an extension structure, or a ferrule assembly with an extension structure as in the above embodiment may be used, and the optical window is also disposed at a port of the ferrule assembly adjacent to the third lens group.

Example 2

As shown in fig. 6, another optical module 300 provided herein, the optical module 300 of this embodiment includes a housing 310, a circuit board assembly 320, and an optical assembly. The optical assembly includes an optics carrier 380, an optoelectronic chip 330, and an optical processing assembly 340. The housing 310 includes a first housing 311 and a second housing 312, where the first housing 311 and the second housing 312 are covered to form an internal accommodating cavity, and the optical module 300 has an optical interface 300b and an electrical interface 300a; the circuit board assembly 320, the optical device carrier 380, the optoelectronic chip 330 and the optical processing assembly 340 are disposed in the internal accommodating cavity of the housing 310.

In this embodiment, the optics carrier 380 is a heat sink, typically a thermally conductive metal, and the optoelectronic chip 330 and the optical processing assembly 340 are disposed on the optics carrier 380. In other embodiments, the optical device carrier may also include a first carrier and a second carrier that are bonded together by lap-joint fixing or butt-joint fixing, where the first carrier is a heat sink, and the second carrier is a carrier made of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient close to or the same as that of the optical processing component, i.e. the thermal expansion coefficient of the second carrier matches that of the optical processing component. The photoelectric chip is arranged on the first carrier plate, the optical processing assembly is arranged on the second carrier plate, and the problem that light is lost when the ambient temperature changes greatly due to the fact that the difference of the thermal expansion coefficients of the optical device carrier plate and the optical processing assembly is too large is avoided. The optics carrier 380 carrying the optoelectronic chip 330 and the optical processing assembly 340 is fixed in the first housing 310 by thermal conductive adhesive bonding or soldering.

The circuit board assembly 320 includes a hard circuit board 321, electronic components, an electrical chip, such as a controller, a signal processor, a driver, a transimpedance amplifier, etc., where the driver and the transimpedance amplifier may be disposed on the hard circuit board 321 or not on the hard circuit board, but on an optical device carrier together with the optoelectronic chip. The hard circuit board 321 is fixed on the first housing 311, and one end (the electrical connection end 322) of the hard circuit board 321 extends out of the electrical interface 300a for electrically connecting with an electrical interface in an optical cage of the optical communication host. The end surface of the hard circuit board 321 adjacent to one end of the optoelectronic chip 330 abuts against the substrate of the optoelectronic chip or the transimpedance amplifier, and is not fixed with the optical device carrier 380. Alternatively, the end surface of the hard circuit board 321 adjacent to one end of the optoelectronic chip 330 abuts against the end surface of the optical device carrier 380, and does not overlap with the optical device carrier 380. The hard circuit board 321 may be locked, buckled or glued to the first housing 311 by a fastener such as a screw, or locked or buckled by a fastener such as a screw, and glued to the first housing 311. The optical device carrier plate 380 and the circuit board assembly 320 are respectively installed and placed by taking the first shell 311 as a reference, and are respectively fixed in the first shell 311, so that the optical device carrier plate 380 and the hard circuit board 321 do not need to be fixed with each other, the assembly mode of the optical module is more flexible, the production and assembly process flow is simplified, reworking is convenient, the production efficiency can be further improved, and the cost is reduced. Specifically, in this embodiment, the hard circuit board is fixed in the same manner as in embodiment 1, and a through hole 323 is provided in the hard circuit board 321, and a screw is passed through the through hole 323 and locked in the threaded hole of the first housing 311 to lock the hard circuit board 321 in the first housing 311.

As in embodiment 1, the optical module of this embodiment is a transceiver integrated optical module, the optoelectronic chip 330 includes a laser chip 331 and a photodetector chip 332, the optical processing assembly 340 includes a transmitting-end optical processing assembly and a receiving-end optical processing assembly, and the transmitting-end optical path and the receiving-end optical path are the same as in embodiment 1. The assembly structure of the optoelectronic chip 330 and the optical processing component 340 on the optical device carrier 380 is the same as that of the optoelectronic chip and the optical processing component in embodiment 1, and the electrical connection manner of the optoelectronic chip 330 and the circuit board component 320 is the same as that of embodiment 1, which is not described herein again. In contrast, in this embodiment, the optical processing component 340 is adhered to the optical device carrier 380 by an adhesive layer, and the optical device carrier 380 is then adhered to or welded to the first housing 311 by a heat-conducting adhesive. Similarly, the hard circuit board 321 is provided with an avoidance hole 324, and the photodetector chip 332 and the transimpedance amplifier are disposed in the avoidance hole 324 and fixed on the optical device carrier 380 at a position corresponding to the avoidance hole 324.

In this embodiment, the bottom plate 313 of the first housing 311 also includes a first mounting region 314 and a second mounting region 315, the hard circuit board 321 is fixed to the first mounting region 314, and the optical device carrier 380 on which the optoelectronic chip 330 and the optical processing module 340 are mounted is fixed to the second mounting region 315. The first housing 311 has a first reference, and the optics carrier 380 with the optoelectronic chip 330 and the optical processing assembly 340 mounted thereon is fixed to the second mounting area 315 at a first predetermined position with respect to the first reference. Here, the first reference may be a mark provided in the second mounting region 315, or an interface between the port and the sidewall of the first housing, or a limiting structure in the first housing, or the like.

The optical device carrier 380 has a second reference, and each optical element of the optical processing assembly 340 is fixed on the optical device carrier 380 at a second, third, etc. preset position based on the second reference by adhesive bonding. The second reference may be a mark or a limiting structure provided on the optical device carrier 380, or a corner at the end of the optical device carrier 380. In this embodiment, the optical device carrier 380 is provided with a periscope positioning groove, a wavelength division multiplexer limiting groove, a wavelength division demultiplexer limiting groove, and the like according to the optical path design. In other embodiments, the optical device carrier may be a plane, on which optical elements such as periscopes, wavelength division multiplexers, and wavelength division demultiplexers are mounted, and the optical elements are aligned by adjusting the thickness of the glue layer between the optical elements and the plane. Or the optical device carrier plate is provided with a plurality of mounting platforms with different heights, and the mounting platforms are respectively used for mounting periscopes, wavelength division multiplexers, wavelength division demultiplexers, photoelectric chips and the like. The precision requirement of the bearing surface of the optical device carrier 380 for bearing the optical processing assembly 340 and the photoelectric chip 330 is lower, and the processing cost of the optical device carrier can be effectively reduced.

The optical module of this embodiment may employ the same optical receptacle as that of embodiment 1, and the optical receptacle may be fixed to the optical interface of the housing as in embodiment 1, or may be fixed to the optical device carrier board. Taking the example that the optical socket is fixed on the optical device carrier board, the end of the optical device carrier board 380 adjacent to the optical interface 300b is provided with a socket mounting portion 381, and the optical socket 360 is welded, glued, screwed or clamped on the mounting portion 381. The socket mounting portion 381 may be a sidewall provided at an end of the optical device carrier 380, and a socket receiving groove 382 for mounting the optical socket 360 is provided on the sidewall. The mounting and positioning manner of the optical receptacle 360 on the optical device carrier 380 may be identical to the mounting and positioning manner of the optical receptacle in the first housing in embodiment 1, and will not be described herein.

When assembled, the optical package 360 and the optical processing module 340 are passively secured to the optical device carrier 380 by adjusting the third lens group 350 to couple optical signals between the optical processing module 340 and the optical receptacle 360. The optoelectronic chip 330 is also passively mounted on the optics carrier 380 or on a separate heat sink. The circuit board assembly 320 and the optical device carrier board 380 carrying the optoelectronic chip 330 and the optical processing assembly 340 are respectively mounted and fixed in the first housing 311 with reference to the first housing 311, and the optical device carrier board 380 and the hard circuit board 321 do not need to be fixed to each other. The optoelectronic chip 330 and the hard circuit board 321 are electrically connected by wire bonding (such as wire bonding) between the optoelectronic chip 330 and the hard circuit board 321, the first collimating lens array (the first lens group 371) is adjusted to collimate the optical signals emitted by the laser chip 331 and then make the collimated optical signals incident on the wavelength division multiplexer, and the second coupling lens array (the second lens group 372) is adjusted to couple each optical signal output by the wavelength division multiplexer to each photodetector chip 332. The circuit board assembly 320 and the optical device carrier 380 are mounted with the first housing 311 of the optical module 300 as a reference, and the assembly tolerance between the optical processing assembly 340, the optical chip 330 and the circuit board assembly 320 can be absorbed by adjusting the lens group, so that the optical interface of the housing is not required to be adjusted, and the optical interface 300b of the housing 310 can be integrally formed with the first housing 311, thereby realizing all hard connection between all the components in the optical module. The structure does not need a flexible circuit board to absorb assembly tolerance, and also does not need to set the optical interface as a movable head, so that the structure of the optical module is further simplified, the production and assembly process flow is simplified, the production efficiency can be further improved, and the cost is reduced.

Example 3

As shown in fig. 7, another optical module 400 provided herein, the optical module 400 of this embodiment includes a housing 410, a circuit board assembly 420, and an optical assembly. The optical assembly includes a photo-electric chip 430 and a light processing assembly 440. The housing 410 includes a first housing 411 and a second housing 412, where the first housing 411 and the second housing 412 are covered to form an internal accommodating cavity, and the optical module 400 has an optical interface 400b and an electrical interface 400a; the circuit board assembly 420, the optoelectronic chip 430 and the light processing assembly 440 are disposed in the internal accommodating cavity of the housing 410.

In this embodiment, the optoelectronic chip 430 includes a laser chip 431, the laser chip 431 is mounted on a substrate 432, the laser chip 431 is electrically connected to the substrate 432, and the electrical connection between the laser chip 431 and the substrate 432 is generally achieved by using a gold wire bonding process. The circuit board assembly 420 includes a rigid circuit board 421 and electronic components or integrated circuit chips, such as a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 422, disposed on the rigid circuit board 421. In this embodiment, the substrate 432 is partially overlapped with the hard circuit board 421, that is, the substrate 432 is overlapped with the hard circuit board 421, and the surface of the substrate 432 of the overlapped portion is provided with an electrical connection terminal, the surface of the hard circuit board 421 is also provided with an electrical connection terminal, and the electrical connection terminals on the substrate 432 and the hard circuit board 421 are electrically connected and fixed together by a Flip-chip (Flip-chip) or an anisotropic conductive Adhesive (ACF) process, so as to realize direct hard connection of the circuit board assembly 420 to the optoelectronic chip 430.

In this embodiment, the substrate 432 is thermally connected to the first housing 411 by a heat sink 433, and the heat generated by the operation of the laser chip 431 is transferred to the first housing 411 via the substrate 432 and the heat sink 433, and dissipated via the first housing 411. The optical processing component 440 is disposed on the optical device carrier 450, and the optical processing component 440 may include a wavelength division multiplexer, a periscope, a coupling lens, and the like. The structure between the optical processing component 440 and the optical socket is similar to that of embodiment 1 or 2, so that hard connection between the optical chip 430 and the optical interface 400b can be realized, and all components in the optical module can be hard-connected without a flexible circuit board to absorb assembly tolerance or a movable head of the optical interface, thereby further simplifying the structure of the optical module, simplifying the production and assembly process flow, further improving the production efficiency and reducing the cost.

Since the electrical connection end of the hard circuit board 421 is directly overlapped with the electrical connection end of the substrate 432 to achieve electrical connection, the electrical connection end of the circuit board 421, the DSP422, and the high-speed signal transmission line connecting the two may be disposed on the same surface of the hard circuit board 421 opposite to the substrate 432, for example, on the surface of the hard circuit board 421 facing the main heat dissipation housing (here, the first housing 411), the DSP422 is thermally connected with the first housing 411 through a heat dissipation pad 460, and the generated heat is directly transferred out through the first housing 411. The electrical connection end of the laser chip 431 and the substrate 432 is located on the same surface of the substrate 432 and on the side of the substrate 432 opposite to the first housing 411, and the back surface of the substrate 432 faces the first housing 411 and is connected with the first housing 411 by a heat sink 433 in a heat dissipation manner. Thus, the high-speed signal transmission line from the DSP422 to the photoelectric chip 430 does not need to pass through a conductive via hole, gold wire bonding or adapter plate switching, so that the impedance mutation of the high-speed signal transmission line is reduced, the high-frequency performance of the component can be effectively improved, and the bandwidth of the component is greatly improved. Meanwhile, the main power consumption devices in the optical module: the heat generated by the laser chip 431 and the DSP422 during operation can be directly transferred from the first housing 411 (i.e. the main heat dissipation housing) of the housing 410, so as to further improve the heat dissipation performance of the optical module.

In other embodiments, a semiconductor cooler (TEC) may be further disposed between the substrate 432 and the heat sink 433, so as to further improve the heat dissipation efficiency of the laser chip 431. The heat sink 433 may be integrally formed with the optical device carrier 450; alternatively, the substrate 432 and the optical processing component 440 are directly glued and fixed in the first housing 411, and a heat sink or an optical device carrier is omitted.

The above list of detailed descriptions is only specific to practical embodiments of the present application, and they are not intended to limit the scope of the present application, and all equivalent embodiments or modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the technical spirit of the present application are included in the scope of the present application.

Claims (12)

1. An optical module comprises a shell, a circuit board assembly, an optical assembly and an optical socket; the housing comprises a first housing, a second housing and an optical fiber adapter, wherein the first housing and the second housing are covered to form an inner accommodating cavity; the circuit board assembly and the optical assembly are arranged in the inner accommodating cavity; the circuit board assembly comprises a hard circuit board; the method is characterized in that:

the shell is provided with an electric interface and an optical interface, and the circuit board assembly is fixed on the first shell and is close to one end of the electric interface;

The optical component is fixed on the first shell and comprises an optical processing component and an optoelectronic chip, wherein the optical processing component comprises a wavelength division multiplexer, a lens group and a lens group, the lens group is respectively positioned between the wavelength division multiplexer and the optoelectronic chip, and the lens group is respectively positioned between the wavelength division multiplexer and the optical socket; the optical processing assembly is used for optical transmission between the photoelectric chip and the optical socket, and the photoelectric chip is adjacent to the hard circuit board and is electrically connected with the hard circuit board;

the optical fiber adapter is arranged at the optical interface of the shell, the optical fiber adapter and the optical interface are integrally formed, and one end of the optical socket extends into the optical fiber adapter; the optical fiber adapter, the optical receptacle, the optical assembly and the rigid circuit board are all hard-wired.

2. The light module of claim 1, wherein:

the optical fiber adapter part is integrally formed with the first shell and the second shell, and the first shell and the second shell are covered at the optical interface to form the optical fiber adapter; alternatively, the fiber optic adapter is integrally formed with the first housing.

3. The light module of claim 1, wherein:

the circuit board assembly is fixed in the first shell through glue, a fastener and/or a buckle.

4. The light module of claim 1, wherein:

the optoelectronic chip comprises a laser chip,

the laser chip is arranged on a substrate; the laser chip is electrically connected with the substrate;

the substrate is electrically connected with the hard circuit board through bonding wires or an adapter plate, or the hard circuit board is in lap joint electrical connection with the substrate.

5. The light module of claim 1, wherein: the optical module further comprises a transimpedance amplifier, the photoelectric chip comprises a photoelectric detector chip, the photoelectric detector chip is electrically connected with the transimpedance amplifier through a bonding wire, and the transimpedance amplifier is electrically connected with the hard circuit board through the bonding wire.

6. The light module of claim 1, wherein:

the first shell comprises a bottom plate, and the light treatment assembly is directly fixed on the bottom plate through an adhesive layer.

7. The light module of claim 1, wherein:

the optical component further comprises an optical device carrier plate, and the optical processing component and the photoelectric chip are arranged on the optical device carrier plate; the optical device carrier plate is fixed in the first shell.

8. The light module of claim 7, wherein: the optical device carrier plate is provided with a first bearing surface, a lens group between the wavelength division multiplexer and the optical socket is a third lens group, and the third lens group is fixed on the first bearing surface.

9. The light module of claim 1, wherein: the lens group between the wavelength division multiplexer and the optical socket is a third lens group; the optical socket comprises a sleeve component and an optical fiber inserting core, wherein the optical fiber inserting core is arranged at one end, close to the optical processing component, in the sleeve component, and the other end, far away from the optical processing component, of the sleeve component is used for receiving an optical fiber inserting core of an external optical fiber when being connected with the external optical fiber;

and one end of the sleeve assembly, which is close to the light treatment assembly, is provided with an extension structure, and the third lens group is arranged on the extension structure.

10. The light module of claim 1, wherein: the light socket is fixed in the first shell.

11. The light module of claim 1, wherein: the light processing assembly comprises a transmitting end light processing assembly and a receiving end light processing assembly, and the transmitting end light processing assembly comprises the wavelength division multiplexer and a first periscope; the receiving end light processing assembly comprises a wavelength division multiplexer and a second periscope.

12. The light module of claim 11, wherein:

the optical socket comprises a transmitting end optical socket and a receiving end optical socket;

the photoelectric chip comprises a laser chip and a light detector chip;

the laser chip, the wavelength division multiplexer and the optical socket of the receiving end are positioned on the same side in the first shell, and the optical detector chip, the wavelength division multiplexer and the optical socket of the transmitting end are positioned on the other side in the first shell;

the first periscope and the second periscope are overlapped with each other, the first periscope guides the optical signals output by the wavelength division multiplexer to one side of the transmitting end optical socket, and the second periscope guides the optical signals received by the receiving end optical socket into the wavelength division multiplexer.

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