Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/42—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
  • G02B6/4201—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details
  • G02B6/4219—Mechanical fixtures for holding or positioning the elements relative to each other in the couplings; Alignment methods for the elements, e.g. measuring or observing methods especially used therefor
  • G02B6/4228—Passive alignment, i.e. without a detection of the degree of coupling or the position of the elements
  • G02B6/423—Passive alignment, i.e. without a detection of the degree of coupling or the position of the elements using guiding surfaces for the alignment
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D22/00—Shaping without cutting, by stamping, spinning, or deep-drawing
  • B21D22/02—Stamping using rigid devices or tools
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/42—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
  • G02B6/4201—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details
  • G02B6/4219—Mechanical fixtures for holding or positioning the elements relative to each other in the couplings; Alignment methods for the elements, e.g. measuring or observing methods especially used therefor
  • G02B6/4236—Fixing or mounting methods of the aligned elements
  • G02B6/424—Mounting of the optical light guide
  • G02B6/4243—Mounting of the optical light guide into a groove
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/42—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
  • G02B6/4201—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details
  • G02B6/4266—Thermal aspects, temperature control or temperature monitoring
  • G02B6/4268—Cooling
  • G02B6/4272—Cooling with mounting substrates of high thermal conductivity
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/42—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
  • G02B6/4201—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details
  • G02B6/4219—Mechanical fixtures for holding or positioning the elements relative to each other in the couplings; Alignment methods for the elements, e.g. measuring or observing methods especially used therefor
  • G02B6/4233—Active alignment along the optical axis and passive alignment perpendicular to the optical axis

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method of micro- replication in metal, a device for producing micro- replications in metal and to a metal micro-replicated element produced in accordance with the invention.
• Micro-replicating methods and devices are preferably intended for use in producing with great precision and at low costs reproduceable building optocomponents, contact devices or other precision elements adapted for aligning optical chips with waveguides or fibres .
• An optocomponent building element that has an aligning facility can be readily mounted on a circuit board while connected to a waveguide or to a fibre and to a laser or a photodiode .
• a common method of aligning optical chips with waveguides or fibres in optocomponents is to etch a desired microstructure in silicon in the form of a V-groove into which a waveguide or fibre can be fitted.
• optical chips are often solder-mounted on a ceramic or silicon carrier. This method quickly presents problems with respect to the dissipation of heat generated in the mounted component . This problem is particularly pronounced in the case of mounted semiconductor lasers of small dimensions, with which the heat generating region is concentrated to narrow bands of circa 2 ⁇ m that extend transversely through the chip close to its surface.
• a chip that carries a waveguide or fibre connection has been soldered either to a metal carrier or to a metal lead frame, wherewith the thermal resistance will be much lower than when the chip is solder- mounted on a ceramic or silicon carrier.
• the invention enables a microstructure to be produced with great precision with respect to the alignment of a waveguide or a fibre in a metal surface with the aid of an embossing/stamping tool at low cost.
• the embossing process may be carried out on a metal carrier or directly on a metal lead frame intended for plastic encapsulation.
• An embossing process can be automated relatively easily, since the material to be embossed can be worked in the form of short strips or in the form of long strips wound onto reels.
• An assembly in which optical chips are soldered onto metal carriers provided with embossed waveguide or fibre receiving grooves will result in improved heat dissipation and therewith greatly increase the useful life of the finished component with enhanced mean fault time (MFT) .
• MFT mean fault time
• Figure 1 illustrates a metal element provided with a microstructure in accordance with the invention.
• Figures 2A and B show respectively an inventive embossing tool from beneath and in section.
• Figures 3A and B are detailed illustrations of the active part of the inventive embossing tool, seen from one side and from above .
• Microstructures embossed in metal carriers enable optical components to be aligned and mounted directly on a copper lead frame or a lead frame made of some other alloy, for later inclusion as a building element in a plastic capsule, for instance.
• the embossing technique provides two obvious advantages over known techniques in which lasers are mounted on a carrier which is then mounted on a lead frame. Firstly, the costs entailed by purchasing and producing such carriers are eliminated. Secondly, advantages are also afforded with respect to dissipation of the heat that is generated in the active regions of the lasers. However, there is the added cost of the embossing process and of the tool required herefor.
• the precision tools to be used to emboss micro replications may be manufactured by grinding or otherwise working the tool material directly, or in the following manner, for instance:
• a patterned silicon disc is coated with a layer of material that possesses sufficient hardness.
• the disc is plated with nickel or some other suitable material .
• the plating is planarised. 4.
• the silicon is etched so as to separated the plated and planarised moulding therefrom.
• the hardness of the plated surface can be enhanced by sputtering or further plating the surf ce with an appropriate metal .
• the moulding is sawn in two, so as to separate the mutually identical structures.
• a structure is placed in a holder in an embossing tool, said holder being adapted to the structure.
• the non-planarised side is coated with a layer which makes later separation possible.
• the disc is plated with nickel or some other metal.
• the plating is planarised.
• the moulding is sawn in two so as to separate the mutually identical structures. 10.
• the moulding is placed in a holder and subjected to spark processing in an electro discharge machine (EDM) .
• EDM electro discharge machine
• Spark processing is effected directly in the material in which microstructures shall be embossed in the metal/lead frame .
• the various parts of the embossing tool are assembled to provide a finished embossing tool.
• Figure 1 illustrates an example of an embossed microstructure in a metal element 1 that has a recessed or sunken surface 2 which includes a V-groove 3 for aligning an optofibre or a waveguide.
• the metal surface may also be provided with a chip mounting surface 4 that includes chip positioning markings in the form of grooves 5.
• the embossed metal surface enables a chip to be aligned with a waveguide or a fibre with a great degree of accuracy.
• the embossing tool 6 may have the form of a stamp with which a protective holder 8 is arranged around the active part 7 of the tool.
• the active tool part will suitably have a configuration with which grooves, such as V-grooves, can be embossed in a metal surface.
• the protective holder will be sprung, e.g. with an Adiprene plate 9, so as to be able to expose the active tool part in the actual embossing process.
• Figures 3A and B show that the active part 7 may be configured with an embossing surface, which in this case is comprised of a flat surface 10 and a ridged area 11 such as to form a planar surface, or alternatively a recessed surface, and a V-groove when embossing a metal surface.
• the active tool part may have a width of 1.20 mm for instance, and the width of the ridge may be 0.16 mm and its length 3.20 mm, and the angle ⁇ may be 45°.
• a carrier in the form of lead frames and in strip form for instance, may be provided automatically in a manufacturing process with V- grooves and connected to a chip such as lasers or photodiodes .
• Waveguides or fibres can then be aligned automatically with the aid of the embossed grooves so as to obtain correct alignment of the waveguide or the fibre with the carrier mounted laser or photodiode.
• the inventive embossing technique enables micro replication to be achieved in the automatic manufacturing process to a high degree of reliability and with great precision at low costs.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Optical Couplings Of Light Guides (AREA)
• Mechanical Coupling Of Light Guides (AREA)
• Shaping Of Tube Ends By Bending Or Straightening (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (10)

Families Citing this family (7)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 1996
  • 1996-12-19 SE SE9604682A patent/SE508068C2/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1997
  • 1997-03-10 TW TW086102955A patent/TW352455B/zh active
  • 1997-12-12 AU AU77367/98A patent/AU7736798A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-12-12 WO PCT/SE1997/002084 patent/WO1998026885A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-12-12 EP EP97949318A patent/EP0954395A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1997-12-12 JP JP52760498A patent/JP2001507811A/ja not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-12-12 KR KR1019997005476A patent/KR20000069542A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-12-12 CN CN97180878A patent/CN1072993C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1997-12-12 CA CA002275510A patent/CA2275510A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2000
  • 2000-07-06 HK HK00104156A patent/HK1024881A1/xx not_active IP Right Cessation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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