JP2000304973A - Production of optical fiber with holder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the reliability at the time of a long-term use by temporally fixing one end of an optical fiber to a holder by means of an uncured adhesive, polishing the end face on one end side, curing the uncured adhesive and fixing the one end of the optical fiber to the holder. SOLUTION: The one end of the optical fiber is temporally fixed to the holder by the uncured adhesive and the optical fiber end face on one end side of the optical fiber is polished. Next, a normal fixing stage of fixing the one end of the optical fiber to the holder by curing the uncured adhesive is executed, by which the optical fiber with the holder is obtained. The temporally fixing is a stage for preventing the misalignment in the relative positional relation between the optical fiber and the holder at the time of the polishing. The polishing is a stage for polishing the optical fiber end face on the side where the optical fiber end face is temporally fixed to the holder and is executed by using required abrasive grains or glass polishing machine, etc., according to the material of the optical fiber to be polished and the material of the holder. The adhesive to be used is preferably an adhesives of a type cured by irradiation with light or by heating like photosetting adhesives and thermosetting adhesives.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a holder for holding one end of an optical fiber, and a single-core or multi-core optical transmission medium for transmitting light by the optical fiber. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an optical fiber with a holder, in which one end of an optical fiber is fixed to the holder by an adhesive, and in particular, the end face of the optical fiber fixed to the holder is polished. A method for manufacturing an optical fiber with a holder.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when optically connecting multiple optical transmission media for transmitting light through a plurality of optical fibers (hereinafter, optical connection is referred to as "optical connection"), optical transmission is performed. For each medium, it is desirable to position and fix one end of each of the optical fibers with high precision in advance so that the relative positional relationship between the optical fibers on the side to be optically connected becomes a predetermined relationship. It is. Similarly, the multi-core optical transmission medium and the optical waveguide (the “optical waveguide” in this specification does not include an optical fiber), a light emitting element, a light receiving element, a diffraction grating, a lens, and other optical elements. (Hereinafter, an optical element that is optically connected to an optical fiber is referred to as an “optical component”.) When the optical transmission medium is optically connected, the relative positions of the optical fibers on the side where the optical connection is to be made are made. It is desired that one end of each of these optical fibers be positioned and fixed with high precision in advance so that the relationship becomes a predetermined relationship.

[0003] Under such circumstances, by fixing one end of each optical fiber on the side to be optically connected to a predetermined holder, a multi-core optical transmission in which one end of each optical fiber is accurately positioned and fixed. Medium is being developed. A typical example of the multi-core optical transmission medium is an optical fiber array. In addition, since the above-described holding tool can be used as a guide or a connector for performing optical connection, an optical connection is also intended for a single-core optical transmission medium that transmits light by an optical fiber. An optical fiber in which one end of an optical fiber on the side is fixed to a predetermined holder has been developed.

The above-mentioned holder is made of an inorganic material such as silicon, glass or ceramics, various synthetic resins, or
The holder is made of a composite material of a resin and an inorganic material, and the holder has an optical fiber positioning portion for positioning one end of the optical fiber. As the optical fiber positioning portion, a through-hole having a predetermined shape and size, a groove, or the like is used, and a holder having an optical fiber positioning portion using a groove generally includes a holder,
An optical fiber fixing member on which the optical fiber positioning portion is formed, and a holding member for cooperating with the optical fiber fixing member to clamp an optical fiber whose one end is positioned by the optical fiber positioning portion. And a member.

In some types of holders, a dedicated fastening jig is used to position and fix one end of an optical fiber by the holder. In many holders, the holder is bonded to one end of the optical fiber. One end of the optical fiber is positioned and fixed by being fixed to each other by an agent. Note that, in this specification, (1) a multi-core optical transmission medium for transmitting light through a plurality of optical fibers, and one end of each optical fiber on the side to be optically connected is held as described above by an adhesive. An optical transmission medium positioned and fixed to the device, and (2) a single-core optical transmission medium for transmitting light by an optical fiber, wherein one end of the optical fiber on the side to be optically connected is bonded with an adhesive. The optical transmission medium fixed to the holder is generically referred to as "optical fiber with holder".

However, if the end face of the optical fiber to be optically connected on the optical connection side is damaged or rough, light is scattered and connection loss increases. For this reason, when producing the optical fiber with the holder, a polishing process for polishing and polishing the end face of the optical fiber on the optical connection side is usually performed. In the case where an end face of the optical fiber on the optical connection side of the optical fiber is intended to obtain an optical fiber with a holder protruding a predetermined length from the end face of the holder on the optical connection side, the polishing treatment is performed on the end face of the optical fiber on the optical connection side. (Hereinafter, this polishing process is referred to as “polishing process A”). However, in many optical fibers with a holder, the end face on the optical connection side of the optical fiber and the end face on the optical connection side of the holder are formed on substantially the same plane. At this time, the end face on the optical connection side of the holder is also polished (hereinafter, this polishing processing is referred to as “polishing processing B”).

In a conventional optical fiber with a holder,
Each of the above-mentioned polishing treatments A and B is performed after one end of the optical fiber is completely fixed to the holder with an adhesive, that is, after the adhesive is completely or substantially completely cured. Was.

[0008]

In the conventional optical fiber with a holder subjected to the polishing treatment A or the polishing treatment B, the optical fibers with the holder or the optical fiber with the holder and the optical component are separated from each other. Although the optical connection itself can be performed with a low connection loss, it is difficult to maintain the optical connection for a long time under the low connection loss. That is, the reliability during long-term use was relatively low.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an optical fiber with a holder, which can obtain an optical fiber with the holder with high reliability in long-term use.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have enthusiastically examined the cause of the relatively low reliability in long-term use of a conventional optical fiber with a holder which has been subjected to the above-mentioned polishing treatment A or polishing treatment B. The study resulted in the following conclusions:

That is, in the conventional optical fiber with a holder, both of the polishing processing A and the polishing processing B are performed after one end of the optical fiber is completely fixed to the holder with an adhesive. Due to the physical force applied to the optical fiber during the polishing process A or the polishing process B, the adhesive layer is separated from the member to be bonded (the holder or the optical fiber), or residual strain is generated in the adhesive layer. Was. When the peeling occurs, the peeling proceeds with time. When the residual strain is large, the residual strain causes a new peeling of the adhesive layer from the member to be bonded (the holder and the optical fiber). Then, as a result of the peeling progressing with time, or as a result of the occurrence of new peeling due to the residual strain, the conventional optical fiber with a holder or the conventional optical fiber with a holder and an optical component are separated. Even if the optical connection is performed under low connection loss, the interface between the optical fibers that are optically connected to each other or the interface between the optical fiber and the optical component that are optically connected to each other (hereinafter, these interfaces are referred to as “optical connection portions”). ), The axis shift and the angle shift of the optical fiber are caused over time, and the connection loss increases.

The present invention has been made based on the above findings, and a method of manufacturing an optical fiber with a holder according to the present invention which achieves the above-mentioned object, comprises: a holder for holding one end of an optical fiber; A single-core or multi-core optical transmission medium for transmitting light by an optical fiber, one end of the optical fiber constituting the optical transmission medium is fixed to the holder by an adhesive, and the one end A method of manufacturing an optical fiber with a holder having an optical fiber end face polished, wherein a temporary fixing step of temporarily fixing one end of the optical fiber to the holder with an uncured adhesive; and A polishing step of polishing an optical fiber end face on one end side of the optical fiber temporarily fixed to the fixture, and a permanent fixing by curing the uncured adhesive and fixing one end of the optical fiber to the holder. Process and It is characterized in that comprises.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail. A method of manufacturing an optical fiber with a holder according to the present invention including the above-described temporary fixing step, polishing step, and main fixing step (hereinafter, simply referred to as “method of the present invention”).
Are the structure of the optical transmission medium in the intended optical fiber with the holder, the type and material of the optical fiber constituting the optical transmission medium, and the structure and material of the holder in the intended optical fiber with the holder. Regardless of this, this method can be applied when manufacturing various optical fibers with a holder.

In the above-mentioned temporary fixing step, one end of the optical fiber is bonded with an adhesive so that the relative positional relationship between the optical fiber and the holder does not deviate from a desired relation in a polishing step performed after the temporary fixing step. This is a step for fixing to the holder. Of course, if the adhesive is completely or substantially completely cured in the temporary fixing step, it is difficult to obtain an optical fiber with a holder having high reliability in long-term use as in the related art. Therefore, in the temporary fixing step, the adhesive is left uncured.

The degree of curing of the adhesive in the temporary fixing step is determined by the type and adhesive strength of the adhesive to be used, the materials of the members to be bonded (the holder and the optical fiber), and the optical fiber and the holder during the polishing step. It depends on how much power is applied to the body. The magnitude of the force applied to the optical fiber and the holder in the polishing step differs depending on the material of the optical fiber to be polished, the polishing means, and the like. Further, when the polishing performed in the polishing step is the above-described polishing treatment B, in addition to the material of the optical fiber to be polished and the polishing method, depending on the material of the holder, the optical fiber and the holding The magnitude of the force applied to the ingredients varies.

Therefore, the extent to which the adhesive is cured in the temporary fixing step depends on the type and adhesive strength of the adhesive used, the material of the optical fiber and the holder in the optical fiber with the holder to be manufactured, and the polishing step. Is appropriately selected in advance in accordance with the polishing means to be applied in (1), the type of polishing performed in the polishing step (whether the polishing process A or the polishing process B described above), and the like. However,
In the temporary fixing step, the adhesive is kept in an uncured state, that is, in a state where the adhesive still shows flexibility or plastic deformation.

As the adhesive used in the present invention, an adhesive of a type which is cured by light irradiation or heating, such as a photocurable adhesive (including an ultraviolet curable adhesive) and a thermosetting adhesive. It is particularly preferable to use a type of adhesive that cures by both light irradiation and heating.

When a photocurable adhesive typified by an epoxy or acrylate is used as the above adhesive, the curing state (degree of polymerization) of the adhesive depends on the irradiation intensity and irradiation time of light having a predetermined wavelength. Since it can be adjusted by selection, it is preferable to extract curing conditions for obtaining a desired cured state in advance before the temporary fixing step. Similarly,
When a thermosetting adhesive represented by an epoxy or acrylate is used as the adhesive, the cured state (degree of polymerization) of the adhesive can be adjusted by selecting a heating temperature and a heating time. Prior to the temporary fixing step, it is preferable to previously extract curing conditions for obtaining a desired cured state.

In order to prevent the relative positional relationship between the holder and the optical fiber to be temporarily fixed to the holder from a desired relationship during the temporary fixing step,
It is preferable that the holding tool and the optical fiber to be temporarily fixed to the holding tool be fastened by a jig until the adhesive reaches a desired cured state.

The polishing step performed after the temporary fixing step is, as described above, a step of polishing the end face of the optical fiber which is temporarily fixed to the holder, and the polishing step is the above-mentioned polishing processing A or This is a step of performing a polishing treatment B. The polishing in the polishing step depends on the material of the optical fiber to be polished, as in the conventional case, and also depends on the material of the optical fiber to be polished and the holder when the polishing treatment B is performed. The polishing can be performed using an abrasive having a particle size of 10 μm or less, a glass polishing machine, or the like.

However, even in the polishing step, the above-mentioned adhesive is in an uncured state. Therefore, in order to suppress the occurrence of a deviation in the relative positional relationship between the optical fiber and the holder in the polishing step, the polishing means and the polishing means are designed to minimize the force applied to the optical fiber and the holder during polishing. It is preferable to select polishing conditions.

In the main fixing step performed after the polishing step, one end of the optical fiber which is still temporarily fixed to the holder at the stage after the polishing step is cured by curing the uncured adhesive described above. This is a step of fixing to the holder.

Therefore, in the main fixing step,
A curing treatment sufficient to completely or substantially completely cure the adhesive is performed. When a photo-curing adhesive or a thermosetting adhesive is used, if the curing of the adhesive is insufficient and the unpolymerized adhesive remains, the unpolymerized adhesive gradually polymerizes, thereby causing the adhesive to adhere. The adhesive layer is easily peeled off from the members (the holder and the optical fiber). In addition, once the above-mentioned peeling occurs, the peeling becomes easy to grow. As a result, even if the optical fibers with holders are optically connected to each other or the optical fiber with holders and the optical component under low connection loss, the axial deviation and the angular deviation of the optical fibers in the optical connection part with time. Cause connection loss to increase,
It is easy to fall into that situation.

The extent to which the curing treatment is required to completely or substantially completely cure the adhesive depends on the type of the adhesive used and the cured state of the adhesive in the temporary fixing step. It is preferable that the processing conditions required for the curing treatment be obtained in advance by experiments, tests, or the like.

In the method of the present invention in which the temporary fixing step, the polishing step, and the main fixing step are sequentially performed as described above, the adhesive is in an uncured state during the polishing step, and the uncured adhesive is It is completely or substantially completely cured only in the main fixing step. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily obtain an optical fiber with a holder having substantially no peeling of the adhesive layer from the member to be bonded (the holder and the optical fiber) immediately after the production. Further, an optical fiber with a holder having a small residual distortion in the adhesive layer can be easily obtained.

As a result, after optically connecting the optical fibers with the holding members or the optical fiber with the holding members and the optical component, (1) the bonded member (the holding member) generated in the manufacturing process. Or the peeling of the adhesive layer from the optical fiber over time does not substantially occur in the optical fiber with the holder, and (2) the adhesive layer is covered by residual strain generated in the adhesive layer during the manufacturing process. Since it is difficult for the optical fiber with the holder to peel off the adhesive layer from the adhesive member (holding member or optical fiber) with time, the axis of the optical fiber is shifted due to the progress of the peeling or the occurrence of the peeling. It is also unlikely that the connection loss will increase due to the occurrence of an angle shift in the optical connection portion over time. That is, according to the method of the present invention, it is possible to obtain an optical fiber with a holder having high reliability in long-term use.

Further, in the case where an adhesive which cures by both light irradiation and heating is used as the above-mentioned adhesive, the relative positional relationship between the optical fiber and the holder is maintained in a desired relationship. The curing of the adhesive in the temporary fixing step that needs to be performed while holding is performed for each individual holder and each optical fiber to be fixed to the holder by light irradiation that can be cured in a relatively short time, The curing of the adhesive in the main fixing step can be performed at a time by heating, for example, a plurality of optical fibers with a holder that have been finished up to the polishing step, so that an optical fiber with a holder can be manufactured with high productivity. It becomes possible to do.

[0028]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Example 1 First, an eight-core tape fiber, which is one of the multi-core optical transmission media, was prepared, and the primary coating and the secondary coating on one end side in the length direction of the tape fiber were respectively spread over predetermined ranges. By removing, one end of each of the eight optical fibers was exposed over a predetermined length. In the present embodiment, the end faces of the eight optical fibers on the exposed side correspond to the end faces of the optical fibers on the optical connection side (hereinafter, these end faces are referred to as “optical connection side end faces”). .

Further, a holder comprising an optical fiber fixing member made of glass and a pressing member made of glass was prepared. The above-described optical fiber fixing member has an optical fiber fixing portion having an optical fiber positioning portion formed on an upper surface, and a pedestal portion connected to the optical fiber fixing portion. The optical fiber positioning portion is composed of eight grooves parallel to each other, and each groove has a V-shaped cross-sectional shape in the width direction (hereinafter, these grooves are each referred to as a “V-groove”). Also,
The pedestal portion is a region for holding the end of the tape fiber on the side where the optical fiber is exposed, together with the coating portion, and the upper surface of the pedestal portion is formed at a position one step lower than the optical fiber positioning portion. . On the other hand, the pressing member is made of a flat plate, and the shape of the pressing member in plan view (the shape when the pressing member is viewed in the thickness direction thereof) is:
The shape is substantially the same as the shape of the optical fiber fixing portion of the optical fiber fixing member in plan view (the shape when the optical fiber fixing portion is viewed so as to look down on the optical fiber positioning portion). In addition, the width of the pressing member in front view (width when viewed from the optical connection side end surface when assembled to the holder).
Is slightly smaller than the width in front view of the optical fiber fixing portion (width when viewed from the optical connection side end surface when assembled to the holder).

Next, a temporary fixing step, a polishing step, and a main fixing step were sequentially performed in the following manner to manufacture an optical fiber with a holder. (1) Temporary Fixing Step As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the upper surface (including the surface of each V-groove 1c) of the optical fiber fixing portion 1a in the optical fiber fixing member 1 and the above. After applying a commercially available epoxy adhesive 2 on the upper surface of the pedestal 1b,
Eight optical fibers 3a exposed from the tape fiber 3
One end of each is engaged with each of the eight V-grooves 1c, and the pressing member 4 is placed thereon,
And the optical fiber fixing member 1 were fastened by a jig (not shown). The end of the tape fiber 3 (the end on the side where the optical fiber 3a was exposed) was placed on the upper surface of the base 1b. In this state, the adhesive 2 was irradiated with ultraviolet rays of a predetermined wavelength to cure the adhesive 2 to a desired cured state. As a result, each of the eight optical fibers 3a was temporarily fixed to the holder 5 including the optical fiber fixing member 1 and the holding member 4. The adhesive 2 is a type of adhesive that is cured by irradiation with ultraviolet light having a predetermined wavelength and also cured by heating. Prior to use, the relationship between the curing conditions and the cured state of the adhesive 2 was confirmed in advance by experiments.

(2) Polishing Step After the jig used in the temporary fixing step is removed, the optical connection side end face F ₁ of each optical fiber 3a (see FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b)) and the holder 5 optical connection side end surface (the end surface of the end face F ₁ side) F ₂ (see FIG. 1 (a) and FIG. 1 (b)), was polished by glass polishing machine. This polishing is performed so that the optical connection side end faces newly formed on the optical fiber and the holder respectively by the polishing are located substantially on the same plane, and the newly formed optical connection side 8 ° behind the respective end face a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the optical fiber 3a with respect to the plane passing through the ends of the optical connection side of the lower surface of the optical fiber fixing part 1a (the optical connection side end surface F ₂ side) I went to lean.

(3) Main Fixing Step The holder 5 having been subjected to the above-mentioned polishing treatment and the holder 5
Each of the optical fibers 3a temporarily fixed to the above was inserted into a heat treatment furnace, and was heat-treated at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time to substantially completely cure the adhesive 2. By performing the steps up to the main fixing step, an intended optical fiber with a holder was obtained. FIG. 2 shows an outline of the optical fiber with a holder thus obtained.

[0033] The reference numeral 10 above the retainer-equipped optical fiber in FIG. 2, reference numeral 2a is an adhesive which is substantially fully cured, numeral F ₁₀ optical fiber 3 by the above polishing step
The optical connection side end surface newly formed on a, reference numeral F ₁₁ is shown above the retainer 5 by the polishing step the newly formed optical connection side end face, respectively. Regarding the members (excluding the adhesive 2a) constituting the optical fiber 10 with the holder, the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 1 are assigned regardless of whether or not the shape is changed by the polishing step. It is. Optical connection side end face F _10, F ₁₁ in the holder-equipped optical fiber 10 described above is flat a plane vertical to the optical axis of the optical fiber 3a through the end of the optical connection side of the lower surface of the optical fiber fixing part 1a S 8 ° backward.

In the optical fiber with a holder 10 manufactured in the present embodiment, the adhesive 2a layer which fixes the holder 5 and the optical fiber 3a to each other is applied by an optical microscope to 50 to 50.
Observation was performed at a magnification of 0, and the peeled area of the adhesive 2a was determined. The peeled area was 0%. Note that the “peeling area” refers to the holder 5 and the holder 5
When the optical fiber 3a fixed to
That is, the holder 5 and the optical fiber 3a fixed to the holder 5 are viewed from directly above the optical fiber positioning portion (eight V-grooves 1c) formed on the optical fiber fixing member 1a. The area of the part of the adhesive 2a that has been peeled off in the plane of the adhesive 2a when viewed in plan is obtained as the numerator, and the area of the part of the adhesive 2a that has been peeled off is determined as the denominator. Means area percentage.

Comparative Example I At the stage of the temporary fixing step, the adhesive was substantially completely cured,
Thereafter, a polishing process was performed, and an optical fiber with a holder was manufactured under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that no process was performed after the polishing process. At this time, the amount of the adhesive used was the same as in Example 1. The peeled area of the adhesive layer of the optical fiber with the holder was determined in the same manner as in Example 1, and it was 25%.

Environmental Test I Each of the optical fibers with holders manufactured in Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 was placed in an environmental tester maintained at a temperature of 75 ° C. and a humidity of 90% RH, and after 100 hours and 500 hours, The peeled area of the adhesive layer was determined in the same manner as in Example 1.
Table 1 shows the results.

[0037]

[Table 1]

As is clear from the results of the environmental test I shown in Table 1, in the optical fiber with the holder of Example 1 manufactured according to the method of the present invention, the peeled area immediately after the manufacture was 0%. And temperature 75 ℃, humidity 90% R
Even after being placed in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment of H for 100 hours, the peeled area is as small as 20%. Furthermore, even after being placed in the high-temperature, high-humidity environment for 500 hours, the peeled area is as small as 45%. On the other hand, in the optical fiber with the holder of Comparative Example 1 manufactured by the conventional method, the peeled area immediately after the manufacture is as large as 25%, and the optical fiber is subjected to a high temperature and high humidity environment of 75 ° C. and 90% RH. After 100 hours, the peeled area reaches 40%. Furthermore, after 500 hours in the high-temperature, high-humidity environment, the peeled area is as large as 75%. As can be easily inferred from the above results, by manufacturing an optical fiber with a holder by the method of the present invention, it is possible to obtain an optical fiber with a holder having high reliability in long-term use.

Environmental test II First, light incident from one input port can be split and output from each of the eight output ports.
A commercially available optical fiber array is optically connected to the input side of the × 8 branch optical waveguide element, and an optical fiber with a holder manufactured under the same conditions as in Example 1 is optically connected to the output side.
An 8-beam splitter was manufactured (hereinafter, this beam splitter is referred to as “beam splitter A”). Similarly, a commercially available optical fiber array is optically connected to the input side of the 1 × 8 branch optical waveguide element, and an optical fiber with a holder manufactured under the same conditions as in Comparative Example 1 is optically connected to the output side. A × 8 beam splitter was manufactured (hereinafter, this beam splitter is referred to as “beam splitter B”). Next, with respect to the beam splitter A and the beam splitter B, when predetermined light (hereinafter, this light is referred to as “test light”) is incident from the incident side, the eight ports on the exit side (of the optical waveguide element). The intensity of each output light emitted from each of the eight optical fibers optically connected to the output port (one end of each of the eight optical fibers) was measured (hereinafter, the intensity of each output light is referred to as “initial intensity”).

Thereafter, the beam splitter A and the beam splitter B are placed in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment at a temperature of 75 ° C. and a humidity of 90% RH.
After 00 hours, 500 hours, 1000 hours and 20 hours
00 hours later, for each of the beam splitters A and B, the intensity of each of the outgoing light emitted from each of the eight ports on the outgoing side when the test light was made to enter from the incoming side was measured (hereinafter, these are referred to as these The intensity is referred to as "measured intensity" at each port.)
Then, for each of the beam splitters A and B, the absolute value of the difference between the above-mentioned emission intensity and the above-mentioned initial intensity was determined for each of the eight ports on the emission side (hereinafter, this value is referred to as “loss variation amount”). .).
Table 2 shows the results.

[0041]

[Table 2]

As is evident from the results of the environmental test II shown in Table 2, the beam splitter A using the optical fiber with the holder of Example 1 manufactured according to the method of the present invention was used. After 2,000 hours in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment of a temperature of 75 ° C. and a humidity of 90% RH, the loss fluctuation amount at each of the eight ports on the emission side is as small as less than 0.1 dB. On the other hand, in the beam splitter B using the optical fiber with the holder of Comparative Example 1 manufactured by the conventional method, the beam splitter B was placed in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment of a temperature of 75 ° C. and a humidity of 90% RH for 500 hours. With this arrangement, the loss fluctuation amount at each of the eight ports on the emission side exceeded 0.6 dB, resulting in a substantial failure.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to obtain an optical fiber with a holder having high reliability in long-term use.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a view schematically showing a state in which a tape fiber and a holder are viewed from their optical connection side end faces in a temporary fixing step of Example 1, and FIG.
FIG. 2B is a right side view when FIG. 1A is a front view.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating the optical fiber with a holder manufactured in Example 1 when viewed from the same viewpoint as in FIG. 1B.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical fiber fixing member, 1a ... Optical fiber, 1
b: pedestal portion, 1c: optical fiber positioning portion, 2: adhesive, 2a: substantially completely cured adhesive, 3 ...
Tape fiber, 3a: optical fiber, 4: holding member, 5: holder, 10: optical fiber with holder.

Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Kaoru Kagami 2-7-5 Nakaochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Hoya Corporation (72) Inventor Kenji Yamanaka 2-7-5 Nakaochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Hoya stock In-house F term (reference) 2H036 JA04 LA03 LA07 2H037 AA01 BA35 DA04 DA06 DA12 DA17

Claims (5)

[Claims] An optical fiber comprising: a holder for holding one end of an optical fiber; and a single-core or multi-core optical transmission medium for transmitting light by the optical fiber, and constituting the optical transmission medium. One end of the optical fiber is fixed to the holder by an adhesive, and the optical fiber end face of the one end side is polished. A temporary fixing step of temporarily fixing the optical fiber to the holder, a polishing step of polishing an optical fiber end face at one end of the optical fiber temporarily fixed to the holder, and curing the uncured adhesive. And a main fixing step of fixing one end of the optical fiber to the holder. 2. An optical fiber fixing member having an optical fiber positioning portion for positioning one end of the optical fiber as the holder, and an optical fiber having one end positioned by the optical fiber positioning portion. The method according to claim 1, further comprising using a holder provided with a holding member for cooperating with the optical fiber fixing member. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the polishing step is performed in a state where the adhesive is cured to such an extent that the optical fiber fixing member and the pressing member are not separated. 4. In the polishing step, in addition to the optical fiber end face, the end face of the holding tool on the side where the optical fiber end face is located is also polished. The method according to claim 3. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein an adhesive which is cured by light irradiation or heating is used as the adhesive.