JP2000329952A - Method and apparatus for manufacturing optical waveguide component - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To prevent photochemical reaction between ultraviolet rays and periodic atmosphere formed with periodic fringe light emitted to form a diffraction grating or the like in a part of an optical waveguide, and to reduce the manufacturing conditions over time. The change is reduced, and the life of the phase grating or the like that forms the periodic stripe light is extended. In an apparatus for manufacturing an optical waveguide component having an ultraviolet light source such as an excimer laser 4 and an ultraviolet periodic fringe forming means such as a phase grating 3, at least a diffraction grating is formed from an ultraviolet periodic fringe forming means such as a phase grating 3. The ultraviolet ray passage region up to the optical waveguide disposing portion where the optical waveguide portion such as the optical fiber 1 forming the optical fiber 1 is arranged is accommodated in the container 7, and the inside 7a of the container 7 is made to have a relative humidity of noble gas and water vapor of 30 to 80%. Mixed gas atmosphere.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing an optical waveguide component having a diffraction grating formed in a part of the optical waveguide in a longitudinal direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A core or a clad containing a photosensitive dopant such as germanium dioxide is irradiated with ultraviolet periodic stripe light from a side surface of an optical fiber through an ultraviolet periodic stripe forming means such as a phase grating to reduce the refractive index of the core. It is known that an optical waveguide component is formed by changing the refractive index to form a periodically modulated portion of the refractive index and forming a diffraction grating in a part of the optical fiber in the longitudinal direction. FIG. 7 is a view for explaining the method. FIG. 7A is a perspective view showing a main part of the apparatus.
(B) is a sectional view in the X direction. In FIG. 7, 31 is an optical fiber, 31a is a core, 32 is a phase grating, 32a is a grating surface, 33 is an ultraviolet light source, 33a is ultraviolet light, 33b is interference light of ultraviolet light, and 34 is a diffraction grating.

[0003] The phase grating 32 is an example of an ultraviolet periodic stripe forming means, and is a plate-like object provided with a grating surface 32a in which thousands to tens of thousands of parallel grooves are formed on the surface of a quartz plate.
Then, ultraviolet rays 33a are irradiated from an ultraviolet light source 33 disposed on one surface side of the light, and the ultraviolet rays 33a are passed through the grating surface 32a of the phase grating 32, thereby obtaining ultraviolet interference light 33b, which is an example of ultraviolet periodic stripe light.

On the other surface of the phase grating 32, a grating surface 32
The optical fiber 31 containing a photosensitive dopant such as germanium dioxide in the core 31a is arranged so as to be perpendicular to the groove direction of a and parallel to the lattice plane 32a, and irradiate the interference light 33b of ultraviolet light from the side surface of the optical fiber 31. I do. When a portion of the diffraction grating formed in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber is long, the ultraviolet light source 33 may be moved in parallel with the optical fiber 31.

When the optical fiber 31 is irradiated with the interference light 33b, the refractive index of the core 31a changes in accordance with the intensity of the interference light 33b. Is formed. This portion functions as a diffraction grating 34, and when light is transmitted to the optical fiber 31, light of a specific wavelength is reflected according to a periodic change in the refractive index of the core.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As an ultraviolet light source,
Krypton fluoride (KrF) excimer laser (wavelength 247 nm), argon double wave laser (wavelength 244 n)
m), an argon fluoride (ArF) excimer laser (wavelength 193 nm) or the like is used. In the case of krypton fluoride (KrF) excimer laser (wavelength 247 nm) and argon second-harmonic laser (wavelength 244 nm), the reactivity of the refractive index change due to ultraviolet rays is small only by adding germanium dioxide to the core in the optical fiber. It is necessary to impregnate the inside with a high concentration of hydrogen molecules. However, in this case, the penetration of hydrogen molecules, the progress of diffusion and desorption,
The reactivity changes and a problem such as a shift in the reflection wavelength as a diffraction grating easily occurs, and it is difficult to improve the productivity as a product having a desired reflection wavelength.

On the other hand, in the case of an argon fluoride (ArF) excimer laser (wavelength 193 nm), the reactivity can be increased by adding P ₂ O ₅ together with germanium dioxide to the core of the optical fiber. In a very short wavelength range, when the power of the ultraviolet light is increased to about several tens mJ / cm ² , the photochemical reaction between the ultraviolet light and the atmosphere (O
₍₂ ) Generation of ozone due to photolysis and recombination and absorption of ultraviolet light by the ozone) causes a problem that manufacturing conditions change over time.

The present invention makes it difficult for a photochemical reaction caused by ultraviolet light and the atmosphere to occur, and makes it possible to prevent a change in manufacturing conditions over time even in a relatively short wavelength range of 200 nm or less using an argon fluoride (ArF) excimer laser or the like. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for manufacturing an optical waveguide component with reduced number.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an optical waveguide component, comprising: irradiating at least a part of an optical waveguide having a core or a clad containing a photosensitive dopant in a longitudinal direction of the core with ultraviolet rays. In the method of manufacturing an optical waveguide component by changing the refractive index of the optical waveguide, the region from the portion where the ultraviolet periodic stripe light is formed in the ultraviolet passage region to the optical waveguide is formed by a relative gas and water vapor relative to each other. Humidity 30
A mixed gas atmosphere of about 80% is used. As a result, changes in manufacturing conditions over time are reduced, and a photochemical reaction between ultraviolet light and the atmosphere is suppressed, thereby improving the productivity of forming a diffraction grating on an optical waveguide.

In this manufacturing method, an optical waveguide which is an object to be irradiated with the periodic fringe light of the ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet periodic fringe forming means for converting the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light source into the periodic fringe light out of at least the ultraviolet light passage region. This can be realized by housing a container up to the position where the optical waveguide is to be disposed, and setting the inside of the container to a mixed gas atmosphere of a relative humidity of a rare gas and water vapor of 30 to 80%.

A light guide having an ultraviolet light emitting terminal for guiding ultraviolet light emitted from an ultraviolet light source and irradiating the ultraviolet light to the ultraviolet periodic stripe forming means is provided, and the ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light emitting terminal to the optical waveguide arrangement location is provided. The passage area is accommodated in a container, and the inside of the container is made to be a mixed gas atmosphere of a relative humidity of 30 to 80% of a rare gas and water vapor, so that the size of the container that fills the mixed gas is reduced and the mixed gas is filled. The amount can be reduced and the ultraviolet light source can be separated from the container accommodating the ultraviolet periodic stripe forming means, so that maintenance of the equipment of the ultraviolet light source can be facilitated.

Further, the light guide has a core made of quartz glass to which fluorine is added and a clad made of quartz glass to which fluorine is added so as to cover the core. The amount of fluorine added to the clad is larger than the amount of fluorine added to the core. By using a large number of ultraviolet waveguide fibers or a hollow waveguide in which a thin film layer of aluminum is provided on the inner wall surface of a pipe made of quartz glass, deterioration of the light guide is reduced, and ultraviolet light of large power is efficiently used. The light can be guided from the ultraviolet light source to the ultraviolet periodic stripe forming means.

When the wavelength range of the ultraviolet light is 140 to 200 nm, a photochemical reaction between the ultraviolet light and the atmosphere tends to occur when the power of the ultraviolet light is increased. However, by filling the ultraviolet light passage region with a mixed gas of a rare gas and water vapor. And the occurrence of photochemical reactions can be reduced. Further, by setting the oxygen concentration in the mixed gas atmosphere to less than 1000 ppm by volume, it is possible to further suppress the occurrence of a photochemical reaction.

[0014]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a main part of an embodiment of an optical waveguide component manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.
Is an optical fiber, 2 is a clamp, 3 is a phase grating, 4 is an excimer laser, 5 is ultraviolet light, 6a, 6b and 6c are mirrors,
7 is a container, 7a is the inside of the container, 7b is an atmosphere gas inlet, 7c is an exhaust port, 8 is a bubbler, 9 is a rare gas supply device, 10 is water, 11 is an oxygen concentration / humidity measurement device, and 12 is a measurement light source. , 13 are spectrum analyzers.

The optical fiber 1 is an example of an optical waveguide,
The core contains at least a photosensitive dopant such as germanium dioxide. The portion of the optical waveguide where the diffraction grating is formed is arranged at the location where the optical waveguide is arranged in order to irradiate ultraviolet periodic stripe light. In the case of FIG. 1, the two clamps 2 are members indicating an optical waveguide disposition location, and the clamp 2 holds a part of the optical fiber 1 in the longitudinal direction in a straight line. In addition, the clamp 2 which is an optical waveguide arrangement location is disposed inside 7 a of the container 7. The phase grating 3 is an example of an ultraviolet periodic fringe forming means, and is formed by cutting thousands to tens of thousands of grooves having a width of about 0.5 μm on the surface of a quartz plate in parallel at substantially the same interval as the groove width. The interference light is generated by diffracting the ultraviolet light passing through the phase grating 3 and is arranged inside the container 7 in parallel with the linear portion of the optical fiber 1. The groove direction of the grating surface of the phase grating 3 is arranged at a right angle to the direction of the optical fiber or at a predetermined angle from the right angle.

The excimer laser 3 is an example of an ultraviolet light source, and uses, for example, an argon fluoride (ArF) excimer laser that emits ultraviolet light 5 having a wavelength of 193 nm. Then, the ultraviolet rays 5 emitted from the excimer laser 3 are guided so as to irradiate the phase grating 3 with mirrors 6a, 6b and 6c.
When the diffraction grating is formed in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber 1 in a long position, the irradiation range of the ultraviolet light to the optical fiber 1 can be expanded by moving the mirror 6c in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber 1. . The region through which the ultraviolet light 5 passes from the excimer laser 4 to the optical fiber 1 is accommodated in the inside 7 a of the container 7.

The interior 7a of the container 7 is filled with a mixed gas of a rare gas and water vapor. As the rare gas, argon or helium is preferable. Nitrogen gas in air is not preferable because it reacts with metal to form nitride. Further, oxygen is converted into ozone by decomposition and recombination, and changes in production conditions with the passage of time. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce oxygen as much as possible. Although it is difficult to completely replace the interior 7a of the container from air with a mixed gas atmosphere of a rare gas and water vapor,
Oxygen concentration / humidity measuring device 1
It is preferable to measure at 1 and control to be less than 1000 ppm by volume. Oxygen concentration is 1000 volume ppm
If it is less than the above range, the change with time in the manufacturing conditions can be suppressed to a practically acceptable range.

The oxygen concentration / humidity measuring device 11 monitors the relative humidity of the mixed gas of the rare gas and the water vapor so as to be in the range of 30 to 80%. If the inside 7a of the container is filled only with a rare gas, the humidity becomes too low, and the components inside the container are easily charged, and floating dust adheres to optical components such as an optical waveguide or a phase grating, which absorbs ultraviolet rays. Cause
May lead to product failure. If the relative humidity of the mixed gas is 30% or more, such a charging phenomenon can be suppressed.

On the other hand, when the relative humidity exceeds 80%, dew condensation tends to occur, which tends to cause deterioration of the apparatus. From these, the atmosphere inside the container 7a is filled with a mixed gas of a rare gas and water vapor having a relative humidity of 30 to 80%. Since the ozone generation is suppressed by setting the inside 7a of the container to a mixed gas atmosphere, the manufacturing conditions are stabilized over time. In addition, the life of the phase grating becomes longer, and the life of the phase grating becomes about five times as long as that when used in the atmosphere.

The rare gas is supplied from the rare gas supply device 9 to water 1
By introducing the atmosphere gas inlet 7b into the inside 7a of the container 7 through the bubbler 8 filled with 0, the inside 7a of the container can be made a mixed gas atmosphere of a rare gas and water vapor. Note that an exhaust device (not shown) can be provided in the exhaust port 7c. The terminal of the optical fiber 1 may be connected to the measuring light source 12 and the spectrum analyzer 13 as necessary to monitor whether the reflection wavelength of the light passing through the optical fiber 1 is as designed during the manufacturing. Can be done.

In the apparatus for manufacturing an optical waveguide component shown in FIG. 1, an example is shown in which the optical fiber 2 is used as the optical waveguide, but a planar waveguide can be applied as the optical waveguide. Also in the case of a planar waveguide, a core containing a photosensitive dopant such as germanium dioxide is used for the core, and the location where the core of the planar waveguide is linear is defined as the position of the optical fiber in FIG. In this case, the diffraction grating can be formed on a part of the core of the planar waveguide by irradiating the planar waveguide with periodic fringe light through the ultraviolet periodic fringe forming means such as the phase grating 3.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which the phase grating 3 is used as the ultraviolet periodic fringe forming means. However, in the case of a long-period type diffraction grating in which a diffraction grating having a relatively coarse period is formed in the optical waveguide, the phase grating is not used. Alternatively, an intensity modulation mask can be used as the ultraviolet periodic stripe forming means. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a phase grating, FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of an intensity modulation mask, 3 is a phase grating, 3a is a grating surface, 14 is a quartz substrate, and 15 is a chromium metal film. , 16 are intensity modulation masks.

The phase grating 3 is provided with a grating surface 3a in which a number of grooves perpendicular to the plane of the drawing are formed on the surface of a quartz plate, and makes the ultraviolet light passing through the phase grating 3 interfere with the interference light. Can be obtained. The width of the groove is about 0.5 μm, the interval is about 0.5 μm, and thousands to tens of thousands of grooves are carved. The intensity modulation mask 16 has a plurality of stripes of a metal chromium film 15 arranged at regular intervals on the surface of a quartz substrate 14 and extending in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing.
Ultraviolet rays that have passed through the intensity modulation mask 16 are blocked at the portion where the metal chromium film 15 is formed, and are transmitted through the other portions, so that periodic stripes of the ultraviolet light are formed.

The width and interval of the stripes of the metal chromium film 15 are about 200 μm, and the number of stripes is about several hundreds. When such an intensity modulation mask is also used in the air, the metal chromium film may disappear in about 10 minutes. However, by setting the atmosphere in the container to a mixed gas atmosphere of a rare gas and water vapor, The life of the chromium film can be extended to 100 minutes or more.

It is also possible to form interference light by combining mirrors without using a phase grating, dispersing ultraviolet rays emitted from an ultraviolet light source, and condensing the ultraviolet rays with different optical path lengths. . In such a case, a group of mirrors forming the interference light serves as ultraviolet periodic fringe forming means.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a main part of another embodiment of the optical waveguide component manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, and the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same parts. 17 is a light guide, 18
Denotes an ultraviolet light emitting terminal, 19 denotes a coupling portion, 20 denotes a coupling container, and 20a denotes an exhaust port. The device of FIG. 3 differs from the device of FIG. 1 in that ultraviolet light 5 emitted from an excimer laser 4 as an ultraviolet light source is guided to a phase grating 3 as ultraviolet periodic fringe forming means using a light guide 17. By arranging most of the light guide 4 and the light guide 17 outside the container 7, the size of the container 7 is reduced, and
The amount of the mixed gas filled in the inside 7a is reduced. Also,
Since the excimer laser 4 can be installed separately from the outside of the container 7, facility maintenance of the excimer laser 4 is facilitated.

The terminal on the phase grating 3 side of the light guide 17 is an ultraviolet light emitting terminal 18 having a lens for converting the ultraviolet light transmitted through the light guide 17 into parallel light. The optical fiber 1 is attached to a moving stage or the like (not shown) so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber 1, and is disposed inside the container 7a.

The end of the light guide 17 on the side of the excimer laser 4 is provided with a coupling portion 19 with the excimer laser 4 so that the ultraviolet light 5 emitted from the excimer laser 4 is transmitted to the light guide 17.
Lead to. The connecting portion 19 is also placed in the connecting portion housing container 20 and the inside thereof is made a mixed gas atmosphere of a rare gas and water vapor. In addition, it exhausts from the exhaust port 20a as needed.
Further, the light guide 17 is disposed so as to penetrate the wall surface of the container 7, and the penetrating portion is appropriately sealed so as to maintain airtightness.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views showing examples of light guides, respectively, 21 is an ultraviolet waveguide fiber, 22 is a core, 23 is a clad, 24 is a coating, 25 is a hollow waveguide, and 26 is a hollow waveguide. Is a thin film layer, 27 is a pipe, 28 is a coating, and 29 is a hollow portion. The ultraviolet waveguide fiber 21 shown in FIG. 4 has a cladding 2 made of quartz doped with fluorine around a core 22 made of quartz glass doped with fluorine.
In this example, the cladding 23 is provided with a coating 24 made of a resin or the like, in which three layers are provided, the amount of fluorine added to the cladding is larger than the amount of fluorine added to the core.

An ultraviolet waveguide fiber having an outer diameter of a core of about 180 μm, an outer diameter of a clad of about 200 μm, and an outer diameter of a coating of about 300 μm can be used. In addition, since both the core 22 and the clad 23 are doped with fluorine, the ultraviolet waveguide fiber is hardly deteriorated even when ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 200 nm or less are passed, and the life of the equipment can be extended.

The hollow waveguide 25 shown in FIG. 5 has an aluminum thin film layer 26 on the inner wall surface of a pipe 27 made of quartz glass.
And a coating 28 made of resin or the like is provided outside the pipe 27, and a hollow portion 29 is formed at the center. The inner diameter of the pipe 17 is about 500 μm and the outer diameter is about 70
0 μm, the outer diameter of the coating 28 is about 800 μm,
A thin film layer 2 of aluminum having a thickness of about several nm
A hollow waveguide 25 provided with 6 by vapor deposition can be used.

Since the hollow waveguide 25 is thin with an outer diameter of 1 mm or less, it has considerable flexibility and can be easily bent. In addition, since the energy of the ultraviolet light is transmitted while reflecting the hollow part 29, the hollow waveguide 25 is less deteriorated than an ultraviolet waveguide fiber using a quartz glass or the like for the core. In the case of the hollow waveguide 25, deterioration of the hollow waveguide can be further suppressed by filling the hollow portion 29 with a rare gas such as argon or helium.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a light guide in a bundle shape using a plurality of ultraviolet waveguide fibers. Reference numeral 30 denotes a terminal forming portion. The example in FIG.
Hundreds of ultraviolet waveguide fibers 21 are bundled, and at both ends, the ultraviolet waveguide fibers 21 are gathered in parallel and solidified with an epoxy resin or the like to form a terminal molding 30. Since the ultraviolet waveguide fibers 21 are not fixed to each other in portions other than the terminal forming section 30, they can be bent freely like individual ultraviolet waveguide fibers.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which the ultraviolet waveguide fiber is formed into a bundle shape, but a hollow waveguide may be formed into a plurality of bundles in the same manner, and terminal molded portions may be provided at both ends. In the case of a hollow waveguide, it is sufficient to bundle several tens of them. In addition, since the light guide having a bundle shape can uniformly guide ultraviolet rays to each ultraviolet waveguide fiber or hollow waveguide, the intensity distribution of ultraviolet rays at the ultraviolet irradiation terminal portion can be made uniform. Can be done.

In the case of a bundle-shaped light guide,
Since the shape of the terminal forming portion is such that a number of ultraviolet waveguide fibers or hollow waveguides are arranged and solidified, it is possible to take various shapes depending on the arrangement of the cross section, and the cross section can be circular or rectangular. , Or a long rectangle. Therefore, it is possible to determine the arrangement shape according to the shape of the optical waveguide portion to be irradiated.For example, the side of the ultraviolet light emitting terminal portion has a long rectangular cross-sectional shape, and its longitudinal direction is aligned with the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber. Thereby, even if the ultraviolet light emitting terminal does not move in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber,
It is also possible to form a portion of the diffraction grating that is long in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber.

[0036]

According to the method of manufacturing an optical waveguide component of the present invention, an optical waveguide component is manufactured by irradiating a part of the optical waveguide in the longitudinal direction with ultraviolet periodic stripe light to change the refractive index of the optical waveguide. In this method, at least a part of the ultraviolet ray passage area is a mixed gas atmosphere of a rare gas and a relative humidity of water vapor of 30 to 80%. As a result, it is possible to suppress the photochemical reaction between the ultraviolet light and the atmosphere, reduce the change over time of the manufacturing conditions due to ozone, and improve the productivity of forming a diffraction grating on the optical waveguide.

The entire region of the ultraviolet light passage from the ultraviolet light source to the optical waveguide and the device between them are accommodated in a container, and the container is filled with a relative humidity of noble gas and water vapor of 30 to 80%.
The above manufacturing method can be achieved by using a mixed gas atmosphere of the above, but the ultraviolet light source and the ultraviolet light emitting terminal are connected by a light guide, and only the ultraviolet light passage region from the ultraviolet light emitting terminal to the optical waveguide arrangement location is provided. Is stored in a container, and the relative humidity of the rare gas and water vapor is 30 to 8 in the container.
By making the mixed gas atmosphere of 0%, the size of the container filled with the mixed gas is reduced, the filling amount of the mixed gas is reduced, and the excimer laser is separated to facilitate the maintenance of the excimer laser equipment. Can be done.

The light guide may be an ultraviolet waveguide fiber formed of a core made of fluorine-doped quartz glass and a clad made of fluorine-doped quartz glass, or a thin film of aluminum may be formed on the inner wall surface of a pipe made of quartz glass. By using a hollow waveguide provided with a light guide, it is possible to reduce deterioration of the light guide and efficiently guide ultraviolet light having a large power. In the case of a hollow waveguide, the deterioration of the hollow waveguide can be further suppressed by filling the hollow portion with argon or helium.

In the case where the wavelength band of the ultraviolet light is 140 to 200 nm, a photochemical reaction is likely to occur when the power of the ultraviolet light is increased. However, this is prevented by setting the passage area of the ultraviolet light to a mixed gas atmosphere of a rare gas and water vapor. You can do it. Further, the oxygen concentration in the mixed gas atmosphere is set to 1
When the content is less than 000 ppm by volume, the occurrence of a photochemical reaction can be further suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of an embodiment of an optical waveguide component manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

2A is a cross-sectional view of a phase grating, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of an intensity modulation mask.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a main part of another embodiment of the optical waveguide component manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a light guide used in the optical waveguide component manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the light guide used in the optical waveguide component manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example in which the light guide is formed in a bundle shape.

7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating a method for manufacturing an optical waveguide component according to a conventional technique, wherein FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a main part of the device,
(B) is a sectional view in the X direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: an optical fiber (an example of an optical waveguide) 2: a clamp (an example of an optical waveguide disposition location) 3: a phase grating (an example of an ultraviolet periodic stripe forming means) 3a: a grating surface 4: an excimer laser (an example of an ultraviolet light source) 5: Ultraviolet rays 6a, 6b, 6c: mirror 7: container 7a: inside of container 7b: atmosphere gas inlet 7c: exhaust port 8: bubbler 9: rare gas supply device 10: water 11: oxygen concentration / humidity measurement device 12: measurement light source 13: Spectrum analyzer 14: Quartz substrate 15: Metal chromium film 16: Intensity modulation mask 17: Light guide 18: Ultraviolet emission terminal 19: Coupling 20: Coupling container 20a: Exhaust port 21: Ultraviolet waveguide fiber 22: Core 23: Cladding 24: Coating 25: Hollow waveguide 26: Thin film layer 27: Pipe 28: Coating 29: Hollow part 30: Terminal forming part

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Seiichi Mohara 1st Tayacho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Sumitomo Electric Industries Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) in Yokohama, Ltd. 2H038 BA25 2H050 AB10Z AB67Y AC64 AC82 AC84 AD00

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing an optical waveguide component by irradiating at least a part of the optical waveguide provided with a core or clad containing a photosensitive dopant in the longitudinal direction with ultraviolet rays to change the refractive index of the optical waveguide. In the above, the region from the location where the ultraviolet periodic stripe light is formed in the ultraviolet ray passage area to the optical waveguide is formed, and the relative humidity of the rare gas and water vapor is 30 to 80.
% In a mixed gas atmosphere. 2. The wavelength of the ultraviolet light is 140 to 200 n.
2. The method for manufacturing an optical waveguide component according to claim 1, wherein the value is in the range of m. 3. The method for manufacturing an optical waveguide component according to claim 1, wherein the rare gas is argon or helium. 4. An oxygen concentration of the mixed gas atmosphere is 10
The method for producing an optical waveguide component according to claim 1, wherein the amount is less than 00 ppm by volume. 5. An ultraviolet light source, an ultraviolet periodic stripe forming means for converting the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light source into periodic stripe light, and an optical waveguide for arranging an optical waveguide to be irradiated with the ultraviolet periodic stripe light. A wave path arrangement portion, and a container for accommodating an ultraviolet passage region from the ultraviolet light source to the optical waveguide arrangement portion, wherein the inside of the container is a mixed gas atmosphere of a rare gas and water vapor having a relative humidity of 30 to 80%. An optical waveguide component manufacturing apparatus, comprising: 6. A light guide having an ultraviolet light source, an ultraviolet light emitting terminal for guiding ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light source and irradiating the ultraviolet light to the ultraviolet periodic stripe forming means, and an ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light emitting terminal. Means for forming a periodic fringe light, an optical waveguide arranging portion for arranging an optical waveguide which is an object to be irradiated with the ultraviolet periodic fringe light, and the light guide from an ultraviolet emitting end portion of the light guide. A container for accommodating an ultraviolet ray passage area reaching the wave path arrangement location, wherein the container is provided with a relative humidity of 30 for a rare gas and water vapor.
An apparatus for manufacturing an optical waveguide component, wherein a mixed gas atmosphere of about 80% is used. 7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a wavelength of the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light source is in a range of 140 to 200 nm. 8. The light guide has a core made of quartz glass to which fluorine is added, and a clad made of quartz glass to which fluorine is added so as to cover the core. 7. The apparatus for manufacturing an optical waveguide component according to claim 6, wherein the amount of the ultraviolet waveguide fiber is larger than the addition amount. 9. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the light guide is a hollow waveguide in which an aluminum thin film layer is provided on an inner wall surface of a pipe made of quartz glass. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the hollow portion of the hollow waveguide is filled with argon or helium. 11. The light guide according to claim 8, wherein the light guide has a bundle shape in which a plurality of the ultraviolet waveguide fibers or a plurality of the hollow waveguides are bundled. Wave component manufacturing equipment.