JP2002040290A - Fiber array part and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly reliable fiber array part as well as its manufacturing method, with which an optical fiber is connectable with a small loss to an optical waveguide with a different mode filed diameter and a small optical device can be realized. SOLUTION: A first and second optical fibers 111, 112 of a different mode filed diameter are fusion-spliced and fixed by a holding plate 115 and a fiber fixing adhesive 116, in a manner that the welded part 113 is arranged on a V-groove base plate 114 on which the second optical fiber is arrayed. The end face 117 of the fiber array part is ground obliquely for the purpose of reducing the effect of reflection in the area connected to an optical waveguide having a small diameter core. The fusion spliced part of the first and second optical fibers 111, 112 is arranged on the V-groove base plate 114, thereby enabling the manufacturing of an optical device having a small size and small loss.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a fiber array component connected to an input / output end of an optical waveguide or the like applied to the field of optical communication and the like, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When an optical device comprising an optical waveguide or the like manufactured on a substrate is put into practical use, it is necessary to connect an optical fiber to an input / output unit as a signal interface. At this time, in order to reduce the connection loss between the optical device and the optical fiber, it is desired that both have the same mode field diameter.

However, since the minimum bending radius of the optical waveguide depends on the mode field diameter, when a complicated optical circuit is formed, the optical waveguide is manufactured so as to have a small mode field diameter. For example, the mode field diameter of a single mode optical fiber (SMF) generally used in optical communication is 1 when the light wavelength is in the 1.3 μm band.
It is about 0 μm.

On the other hand, a small-diameter core waveguide having a mode field diameter of about 8 μm may be used as an optical waveguide constituting a complicated optical circuit. However, the coupling loss caused by the mismatch between the mode field diameter of the small-diameter core waveguide and that of the SMF is about 0.5 dB, which is a fundamental excess loss of the optical component connected to the fiber.

As a configuration for reducing the coupling loss due to the mismatch of the mode field diameter, a small diameter core fiber matching the mode field diameter of the small diameter core waveguide is connected to the small diameter core optical waveguide, and the small diameter core fiber and the SMF are fused. There is a configuration to do. This configuration consists of a small core fiber and SM
By utilizing the thermal diffusion core effect generated when F is fused, the coupling loss due to the mode field diameter mismatch between the small-diameter core fiber and the SMF is reduced. Further, it is also possible to additionally heat the fused portion in order to reduce the coupling loss. Normally, the fused portion is protected by a protective member in order to ensure reliability including mechanical strength.

[0006]

However, in the configuration using the protective member, the size of the optical device to be manufactured is increased by the size of the protective member. Furthermore, in the case of an optical device having a plurality of fusion parts, it is necessary to accurately design the position where the protective member is housed. Therefore, the fusion position must be produced as designed, and high production precision is required. Problem.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized optical device capable of connecting an optical waveguide having different mode field diameters and an optical fiber with low loss. It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly reliable fiber array component and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of:
In a fiber array component having at least one or more optical fibers aligned, the fibers are formed by fusion splicing two or more types of fibers having different mode field diameters, and a fusion portion of the fibers is formed on the substrate. Is characterized in that it is arranged in

The invention described in claim 2 is the first invention.
In the fiber array component according to the, the fused portion,
It is arranged in a storage groove formed in the V groove.

[0010] Further, the invention according to claim 3 is based on claim 1.
In the fiber array component according to the, the fused portion,
It is characterized in that it is protected by a covering member having substantially the same thermal expansion coefficient as the material of the substrate via a polymer material or an adhesive.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing a fiber array component, one of the optical fibers having different mode field diameters is set as an intermediate fiber, and the mode field diameter is set at both ends of the intermediate fiber. A first step of fusing different fibers, a second step of aligning and fixing the intermediate fiber in the V-groove, a third step of protecting a fusion part of the different fibers, and the intermediate fiber And a fourth step of cutting and separating at substantially the central portion to produce two sets of fiber array components.

According to the present invention having such a configuration,
Since the fused portions of fibers having different mode field diameters are arranged on a substrate having a V-groove or a hole conventionally used for a fiber array component for connecting a waveguide and an optical fiber, a fused portion is formed. There is no need to separately prepare a large area for housing, and a small optical device can be realized.

Further, since the V-groove has a storage groove for storing the fusion bonding portion, the stress applied to the fusion bonding portion can be reduced, and a highly reliable fiber array component can be obtained. In addition, by using a coating material having a thermal expansion coefficient substantially equal to that of a polymer material or a substrate material as a coating material for the fusion bonding portion, the stress applied to the fusion bonding portion can be reduced, and a highly reliable fiber array. Parts can be obtained.

Further, according to the method of manufacturing a fiber array component comprising the above-described steps, two sets of fiber array components can be manufactured by one assembly process, and a low-cost fiber array component is manufactured. It is possible.

[0015]

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

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a first embodiment of a fiber array component according to the present invention.
FIG. 1A is a perspective view and FIG. 1B is a side view.

In the fiber array component according to the present embodiment, a first optical fiber 111 and a second optical fiber 112 having different mode field diameters are fusion-spliced, and the fusion portion 11
It is configured to be fixed with a holding plate 115 and a fiber fixing adhesive 116 so that 3 is disposed on a V-groove substrate 114 that aligns the second optical fibers. Reference numeral 117 indicates the end face of the fiber array component.

The first optical fiber 111 has a mode field diameter of 10 μm, the second optical fiber 112 has a mode field diameter of 8 μm, and the first optical fiber 111 and the second optical fiber 112 are commercially available. Using a fiber fusion device.

The V-groove substrate 114 is made of pyrex glass by machining. The end face 117 of the fiber array component is polished obliquely to reduce the influence of reflection at the connection with the small-diameter core optical waveguide.

The manufactured fiber array component is connected to a small-diameter core optical waveguide having a mode field diameter of 8 μm to manufacture an optical device. The insertion loss of the optical device manufactured by the conventional manufacturing method (the method of directly connecting the first optical fiber 111 to the small-diameter core optical waveguide) is 5.4d.
In contrast to B, the insertion loss of the optical device manufactured using the fiber array component of the present example was 4.6 dB.

As described above, according to the embodiment, since the fusion portion of the first optical fiber 111 and the second optical fiber 112 is disposed on the V-groove substrate 114, a small and low-loss optical fiber is provided. The device can be manufactured.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 is a structural view schematically showing a first embodiment of a fiber array component according to the present invention.

In the fiber array component according to the present embodiment, the first optical fiber 211 and the second optical fiber 212 having different mode field diameters are fusion-spliced, and the fusion portion 21 is formed.
Numeral 3 denotes a fusion part accommodation groove 221 formed on the V-groove substrate 214
And the fusion part accommodation groove 22 formed on the holding plate 215
It is configured to be stored between the two.

First optical fiber 21 including fused portion 213
The first and second optical fibers 212 are configured such that the holding plate 215 is bonded and fixed to the V-groove substrate 214. Further, the first optical fiber 211 is fixed on the V-groove substrate 214 with a fiber fixing adhesive 216. FIG.
Shows the configuration before the holding plate 215 is bonded and fixed.

The first optical fiber 211 has a mode field diameter of 10 μm, and the second optical fiber 212 has a mode field diameter of 8 μm. First optical fiber 111
And the second optical fiber 112 are fusion-spliced using a commercially available fiber fusion device. Then, while monitoring the splice loss, the spliced portion is locally heated using a micro burner to reduce the splice loss. The core is enlarged until it becomes 0.1 dB or less.

The V-groove substrate 214 was manufactured by machining Pyrex (registered trademark) glass material. The fabricated fiber array component has a mode field diameter of 8
An optical device is manufactured by being connected to a small-diameter core optical waveguide having a diameter of μm. While the insertion loss of the optical device manufactured by the conventional method (the method of directly connecting the first optical fiber 211 to the small-diameter core optical waveguide) was 5.4 dB,
The insertion loss of the optical device manufactured using the fiber array component of the present example was 4.6 dB.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the fused portion 213 of the first optical fiber 211 and the second optical fiber 212
Are arranged on the V-groove substrate 214 and have the fusion part accommodation groove 2
21 and 222, it is possible to manufacture a small, low-loss and highly reliable optical device.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 3 is a structural view schematically showing a third embodiment of the fiber array component according to the present invention.
FIG. 3A is a structural view of the fusion spliced portion before protection, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a structural view after a fusion zone is protected.

The fiber array component according to the present embodiment includes a first optical fiber tape 33 having a different mode field diameter.
The first and second optical fiber tapes 332 are fusion-spliced, and the second optical fiber tape 332 is pressed onto the V-groove substrate 314 by the holding plate 315 such that the fusion portion 313 is disposed on the V-groove substrate 314. It is configured to be aligned and fixed. Further, as shown in FIG.
Is covered with a bonding part protecting connection agent 333.

The first optical fiber tape 331 has a mode field diameter of 10 μm and the second optical fiber tape 33.
In No. 2, the mode field diameter was 8 μm. First optical fiber tape 331 and second optical fiber tape 332
Are fusion spliced using a commercially available fiber fusion device.

The V-groove substrate 314 was made of Pyrex glass, and V-grooves having a pitch of 250 μm were formed by machining. The manufactured fiber array component is connected to a small-diameter core optical waveguide having a mode field diameter of 8 μm to manufacture an optical device. The insertion loss of the optical device manufactured by the conventional method (the method of directly connecting the first optical fiber tape 331 to the small-diameter core optical waveguide) is 13.5.
The insertion loss of the optical device manufactured by using the fiber array component of this embodiment is 12.7 dB.
B.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the fusion portion 313 of the first optical fiber 331 and the second optical fiber tape 332 is disposed on the V-groove substrate 314, and the adhesive for protecting the fusion portion is provided. The coating with the agent 333 makes it possible to manufacture a small, low-loss, and highly reliable optical device.

(Embodiment 4) FIGS. 4A to 4D are process diagrams showing a method of manufacturing a fiber array component according to the present invention step by step. Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a fiber array component will be described.

Step 1 (FIG. 4 (a)) comprises a first optical fiber tape 441 having a different mode field diameter and a second optical fiber tape 441.
The first optical fiber tape (intermediate fiber) 442 is fusion-spliced to form a first fusion portion 443, and the second optical fiber tape (intermediate fiber) 442 and the third optical fiber tape 444 are fusion-spliced. Thus, a second fused portion 445 is formed.

In step 2 (FIG. 4B), the second optical fiber tape (intermediate fiber) is placed so that the first fused portion 443 and the second fused portion 445 are arranged on the V-groove substrate 414. ) 442 is aligned with the V-groove substrate 414 and the holding plate 415
Adhesively fix with.

In step 3 (FIG. 4C), the first fused portion 443 and the second fused portion 445 are respectively
The first covering member 446 made of the same material as
And fixed on the V-groove substrate 414 with an adhesive. The V-groove substrate 414, the first covering component 446, and the second covering component 447 are made of Pyrex glass. Further, the first coating member 446 and the second coating member 447 are formed with optical fiber storage grooves 448 so that stress is not applied to each optical fiber and each fusion spliced portion.

Step 4 (FIG. 4D) corresponds to FIG.
Then, two fiber array components are produced by cutting the portion indicated by the broken line.

The first optical fiber tape 441 and the third
The optical fiber tape 444 has a mode field diameter of 1
The mode field diameter of the second optical fiber tape 442 was set to 8 μm.

The fabricated fiber array component is connected to a small-diameter core optical waveguide having a mode field diameter of 8 μm to manufacture an optical device. The insertion loss of the optical device manufactured by the conventional method (the method of directly connecting the first optical fiber tape 441 to the small-diameter core optical waveguide) is 13.5.
The insertion loss of the optical device manufactured by using the fiber array component of this embodiment is 12.7 dB.
B.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the first fused portion 443 and the second fused portion 445 are
Since it is arranged on the upper side and covered with the covering members 446 and 447, it is possible to manufacture a small, low-loss and highly reliable optical device. Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to efficiently manufacture the fiber array component, and it is possible to reduce the cost.

In the above-described embodiment, the optical fibers are arranged on the V-groove substrate. However, even if the V-groove is a hole, the same effects can be obtained by the present invention.

[0042]

As described above, the fiber array component according to the present invention is formed by fusion splicing two or more types of fibers having different mode field diameters.
In addition, since the fused portion of the fiber is arranged on the substrate, low loss, small size and high reliability can be achieved, and when connected to the input / output end of an optical waveguide or the like, an optical device having good characteristics can be manufactured. This has the effect.

A first step in which one of the optical fibers having different mode field diameters is used as an intermediate fiber, and a fiber having a different mode field diameter is fused to both ends of the intermediate fiber; A second step of aligning and fixing the formed V-grooves, a third step of protecting the fused portion between different fibers, and cutting and separating substantially at the center of the intermediate fiber to produce two sets of fiber array components. Therefore, two sets of fiber array components can be manufactured by one assembly process, and a low-cost fiber array component can be manufactured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of a fiber array component according to the present invention, in which (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a side view.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of the fiber array component according to the present invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic views showing a third embodiment of the fiber array component according to the present invention, wherein FIG.
(B) is a structural diagram after protection of the fused portion.

FIG. 4 is a process chart showing a method for manufacturing a fiber array component according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 111, 211, 311 First optical fiber 112, 212, 312 Second optical fiber 113, 213, 313 Fused portion 114, 214, 314, 414 V-groove substrate 115, 215, 315, 415 Holding plate 116, 216 , 316 Fiber fixing adhesive 117 End face of fiber array component 221 Fused part storage groove formed in V-groove substrate 222 Fused part storage groove formed in holding plate 331 First optical fiber tape 332 Second Optical fiber tape 333 Fused part protection adhesive 441 First optical fiber tape 442 Second optical fiber tape (intermediate fiber) 443 First fused part 444 Third optical fiber tape 445 Second fused part 446 First covering member 447 Second covering member 448 Optical fiber housing groove

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Yoshinori Hibino, 2-3-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Takao Fukumitsu 2-3-3, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo No. 1 F-term in Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (reference) 2H036 JA04 LA03 QA23 QA29 2H037 AA01 BA24 CA02 DA04

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A fiber array component comprising at least one or more optical fibers arranged on a substrate having a V-groove, wherein said fibers have different mode field diameters.
A fiber array component comprising a plurality of types of fibers that are fusion-spliced, and wherein a fusion portion of the fibers is disposed on the substrate. 2. The fiber array component according to claim 1, wherein the fused portion is disposed in a storage groove formed in the V groove. 3. The fiber according to claim 1, wherein the fused portion is protected by a covering member having a thermal expansion coefficient substantially equal to that of the material of the substrate via a polymer material or an adhesive. Array components. 4. A first step in which one of the optical fibers having different mode field diameters is used as an intermediate fiber, and a first step of fusing the fibers having different mode field diameters to both ends of the intermediate fiber; A second step of aligning and fixing to the V-groove formed on the substrate, a third step of protecting the fused portion between the different fibers, and two sets of cut and separated at substantially the center of the intermediate fiber. And a fourth step of producing a fiber array component.