JP2002098862A - Optical module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical module which realizes a small-sized and thin optical module. SOLUTION: The module has such a structure that a light reflecting face 14 and an optical transmission space 13 are disposed in an optical circuit board 9 to bend the optical path to an optical device 7 by 90 deg. on the light reflecting face 14. Thus, an optical cable 10 and the optical circuit board 9 can be arranged and fixed on an identical plane parallel to each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical module.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional optical module will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, in a conventional optical module, an optical element 1 such as a light emitting element or a light receiving element is connected on an optical circuit board 2 as shown in the figure, and an optical cable 3 is connected via an optical connector 4 to the optical circuit board. 2 in the vertical direction. The optical circuit board 2 and the optical connector 4 are fixed to the optical module board 5.

An electronic circuit 6 for driving the optical element 1
Was connected to the optical circuit board 2.

[0005]

In an optical module having a conventional structure, the optical circuit board 2 on which the optical element 1 is arranged and connected and the optical cable 3 are vertically arranged and fixed, so that the optical module can be reduced in size and thickness. It was a major obstacle.

According to the present invention, an optical device in which the path of light to an optical element is perpendicular to the optical circuit board, which is an obstacle to realizing miniaturization and thinning, is compared with the optical circuit board. The object is to realize a reduction in size and thickness by making them parallel.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an optical circuit board with a light transmitting space, a light reflecting surface provided at one end of this space, and a light reflecting surface having a front end surface. By arranging the optical cables in the optical transmission space so as to face each other, the optical cables can be arranged and fixed in parallel with the optical circuit board, and the optical module can be reduced in size and thickness.

[0008]

The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises an optical circuit board on which an optical element and an electronic circuit are mounted, and an optical module board on which the optical circuit board and the optical connector are mounted. An optical transmission space is provided in a part of the optical circuit board, a light reflecting surface is provided in an optical circuit board portion corresponding to one end of the optical transmission space, and the light is transmitted into the optical transmission space from the other end of the optical transmission space. An optical module comprising an optical cable fixed by a connector, and an end of the optical cable opposed to the light reflecting surface. Therefore, light from the light emitting element or light to the light receiving element is an optical circuit board. Since the light is reflected by the light reflecting surface built in the device and passes through the optical transmission space to reach the optical element from the optical cable, the path of the light is rotated by the light reflecting surface. Circuit board Parallel to the same plane, it is possible to fix, in which smaller and thinner optical module becomes possible.

According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, a cutout space having a fixed width is provided in an optical circuit board, and the other end of the cutout space is opened to the other end of the optical circuit board. 2. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the optical module forms a transmission space, and one end is cut out from the bottom of the optical circuit board to an upper surface at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to form a flat light reflecting surface or a concave light reflecting surface. Therefore, the cut-out space provided in the optical circuit board is an optical transmission space, and one end of this optical transmission space constitutes a light reflection surface, so that the optical circuit board simultaneously forms the light reflection surface and the light transmission space. With the configuration, the size and thickness are reduced and the manufacturing efficiency is improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the optical module according to the second or third aspect, wherein the light reflecting surface is mirror-finished. When the surface is mirror-finished, loss due to absorption when light is reflected is reduced, and light can be efficiently reflected and transmitted.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical module according to the fourth aspect, wherein the light reflecting surface is plated or vapor-deposited. By further plating or vapor-depositing a film of nickel, gold, or the like on the light reflecting surface described above, light can be more efficiently reflected and transmitted.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the optical module according to the fourth aspect, wherein a thin plate is mounted on the light reflecting surface. By further providing a thin plate such as an aluminum foil or a gold foil, light can be reflected and transmitted more efficiently.

The invention according to claim 8 of the present invention is the optical module according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the optical circuit board is made of ceramic as a substrate material. The electronic circuit can be mounted at a high density, and at the same time, the mirror surface of the light reflecting surface can be efficiently realized.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the optical module according to the second or third aspect, wherein the optical element is arranged and connected right above the light reflecting surface. It is possible to efficiently transmit light between an optical element connected to an optical circuit board and an optical cable arranged in parallel with the optical circuit board.

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

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 7 denotes an optical element such as a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and 8 denotes an electronic circuit such as an integrated circuit, which is mounted on and connected to an optical circuit board 9. An optical cable 10 for transmitting an optical signal to or from the optical element 7 is fixed to an optical module substrate 12 by an optical connector 11. The optical circuit board 9 is also fixed to the optical module board 12.

Here, the light path will be described. FIG.
In the figure, the optical element 7 is an example of a light emitting element and shows a light path.

The light emitted from the optical element 7 travels through the optical transmission space 13 described below and travels through the light reflecting surface 1 built in the optical circuit board 9.
4 is reflected by the optical circuit board 9 via the optical transmission space 13.
Is input to the optical cable 10 at the right end, and the optical signal is transmitted through the optical cable 10.

Next, the configuration of the light transmission space 13 and the light reflection surface 14 will be described with reference to FIG. The light transmission space 13 and the light reflection surface 14 are both characterized in that they are processed in the optical circuit board 9, and the light transmission space 13 is provided with a cutout space having a fixed width in the optical circuit board 9. Processing is performed so that the right end of the cutout space is opened. An optical signal is input to the optical cable 10 at one end of the optical transmission space 13.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the light reflecting surface 14 is cut out at the left end of the optical transmission space 13 from the bottom of the optical circuit board 9 to the upper surface at an acute angle θ. Here, the value of the acute angle θ is an angle at which the light from the optical element 7 is reflected to align the optical axis with the optical cable 10, and is 45 degrees when the optical element 7 and the optical cable 10 are fixed in parallel on the same plane. Note that FIG. 2 shows a state in which the optical cable 10 has been pulled out of the optical connector 11 for easy viewing of the drawing.

As the optical circuit board 9, a ceramic substrate is most suitable, but a silicon wafer substrate or a general resin substrate can obtain the same configuration and effect. Here, the light reflecting surface 1
4 has a light reflection function even if it is processed at an acute angle θ, usually 45 degrees with respect to the bottom surface of the substrate, but the light reflection surface 14 is mirror-finished or In this case, the optical signal may be efficiently transmitted through the optical transmission space.

The light reflecting surface 14 is mirror-finished by polishing,
Further, in order to reflect light with high efficiency, the light reflecting surface 14 may be plated with nickel, gold, or the like, or may be processed by vapor deposition.

As an alternative to plating, a light reflecting surface 1
A thin plate, such as an aluminum foil or a gold foil, which reflects light well may be attached to the surface of 4.

Here, the positional relationship between the optical element 7 and the light reflecting surface 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. When the optical element 7 is described as an example of a light emitting element as shown in FIG. 1, the optical element 7 is arranged such that its light emitting point is directly above the light reflecting surface 14 and the light emitting surface faces the light reflecting surface. 9 is an electrical circuit connection. The total thickness of the present optical module can be constituted only by the thickness of the optical circuit board 9 + the thickness of the optical module substrate 12 + the thickness of the optical element 7, which is significantly smaller and thinner than the conventional configuration of FIG. Is possible.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, a light reflecting surface and a light transmitting space are provided inside an optical circuit board to input an optical signal from an optical element or to transmit an optical signal to the optical element. Optical cable and optical circuit board to be
Since the light reflection surface and the light transmission space can be fixed in the optical circuit board which is originally an essential component for circuit connection, productivity can be greatly improved in addition to miniaturization and thinning. It has many features such as:

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 Optical Element 8 Electronic Circuit 9 Optical Circuit Board 10 Optical Cable 11 Optical Connector 12 Optical Module Board 13 Optical Transmission Space 14 Light Reflecting Surface

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H037 AA01 BA02 BA11 CA38 DA03 DA04 DA06 DA15 5F041 AA37 AA42 AA47 DC84 EE06 EE23 FF14 5F073 AB25 AB28 FA06 FA15 FA16 5F088 BA15 BB01 JA03 JA11 JA14 JA20

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An optical circuit board on which an optical element and an electronic circuit are mounted, and an optical module substrate on which the optical circuit board and an optical connector are mounted, wherein an optical transmission space is provided in a part of the optical circuit board, A light reflecting surface is provided on an optical circuit board portion corresponding to one end of the optical transmission space, and an optical cable fixed by the optical connector is provided in the optical transmission space from the other end of the optical transmission space. An optical module, wherein the optical module faces the light reflecting surface. 2. A cutout space having a fixed width is provided in an optical circuit board, and the other end of the cutout space is opened to the other end of the optical circuit board to form an optical transmission space, and one end of the optical circuit board is formed. 2. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the optical module is cut out to an upper surface at an angle of about 45 degrees from the bottom to form a flat light reflecting surface. 3. A cutout space having a fixed width is provided in the optical circuit board, and the other end of the cutout space is opened to the other end of the optical circuit board to form an optical transmission space, and one end of the optical circuit board is formed. 2. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the optical module is cut out to an upper surface at an angle of approximately 45 degrees from the bottom to form a concave light reflecting surface. 4. The optical module according to claim 2, wherein the light reflecting surface is mirror-finished. 5. The optical module according to claim 4, wherein the light reflecting surface is plated. 6. The optical module according to claim 4, wherein the light reflecting surface is processed by a vapor deposition film. 7. The optical module according to claim 4, wherein a thin plate is mounted on the light reflecting surface. 8. The optical circuit substrate according to claim 2, wherein the substrate is made of ceramic.
An optical module according to item 1. 9. The optical module according to claim 2, wherein the optical element is arranged and connected right above the light reflection surface.