JP2002258098A - Multi-core fiber array - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi-core fiber array which can be easily manufactured by a simplified manufacturing process, is free from the fear of the occurrence of a faulty part such as a break or a crack and is ground and aligned with excellent accuracy. SOLUTION: The multi-care fiber array is constituted of a fiber alignment base 2, a fiber fixing board 3 and a tape fiber coating part fixing board 4. The fiber alignment base 2 is constituted of a bottom board part 21 where fiber alignment grooves 5 are arranged, sidewall parts 22 which are successively arranged to both end parts which are in parallel with the fiber alignment grooves 5 of the bottom board part 21 and vertically erected upwards from the part 21 and a tape fiber support part 23 which is successively arranged in one of the tape fiber directions of a bottom board. The bottom board part 21 is formed integrally with the sidewall parts 22 in an U shape concerning a cross section, the fiber fixing board 3 is fitted to a part surrounded by the bottom part 21 and the sidewall parts 22 and, then, the multi-fiber array 1 is constituted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a multi-core fiber array used for coupling a plurality of optical fiber waveguides.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 6, a multi-core fiber array 64 is used as a member for connecting an optical waveguide 62 connected to an optical fiber 61 and a multi-core fiber 63. As shown in FIG. 7, a conventional multi-core fiber array includes a tape fiber in a support groove 72 of an optical fiber of a fiber alignment table 71.
The optical fiber 74 with the exposed end of the fiber 73 is placed, the fiber fixing plate 75 is placed from above, the fiber coating part fixing plate 76 is placed on the tape fiber 73 side, and the assembly is fixed with an ultraviolet curing adhesive. For the fiber alignment table 71 and the fiber fixing plate 75, a glass plate having a thickness of about 1 mm was used.

As shown in FIG. 7, a fiber fixing plate 75 is formed so that its lateral width is slightly smaller than that of the lower fiber alignment table 71. This is the fiber fixing plate
When fixing 75 to the fiber alignment table 71, if both are the same size, the fiber fixing plate 75 is placed on the fiber alignment table 71.
If the position is slightly misaligned when stacking
This is because the end portion of the protrusion 75 protrudes and the side surface portion is not formed flat.

[0004] Usually, the end of the multi-core fiber array is mirror-polished. At this time, the fiber fixing plate 75 is fixed by sandwiching the side surface. If the side surface has a protruding portion of the fiber fixing plate 75, stress is applied to the protruding portion, and chipping or cracking of the fiber fixing plate 75 occurs. Fiber alignment table for multi-core fiber array
Since 71 and the fiber fixing plate 75 are composed of small parts,
Strict positioning and bonding are very difficult in practice. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
Even if the bonding position of 5 is slightly shifted, the fiber fixing plate 75
In this case, the width of the fiber fixing plate 75 in the side direction is smaller than the width of the fiber alignment table 71 in the side direction so as not to protrude from the side surface of the fiber alignment table 71. The difference between the width of the fiber fixing plate 75 and the width of the fiber alignment table 71 is the allowable amount of protrusion.

[0005]

However, even if there is some allowance, the fiber fixing plate 75 must be precisely positioned to adhere to the fiber alignment table 71 so as not to protrude from the side surface at all. Matching is required. The assembling work requires skill and is a laborious work.

The above-mentioned conventional multi-core fiber array has the following problems in terms of alignment accuracy. In the production of a multi-core fiber array, it may be combined with a polishing process of an end face or a waveguide. At this time, the above operation is performed with the multi-core fiber array sandwiched and fixed from above and below. In this operation, it is extremely important to ensure the parallelism of the upper surface and the lower surface of the multi-core fiber array in order to improve the alignment accuracy.
In these operations, the end face side of the multi-core fiber array is often sandwiched. If the upper and lower sides of the end face side of the multi-core fiber array are strongly sandwiched, floating will appear above and below the tape fiber side 76 opposite to the end face side of the fiber fixing plate 73, and the fiber fixing plate 73
The distance between the fiber alignment table 72 and the fiber alignment table 72 becomes narrower on the end face side and wider on the tape fiber 76 side.
This greatly affects the parallelism of the fiber alignment table 72. As described above, when the multi-core optical fiber array is pressed from above and below, the accuracy of the alignment may decrease depending on the place where the multi-core optical fiber array is pressed.

Further, if the parallelism between the fiber alignment table and the fiber fixing plate cannot be strictly determined, chipping is required.
It may cause cracks and the like. That is, if the degree of parallelism between the fiber alignment table and the fiber fixing plate cannot be obtained, a small gap will be formed when the multi-core fiber array is mounted on a polishing jig or the like. Further, in the above-mentioned conventional multi-core fiber array, most of the force applied during polishing is applied to the thin fiber alignment table, so that the load is broken and cracked.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to simplify the manufacturing process, to easily manufacture, and to prevent the occurrence of defects such as chipping and cracks. An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-core fiber array having excellent polishing and alignment accuracy.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a multi-core fiber array comprising (1) a fiber alignment table, a fiber fixing plate, and a tape fiber coating portion fixing plate. A bottom plate portion provided with a groove, a side wall portion which is connected to both ends of the bottom plate portion parallel to the fiber alignment grooves and rises vertically upward from the bottom plate portion, and a tape fiber support portion provided continuously with the bottom plate portion The multi-core fiber array according to (1), wherein the multi-core fiber array is characterized in that the upper surface of the fiber fixing plate is formed to be lower than the upper surface of the side wall portion of the fiber alignment table. It is assumed that.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, a multi-core fiber array 1 of the present invention comprises a fiber alignment table 2, a fiber fixing plate.
3 and a tape fiber coating fixing plate 4.
In the figure, 6 is a tape fiber, and 7 is an exposed optical fiber.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the fiber alignment table 2 includes a bottom plate 21 provided with the fiber alignment groove 5, and both ends parallel to the fiber alignment groove 5 of the bottom plate 21 and vertically connected to the bottom plate 21 upward. And a tape fiber supporting portion 23 continuously provided in one direction in the tape fiber direction of the bottom plate. The bottom plate portion 21 and the side wall portion 22 are integrally formed in a U-shaped cross section. The fiber fixing plate 3 is fitted into a portion surrounded by the bottom plate 21 and the side wall 22.

The bottom plate portion 21 is provided with a fiber alignment groove 5 having a V-shaped cross section. The number of fiber alignment grooves 5 may be formed according to the number of cores of the tape fiber,
Any number can be provided. The lower surface of the bottom plate portion 21 is formed as a flat surface.

The upper surface of the side wall portion 22 and the lower surface of the bottom plate portion are formed as flat surfaces so as to be parallel. Further, the side surfaces (outer surfaces) of both side wall portions are formed as flat surfaces so as to be parallel surfaces.

As described above, the side wall portion 22 is integrally formed with the thickness of the fiber alignment table of the conventional multicore fiber array and the thickness of the fiber fixing plate, and receives the load of the fixing device over the entire thickness. Therefore, the strength is excellent as compared with the case where the load is applied only by the conventional fiber alignment table. Also, the lower surface of the bottom plate 21 and the upper surface of the side wall 22 are
The bottom plate 21 and the side wall are formed in parallel from the beginning.
Since it is formed integrally with 22, there is no change in the parallel state even when a load is applied from above and below with the fixture, and there is no possibility that the parallelism is reduced due to the occurrence of floating like a conventional fiber array. .

The fiber fixing plate 3 has only to be a size that can be fitted into the concave portion of the fiber alignment table 2, and is usually formed as a plate having flat front and back surfaces.

As shown in FIG. 2, the portion corresponding to the position of the tape fiber 6 is formed in the tape fiber coating portion fixing plate 4 as a concave portion.

To assemble the multi-core fiber array, as shown in FIG. 2, an optical fiber 7 of a tape fiber 6 is fitted into a fiber alignment groove 5 of a fiber alignment table 2 and a fiber fixing plate 3 is placed on the optical fiber 7 from above. The tape fiber support part 23 is tape fiber
The tape fiber coating portion fixing plate 4 is overlapped via 6 and adhered and fixed with an ultraviolet curable adhesive. Finally, the end face 11 of the tape fiber array is mirror-polished.

The end face 11 of the fiber array 1 may be polished so that the end face 11 is perpendicular to the length direction of the tape fiber as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the polishing may be performed so that the end face 11 is inclined.

As shown in FIG. 4, the multi-core fiber array 1
It is preferable that the upper surface 31 of the fiber fixing plate 3 is formed to be lower than the upper surface 24 of the side wall portion of the fiber alignment table 2.
When formed in this way, in the polishing process and centering of the end surface, when the multi-core fiber array is supported by the side wall upper surface 24 and the bottom plate lower surface 25 so as to be fixed from above and below in the vertical direction, the fiber fixing base 3 is not directly contacted. I can do it. For this reason, even if the upper and lower sides of the end face side of the multi-core fiber array are sandwiched, there is no possibility that the accuracy will be lowered due to the floating unlike the conventional multi-core fiber array, so that the processing accuracy and the alignment accuracy are further improved. In addition, it is possible to reliably prevent cracks and chips from occurring due to a load applied to the fiber fixing plate.

The tape fiber support 2 of the fiber alignment table 2
5 is formed to be slightly lower than the upper surface 26 of the bottom plate portion 21 by the thickness of the tape fiber 6, as shown in FIG.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A fiber alignment table is a glass block of 9 mm × 5 mm × 2 mm (thickness) stepped into an L-shape to form a bottom and side walls, and a plurality of V-shaped fiber alignment grooves are formed at the bottom. A relief groove was provided on both sides of the bottom where the fiber alignment groove was provided, and formed into the shape shown in FIG. The glass fiber block fixed plate is 8.6 mm x 1.5 mm x 1 m
m (thickness), and a 3.2 mm wide × 0.4 mm deep step was drawn in the center to form the shape shown in FIG. The fiber fixing plate was formed by cutting a glass block into 5 mm × 3.5 mm × 0.8 mm (thickness).

[0022]

The multi-core fiber array of the present invention is formed so that the outer surfaces of both side walls are flat and parallel, so that when the side surface is to be held down by polishing or the like, the multi-core fiber array of the conventional multi-core fiber array can be used. Because there is no protruding part like this,
There is no risk of cracking or chipping during the polishing operation.

When the upper and lower sides of the multi-core fiber array are pressed during alignment, the upper surface of the side wall can be held down. Is improved.

Further, at the time of manufacturing the multi-core fiber array, it is only necessary to fit the fiber fixing plate into the concave portion of the fiber alignment table, and there is a possibility that the mounting position of the fiber fixing plate becomes oblique as in a conventional array and shifts. In addition, alignment is extremely easy, and no special technique is required for assembling, so that productivity and production cost are excellent.

When the upper surface of the fiber fixing plate is formed to be lower than the upper surface of the side wall portion, the accuracy can be further improved because the upper surface of the side wall portion can be securely pressed.
Chipping and cracking can be more reliably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of a multicore fiber array of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the multi-core fiber array of FIG.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are plan views showing embodiments of a multi-core fiber array.

FIG. 4 is an end view of FIG. 1.

5 is a longitudinal sectional view in the fiber length direction of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of using a multi-core fiber array.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing a conventional multicore fiber array.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 multi-core fiber array 2 fiber alignment table 3 fiber fixing plate 4 tape fiber coating fixing plate 5 fiber alignment groove 6 tape fiber 7 optical fiber

Claims (2)

[The claims] 1. A multi-core fiber array comprising a fiber alignment table, a fiber fixing plate, and a tape fiber coating portion fixing plate, wherein the fiber alignment table includes a bottom plate portion provided with a fiber alignment groove, and the bottom plate. A multi-core fiber array comprising: a side wall portion connected to both ends parallel to a fiber alignment groove of the portion and rising vertically upward from the bottom plate portion; and a tape fiber support portion connected to the bottom plate portion. 2. The multicore fiber array according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the fiber fixing plate is formed to be lower than the upper surface of the side wall of the fiber alignment table.