JP2002267906A - Joining structure of optical parts - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a joining structure of optical parts, such as lenses or prisms or optical fibers, or optical waveguides, or optical glass or the like which does not give a deterioration by a laser beam of a high intensity or laser beam of a short wavelength in joining members used for adhesion when the optical parts are joined to members to be joined. SOLUTION: A light transparent thermosetting resin or polysiloxane solution, or a silicon compound solution, or siloxane solution is used as the joining member for bonding the optical parts and the members to be joined.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for bonding optical parts, and arranges a plurality of light emitting ends of a plurality of optical fibers in a line at equal intervals for use in an optical recording device such as a laser beam printer or an optical disk. The present invention relates to a joint structure between an optical fiber array configured as described above or an optical waveguide array in which end faces of a plurality of optical waveguides are arranged in a line in parallel with each other and an optical component of a light transmitting member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-271561 is an example known as a conventional technique. The present invention relates to a method for joining an optical fiber array and an optical waveguide chip, in which a gap having a predetermined width is provided on a joining surface between the optical fiber array and the optical waveguide chip, and an ultraviolet curable adhesive is filled between the gaps. Thereafter, the resin is cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays, and the optical fiber array and the optical waveguide chip are joined.

However, according to the method of the present invention, an ultraviolet curable resin as an adhesive is interposed between the optical path between the optical fiber and the optical waveguide, that is, in the joint area between the optical fiber and the core which is the light propagation area of the optical waveguide. Therefore, when a laser beam having high intensity light energy, particularly a short wavelength laser beam having a wavelength near the ultraviolet region, is used, there is a problem that the ultraviolet curable resin is deteriorated or damaged by light. is there. For this reason,
Fluctuations in light intensity due to deterioration of the resin and fluctuations in optical coupling efficiency at the joint surface between the optical fiber array and the optical waveguide are likely to occur, and there has been a difficulty that a highly reliable device cannot be realized.

[0004] As another example known as a conventional technique, there is JP-A-11-84164. The present invention relates to a structure of an optical fiber array and a method of manufacturing the same, wherein a distal end portion of an optical fiber having a coating portion and an end portion of which is removed is disposed in a groove array portion. Further, on the extension of the groove array portion, there is provided a supporting portion for supporting the covering portion of the optical fiber, and the covering portion of the optical fiber is bonded and fixed to this portion to form the optical fiber array.

However, in the optical fiber array of the present invention, nothing is mentioned about the configuration and structure of the light emitting end face of the optical fiber array.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method for bonding an optical component such as a lens, a prism, an optical fiber, an optical waveguide, or an optical glass to a member to be bonded. An object of the present invention is to provide a bonding structure of an optical component having high reliability which does not cause deterioration by a high-intensity laser beam or a short-wavelength laser beam in a bonding member used for the above.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, light is transmitted between an optical component such as a lens, a prism, an optical fiber, an optical waveguide, or an optical glass and a member to be joined. It is to adhere by one joining member selected from the group consisting of a thermosetting resin, a polysilazane solution, a silicon compound solution, and a siloxane solution.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1A shows a doublet lens 1-31 and a doublet lens 1-3.
FIG. 1B shows a Wollaston prism 1-3.
FIG. 1C shows an optical fiber 1-34 and an optical waveguide 1-35, and FIG. 1C shows an optical fiber 1-33 and an optical glass 1-3.
This is a case where bonding of No. 6 was performed using the joining member 1-30.

Heretofore, for the bonding of these optical components, an ultraviolet curable resin mainly composed of an epoxy or acrylate resin has been used as the bonding member 1-30. However, due to the recent trend toward shorter wavelengths and higher power of optical recording devices such as laser beam printers and optical disks, there has been a problem that the bonding member 1-30 used for the optical component bonding portion is degraded and optically damaged by transmitted light. Is coming.

Therefore, in an embodiment of the present invention, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a light transmitting member 1-17 is bonded to the light emitting end face of the optical fiber array 1-16 as a light transmitting member. A thermosetting resin, a polysilazane solution, a silicon compound solution, or a siloxane solution is used.

The light-transmitting thermosetting resin is at 100 to 150 ° C.
It is a light-transmitting resin that cures when held in an environment, and has excellent light and heat resistance.

In the case of a polysilazane solution, for example, the solution is an inorganic polymer which is soluble in an organic solvent and has a compound formed by a Si—N (silicon and nitrogen) bond as a basic unit. For this reason, if this polymer is used as a coating solution of an organic solvent solution as a coating liquid and is baked by high-temperature treatment, a high-purity silica (amorphous SiO ₂ ) film is formed. Alternatively, a high-purity silica (amorphous SiO ₂ ) film is formed even in a normal temperature environment. This can prevent problems such as deterioration of the resin and optical damage that occur when an ultraviolet curable resin is used as the joining member. The same applies to the silicon compound solution and the siloxane solution.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

Laser beams emitted from a plurality of independent semiconductor laser light sources 1-1 to 1-5 (five in the figure) are respectively transmitted through coupling lenses 1-6 to 1-10. Optical fibers 1-1 corresponding to
It is incident on 1 to 1-15. These semiconductor lasers 1-1
To 1-5, coupling lenses 1-6 to 1-10, and optical fibers 1-11 to 1-15 are a light emitting portion of a semiconductor laser, an optical axis of a lens, and a light transmitting portion of an optical fiber (hereinafter, a core). ) Constitute a packaged semiconductor laser module part whose position is adjusted on the same axis.

The light emitting ends of the optical fibers are arranged close to each other at regular intervals and form a fixed optical fiber array section 1-16.
A light transmitting member 1-17 made of a quartz glass plate or the like is bonded to the light emitting end face of No. 6. The role of the light transmitting member 1-17 bonded to the end face of the optical fiber array section is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-146023.

The light emitted from the optical fiber array unit 1-16 is then transmitted to the rotary polygon mirror 1-1 via the optical system 1-18.
9. An image is formed as a plurality of light spots 1-22 to 1-26 on the optical recording member 1-21 by the scanning lens 1-20, and these light spots are light-modulated and scanned, whereby the optical recording member 1 is scanned. Information such as printing and image information is recorded in -21.

In the optical recording apparatus having such a configuration, the recording speed and the resolution of the optical recording apparatus tend to increase year by year. Therefore, it is desired that the semiconductor laser as the light source has a higher power and a shorter wavelength. ing. On the other hand, an optical fiber for transmitting light emitted from a semiconductor laser is desired to have a configuration corresponding to the optical fiber. In the above-described optical recording apparatus, the optical spot used for scanning on the optical recording member is desirably a Gaussian beam, so that the optical fiber used is a single mode optical fiber.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side sectional view of the tip of the optical fiber array section 1-16.

The optical fiber comprises a cladding 1-28 and a core 1-29 which is a region through which light propagates. A light transmitting member 1-17 is joined to the front surface of the optical fiber array section 1-16 by a joining member 1-30. Light emitted from the core portion of each optical fiber propagates through the bonding member 1-30 and the light transmitting member 1-17.

Here, assuming that the intensity of light emitted from the optical fiber array 1-16 is 5 (mW), the size of the core of each optical fiber is φ4 (μm), and the light energy density at the optical fiber emission end is When calculated, the energy becomes very high as in the following equation.

Light energy density = 5 (mW) / {π · (4/2) 2} (μm 2) = 0.4 (mW / μm 2) = 400 (W / mm 2) (1) A bonding member 1-30 used for bonding a light transmissive member 1-17 made of a quartz glass plate or the like to the light emitting end surface of the optical fiber array 1-16 mainly includes an epoxy-based or acrylate-based resin. UV curable resin or the like cannot be used because it is deteriorated or optically damaged by high energy light emitted from the optical fiber.

In particular, when a violet semiconductor laser that emits light having a wavelength close to the ultraviolet region near 400 (nm), which has recently been developed, is used as a semiconductor laser as a light source, an ultraviolet curable resin used as a bonding member is used. Since the light transmittance of the material is also reduced, it is expected that deterioration of the resin and optical damage will be more remarkable.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, a light transmitting thermosetting resin or a polysilazane solution is used as a bonding member for bonding the light transmitting member 1-17 to the light emitting end face of the optical fiber array 1-16. Alternatively, a silicon compound solution or a siloxane solution is used.

The light-transmitting thermosetting resin is 100 to 150 ° C.
It is a light-transmitting resin that cures when held in an environment, and has excellent light and heat resistance.

In the case of a polysilazane solution, for example, the above solution is an inorganic polymer which is soluble in an organic solvent having a compound as a basic unit by a Si—N (silicon and nitrogen) bond. For this reason, if an organic solvent solution of this polymer is used as a coating liquid and used as a joining member between the end face of the optical fiber array and the light-transmitting member and is baked by high-temperature treatment, high-purity silica (amorphous Si) is obtained.
O ₂ ) film is formed. Alternatively, there is a solution in which a high-purity silica (amorphous SiO ₂ ) film is formed even in a normal temperature environment.

Thus, it is possible to prevent problems such as deterioration of the resin and optical damage that occur when the ultraviolet-curable resin is used as the joining member. The same applies to the silicon compound solution and the siloxane solution.

Recently, a photosensitive silicon compound solution capable of completely forming an amorphous silica film only by irradiating an electron beam or far ultraviolet rays without firing has been developed. If quartz glass is used as the light transmissive member 1-17, the bonding member can be solidified only by irradiation of ultraviolet rays, so that it is not necessary to expose the optical fiber array 1-16 to a high-temperature environment, thereby reducing thermal damage. Can be reduced. (Embodiment 3) FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.

Laser beams emitted from a plurality of independent semiconductor laser light sources 1-1 to 1-4 (four in the figure) are respectively transmitted through coupling lenses 1-6 to 1-9. Optical fibers 1-11 corresponding to
~ 1-14. These semiconductor lasers 1-1 to 1-1
1-4, coupling lenses 1-6 to 1-9, and optical fibers 1-11 to 1-14 are respectively a light emitting portion of a semiconductor laser, an optical axis of a lens, and a light transmitting portion of an optical fiber (hereinafter, a core portion). ) Constitute a packaged semiconductor laser module part whose position is adjusted on the same axis.

The light emitting ends of the optical fibers are respectively coupled to end faces of a substrate having a plurality of optical waveguides 1-31 to 1-34. The light emitting ends of the optical waveguides 1-31 to 1-34 form an optical waveguide array section 1-35 in which the optical waveguides are arranged in a line in parallel with each other.
A light transmitting member 1-17 made of a quartz glass plate or the like is adhered to the light emitting end surface of -35.

The configuration of the optical system after emission from the optical waveguide array 1-35 is the same as that described in the first embodiment.

In the optical recording apparatus as described above, the optical waveguide array 1-35 and the light transmitting member 1-17 are bonded, or the optical fibers 1-11 to 1-14 and the optical waveguide 1-31 are attached.
It is difficult to use an ultraviolet-curable resin as the joining member in the bonding of 1-34 for the same reason as described in Example 1. However, this part of the joining member,
By using a light-transmitting thermosetting resin, a polysilazane solution, a silicon compound solution, or a siloxane solution, a resin film having light and heat resistance or a high-purity silica (amorphous SiO ₂ ) film is formed on the bonding surface. Therefore, this can prevent deterioration and optical damage of the joining member.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, a light-transmitting thermosetting resin is provided between a member to be bonded and an optical component such as a lens, a prism, an optical fiber, an optical waveguide, or an optical glass. Or a highly reliable optical component that is bonded by a bonding member such as a polysilazane solution, a silicon compound solution, or a siloxane solution, so that the bonding member is not deteriorated by high-intensity laser light or short-wavelength laser light. The structure can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining an example of joining optical components according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an optical system of an optical recording apparatus equipped with an optical fiber array using the optical component bonding method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an optical system of an optical recording apparatus equipped with an optical waveguide array using the optical component bonding method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of an optical fiber array light emitting end portion using the optical component bonding method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-1 to 1-5 ... Semiconductor laser light source, 1-6 to 1-10
... Coupling lens, 1-11 to 1-15 ... Optical fiber, 1-16 ... Optical fiber array, 1-17 ... Light transmitting member, 1-18 ... Optical system, 1-19 ... Rotating other mirror, 1 −
Reference numeral 21: scanning lens, 1-22 to 1-26: imaging spot, 1-27: photodetector, 1-28: cladding portion of optical fiber, 1-29: core portion of optical fiber, 1-30: joining Member, 1-31 to 1-32 ... lens, 1-33 ... Wollaston prism, 1-34 ... optical fiber, 1-35 ...
Optical waveguide, 1-36 ... optical glass.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H037 AA04 BA24 DA17 2H043 AE02 2H045 BA22 BA32 DA02 4G061 AA02 AA06 BA07 BA12 CA02 CB04 CB16 CD05 DA32 DA43

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An optical component and a member to be joined are bonded by one joining member selected from a group having a light-transmitting thermosetting resin, a polysilazane solution, a silicon compound solution, and a siloxane solution. Joint structure of optical parts. 2. An optical fiber array in which light emitting ends of a plurality of optical fibers are arranged or an optical waveguide array in which end faces of a plurality of optical waveguides are arranged as a light source, and a plurality of lights emitted from the light source are transmitted to an optical system. An image is formed as a plurality of light spots on the optical recording member via the above, the plurality of light spots are scanned, and by modulating the light intensity of the plurality of light spots, printing on the optical recording member, In an optical recording apparatus for recording information such as image information, a light-transmitting thermosetting resin, a polysilazane solution, a silicon compound solution, a siloxane solution is provided between the light-emitting end face of the optical fiber array or the optical waveguide array and the light-transmitting member. A bonding structure for optical parts, wherein the bonding is performed by one bonding member selected from the group having: 3. An optical recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein quartz glass is used as a light transmissive member adhered to the light emitting end face of the optical fiber array or the optical waveguide array.