JP2002318313A - Method of manufacturing optical fiber with comb-like polished end face and optical fiber with comb-like polished end face - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of manufacturing optical fibers with comb-liked polished end faces which does not break the fibers when polishing the end faces of the optical fibers and is good in production efficiency and the optical fibers with the comb-liked polished end faces. SOLUTION: A plurality of the optical fibers with the comb-liked polished end faces are simultaneously manufactured by an optical fiber holding process step f1 of placing the optical fiber (bare optical fiber) sections on the respective holding grooves of an optical fiber holder by aligning the fiber end faces; a resin coating application process step f2 of applying a water-soluble UV resin to the respective optical fiber sections until the optical fiber sections are immersed therein; a covering and resin curing process step f3 of covering the top of the holder with a glass plate after the process step described above, then curing the resin by irradiating the resin with UV rays; a comb-like end face polishing process step f4 of simultaneously polishing the end faces of plural pieces of the optical fibers to the comb form by polishing the entire part of the holder after the process step described above; and a resin peeling and removing process step f5 of peeling and removing the water-soluble UV resin by immersing the entire part of the holder into hot water after the process step described above and applying ultrasonic waves thereto.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an end-face polished optical fiber in which an end face of an optical fiber is polished in a comb shape, which is used for optical bonding between a light emitting source used for optical communication and an optical fiber. And an end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an optical fiber used for optical connection between a light emitting source and an optical fiber used for optical communication, an end-polished optical fiber whose end face is polished in a comb shape is used. It is a situation where the method of polishing in a shape is not specifically disclosed. As a method of polishing the end face into a comb shape, a method in which the optical fiber is thin and held by a jig one by one so that the fiber is not broken because the fiber is not broken may be considered.

[0003]

As described above, the actual manufacturing method of the method for polishing the end face of the optical fiber into a comb shape has not been known. As a method of polishing the end face of the optical fiber, the method of holding and polishing one by one with a jig has a risk of breaking because the optical fiber is thin when the end face is polished, and the polishing is performed one by one. The method is considered to be inefficient in production.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned various problems of the prior art. When polishing the end face of an optical fiber, the fiber is not broken, and the end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber having good production efficiency is provided. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a polished optical fiber having an end comb.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a plurality of optical fibers by simultaneously polishing the end faces of the plurality of optical fibers into a comb-shaped polished optical fiber (1).
The coating on the ends of the plurality of optical fibers or the optical fibers is removed by a predetermined length to expose the optical fiber (bare fiber) portion, and the optical fiber portion has a plurality of holding grooves, glass, plastic An optical fiber holding step of placing the optical fibers with their end faces aligned in respective holding grooves of an optical fiber holding jig made of resin or metal; and (2) each optical fiber portion placed in the plurality of holding grooves Applying a water-soluble ultraviolet-curable resin (hereinafter abbreviated as a water-soluble UV resin) until the resin is immersed; and (3) after the step,
After a plate (hereinafter, also referred to as a plate) made of glass or plastic resin is put on the optical fiber holding jig coated with the water-soluble UV resin, the coated resin is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to cure the resin. A resin curing step; and (4) a fiber end face comb in which one end face and the other end face of the entire optical fiber holding jig after the above step are polished and the end faces of a plurality of optical fibers are simultaneously polished in a comb shape. (Hereinafter abbreviated as an end face comb polishing step); and (5) After the above step, the entire optical fiber holding jig polished in a comb shape is immersed in water, preferably in hot water to apply ultrasonic waves. A plurality of end face comb-shaped polished optical fibers at the same time by the step of peeling and removing the ultraviolet curable resin. . In the manufacturing method according to the first aspect, (1) an optical fiber holding step; (2) a resin coating step; (3) a board covering / resin curing step; and (4) an end face comb-like polishing step And (5) a resin peeling and removing step; thereby, a plurality of end face comb-shaped polished optical fibers having better characteristics can be simultaneously and efficiently manufactured. In addition, when polishing the end faces of a plurality of optical fibers simultaneously in a comb shape, one end face and the other end face of the entire optical fiber holding jig are polished to simultaneously comb the end faces of the plurality of optical fibers. Since the optical fiber is polished, the optical fiber can be efficiently polished without being broken during processing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber, wherein the holding groove of the optical fiber holding jig is a V groove, a U groove or a round groove. In the manufacturing method according to the second aspect, a V-groove, a U-groove, or a round groove can be preferably used as the holding groove of the optical fiber holding jig.

As a third aspect, the present invention is a method for manufacturing an end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber in which the glass or plastic resin plate of the optical fiber holding jig or plate is a translucent to a transparent material. In the manufacturing method according to the third aspect,
Since the glass or plastic resin of the optical fiber holding jig or the plate body is translucent to transparent, water-soluble UV
This is suitable for curing the resin by irradiating the entire optical fiber holding jig with the resin with ultraviolet rays.

As a fourth aspect, the present invention resides in an end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber obtained by the manufacturing method according to the first to third aspects. Since the end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber according to the fourth aspect is obtained by the manufacturing method according to the first to third aspects, the end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber has excellent characteristics.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The contents of the present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by this. FIG. 1 is a chart for explaining one embodiment of the comb-shaped polishing method of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic view for explaining a main part state in each step of the comb-shaped polishing method of the present invention. FIG. 2A shows a plurality of optical fiber holding jigs at the time of the optical fiber holding step f1. An optical fiber (bare fiber portion) is placed on a V-groove (holding groove). FIG.
Water-soluble UV until each optical fiber placed in the groove is immersed
FIG. 14C shows a state in which the resin is applied, and FIG. 15C shows a state in which a plate (glass plate) is placed on the optical fiber holding jig to which the resin is applied in the resin covering step f3. At the time of the comb-shaped polishing step f4, one end surface (end surface of the holding jig) using a cylindrical polishing plate.
(E) shows a comb-like polishing step f4.
At this time, the other end surface (plate end surface) is being polished with a cylindrical polishing plate. FIG. 3 shows a comb-like polishing step f4.
6 is a schematic view showing a state in which polishing is performed by a disk-shaped polishing plate at the time. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber obtained by the polishing method of the present invention. FIG. 4 (a) is a front view, and FIG. 4 (b) is a left side view.

In these figures, 1 is an optical fiber (bare fiber portion), and 2 is an optical fiber wire (optical fiber core wire).
(Coating) 3 is an end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber, 5 is an optical fiber holding jig, 6 is a holding groove, 7 is a plate, 9 is a polished plate, g is a guide, j is an ultraviolet curable resin, and m is a motor. , T are comb-shaped end faces.

-First Embodiment- One embodiment of a method for manufacturing an end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber of the present invention will be described with reference to the chart of FIG. First, (1) a plurality of optical fiber strands or the ends of optical fiber core wires are removed by a predetermined length to expose an optical fiber (bare fiber) portion, and the optical fiber portion has a plurality of holding grooves. And an optical fiber holding step f1 in which the end faces of the optical fiber are aligned with the holding grooves of the optical fiber holding jig made of glass, plastic resin, or metal, and (2).
A resin application step f2 of applying a water-soluble UV resin until each optical fiber portion placed in the plurality of holding grooves is immersed;
(3) After the step, a plate made of glass or plastic resin is put on the optical fiber holding jig coated with the water-soluble UV resin, and then the applied resin is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to cure the resin. Covering and resin curing step f3; and (4)
An end face comb polishing step f4 of polishing one end face and the other end face of the entire optical fiber holding jig after the above step, and simultaneously polishing end faces of a plurality of optical fibers in a comb shape; After the step, the entire optical fiber holding jig polished in a comb shape is immersed in water, preferably hot water, and ultrasonic waves are applied thereto to peel off and remove the water-soluble UV resin.
And a method for manufacturing a plurality of end comb-shaped polished optical fibers simultaneously.

Second Embodiment A concrete example of a method for manufacturing a polished end face optical fiber of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First,
(1) As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the coating of the ends of, for example, five optical fiber strands is removed by a predetermined length to expose the optical fiber (bare fiber) portion 1 to a length of, for example, 30 mm, and a plastic resin plate is formed. V-grooves 6 of an optical fiber holding jig 5 made of
Was placed with the end faces of the optical fibers aligned. (Optical fiber holding step f1) In the optical fiber strand, for example, the diameter of the optical fiber (bare fiber) portion 1 is 0.125 mm and the strand diameter is 0.250 mm. The core diameter is 0.900mm
Can be used. Although the portion following the optical fiber 1 on the optical fiber holding jig 5 is omitted in this figure, the optical fiber strand or the optical fiber core is continued. (2) Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 2B, a water-soluble UV resin j was applied until each of the optical fiber portions 1 placed in the plurality of V grooves 6 was immersed. (Resin coating step f2) Examples of the water-soluble UV resin j include TB3046 (trade name) manufactured by Three Bond. (3) Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), after the above step, a transparent glass plate 7 is put on the optical fiber holding jig 5 coated with the water-soluble UV resin j, and then the glass Ultraviolet rays were applied to the coating resin j through the plate to cure the resin. (Sheet Covering / Resin Curing Step f3) (4) Subsequently, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2D, one end surface (end surface of the holding jig) of the entire optical fiber holding jig after the above-mentioned process is polished by rotating the cylindrical polishing plate 9 in the direction of the arrow r, and then FIG. ), The other end face (plate end face) was similarly polished, and the end faces of the plurality of optical fibers were polished simultaneously in a comb shape. (End face comb polishing step f4) Sandpaper was used for the polishing surface, and felt-based paper was used for finishing. The polishing angle depends on the specification of the product.
Degrees. Further, the polished tip surface may be rounded, and in this case, a fiber with a lens can be manufactured.
(5) Then, although not shown, the entire optical fiber holding jig polished in a comb shape after the above-mentioned process is immersed in, for example, 80 ° C. hot water for 30 to 60 seconds to apply ultrasonic waves,
By peeling and removing the resin (the entire holding jig is separated), as shown in FIG.
A plurality of end face comb-shaped polished optical fibers 3 having a comb-shaped end face t at the end of the optical fiber portion 1 were manufactured at the same time. (Resin stripping / removing step f5) The step f5 includes drying of the end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber, and may be cleaned as required. In some cases, the obtained end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber becomes a product as it is, but usually, there is processing thereafter.

Third Embodiment Another example of the end face comb polishing step f4 of the method for manufacturing an end face comb polished optical fiber of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this polishing step, the entire optical fiber holding jig is moved in the direction of the arrow d along the guide g, and the end of the optical fiber holding jig 5 is rotated by the motor m in the direction of the arrow r. 9 and is polished at a constant polishing angle θ.

[0014]

According to the method for manufacturing an end face comb-polished optical fiber of the present invention, an optical fiber holding step; a resin coating step; a plate covering / resin curing step; and an end face comb polishing step; And the resin peeling and removing step; thus, a plurality of end face comb-shaped polished optical fibers can be manufactured at the same time. Therefore, the end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber can be manufactured efficiently. When simultaneously polishing the end faces of a plurality of optical fibers in a comb shape, polishing one end face and the other end face of the entire optical fiber holding jig and simultaneously combing the end faces of the plurality of optical fibers. Since the optical fiber can be polished, the optical fiber is not broken at the time of processing, and the polishing can be efficiently performed. Therefore, the present invention has an extremely large effect of contributing to industry.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a chart for explaining an embodiment of a comb-shaped polishing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view for explaining a main part state in each step of the comb-shaped polishing method of the present invention. FIG. 6A shows a state in which an optical fiber (bare fiber portion) is placed in a plurality of V-grooves (holding grooves) of an optical fiber holding jig in an optical fiber holding step f1. FIG. 2B shows a state in which a water-soluble UV resin is applied until each optical fiber placed in the plurality of V-grooves is immersed in the resin application step f2. FIG. 4C shows a state in which a plate (glass plate) is placed on the resin-coated optical fiber holding jig in the plate covering / resin curing step f3. FIG. 4D shows a state in which one end surface (holding jig end surface) is polished by a cylindrical polishing plate in the comb-shaped polishing step f4. FIG. 9E shows a state in which the other end face (plate end face) is polished by the cylindrical polishing plate in the comb-shaped polishing step f4.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which polishing is performed with a disk-shaped polishing plate in a comb-shaped polishing step f4.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber obtained by the polishing method of the present invention, wherein FIG. 4 (a) is a front view and FIG. 4 (b) is a left side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical fiber (bare fiber part) 2 Optical fiber strand (optical fiber core wire) (coating) 3 Polished optical fiber end face 5 Optical fiber holding jig 6 Holding groove (V groove) 7 Plate 9 Polishing plate g Guide j UV curable resin m Motor t Comb end face

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing an end face of a plurality of optical fibers by simultaneously polishing end faces of a plurality of optical fibers into a comb shape to obtain an end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber. The optical fiber (bare fiber) portion is exposed by removing the coating of the portion for a predetermined length, the optical fiber portion has a plurality of holding grooves, and each of the optical fiber holding jigs made of glass, plastic resin or metal is held. An optical fiber holding step of placing the optical fibers in the grooves so that the end faces thereof are aligned; and (2) applying a water-soluble ultraviolet curable resin until each of the optical fiber portions placed in the plurality of holding grooves is immersed. Resin application process;
And (3) after the step, after covering a plate made of glass or plastic resin on the optical fiber holding jig coated with the ultraviolet curable resin, irradiating the applied resin with ultraviolet rays to cure the resin. Plate covering and resin curing process; and (4)
A fiber end face comb polishing step of polishing one end face and the other end face of the entire optical fiber holding jig after the step, and simultaneously polishing end faces of a plurality of optical fibers in a comb shape;
(5) After the step, the entire optical fiber holding jig polished in a comb shape is immersed in water, preferably hot water, and subjected to ultrasonic waves.
A step of stripping and removing the ultraviolet-curable resin; and a step of simultaneously manufacturing a plurality of end face comb-shaped polished optical fibers. 2. The holding groove of the optical fiber holding jig has a V
2. The method for producing an end face comb-shaped polished optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber is a groove, a U groove or a round groove. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the glass or plastic resin of the optical fiber holding jig or the plate is translucent to transparent. 4. A polished end face optical fiber obtained by the method for producing an end face comb polished optical fiber according to claim 1, 2 or 3.