JP2003057498A - Manufacturing method for semiconductor laser module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method which can increase manufacture efficiency and improve the reliability of a semiconductor laser module 1. SOLUTION: While the arrangement position of a semiconductor laser element 2 is fixed, an optical fiber 3 inserted and fixed in a ferrule 11 is aligned with the semiconductor laser element 2. Then the ferrule 11 is fixed to a fixation part 10 of a member 17 for fixation by laser welding, but the ferrule 11 shifts in position at this time owing to the laser welding and the optical fiber 3 shifts from the alignment position. Therefore, the optical fiber 3 is shifted reversely by the position shift quantity from the alignment position before the laser welding in consideration of the position shift of the optical fiber 3. Then the ferrule 11 and fixation part 10 are welded together by a laser. At this time, the ferrule 11 shifts in position and the optical fiber 3 returns to the alignment position.

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 a semiconductor laser module used for optical communication.

[0002]

BACKGROUND ART FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of the structure of a semiconductor laser module. This semiconductor laser module 1 includes a semiconductor laser element 2 and an optical fiber 3
And is placed inside the package 4 in an optically coupled state.

In this semiconductor laser module 1,
A temperature control module (for example, a Peltier module) 5 is fixed inside the package 4, and a metal base 6 is fixed on the upper portion of the temperature control module 5. The semiconductor laser element 2 is fixed to the upper surface of the base 6 via the LD carrier 7, the photodiode 9 is fixed to the base 6 via the PD carrier 8, and a thermistor (not shown) is arranged in the vicinity of the semiconductor laser element 2. It is set up.

The photodiode 9 is a semiconductor laser device 2
The temperature control module 5 controls the temperature of the semiconductor laser element 2. The operation of the temperature control module 5 is controlled so that the semiconductor laser element 2 has a constant temperature based on the temperature detected by the thermistor. The temperature control of the semiconductor laser element 2 by the temperature control module 5 suppresses the intensity variation and the wavelength variation of the laser light of the semiconductor laser element 2 caused by the temperature variation of the semiconductor laser element 2, and the laser light of the semiconductor laser element 2 is suppressed. The intensity and wavelength are kept almost constant.

The ferrule 11 is further fixed to the base 6 by a fixing member 17. Ferrule 1
1 is made of, for example, a metal such as Fe-Ni-Co alloy (Kovar (trademark)), and has a columnar shape, for example. A through hole (not shown) is formed inside the ferrule 11 so as to penetrate from the front end surface 11a to the rear end surface 11b, and the optical fiber 3 is inserted into the through hole and fixed by, for example, solder.

The tip of the optical fiber 3 has a ferrule 1
The laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser element 2 is projected from the front end surface 11a of the laser diode 1 and is arranged at a distance from the light emitting portion (active layer) of the semiconductor laser element 2. In this example, the optical fiber 3 is a lensed fiber having a lens 12 formed at its tip.

The optical fiber 3 drawn out from the rear end face 11b of the ferrule 11 is led out of the package 4, and the laser light incident from the semiconductor laser element 2 to the tip end of the optical fiber 3 passes through the optical fiber 3. It propagates and is guided to the desired supply location.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the fixed portion of the ferrule 11 taken out and seen from above, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an example of the fixing member 17. The fixing member 17 includes a pair of fixing portions 10a and 10b.
(10a ', 10b') are arranged and fixed to the base portion 15 with a space therebetween. This fixing member 17 is laser welded (for example, YA) at the Q position as shown in FIG.
It is fixed to the base 6 by G laser welding.

The ferrule 11 has a front side portion close to the semiconductor laser element 2 and a rear side portion far from the semiconductor laser element 2, and the side surfaces of the ferrule 11 are from both sides.
7 of a pair of fixed parts 10 (10a, 10b, 10a ', 1
0b '), the ferrule 11 is fixed to the fixing portion 10 (10a, 10b, 10a', 10b ') by laser welding (for example, YAG laser welding). Note that, in FIGS. 7 and 8, the welded portion is indicated by a black circle P.

In the manufacturing process of the semiconductor laser module 1, after the semiconductor laser element 2 is fixed to the base 6 via the LD carrier 7, the ferrule 11 is fixed to the base 6 by using the fixing member 17. . An example of this work will be shown. For example, first, the fixing member 17 for fixing the front side of the ferrule 11 is movably arranged at a position estimated to be the fixed position on the base 6.
In this state, the front part of the ferrule 11 is arranged between the fixing parts 10a and 10b of the fixing member 17, and the front part of the ferrule 11 is fixed to the fixing parts 10a and 10b by laser welding. At this time, the optical fiber 3 is aligned with the semiconductor laser element 2 so that the height position of the optical axis of the semiconductor laser element 2 with respect to the base 6 and the height position of the optical axis of the optical fiber 3 substantially coincide with each other. After that (that is, after aligning the optical axis of the semiconductor laser element 2 and the optical axis of the optical fiber 3 in the Y-axis direction), the front part of the ferrule 11 is laser-welded to the fixing portions 10a and 10b. Fix it.

After that, the fixing member 17 to which the front side portion of the ferrule 11 is fixed so that the optical axis of the optical fiber 3 coincides with the optical axis of the semiconductor laser element 2 is moved in the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. It is moved to align the optical axis of the optical fiber 3 in the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. After this alignment, the substrate 15 of the fixing member 17 is fixed to the base 6 by welding while maintaining the alignment.

Incidentally, after fixing the fixing member 17 (substrate 15) to the base 6 in advance, the front side portion of the ferrule 11 is arranged between the fixing portions 10a and 10b of the fixing member 17 to form the semiconductor laser device. The optical fiber 3 is aligned so that the optical axis of 2 and the optical axis of the optical fiber 3 are aligned, and then the front side portion of the ferrule 11 is welded and fixed to the fixing portions 10a and 10b of the fixing member 17. May be.

After that, as shown in FIG. 10, an aligning device (not shown) is used to tilt the rear side of the ferrule 11 with the weld P on the front side as a fulcrum as indicated by an arrow A. As a result, the tip of the optical fiber 3 is slightly moved in the Y-axis direction, and the optical fiber 3 is again aligned with the semiconductor laser element 2 to perform precise alignment of the optical axis. After this re-alignment, the rear side portion of the ferrule 11 is welded and fixed to the fixing portions 10a ′ and 10b ′ of the fixing member 17, and the fixing member 17 is fixed to the base 6 while maintaining this state. Also in this case, the fixing member 17 may be fixed to the base 6 in advance and then the rear side portion of the ferrule 11 may be fixed to the fixing member 17 by welding.

The ferrule 11 is fixed to the base 6 through the fixing member 17 by the above-described work procedure, so that the optical fiber 3 is aligned and fixed to the semiconductor laser element 2.

[0015]

However, since the ferrule 11 is fixed to the fixing portion 10 of the fixing member 17 by laser welding, the ferrule 11 is actually an optical fiber with respect to the optical axis of the semiconductor laser element 2. There is a problem that the optical axis of 3 is displaced.

This is because, in laser welding, the joining target portion of the ferrule 11 and the fixing portion 10 is irradiated with laser light (welding laser light) to locally heat the joining target portion, and the ferrule 11 and the fixing portion are heated. Ferrule 1 by melting 10 metals, instantly solidifying and alloying
This is a method of joining and fixing 1 and the fixing portion 10. At the time of this laser welding, a situation occurs in which the ferrule 11 is displaced with respect to the fixed portion 10 due to melting or solidification shrinkage of the metal.

Therefore, in the process of laser welding the ferrule 11 to the fixing portion 10 of the fixing member 17 after the centering of the optical fiber 3 after the centering, the ferrule 11 is displaced, This causes a problem that the optical fiber 3 is displaced with respect to the semiconductor laser element 2.

On the other hand, EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICAT
The following methods have been proposed in ION EP 0 717 297 A2. In this proposed method, as shown in FIG. 11, after the front part of the ferrule 11 is welded and fixed to the fixing portion 19, the optical fiber 3 is realigned with respect to the semiconductor laser element 2 and the realignment is performed. Afterward, the rear side of the ferrule 11 is fixed to the base 6 by using the fixing member 18 having a unique shape. In the fixing member 18, the rear side of the ferrule 11 is sandwiched by the grip portion 20, and the rear side of the ferrule 11 is laser-welded to the grip portion 20.

When the rear side of the ferrule 11 is laser-welded to the grip portion 20, the positional deviation of the optical fiber 3 caused by the laser welding as described above occurs. Therefore, in order to correct the positional deviation of the optical fiber 3. , The fixing member 18 is plastically deformed, and the optical fiber 3 is aligned again. Then, the shape of the fixing member 18 is fixed while the optical fiber 3 is aligned.

As described above, in the proposed method, after the rear side of the ferrule 11 is fixed to the fixing member 18 by laser welding, the optical fiber 3 must be aligned again.

Further, the shape of the fixing member 18 is complicated, which increases the cost of the fixing member 18,
Due to this, there is a problem that the price of the semiconductor laser module 1 becomes high.

Further, the ferrule 11 and the fixing member 18
After laser welding, the fixing member 18 is plastically deformed to realign the optical fiber 3,
It is necessary to perform alignment in anticipation of the return due to elastic deformation of. Therefore, there is a problem that the alignment work takes a lot of time and the manufacturing efficiency of the semiconductor laser module 1 is reduced.

Further, by repeating the work of tilting the ferrule 11 with the laser welding portion on the front side of the ferrule 11 as a fulcrum to align the optical fiber 3, the welded portion on the front side of the ferrule 11 is twisted or the like. Distortion is likely to occur. Due to the distortion, a crack or the like is generated in the welded portion while the semiconductor laser module 1 is being used, and the position shift of the optical fiber 3 is caused by the crack, which causes the semiconductor laser module 1 to move. There is a problem that the characteristics are deteriorated and the reliability of the semiconductor laser module 1 is lowered.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is a semiconductor laser module which is easy to manufacture, can improve manufacturing efficiency, and is low in cost and high in reliability. It is to provide a manufacturing method for obtaining.

[0025]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following constitution as means for solving the above problems. That is, a first invention is a semiconductor laser device, a lensed fiber that receives laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser device and propagates the light, a ferrule in which the lensed fiber is inserted and fixed, and a semiconductor laser. In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor laser module having a base on which an element is mounted and fixed, and a fixing member that is sandwiched between side surfaces of the ferrule from both sides and is fixed between the ferrule and the base and fixed to the base,
The lensed fiber inserted and fixed in the ferrule,
A semiconductor laser device that is positioned and fixed on the base is disposed with a space therebetween so that the lensed fiber is aligned with the semiconductor laser device. After this alignment process, the ferrule is placed on the base. Laser welding step of laser welding to the fixing member arranged in, between the centering step and the laser welding step, the positional deviation of the lensed fiber due to the positional deviation of the ferrule occurring in the laser welding step. In anticipation, an offset step of previously shifting the lensed fiber in the opposite direction from the alignment position by the amount of the positional deviation is included.

A second invention comprises the structure of the first invention,
The ferrule is configured such that it is fixed to the base by being sandwiched by a fixing member at a portion on the front side close to the semiconductor laser element and a portion on the rear side far from the semiconductor laser element, and the portion on the front side of the ferrule. It is characterized in that an aligning process and a laser welding process are performed on each of the rear side parts to fix the base to the base, and an offset process is performed on at least the rear side part of the ferrule.

A third aspect of the present invention comprises the configuration of the first or second aspect of the present invention, in which data on the amount of misalignment of the lensed fiber due to laser welding is detected in advance, and based on this detection data, before laser welding. It is characterized in that the amount of displacement of the lensed fiber is determined in advance, and the lensed fiber is displaced from the centering position by the amount of displacement, and then laser welding is performed.

A fourth aspect of the present invention comprises the structure of the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the ferrule and the fixing member are arranged with a minute gap therebetween, and the ferrule and the fixing member are to be joined. It is assumed that the ferrule and the fixing member are welded and fixed to each other by irradiating a laser beam to the lens, and the amount of shift of the lensed fiber before laser welding is created in advance with the interval between the ferrule and the fixing member as a parameter. When shifting the lensed fiber before laser welding, detect the distance between the ferrule and the fixing member, and use this detected value,
The shift amount of the lensed fiber is determined based on the shift amount data of the lensed fiber.

A fifth aspect of the present invention has the structure of the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the ferrule and the fixing member are arranged with a minute gap therebetween, and the ferrule and the fixing member are to be joined. The method of welding and fixing the ferrule and the fixing member by irradiating the ferrule with a laser beam is adopted, and the side surface of the ferrule and the surface of the fixing member facing the side surface of the ferrule are not parallel to each other. It is assumed that the spacing between the fixing member and the ferrule differs depending on the placement height of the ferrule with respect to, and the data of the lensed fiber shift amount before laser welding is created in advance with the placement height of the ferrule with respect to the fixing member as a parameter. Incidentally, when the lensed fiber is displaced before laser welding, the placement height of the ferrule with respect to the fixing member is detected. On the basis of the shift amount data of mode fiber is characterized by determining the shift amount of lensed fiber.

A sixth aspect of the invention comprises the configuration of any one of the first to fifth aspects of the invention, and in consideration of the output energy amount of the welding laser light, the shift amount of the lensed fiber before laser welding is set. It is characterized by making a decision.

In the present invention, after the alignment of the lensed fiber, the lensed fiber is displaced from the alignment position in anticipation of the positional deviation of the lensed fiber caused by laser welding.
After that, the ferrule is fixed to the fixing member by laser welding. In this laser welding process, the ferrule is displaced by laser welding and the lensed fiber returns to the centering position. In this way, since the lensed fiber returns to the centering position due to the displacement of the ferrule due to laser welding, after this laser welding, again,
It is not necessary to align the lensed fiber. Thereby, work efficiency can be improved.

Further, even if a fixing member having a complicated shape as shown in FIG. 11 is not used, an inexpensive fixing member having a simple shape is employed to fix the lensed fiber at the centering position. Therefore, the cost of parts can be reduced, and the cost of the semiconductor laser module can be reduced.

Further, for example, it is not necessary to tilt the rear side of the ferrule with the welded part on the front side of the ferrule as a fulcrum to align the lensed fiber a plurality of times, so that the welded part on the front side of the ferrule is not required. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of strain due to torsional stress and the like. As a result, it is possible to prevent the ferrule (lensed fiber) from being displaced due to aged deterioration of the welded portion due to the distortion. Therefore, the reliability of the semiconductor laser module can be improved.

[0034]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the first embodiment, an example of a method for manufacturing a semiconductor laser module according to the present invention will be described by taking the semiconductor laser module shown in FIG. 7 as an example. In the first embodiment, the description of the structure of the semiconductor laser module shown in FIG. 7 has been described above, and will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, the fixing member 17
The process is characterized in that the ferrule 11 is fixed to the base 6 by using. Regarding the other manufacturing steps, the manufacturing method is not particularly limited, and any method may be adopted, and the description thereof will be omitted here.

In the first embodiment, on the base 6,
With the semiconductor laser element 2 fixed via the LD carrier 7, first, as shown in FIG. 1A, the optical fiber (lensed fiber) 3 inserted through the ferrule 11 is fixed to the semiconductor laser The optical fiber 3 is arranged so as to face the element 2 with a space therebetween, and the optical fiber 3 is aligned with the semiconductor laser element 2. The reference numeral 22 shown in FIG.
Indicates the light emitting portion (active layer) of the semiconductor laser element 2.

The method of aligning the optical fiber 3 is not particularly limited, but an example thereof is as follows. For example, a laser beam is emitted from the semiconductor laser element 2 and the laser beam is incident on the optical fiber 3. -While propagating, the placement position of the ferrule 11 is slightly deviated by using a centering jig (not shown) or the like to adjust the position where the intensity (power) of the laser light propagating through the optical fiber 3 is the strongest. Set as the heart position.
In addition, alignment work may be performed as follows.
For example, driving means such as a stepping motor is attached to the aligning jig, and a light intensity detecting device for detecting the intensity of the laser light propagating through the optical fiber 3 is provided. Then, the computer shifts the arrangement position of the ferrule 11 based on the drive information of the drive means and the detection information of the light intensity of the light intensity detection device, and automatically adjusts the optical fiber 3 to the alignment position. May be. Alternatively, a person may adjust the amount of movement of the ferrule 11 by the driving means and align the optical fiber 3 while monitoring the detection result of the light intensity by the light intensity detection device.

After such an aligning step, the fixing portions 10a and 10b of the fixing member 17 arranged on the base 6 and the front portion of the ferrule 11 are laser-welded (for example, YAG laser welding). A laser welding process of welding and fixing is performed, and the fixing portion 10a,
A situation occurs in which the ferrule 11 is displaced with respect to 10b and the optical fiber 3 is displaced. For this reason,
In this first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the optical fiber 3 is preliminarily moved from the centering position to the position shifting between the centering process and the laser welding process, as shown in FIG. 1B. The position is displaced in the direction opposite to the above direction by the amount corresponding to the amount. In this specification, the shifting process is referred to as an offset process.

The shift amount (hereinafter referred to as offset amount) and the shift direction (hereinafter referred to as offset direction) at this time are determined in advance based on experimental data. That is, if the constituent materials of the ferrule 11 and the fixing member 17 (fixing part 10) and the conditions such as the laser welding method are substantially equal, the positional deviation amount and the direction of the optical fiber 3 due to the laser welding are substantially the same. is there.

From this, a large amount of positional deviation amount of the optical fiber 3 due to laser welding and data of the deviation direction are detected in advance by experiments, and the offset amount and the offset direction are determined based on the detected data. deep. Then, with the predetermined offset amount and offset direction, the optical fiber 3 is displaced from the alignment position before laser welding.

In the example shown in FIG. 1 (b), the offset direction is an oblique upper right direction, but of course, the positional deviation direction of the optical fiber 3 due to laser welding differs depending on various conditions, and the offset direction is However, the direction is not limited to that shown in FIG. Further, since the power of the light propagated from the semiconductor laser element 2 to the optical fiber 3 changes due to the positional deviation of the optical fiber 3 caused by the laser welding, the power fluctuation amount of the propagated light caused by the laser welding is changed. It is also possible to detect the positional deviation amount of the fiber 3 by experiment and to predetermine the offset amount and the offset direction based on the detected data.

After the offset process, as shown in FIG. 1C, the front side of the ferrule 11 is joined to the fixed portion 10 (10a, 10b) of the fixing member 17 at the position P, for example, by laser welding. . With this laser welding,
The ferrule 11 is displaced and the optical fiber 3 is returned to the alignment position.

After that, the rear side of the ferrule 11 is tilted with the welded portion P between the front side of the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10 as a fulcrum, and the optical fiber 3 is realigned with respect to the semiconductor laser element 2. By this re-alignment, the alignment position of the optical fiber 3 is determined as shown in FIG. 2A, and thereafter, the rear side of the ferrule 11 is fixed to the fixing portion 10 (10a) of the fixing member 17 by laser welding. ', 10b') are joined and fixed, but in this case also, the rear side of the ferrule 11 is displaced due to the laser welding, and the alignment state of the optical fiber 3 collapses.

Therefore, even when the rear side of the ferrule 11 is fixed to the fixing portion 10 by welding, the ferrule 11 is aligned before the laser welding, as shown in FIG. To the offset direction by a predetermined offset amount.

After this offset process, as shown in FIG. 2C, the rear side of the ferrule 11 is joined to the fixed portion 10 (10a ', 10b') at the position P by laser welding. By this laser welding, ferrule 1
The rear side of 1 is displaced, and the optical fiber 3 returns to the alignment position.

According to the first embodiment, laser welding is performed in which the ferrule 11 is joined and fixed to the fixing portion 10 of the fixing member 17 by laser welding after performing the offset step after the centering step of the optical fiber 3. Since the process is configured, the ferrule 11 is displaced due to the laser welding, whereby the optical fiber 3 is returned to the alignment position,
The optical fiber 3 can be fixed to the base 6 in an aligned state.

As a result, after the rear side of the ferrule 11 is welded and fixed to the fixing member 17, it is not necessary to re-align the optical fiber 3 to correct the positional deviation due to the laser welding. The efficiency can be increased and the manufacturing time of the semiconductor laser module 1 can be shortened.

Further, since the re-alignment of the optical fiber 3 is not necessary, it is not necessary to use the fixing member 18 having a complicated shape as shown in FIG. That is, the optical fiber 3 is made by using the fixing member having a simple shape.
Since the (ferrule 11) can be fixed to the base 6, the cost of parts can be reduced and the cost of the semiconductor laser module 1 can be easily reduced.

Further, the fixing member 1 as shown in FIG.
When using No. 8, since the rear side of the ferrule 11 is welded and fixed to the fixing member 18, the centering step of the optical fiber 3 is performed again, and therefore the front side of the ferrule 11 is caused by the re-centering step. There was a high probability that distortion due to torsional stress or the like would occur in the weld P on the side. Due to the distortion, there is a problem in that, while the semiconductor laser module 1 is used, a crack or the like is generated in the welded portion P and the characteristics of the semiconductor laser module 1 are deteriorated.

On the other hand, in the first embodiment,
Since it is not necessary to perform the re-centering process of the optical fiber 3 after the rear side of the ferrule 11 is welded and fixed to the fixing portion 10,
It is possible to suppress the occurrence of distortion due to torsional stress or the like at the weld P on the front side of the ferrule 11. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the aged deterioration of the welded portion P due to the distortion, and it is possible to enhance the reliability of the semiconductor laser module 1.

Further, when the front side of the ferrule 11 is welded and fixed to the fixed portion 10, the ferrule 11 is caused not only in the Y direction with respect to the fixed portion 10 due to the laser welding,
There may be a displacement in the Z direction as well. In such a case, according to the conventional method, with respect to the positional displacement of the optical fiber 3 in the Y direction due to the positional displacement of the ferrule 11,
Although it can be corrected by tilting the rear side of the ferrule 11 to perform the centering work of the optical fiber 3, the misalignment of the optical fiber 3 in the Z direction cannot be corrected, and the misalignment remains. It had become.

On the other hand, in the first embodiment,
Before welding and fixing the front side of the ferrule 11 to the fixing portion 10, the ferrule 11 is offset-moved in consideration of not only the positional deviation of the ferrule 11 in the Y direction due to laser welding but also the positional deviation in the Z direction. After the front side of the ferrule 11 is welded and fixed to the fixing portion 10, the optical fiber 3 can be accurately placed in the centering position in both the Y direction and the Z direction.

Further, by performing the offset operation before welding and fixing the front side of the ferrule 11, the rear side of the ferrule 11 is tilted when the rear side of the ferrule 11 is tilted to realign the optical fiber 3. The tilting amount of can be reduced. As a result, the load on the front welded portion P due to the rearward tilting of the ferrule 11 can be reduced. Further, by performing the offset operation before welding and fixing the rear side of the ferrule 11, it is not necessary to realign the optical fiber 3 after welding and fixing the rear side of the ferrule 11. In the first embodiment, the case where the front side of the ferrule 11 is fixed by welding and the case of the ferrule 1
In both the case where the rear side of 1 is fixed by welding, the offset operation is performed before the welding, so that both the effect of the front side offset operation of the ferrule 11 and the effect of the rear side offset operation are obtained. Obtainable.

If the output energy amount of the welding laser light for welding the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10 is large, the positional deviation amount of the optical fiber 3 due to the laser welding becomes large. The amount of displacement of the optical fiber 3 varies depending on the amount of output energy. From this, for example, when it is considered that the output energy amount of the welding laser light can be varied, the offset amount data of the optical fiber 3 is created in advance using the output energy amount of the welding laser light as a parameter, It is desirable to determine the offset amount of the optical fiber 3 according to the output energy amount of the welding laser light.

Although an example of performing the offset process on the front part and the rear part of the ferrule 11 is shown here, the offset process on the front part of the ferrule 11 is omitted, The positional deviation of the optical fiber 3 due to the laser welding of the front side portion may be absorbed by the centering step and the offset step when fixing the rear side portion of the ferrule 11 to the fixing portion 10.

The second embodiment will be described below. In the description of the second embodiment, duplicated description of the portions common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a gap S is formed between the ferrule 11 and the fixing portion 10 of the fixing member 17, and in this state, the ferrule 11 and the fixing portion 10 are formed. The case where the ferrule 11 is welded and fixed to the fixing portion 10 by irradiating the joining target site with laser light is targeted. A gap may be formed between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10 on both the front side and the rear side of the ferrule 11, and between the fixed portion 10 and the fixed portion 10 only on one of the front side and the rear side of the ferrule 11. There may be a gap formed in. In the second embodiment example, either case may be used. In addition, at the front side portion of the ferrule 11, a gap is formed between the ferrule 11 and the fixing portion 10 so that the ferrule 11 is welded and fixed, so that the rear side of the ferrule 11 is tilted to perform a centering operation. The side can be easily tilted.

For example, the diameter R of the ferrule 11 is 1 mm, and the output energy amount of the laser welding machine is about 5 to 6.5.
In the case of J, when the distance d between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10 was about 5 μm, the amount of displacement of the optical fiber 3 due to laser welding was about 11.3 μm. When the distance d is about 10 μm, the amount of positional deviation of the optical fiber 3 caused by laser welding is about 12.1 μm.
It was m. As shown in this specific example, the amount of positional deviation of the ferrule 11 (optical fiber 3) due to laser welding differs due to the difference in the distance d between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10. This is the focus of attention in this second embodiment.

By the way, in the second embodiment, the fixed portion 10 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the ferrule 11 has a cylindrical shape. From this, in the joining target portion of the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10, the surface of the ferrule 11 facing each other and the surface of the fixed portion 10 are not parallel to each other. Therefore, the fixed portions 10a and 10b (10a ′, 10
Even if the intervals between b ′) are the same, if the arrangement height of the ferrule 11 with respect to the fixed portion 10 is different, as shown in FIGS.
Therefore, the distance d between the fixed portion 10 and the fixed portion 10 is different.

As described above, the positional deviation amount of the ferrule 11 (optical fiber 3) due to laser welding is different due to the difference in the distance d between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10. Therefore, this second embodiment is different. Then, in consideration of the distance d between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10, the offset process before laser welding is performed.

For example, the relationship between the distance d between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10 at the site to be joined and the amount of positional deviation of the ferrule 11 due to laser welding was previously obtained by an experiment, and the ferrule 11 was determined based on this experimental data. Data of the offset amount (shift amount) of the optical fiber 3 before laser welding is created in advance using the distance d between the fixing portions 10 (fixing members 17) as a parameter. If it is necessary to shift the optical fiber 3 from the centering position in the Y direction and the Z direction by the offset work, for example, as shown in FIG. 1B, the offset amount data for each direction is created. The Rukoto. In addition, of course, the offset energy data of the optical fiber 3 is created in consideration of the output energy amount of the welding laser light.

When performing the offset process before laser welding, the distance d between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10 is detected, and based on the detected value and the offset amount data of the optical fiber 3, Determine the offset amount. After that, the optical fiber 3 is replaced by the determined offset amount.
Shift. Then, the ferrule 11 is laser-welded to the fixed portion 10.

According to the second embodiment, when the gap S is formed between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10, the offset d of the optical fiber 3 is taken into consideration in consideration of the distance d between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10. It was decided to determine the amount. Therefore, the positional deviation amount of the ferrule 11 (optical fiber 3) caused by the laser welding is not adversely affected by the change in the distance d between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10, and the laser welding is performed accurately after the laser welding. The optical fiber 3 can be returned to the centering position.

As a result, the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10
Even when the gap S is formed between them, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

The third embodiment will be described below. In the description of the third embodiment, duplicate description of the parts common to the respective embodiments will be omitted.

In the third embodiment, similar to the second embodiment, the case where the gap S is formed between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10 is targeted. In the third embodiment, the ferrule 1 for the fixing portion 10 of the fixing member 17 is used.
It was noted that there is a correlation between the arrangement height of 1 and the distance d between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10. Therefore, in the third embodiment, the information on the arrangement height of the ferrule 11 with respect to the fixed portion 10 is used as the information on the distance d between the ferrule 11 and the fixed portion 10. Other than that is the same as the second embodiment.

For example, the relationship between the height H of the top of the ferrule 11 with respect to the upper surface of the fixed portion 10 and the amount of positional deviation of the optical fiber 3 due to laser welding is obtained in advance by experiments. Then, based on this experimental data, data of the offset amount (shift amount) of the optical fiber 3 with the height H of the top of the ferrule 11 with respect to the upper surface of the fixed portion 10 as a parameter is created in advance. When performing the offset work, the height H of the top of the ferrule 11 with respect to the upper surface of the fixed portion 10 is detected, and the offset amount is calculated based on the detected value and the offset amount data of the optical fiber 3. decide. Then, by the calculated offset amount,
The optical fiber 3 is displaced from the centering position, and then the ferrule 11 is welded and fixed to the fixing portion 10.

Also in the third embodiment, the same effect as in the second embodiment can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but various embodiments can be adopted. For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the ferrule 11 has a cylindrical shape, but may have a polygonal cross section as shown in FIG. 5, for example, and the shape is not particularly limited.

Also, the shape of the fixing member is not particularly limited, and any suitable shape can be adopted. For example, the shape shown in FIG. 6 may be used. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the fixing member 25 for fixing the front side of the ferrule 11 to the base 6 has fixing portions 26a and 26b forming a pair, and the distance between the fixing portions 26a and 26b is fixed. belongs to. Note that, for example, the fixing portions 26a and 26b
When the ferrule 11 is arranged between the optical fiber 3 and the optical fiber 3 in the centering position, the ferrule 11 and the fixing portions 26a, 26
The distance between the fixed portions 26a and 26b is set so that the distance d between the fixed portions 26a and 26b is about 0 to 20 μm.

The fixing member 27 for fixing the rear side of the ferrule 11 is composed of a pair of fixing portions 28a and 28a.
b. Those fixed parts 28a, 28
The side surface of b is guided by the guide portions 29 from both sides, and is slidable in the X direction before the arrangement position adjustment. After the ferrule 11 is placed between the fixed portions 28a and 28b, the fixed portions 28a and 2
Adjusting the arrangement position of 8b, each fixing portion 28a, 2
The fixing portions 28a and 28b are fixed to the guide portion 29 by, for example, YAG laser welding at a position where the distance between the ferrule 11 and 8b is 0 to about 5 μm.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the laser welding process is performed after the offset process is performed on both the front side and the rear side of the ferrule 11. The offset work may be performed before laser welding on only one side.

Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the semiconductor laser module 1 shown in FIG. 7 has been described as an example, but in the manufacturing method of the present invention, the ferrule in which the lensed fiber is inserted and fixed uses a fixing member. Fixed to the base,
Any semiconductor laser module of the type in which the ferrule and the fixing member are joined by laser welding can be applied.

[0075]

According to the present invention, after the centering step, the lensed fiber is preliminarily moved in the opposite direction from the centering position by the amount of the positional deviation, in anticipation of the positional deviation of the lensed fiber generated in the laser welding step. After the shift, it was decided to perform laser welding. Therefore, by laser welding the ferrule and the fixing member, the ferrule is displaced and the lensed fiber can be returned to the centering position.

As a result, it is not necessary to re-align the lensed fiber in order to correct the positional deviation due to laser welding, and the manufacturing efficiency of the semiconductor laser module can be increased accordingly.

Further, it is not necessary to use a fixing member having a complicated shape in order to correct the positional deviation due to laser welding, and this can reduce the cost of parts and reduce the cost of the semiconductor laser module. It becomes easy to reduce the cost.

Further, for example, after the rear side of the ferrule is welded and fixed to the fixing member, it is not necessary to correct the deviation of the lensed fiber due to laser welding. The problem of characteristic deterioration of the semiconductor laser module, which is a problem caused by the mind, can be suppressed, and the reliability of the semiconductor laser module can be improved.

Further, in a state where the ferrule and the fixing member are arranged with a minute gap therebetween, a laser beam is irradiated to the joining target portion of the ferrule and the fixing member to weld and fix the ferrule and the fixing member. In order to determine the shift amount of the lensed fiber before laser welding in consideration of the distance between the ferrule and the fixing member, the method of
Although the amount of misalignment of the lensed fiber caused by laser welding is different, the lensed fiber is returned to the centering position by laser welding without being adversely affected by the change in the amount of misalignment of the lensed fiber due to the difference in the distance. It is possible to achieve the above-mentioned excellent effects.

Further, since there is a correlation between the interval between the ferrule and the fixing member and the arrangement height of the ferrule with respect to the fixing member, the information of the arrangement height of the ferrule with respect to the fixing member is referred to as the ferrule. By using the information as the distance between the fixing members, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

Further, since the amount of positional deviation of the lensed fiber due to laser welding differs depending on the output energy amount of the welding laser light, the lensed fiber before laser welding is taken into consideration in consideration of the output energy amount of the welding laser light. By determining the shift amount, the lensed fiber can be returned to the alignment position by laser welding with higher accuracy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a manufacturing process of a semiconductor laser module in a first embodiment example.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the manufacturing process of the semiconductor laser module in the first embodiment example, following FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a model diagram showing an arrangement example of the ferrule and the fixing member when a gap is formed between the ferrule and the fixing member.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining that the interval between the ferrule and the fixing member is different due to the difference in arrangement height of the ferrule.

FIG. 5 is a model diagram showing another example of the shape of a ferrule.

FIG. 6 is a model diagram showing another form example of the fixing member.

FIG. 7 is a model diagram showing a structural example of a semiconductor laser module by a schematic sectional view.

FIG. 8 is a top view schematically showing the ferrule disposition fixed portion of the semiconductor laser module shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a model view showing one form example of a fixing member.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining an example of aligning work before welding and fixing the rear side of the ferrule to the fixing member.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a proposed method for correcting the positional deviation of the lensed fiber after welding and fixing the rear side of the ferrule to the fixing member.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Semiconductor laser module 2 Semiconductor laser device 3 optical fiber 6 base 11 ferrules 17 Fixing member

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kaoru Sekiguchi             2-6-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Kawa Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Haruhiko Shibayama             2-6-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Kawa Electric Industry Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 2H037 AA01 BA02 CA07 CA08 DA03                       DA04 DA16 DA18                 4E068 DA09                 5F073 AB28 BA01 EA29 FA05 FA07                       FA25 FA30

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A semiconductor laser device, a semiconductor laser device, a lensed fiber for receiving a laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser device and propagating the laser beam, a ferrule into which the lensed fiber is inserted and fixed, and a semiconductor laser device. In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor laser module, comprising: a base to be fixed, and a fixing member sandwiching side surfaces of the ferrule from both sides and being fixed between the ferrule and the base, and being fixed to the base. Inserted and fixed lensed fiber,
An aligning step for aligning the lensed fiber with respect to the semiconductor laser element by facing the semiconductor laser element positioned and fixed on the base with a gap, and after this aligning step, the ferrule is placed on the base. Laser welding step of laser welding to the fixing member arranged in, between the centering step and the laser welding step, the positional deviation of the lensed fiber due to the positional deviation of the ferrule occurring in the laser welding step. In anticipation, the method further comprises an offset step of previously shifting the lensed fiber from the centering position in the opposite direction by the amount of the positional deviation, and manufacturing the semiconductor laser module. 2. The ferrule is configured to be sandwiched by a fixing member and fixed to a base at a portion on the front side close to the semiconductor laser element and a portion on the rear side far from the semiconductor laser element. The centering step and the laser welding step are performed on each of the front side portion and the rear side portion to fix them to the base, and the offset step is performed on at least the rear side portion of the ferrule. 1
A method for manufacturing the semiconductor laser module described. 3. Data of the amount of displacement of the lensed fiber caused by laser welding is detected in advance, and the amount of displacement of the lensed fiber before laser welding is determined in advance based on this detection data, and the amount of displacement is calculated. 3. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor laser module according to claim 1, wherein the laser welding is performed only after the lensed fiber is displaced from the alignment position. 4. The ferrule and the fixing member are welded and fixed by irradiating the ferrule and the fixing member with a laser beam to a joining target portion of the ferrule and the fixing member with a minute gap therebetween. Data of the amount of lensed fiber shift before laser welding is created in advance using the distance between the ferrule and the fixing member as a parameter, and when shifting the lensed fiber before laser welding, The distance between the fixing member and the fixing member is detected, and the shift amount of the lensed fiber is determined based on the detected value and the shift amount data of the lensed fiber. 2. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor laser module according to 2. 5. The ferrule and the fixing member are welded and fixed to each other by irradiating a laser beam to a joining target portion of the ferrule and the fixing member with the ferrule and the fixing member disposed with a minute gap therebetween. In addition, the side surface of the ferrule and the surface of the fixing member facing the side surface of the ferrule are non-parallel, and due to the difference in the placement height of the ferrule with respect to the fixing member, the distance between the fixing member and the ferrule is increased. When the distance is different, the data of the shift amount of the lensed fiber before laser welding is created in advance by using the placement height of the ferrule with respect to the fixing member as a parameter, and when shifting the lensed fiber before laser welding, Detects the placement height of the ferrule with respect to the fixing member, and based on this detection value and the data of the amount of displacement of the lensed fiber, 3. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor laser module according to claim 1, wherein the shift amount of the wound fiber is determined. 6. The shift amount of the lensed fiber before laser welding is determined in consideration of the output energy amount of the welding laser light, according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Manufacturing method of semiconductor laser module.