JP2003107274A - Optical circuit component and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical circuit component which has high coupling fixability and mountability between an optical waveguide, and an optical fiber and a semiconductor element and to provide a method for manufacturing the optical circuit component. SOLUTION: Grooves 4 for optical waveguide and reference grooves 3 for fixing a single or a plurality of optical fibers 5 are formed in a glass substrate 1 by a mold material, and a substrate 2 which has a refractive index equal to or nearly equal to that of the glass substrate 1 is stuck to an optical waveguide part where the grooves 4 for optical waveguide are formed, and recessed parts of the grooves 4 for optical waveguide are filled with a material 11 having a refractive index higher than that of the glass substrate 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical circuit component used for optical communication and the like and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the development of optical communication has been remarkable and has been applied and put to practical use in public communication, CATV, computer networks and the like. However, from the point of view of parts, it has only a few days of practical application, and there are many problems in terms of size reduction and mass productivity for wider spread.
For example, an optical transceiver is composed of a semiconductor laser as a light emitting element, a laser drive circuit, a light receiving element, a demodulation circuit, and an optical fiber. It is necessary to adjust and assemble each optical and electrical component with high precision. It takes man-hours. In order to further popularize the optical communication system, there is a demand for miniaturization, multifunctionalization, integration and cost reduction of optical circuit components. Particularly, in introducing a subscriber optical communication system, downsizing and cost reduction of optical circuit components are indispensable.

On the other hand, as a function required for this subscriber system, a function such as wavelength division multiplex transmission and bidirectional transmission is required by utilizing the wide band property of the optical communication. Several optical packaging circuit boards using an optical waveguide have been proposed. A quartz optical waveguide having a desired function is formed on a silicon substrate by a flame deposition method, and a metal electrode is further wired to mount a semiconductor element, an electric circuit, or the like. An optical fiber is mounted on a substrate having a V groove formed. An optical module is formed by connecting the arranged ones (see, for example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3, and Patent Document 4).

[0004]

[Patent Document 1] JP-A-5-60952

[Patent Document 2] JP-A-61-245594

[Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-27140

[Patent Document 4] JP-A-5-60940

[0005]

However, in these optical circuit parts, as shown in FIG. 13, the optical waveguide substrate 61 having the optical waveguide 63, the light emitting element 67, the light receiving element 65, and the electrode wiring 64, and the optical fiber 68 are fixed. The groove substrate 62 for use is separated. In order to couple the optical waveguide 63 and the optical fiber 68 with low loss, adjustment, assembly and fixing of 1 μm or less are required. V of the groove substrate 62 for fixing the optical fiber 68
Since the selective etching of the silicon substrate and the cutting method of the ceramic substrate are used for forming the groove, there is a drawback that the processing accuracy and mass productivity are poor. Although a V-groove with high accuracy can be formed on a silicon substrate by etching, the V-groove is limited to the V-shape, so that it has a drawback that the degree of freedom is small. Furthermore, when the materials of the optical waveguide substrate 61 and the groove substrate 62 are different, the linear expansion coefficient is different, so that they are vulnerable to temperature fluctuations. Also,
When mounting a semiconductor element or an electric component on a silicon substrate, it is necessary to form an insulating layer on the substrate. Even if the semiconductor element is directly formed on the silicon substrate, the optical waveguide 63
Since the area of the part becomes large, the number of elements that can be obtained from one wafer is reduced, and there is no cost merit due to the semiconductor process.

In view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional optical circuit component, the present invention has an object to provide an optical circuit component having a good fixing property of the optical waveguide, the optical fiber and the semiconductor element, and a good mountability, and a manufacturing method thereof. Is.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a first substrate having a groove for an optical waveguide and a fixing groove for fixing an optical fiber is bonded to an optical waveguide portion having the groove for the optical waveguide. A member having a refractive index equal to or close to that of the first substrate, and a second substrate filled in the recess of the optical waveguide groove and having a higher refractive index than the first substrate. And an optical circuit component.

[0008]

In the optical circuit component of the present invention, the optical waveguide groove and the fixing groove for fixing one or a plurality of optical fibers are formed by the mold material having the convex or concave molding portion on the surface. A second substrate having a refractive index equal to or close to that of the first substrate is attached to an optical waveguide portion formed on a substrate and having the optical waveguide groove, and the concave portion of the optical waveguide groove is provided with the second substrate. It is manufactured by filling with a material having a higher refractive index than the first substrate.

In the optical circuit component of the present invention, the optical waveguide groove and the fixing groove for fixing one or a plurality of optical fibers are formed by a mold material having a convex or concave molding portion on the surface. It is formed on a first substrate, a material layer having a higher refractive index than the first substrate is formed on the first substrate so that the optical waveguide groove is filled, and the material layer is polished. A portion other than the portion of the optical waveguide groove is removed, and a first substrate having a refractive index equal to or close to that of the first substrate is attached to the optical waveguide portion having the waveguide groove. Manufactured by.

In the optical circuit component of the present invention, the optical waveguide groove is formed on the waveguide substrate by the first mold material, and
A fixing groove for fixing one or more optical fibers by the second mold material is formed on a fixing substrate having a refractive index equal to or close to that of the waveguide substrate, and the waveguide substrate and the waveguide substrate After adhering the fixing substrate, the concave portion of the optical waveguide groove is filled with a material having a higher refractive index than the waveguide substrate or the fixing substrate.

In the optical circuit component of the present invention, the optical waveguide groove is formed on the waveguide substrate by the first mold material, and
A fixing groove for fixing one or more optical fibers by the second mold member is formed on a fixing substrate having a refractive index equal to or close to that of the waveguide substrate, and the fixing groove is formed on the waveguide substrate. , A material layer having a higher refractive index than the waveguide substrate is formed so that the optical waveguide groove is filled, and the material layer is polished to remove a portion other than the optical waveguide groove portion. It is manufactured by bonding the waveguide substrate and the fixing substrate thus manufactured.

The present invention can realize an integrated optical circuit component and a method of manufacturing the optical circuit component, which can be positioned with high accuracy, can be manufactured at low cost and have high productivity, by the above-described structure and manufacturing method.

[0013]

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

FIG. 1 shows steps of a first method of manufacturing an optical circuit component of the present invention. First, an optical fiber fixing (reference) groove 3 and an optical waveguide groove 4 are formed on a transparent glass or resin substrate 1 with a mold material (not shown) (FIG. 1).
a). FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the molded substrate 1. Here, a 4 to 4 star coupler is shown as an example,
It is not necessarily limited to this. Next, the substrate 1 in which the concave optical waveguide groove 4 is formed in this way has a value equal to or close to that of the substrate 1, preferably a refractive index difference of 0.
A transparent substrate 2 of glass or resin having a refractive index of 05 or less, more preferably 0.01 or less, is bonded by direct bonding or adhesion by heat treatment (FIG. 1b). Next, the concave portion of the optical waveguide groove 4 is filled with the transparent material 11 having a value higher than the refractive index of the substrate 1 or 2 (see FIG. 1).
c). Thereby, the optical waveguide portion is formed. After that, the optical fiber 5 is fixed in the optical fiber fixing groove 3 (FIG. 1d).

FIG. 3 shows the steps of the second method for manufacturing an optical circuit component of the present invention. First, an optical fiber fixing groove 23 and an optical waveguide groove 24 are formed on a transparent glass or resin substrate 21 with a mold material (not shown) (FIG. 3a). Next, the glass layer 22 having a higher refractive index than the substrate 21 is entirely formed so as to fill the waveguide groove 24 (FIG. 3b). Next, the buried layer 22 is polished to a predetermined thickness, and the portions other than the waveguide portion 27 of the groove 24 are removed by polishing or etching (FIG. 3c). Next, a transparent substrate 25 made of glass or resin having a refractive index equal to or close to that of the substrate 21 is attached by direct bonding or adhesion by heat treatment (FIG. 3d). After that, the optical fiber 26 is fixed in the optical fiber fixing groove 23 (see FIG. 3).
e).

FIG. 4 shows steps of the fourth manufacturing method of the present invention. First, the waveguide substrate 3 is made of a mold material (not shown).
The optical waveguide groove 34 is formed in 2. Also, the substrate 32
An optical fiber fixing groove 33 is formed by a mold material (not shown) on a transparent fiber fixing substrate 31 made of glass or resin having a refractive index equal to or close to (FIG. 4a). FIG. 5 shows the fiber fixing substrate 31 after molding.
FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the waveguide substrate 32 after molding.
Next, the substrate 32 in which the waveguide groove 34 is formed and the substrate 31 in which the fiber fixing groove 33 is formed are bonded together by heat treatment (FIG. 4B). Next, in the optical waveguide groove 34,
It is filled with a transparent material having a value higher than the refractive index of the substrate 1 or 2 (FIG. 4c). Thereafter, the optical fiber 35 is fixed in the optical fiber fixing groove 33 (FIG. 4d).

FIG. 7 shows the steps of the fourth manufacturing method of the present invention. First, a transparent glass or resin waveguide substrate 4
A groove 44 for an optical waveguide is formed in 2 by a mold material (not shown). Further, the optical fiber fixing groove 43 is formed by a mold material (not shown) on the glass or resin transparent fiber fixing substrate 41 having a refractive index equal to or close to that of the substrate 42 (FIG. 7a). Next, a glass burying layer 45 having a higher refractive index than the substrate 42 is formed on the substrate 32 so as to fill the recess of the waveguide groove 44 (FIG. 7b). Next, the buried layer 45 is polished to a predetermined thickness, and the portion other than the waveguide portion 47 having the optical waveguide groove 44 is removed by polishing or the like (FIG. 7C).
After that, the substrate 42 and the fiber fixing substrate 41 are bonded by direct bonding or adhesion by heat treatment (FIG. 7d). Then, the optical fiber 46 is fixed in the optical fiber fixing groove 43 (FIG. 7e).

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, in any of the above-mentioned manufacturing methods, there is a portion where the end portion of the optical waveguide exists and an end portion of the fixing groove (at a position facing each other) adjacent to the end portion. Grind and cut the part and the specified width at the same time,
It is desirable to flatten the end face on the optical waveguide side. This is a technique for solving the following disadvantages of the manufacturing method. That is, in the above-described manufacturing method, when the two upper and lower substrates are bonded together, the bonding accuracy is incorrect, or the waveguide end face 81 is distorted when the groove is formed by the mold member. In addition, the filling material may spill out, and even if the optical fiber is placed in the fixing groove due to various reasons,
The position of the end of the optical fiber may not be accurately adjusted to the end of the groove for the optical waveguide. This, by the polishing cutting,
By flattening the area around the groove end portion for the optical waveguide, the position of the end portion of the optical fiber can be accurately adjusted to the groove end portion for the optical waveguide. This makes it possible to connect the fiber to the waveguide with low loss and low reflection. Reference numeral 82 is a groove formed during this polishing and cutting. FIG. 9 is a side view when the optical fibers 91 and 92 are mounted on the substrate 93 after such polishing and cutting. By flattening the end face 94 of the optical waveguide, the optical fibers 91 and 92 are brought into close contact with each other and the waveguide 9
5 can be connected.

In the molding of the fiber fixing groove or the waveguide groove in the embodiment of the present invention, for positioning for mounting a light emitting element, a light receiving element, an electrode wiring, an electronic circuit or a semiconductor element, an IC, an LSI. Markers may be marked. This marker may be either convex or concave. FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the substrate on which the marker is engraved. With this marker 104, for example, the waveguide part and the mounting element can be accurately aligned.

The markers are, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a fiber fixing substrate 111 and a waveguide substrate 112.
It may be for sticking together. Fixing substrate 111
Side marker 110 and the waveguide substrate 112 side marker 11
By aligning 4 with each other, the optical fiber and the optical waveguide can be accurately aligned, and a low loss connection can be made. In this case, the markers may be alignment marks or mechanical fittings by a combination of concave and convex. Desirably, a combination of concave and concave or concave and convex is preferable.

[0021]

As is apparent from the above description,
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can provide an optical circuit component that is excellent in coupling / fixability between an optical waveguide, an optical fiber, and a mounting element, mountability, and the like, and is excellent in mass productivity and a manufacturing method thereof.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process diagram of a method for manufacturing an optical circuit component according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an optical circuit component according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a process diagram of a method for manufacturing an optical circuit component according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a process diagram of a method for manufacturing an optical circuit component according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a fiber fixing board component according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a waveguide board component according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a process diagram of a method for manufacturing an optical circuit component according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an optical circuit component according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side view of an optical circuit component according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an optical circuit component according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an optical circuit component according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an optical circuit component according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a conventional optical circuit component.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 substrate 2 substrates 3 Optical fiber fixing groove 4 Optical waveguide groove 5 optical fiber

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A substrate on which a groove for an optical waveguide and a fixing groove for fixing an optical fiber are formed, and an optical waveguide portion having the groove for the optical waveguide bonded to the substrate and having the same refractive index as the substrate. Alternatively, an optical circuit component comprising a member having a similar refractive index and a material with which the concave portion of the optical waveguide groove is filled and which has a higher refractive index than the substrate. 2. An optical waveguide groove and a fixing groove for fixing one or more optical fibers are formed on the first substrate by a mold material having a convex or concave molding portion on the surface, A second waveguide having a refractive index equal to or close to that of the first substrate is provided in the optical waveguide portion having the optical waveguide groove.
2. The method for manufacturing an optical circuit component, comprising the steps of: bonding the above substrates to each other, and further filling the concave portion of the optical waveguide groove with a material having a higher refractive index than that of the first substrate. 3. An optical waveguide groove and a fixing groove for fixing one or a plurality of optical fibers are formed on the first substrate by a mold material having a convex or concave molding portion on its surface, On the first substrate, a material layer having a refractive index higher than that of the first substrate is formed so that the optical waveguide groove is filled, and the material layer is polished to form a portion other than the optical waveguide groove portion. Is removed, and a first substrate having a refractive index equal to or close to that of the first substrate is attached to the optical waveguide portion having the waveguide groove. Production method. 4. An optical waveguide groove is formed on a waveguide substrate by a first mold material, and a fixing groove for fixing one or a plurality of optical fibers by a second mold material is provided on the waveguide substrate. Is molded into a fixing substrate having a refractive index equal to or close to that of the waveguide substrate, and the waveguide substrate and the fixing substrate are bonded together, and then the waveguide substrate or the fixing substrate is placed in the recess of the optical waveguide groove. A method for manufacturing an optical circuit component, which comprises filling a material having a refractive index higher than that of a substrate. 5. An optical waveguide groove is formed on a waveguide substrate by a first mold material, and a fixing groove for fixing one or a plurality of optical fibers by a second mold material is provided on the waveguide substrate. And a refractive index equal to or close to that of the fixing substrate, and a material layer having a higher refractive index than the waveguide substrate is formed on the waveguide substrate so that the optical waveguide groove is filled. Characterized in that the material layer is formed and the material layer is polished to remove a portion other than the optical waveguide groove portion, and the waveguide substrate and the fixing substrate thus manufactured are bonded to each other. Manufacturing method of optical circuit component. 6. A portion having an end portion of the optical waveguide groove and a portion having an end portion of the fixing groove located opposite to the end portion after the two substrates are bonded to each other. The method for manufacturing an optical circuit component according to claim 2, wherein and are polished and cut. 7. The optical circuit according to claim 2, wherein a positioning marker for mounting an electronic component is formed on all or part of the substrate. Manufacturing method of parts. 8. The positioning marker used when laminating one substrate and the other substrate is formed on all or part of the substrate, according to any one of claims 2 to 7. Manufacturing method of optical circuit component. 9. The method for manufacturing an optical circuit component according to claim 7, wherein the positioning marker is a convex or concave marking formed of a mold material. 10. The method of manufacturing an optical circuit component according to claim 2, wherein all or part of the substrate is a glass substrate or a transparent resin substrate. .