JP2003149496A - Optical fiber array - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber array, wherein contact between the rear edge of an array substrate and a coated optical fiber is relieved without applying special processing to the array substrate. SOLUTION: In this optical fiber array obtained by mounting a single core or multi-core coated optical fiber 1 on the array substrate 5 with a V groove 7 provided on the front part, inserting a glass fiber 3 into the V groove 7 and adhesively fixing the glass fiber 3 with a pressing member 6, a flexible tube- shaped protection member 11 is provided at a coated optical fiber part striding over the rear edge of the array substrate 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber array in which a single-core or multi-core optical fiber core wire is attached and fixed to a substrate used for connection with an optical component or a planar waveguide.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an optical fiber communication system, an optical fiber array is used to connect an optical fiber to an optical component, a planar waveguide or the like. Fiber optic arrays are usually
An array substrate provided with a V groove for positioning the end of a single-core or multi-core optical fiber is provided.
In some cases, a pressing member that presses the groove is provided. In the optical fiber array, after the optical fibers are inserted and fixed, the optical fibers are attached and fixed using an adhesive or the like, and the front end portion where the end faces of the optical fibers are exposed is polished together with the optical fibers.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of mounting and fixing an optical fiber to an optical fiber array. In the figure, 1 is an optical fiber core wire, 2 is a fiber coating, 3 is a glass fiber, 4 is an optical fiber array, 5 is an array substrate, 6 is a holding member, 7 is a V groove, 8 is an adhesive, and 9 is a tapered surface. Show.

As the optical fiber core wire 1, a single core optical fiber core wire or an optical fiber tape core wire in which a plurality of single core optical fiber element wires are collectively covered is used. Optical fiber array 4
Is composed of an array substrate 5 and a pressing member 6, and the front portion of the array substrate 5 is formed of a fiber alignment portion 5a and the rear portion thereof is formed of a pedestal portion 5b. The fiber alignment portion 5a is provided with a V groove for aligning and positioning the glass fiber 3 from which the fiber coating 2 is removed. After the glass fiber 3 is inserted into the V groove 7 and pressed by the pressing member 6 to be positioned,
An adhesive is poured into the V groove to be fixed by adhesion. Base 5
b is formed to be flat, and the end portion of the fiber coating 2 is placed so that a part thereof is placed, and the optical fiber core wire 1 is held and fixed by applying an adhesive 8.

When the optical fiber core wire 1 is mounted on the above-mentioned optical fiber array 4, the optical fiber core wire 1 comes into contact with the rear end edge of the pedestal portion 5b of the array substrate 5, and is broken by bending or the like, Losses may increase due to changes.
Therefore, the rear end side of the pedestal portion 5b is processed into the tapered surface 9,
The contact state with the optical fiber core wire 1 is relaxed to avoid these problems.

However, since the optical fiber array 4 is formed of various wafers of silicon, Pyrex glass, zirconia, ceramics, etc., the tapered surface 9 is formed by highly accurate grinding such as dicing. There is. A special and highly accurate blade is used for this grinding, and a high level of processing accuracy is required. There is also a method of forming the tapered surface 9 by polishing, but this requires a processing time and labor. In addition to this, a method of forming by molding can be considered, but there is a problem that molding becomes difficult depending on the array substrate material.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and alleviates the contact between the rear edge of the array substrate and the optical fiber core wire without performing special processing on the array substrate. An object is to provide an optical fiber array.

[0008]

In the optical fiber array of the present invention, a single-core or multi-core optical fiber core wire is placed on an array substrate having a V groove in the front portion, and a glass fiber is put in the V groove. An optical fiber array that is adhesively fixed by a holding member, characterized in that a flexible tubular protection member is provided in the optical fiber core wire portion that straddles the rear end edge of the array substrate. .

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1A is a side view of an optical fiber array in which an optical fiber core wire is attached and fixed, and FIGS.
(E) is a figure which shows a different form of a protection member in the aa cross section of FIG. 1 (A). In the figure, 11 is a protective member, 12 is a gap, 13 is a step, and other reference numerals are the same as those in FIG.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 (A), at the end portion of the fiber coating 2 of the optical fiber core wire 1,
The tubular protection member 11 is attached. The tubular protection member 11 is provided in a portion of the optical fiber array 4 straddling the rear end edge of the array substrate 5 and reduces the direct contact of the optical fiber core wire 1 with the rear end edge of the array substrate 5. The tube-shaped protection member 11 is provided in advance by being mounted on the optical fiber core wire 1 after being formed in advance, and is adhesively fixed to the optical fiber core wire and mounted on the array substrate 5. However, after the tube-shaped protective member 11 is fixed on the rear end of the array substrate 5 with an adhesive in advance, the optical fiber core wire 1 is attached to the protective member 1.
It may be inserted into one tube.

The shape of the substrate of the optical fiber array 4 is
Similar to that described with reference to FIG. 4, the array substrate 5 and the pressing member 6 are formed, and the front portion of the array substrate 5 is formed of the fiber alignment portion 5a and the rear portion thereof is formed of the pedestal portion 5b. The fiber alignment portion 5a is provided with a V groove 7 for aligning and positioning the glass fiber 3 from which the fiber coating 2 is removed. The glass fiber 3 is inserted into the V groove 7 and positioned by being pressed by the pressing member 6, and then an adhesive is poured into the V groove to be fixed by adhesion. The pedestal portion 5b is formed flat, and the rear side of the intermediate position is formed by a step portion 13 which is lowered by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the protection member 11.

The tubular protection member 11 is formed of a flexible and bendable material such as rubber, silicon, or nylon resin. The mounting position of the protective member 11 is such that a slight distance Y (for example, 0.5 mm to 2 m) is provided so that an exposed portion that is not covered by the protective member 11 is formed at the tip of the fiber coating 2.
m is desirable). Further, the protection member 11 is attached with a certain amount of protrusion X (for example, preferably about 3 mm to 5 mm) from the rear end of the array substrate 5. Further, the protective member 11 can be positioned for attachment by abutting the tip thereof on the shoulder of the stepped portion 13 provided on the pedestal portion 5b of the array substrate 5.

As a method of fixing the optical fiber, first, the fiber coating 2 of the optical fiber core wire 1 is removed to expose the glass fiber 3 of a predetermined length, and a tube-shaped protective member 11 is attached to the tip of the fiber coating 2. It is mounted and an adhesive is injected into the gap 12 between the fiber coating 2 and the fiber coating 2 for adhesive fixing.
The adhesive may be injected so as to fill the entire gap 12, but may be partially adhered. Further, at this stage, the optical fiber core wire 1 and the protection member 11 do not necessarily have to be bonded.

The optical fiber core wire 1 on which the protection member 11 is mounted is placed on the array substrate 5, and the tip of the protection member 11 is brought into contact with the shoulder of the stepped portion 13 to position the protection member 11 in the longitudinal direction. To do. The glass fiber 3 from which the fiber coating 2 has been removed is pressed into the V groove 7 of the array substrate 5 by the pressing member 6, and an adhesive is applied to the glass fiber 3 to fix it. In this case, as the adhesive, one having a low viscosity before curing so that it can be easily positioned in the V groove 7 and having a relatively large Young's modulus after curing so that sufficient adhesive strength can be obtained, is used. Is preferred. Next, the adhesive 8 is applied on the pedestal portion 5b of the array substrate 5 at the rear portion of the pressing member 6. The adhesive 8 is applied so as to cover the remaining portion of the glass fiber 3, the exposed end portion of the fiber coating 2, and the front half of the protective member 11, so that the optical fiber core wire 1 is adhesively fixed to the array substrate 5 and mechanically. Protect.

FIG. 1B shows a single-core optical fiber core wire 1a.
An example of attaching a protection member is shown in FIG. The protection member 11a is formed of a cylindrical tube through which only one optical fiber core wire 1a is passed, and an adhesive is poured into the gap 12 between the optical fiber core wire 1a and the optical fiber core wire 1a to bond and fix it, if necessary. Figure 1 (C)
Shows an example in which a protective member is attached so that a plurality of single-core optical fiber core wires 1a are aligned in a horizontal row. The protection member 11b is
A predetermined number of optical fiber cores 1a are formed by a flat tube having slot holes that are arranged in a row, and an adhesive is poured into the gap 12 between the optical fiber cores 1a and bonded and fixed as necessary. The plurality of optical fiber core wires 1 are protective members 1
1 can be aligned in a taped state and attached to the optical fiber array.

FIG. 1D shows an example in which a protective member is attached to the multi-core optical fiber tape core wire 1b. Since the optical fiber tape core wire 1b is formed by integrating a plurality of optical fiber element wires with a common coating, the protection member 11c is formed of a flat tube having a slot hole into which the common coating is inserted.
If necessary, an adhesive is poured into the gap 12 between the optical fiber core wire 1a to bond and fix it.

FIG. 1 (E) shows an example in which a tape is attached to a multi-core optical fiber tape core wire 1b to form a protective member.
The protection member 11d is formed by directly laminating or winding an adhesive tape member having an adhesive applied to the inner surface thereof on the outer surface of the optical fiber tape core wire 1b. 1 (B) to 1
Compared with the example of forming the tube of (D), no gap is formed between the optical fiber core wire and the tape member, and the adhesive is preliminarily applied, so that the bonding and fixing work is simplified. The example of FIG. 1E can be applied to a single-core optical fiber core wire 1a, which is not shown in the figure.

According to the above-described first embodiment, the protection member 11 is located so as to straddle the rear end edge portion of the array substrate 5 and cushions the optical fiber core wire 1 for direct contact. Becomes The protective member 11 has an appropriate elasticity to alleviate the bending of the optical fiber core wire 1 at the rear end edge of the array substrate 5 to prevent disconnection and increase in loss. Further, by mounting the protective member 11, it is not necessary to process the rear surface of the array substrate 5 with a tapered surface, and the overall cost can be reduced.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A is a side view of an optical fiber array in which an optical fiber core wire is attached and fixed, and FIGS. 2B to 2D.
[Fig. 3] is a view showing a different form of the protection member in the aa cross section of Fig. 2 (A). In the figure, 14 is a protection member, 13 is a step, and the other reference numerals are the same as those in FIG.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, at the end portion of the fiber coating 2 of the optical fiber core wire 1,
The tubular protective member 14 is provided by molding. The tube-shaped protection member 14 is provided in a portion of the optical fiber array 4 straddling the rear end edge of the array substrate 5, and reduces the direct contact of the optical fiber core wire 1 with the rear end edge of the array substrate 5.

The shape itself of the optical fiber array 4 is almost the same as that described with reference to FIG. 1, and comprises an array substrate 5 and a pressing member 6, and the front portion of the array substrate 5 is a fiber alignment portion 5a,
The rear part is formed by the pedestal part 5b. Fiber alignment section 5
V-grooves 7 for aligning and positioning the glass fibers 3 from which the fiber coating 2 has been removed are provided in a. The glass fiber 3 is inserted into the V groove 7 and positioned by being pressed by the pressing member 6, and then an adhesive is poured into the V groove to be fixed by adhesion. The pedestal portion 5b is formed flat, and the rear side of the intermediate position has a stepped portion 13 which is lowered by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the protection member 14.
To form.

The tube-shaped protective member 14 may be made of the same flexible material as that shown in FIG. 1, such as rubber or silicon, nylon resin, or the like. Further, it is desirable that the adhesiveness to the fiber coating 2 is good and the breaking elongation is large. The protective member 14 is formed at a slight distance Y (preferably about 0.5 mm to 2 mm) so that an exposed portion that is not covered by the protective member 14 is formed at the tip of the fiber coating 2. . In addition, the protection member 14
Is a certain amount of protrusion X from the rear end of the array (for example,
3 mm to 5 mm is preferable). This protruding portion is formed into a tapered shape to relieve stress against bending. The protection member 14 is the array substrate 5
The attachment can be positioned by abutting the tip on the shoulder of the stepped portion 13 provided on the pedestal portion 5b.

As a method of fixing the optical fiber, first, the fiber coating 2 of the optical fiber core wire 1 is removed to expose the glass fiber 3 of a predetermined length, and a tube-shaped protective member 14 is attached to the tip portion of the fiber coating 2. It is formed by molding.
Further, after forming the protective member 14 on the optical fiber core wire 1, the fiber coating 2 may be removed to expose the glass fiber 3 having a predetermined length.

The optical fiber core wire 1 having the protective member 14 formed thereon is placed on the array substrate 5, and the tip end of the protective member 14 is brought into contact with the shoulder of the stepped portion 13 to perform positioning in the longitudinal direction. The glass fiber 3 with the fiber coating 2 removed is
The V-groove 7 of the array substrate 5 is pressed by the pressing member 6 and an adhesive is applied to fix it. In this case, as the adhesive, one having a low viscosity before curing so that it can be easily positioned in the V groove 7 and having a relatively large Young's modulus after curing so that sufficient adhesive strength can be obtained, is used. Is preferred. Next, the adhesive 8 is applied on the pedestal portion 5b of the array substrate 5 at the rear portion of the pressing member 6. The adhesive 8 is applied so as to cover the remaining portion of the glass fiber 3, the exposed end portion of the fiber coating 2, and the front half of the protective member 14, so that the optical fiber core wire 1 is adhesively fixed to the array substrate 5 and mechanically. Protect.

FIG. 2B shows a single-core optical fiber core wire 1a.
An example of forming a protective member is shown below. The protection member 14a is formed so that the outer circumference of the single-core optical fiber core wire 1a is circular, and the rear portion is formed in a tapered shape as necessary. FIG. 2C shows an example in which the protective member 11 is formed such that a plurality of single-core optical fiber core wires 1a are arranged in a horizontal row.
The protection member 14b is molded so that the outer shape of the protection member 14b is a flat tube in a state where a predetermined number of the optical fiber core wires 1a are aligned in a line. Further, the rear portion is formed in a tapered shape if necessary. By forming the protective member 14b, the plurality of single-core optical fiber core wires 1a are aligned and integrated, and can be attached and fixed to the optical fiber array in the same form as the tape core wire.

FIG. 2D shows an example in which a protective member is formed on the multi-core optical fiber tape core wire 1b. In the optical fiber tape core wire 1b, since a plurality of optical fiber element wires are integrated by a common coating, the protection member 14c is molded along the outer peripheral portion of the common coating so as to be a flat tube. Further, the rear portion is formed in a tapered shape if necessary.

FIG. 3 shows the protective member 1 on the optical fiber core wire 1.
4 is a diagram showing an example of a molding die for forming No. 4; FIG. Figure 3
3A is a front view, FIG. 3B is a left side view, and FIG. 3C is a view showing another example. In the figure, 15a is an upper mold, 15b is a lower mold, 16a is a protective member molding recess, 16b and 16c are fiber coating recesses, 16d is a glass fiber recess, 1
Reference numeral 7a denotes an injection port for the molded resin material, and 17b denotes a resin discharge port.

A protective member molding recess 1 into which a molding resin material is injected into the upper mold 15a and the lower mold 15b divided into two parts.
6a and recesses 16b and 16c for the fiber coating 2 and a recess 16d for the glass fiber are provided. Also,
The upper mold 15a has a discharge port 17a for air and excess resin,
The lower mold 15b is provided with a molding resin injection port 17b. Glass, rubber, etc. are used as the material of the molding die.

As shown in FIG. 3D, instead of the two-divided molding die, an integral molding die 18 made of elastic rubber may be used. A slit 19 that reaches the molding recess 20 is provided in a part of the molding die 18, and the slit 19 is opened and closed to insert the optical fiber core wire 1 into the molding recess 20 and remove the protective member 14 after molding. Do.

According to the above-described second embodiment, the protection member 14 is positioned so as to straddle the rear end edge portion of the array substrate 5 and cushions the optical fiber core wire 1 for direct contact. Becomes The protective member 14 has appropriate elasticity, and alleviates bending of the optical fiber core wire 1 at the rear edge of the array substrate 5 to prevent disconnection and increase in loss. Further, by using a material having a good adhesion with the fiber coating 2 and a large breaking elongation for the protective member 14, it is possible to increase the withstand tension against the optical fiber core wire 1. Further, by providing the protective member 14 by molding, there is no need to process the rear surface of the array substrate 5 into a tapered surface, and the overall cost can be reduced.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the optical fiber core wire does not come into direct contact with the rear edge of the optical fiber array, so that the bending due to the protective member is mitigated and the disconnection and the loss increase. Can be prevented. Further, it is not necessary to form a complicated tapered surface in the optical fiber array.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the manufacturing method according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Optical fiber core wire, 2 ... Fiber coating, 3 ... Glass fiber, 4 ... Optical fiber array, 5 ... Array substrate, 5a
... Fiber alignment part, 5b ... Pedestal part, 6 ... Holding member, 7 ...
V groove, 8 ... Adhesive, 9 ... Tapered surface, 11 ... Protective member, 1
2 ... Gap, 13 ... Step, 14 ... Protective member, 15a ... Upper mold, 15b ... Lower mold, 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d ...
Recesses, 17a ... Injection port for molding resin material, 17b ... Discharge port for resin material, 18 ... Mold, 19 ... Slit, 20 ... Recessed part.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Mitsuaki Tamura             Sumitomoden 1 Taya-cho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa             Ki Industry Co., Ltd. Yokohama Works F-term (reference) 2H036 LA03 LA07 QA23                 2H037 BA24 DA04 DA12 DA17

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An optical fiber array in which a single-core or multi-core optical fiber core wire is placed on an array substrate having a V groove in the front portion, and a glass fiber is put in the V groove and fixed by adhesion. An optical fiber array, wherein a flexible tube-shaped protection member is provided in the optical fiber core wire portion that straddles the rear end edge of the array substrate. 2. The optical fiber array according to claim 1, wherein the tubular protection member is formed in advance and then mounted on an optical fiber core wire. 3. The optical fiber array according to claim 1, wherein the tube-shaped protection member is provided on the fiber coating of the optical fiber core by molding with a molding die. 4. The optical fiber array according to claim 3, wherein a rear side of the tubular protective member is formed in a tapered shape. 5. The optical fiber array according to claim 1, wherein a fiber coating end portion of the optical fiber core wire is slightly exposed from the tubular protection member. 6. The optical fiber array according to claim 1, wherein a step portion on which the tubular protection member is placed is formed at a rear portion of the array substrate. . 7. The light according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber core wire portion and the protection member portion mounted on the rear portion of the array substrate are fixed by an adhesive. Fiber array.