JP2005095862A - Washing method and washing system of optical component, and holding tool of optical component - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing method and a washing system of optical component capable of washing, e.g., even magnetized optics like crystal for a Faraday rotating piece, and an optical component holding tool usable for it. <P>SOLUTION: Ultrasonic washing and spin drying of the optical component easy to chip like a magnetized garnet wafer can be performed by using the holding tool of optical component arranged so that a magnet containing neodymium, iron and boron as components is opposite to an optical face of the garnet wafer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical component cleaning method and a cleaning system that can also clean an optical component such as a magnetic crystal for a Faraday rotator, and an optical component holding jig that can be used therefor.

  In optical communication, various modules such as optical isolators (hereinafter also simply referred to as “isolators” or “isolators”), circulators, WDM, filters, etc. are used. These modules include crystals such as garnet, crystal, calcite, multilayer filters, A prism or the like (hereinafter, these optical components such as small lenses and specially shaped optical components are collectively referred to as optical components) is incorporated.

  Usually, modules such as isolators and filters are used by using optical phenomena such as transmission, reflection, separation, and refraction by allowing light input from an optical fiber to the module to enter optical components such as a multilayer filter. The module function is realized. If the surface of a filter or the like is dirty, light input from the optical fiber to the module may be attenuated or diffusely reflected on the surface of the dirty filter or the like, resulting in increased coupling loss or impaired module functionality. is there. The cleanliness of the surface of the optical components used in the module is extremely important for the quality of the module.

  For this reason, many contrivances have been made for cleaning these optical components.

  Conventionally, for example, an optical component holding jig having an optical component insertion portion (three-bar support members for supporting a large number of optical components at three points from three directions), In some cases, it may be appropriate to refer to a case. In this case as well, a holder constituted by combining rod-like support parts so as to support the three points as described above is optical unless otherwise required. In other words, the optical components are cleaned and cleaned by using an ultrasonic cleaner to remove the cleaning liquid adhering to the spin dryer. However, there are the following problems when cleaning small objects such as an optical surface of an optical component having a size of 8 mm square (that is, a square having a side dimension of 8 mm) or less. That is, when an optical component is supported and cleaned with a conventional three-point support jig, in order to reliably support the optical component with the support component, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the support rod to some extent. Since the dimensions are not negligible compared to the dimensions of the optical component, and the support component cannot be made too thin to maintain the strength of the support component, it becomes the shadow of the support component of the optical component when ultrasonic cleaning is performed. In many cases, the ultrasonic component is not effectively applied to the exposed portion, and the optical component remains dirty. In addition, when using conventional holding jigs for holding products, optical parts may be lost during drying after washing or after washing, and in addition to the so-called draining process as a cleaning finishing process, that is, optical parts. In the drying process to remove the adhering cleaning liquid, the cleaning residual liquid cannot be removed completely, and as it is, it remains as dirt on the optical parts, and many optical parts cannot be used to construct a normal module. There was a big problem.

  Therefore, in practice, when mounting optical components on a module, or after cleaning, the optical components are held one by one with dedicated tweezers and the surface is wiped off with a cleaning paper soaked in a solvent. Did not get.

  As known in the art, optical components include magnetic components such as a magnetized garnet (hereinafter also simply referred to as garnet) as an example of a crystal for a Faraday rotator used in an isolator.

  The garnet as the Faraday rotator is formed into a plate shape, cut and polished, and the dimensions of the plate are determined according to the required specifications. Generally, the finished thickness is about 0.4 mm. In the state of a wafer, the size cut into a square having a side dimension of 10.5 to 11.5 mm dominates.

  A magnetic garnet as an example of a typical crystal used as this Faraday rotator forms an antireflection film on both sides of the wafer in the state of the wafer in the processing step, but a good quality antireflection film In order to form the film, it is extremely important to completely remove dust and stains adhering to the surface of the wafer by washing before depositing the antireflection film.

  In order to provide high quality garnet with good yield and low cost, it is ideal if a large number of garnet wafers can be simultaneously cleaned by a cleaning machine using ultrasonic waves.

  However, this garnet has the property of being easily chipped. For example, when cleaning a magnetic garnet, attach the garnet wafer to a cleaning jig used for cleaning in the conventional method, and use an alkaline cleaner or ultrapure water with an ultrasonic cleaner. When cleaning, even if the dust that had been washed before is completely removed, a lot of fine magnetic particles (hereinafter also referred to as particles) are deposited. Therefore, there is a big problem that only the portion falls off for some reason and the antireflection film is lost.

  This optical component wiping operation involves carefully grasping optical components one by one with tweezers and wiping off dirt with a cleaning paper or cotton swab with an organic solvent, etc., even for large optical components with a side of about 11 mm. This is a difficult and time-consuming operation, especially when the optical components for cleaning the surface are very small, around 1 mm square, which requires very high skill and optical quality so that it has satisfactory quality characteristics. It took at least several months of training to be able to clean the parts. This wiping operation is poor in work efficiency, and in the operation of wiping a large optical component having a side of about 11 mm so that there are almost no particles, only about 3 to 5 sheets can be cleaned per hour.

  In cleaning optical components, the process of removing dirt attached to optical components in the detergent is an important cleaning step, but the detergent (super-pure water is also attached to the optical components after the cleaning step). The drying process for removing the detergent is also an important cleaning process.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a main part of a conventional spin dryer used in this drying process.

  In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1301 denotes a conventional spin dryer, 1302 denotes an outer frame of the spin dryer 1301, 1303 denotes a rotating body having a rotating plate constituting the spin dryer 1301, and 1310 to 1313 denote rotating bodies. A holding jig (hereinafter also referred to as a cradle) holding a drying jig or an optical equipment holding jig holding an optical component (hereinafter also referred to as a workpiece) with a holder attached to a rotating plate 1303. (Not shown), holders 1310c, 1311c, 1312c, 1313c are side walls of the holders 1310 to 1313, and 1310a, 1310b, 1311a, 1311b, 1312a, 1312b, 1313a, 1313b are side walls 1310c, 1311c, 1312c, respectively. , 1313c for cradle installation , 1315 is a support rod for positioning the cradle, 1316 is an arrow indicating the rotation direction, 1320 is a lid of the spin dryer, 1323 is a blower opening provided in the lid, and 1322 is a filter attached to the blower. is there.

  In FIG. 4, the holders 1310 to 1313 are held in a state of being fixed to the rotating body 1303 with screws or the like.

  When a washed workpiece is dried with a spin dryer as shown in FIG. 4, a mounting projection (see FIG. 17) provided on a cradle containing a drying jig or an optical component holding jig for holding the workpiece. Are inserted into the respective work installation grooves 1310a, 1310b, 1311a, 1311b, 1312a, 1312b, 1313a and 1313b of the holders 1310 to 1313 and placed in the holders 1310 to 1313, respectively, and then the rotating body 1303 is mounted. For example, spin drying is performed by rotating in the direction of the arrow 1316. At this time, as shown in FIG. 17, the bottom surface of the cradle mounted on the rotating body is attached to the holder so as to be orthogonal to the direction of the centrifugal force applied by the rotation of the rotating body.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a holding method by supporting the workpiece at three points.

  In FIG. 5, reference numeral 1331 denotes a workpiece to be cleaned and dried as an object to be cleaned and dried, and 1332 to 1334 denote optical component support components for fixing the workpiece 1331.

  In FIG. 5, the optical component support components 1332 and 1334 are arranged at approximately the center of each side of the workpiece 1331 or above the center (see, for example, FIG. 8 described later), and the optical component support component 1333 is approximately the optical component. It is arranged on the side surface of the optical component on the vertical bisector of the straight line connecting the support components 1332 and 1334. Further, the position of the work 1331 is fixed by being in contact with only a part of the optical component support parts 1332-1334.

  In FIG. 5, when cleaning and drying the workpiece 1331, it is preferable that the contact area of the optical component supporting components 1332 to 1334 for fixing the workpiece is as small as possible.

  6 to 8 are diagrams for explaining an example of a conventional method for supporting an optical component. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one optical component support component, and FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the optical component support component of FIG. The perspective view which looked at the optical component support component from the cross section cut by 6 straight line Y1-Y2, FIG. 8 is the state which hold | maintained the workpiece | work by assembling the optical component support component of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating.

  6-8, the code | symbol 1340 is an optical component support component, 1341 is the support | pillar which comprises the optical component support component 1340, 1342 is the screw | thread provided in the edge part of the support | pillar 1341, and 1343 comprises the optical component support component 1340. Support plates 1341a and 1341b are caulking portions that fix the support plate 1343 inserted into the grooves of the support column 1341 by caulking, and 1344 is a V-shaped groove formed in the support plate 1343.

  The optical component support component 1340 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is provided with a screw 1342 at the tip of the column 1341, and although not shown, a plurality of optical component support components 1340 are mounted on the support component mounting frame. An optical component holding jig for cleaning and drying is formed so as to be fixed at an appropriate interval for holding. Further, the support plate 1343 is made of Teflon (trademark of DuPont, USA), has a certain degree of elasticity, and has a saw blade shape having a V-shaped groove as shown in the figure. Yes.

  In FIG. 8, the work 1331 is supported by the V-shaped groove portion 1344 of the support plate 1343 of the three optical component support components 1340 from a total of three directions, two in the horizontal direction and one perpendicular thereto.

  When the workpiece 1331 is fixed using the optical component support component described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8, the portion of the support plate 1343 that supports the workpiece is formed in a V-shaped groove shape. The work 1331 is fixed so that the contact area with the support plate 1343 is relatively small in such a manner that only the upper and lower ridges of the three side surfaces are supported by the V-shaped grooves of the support plate 1343.

  However, since the support plate 1343 of the optical component support component 1340 as described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 supports the optical component with Teflon, only a workpiece having a side of 10 mm or more can be fixed. However, for small workpieces smaller than this, there was no choice but to fix it by another method.

  9 and 10 are views for explaining an example of the optical component support component that is different from the examples described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of one optical component support component, and FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the state by which the workpiece | work is being fixed by three optical component support components of FIG.

  9 and 10, reference numeral 1350 is an optical component support component, 1351 is a support column constituting the optical component support component 1350, and 1353 is a V-shaped groove for fixing a work provided on the support column 1351.

  In FIG. 9, the support column 1351 has a cylindrical shape and a diameter of φ6 mm to 10 mm. In addition, the grooves 1353 are provided in the support columns 1351 at regular intervals.

  In FIG. 10, the work 1331 is fixed by inserting a part of the work 1331 into a groove 1353 formed in the column 1351. In this case, the left and right sides of the work 1331 in the figure are supported slightly above the center.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a contact state between the workpiece and the support component when the workpiece 1331 is fixed by the optical component support component, and is a diagram viewed from the direction of the arrow 1354 in FIG. 9.

  In FIG. 11, the work 1331 is fixed by contacting a slope formed by a groove 1353 formed at the corner 1351 of the work 1331.

  When the workpiece is fixed using the optical component supporting component as described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, since the support column 1351 is configured in a cylindrical shape, the cross section of the groove 1353 is also circular. The contact area with the workpiece is very small.

  However, when one side of the workpiece is 8 mm or less, the workpiece is fixed in a state where the column 1351 is very close to the workpiece as shown in FIG. As a result, ultrasonic waves could not be effectively applied to the workpiece, and the cleaning itself was not successful.

  As described above, when the work is small, there is a big problem that the work cannot be fixed by the optical component supporting parts, or even if the work can be fixed, the work cannot be effectively cleaned.

  Therefore, normally, when cleaning and drying a workpiece, after the workpiece is stored in a cleaning jig having a recess for inserting the workpiece, the cleaning / drying jig is placed in a cradle or the like to be cleaned and dried. ing.

  FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a conventional cleaning / drying jig.

  In FIG. 12, reference numeral 1355 denotes a conventional cleaning / drying jig, and 1356 denotes an optical component insertion portion for inserting a workpiece. The optical component insertion portion 1356 has a hole shape, and the peripheral portion at the bottom of the hole has an optical component placement frame 1356a for holding the optical component inserted therein and a through hole 1356b for allowing the cleaning liquid to pass therethrough. Is provided. The diameter of the through hole 1356b is sufficiently smaller than the workpiece, and is provided at the center of the optical component placement frame 1356a.

  FIG. 13 to FIG. 15 are diagrams for explaining problems of cleaning a magnetic garnet using a conventional optical component holding jig. Reference numeral 1331a denotes a garnet wafer cut into a quadrangle having a thickness of 0.4 mm and a side dimension of 10.5 mm as an optical component to be cleaned, 1350a is an optical component holding jig, and 1350b is a holding frame.

  In FIG. 13, the optical component support component 1350 described in FIGS. After mounting the component 1331, the conventional optical in a state in which the interval between the optical component support components 1350 is finely adjusted and fixed to the holding frame 1350b so that the mounted optical component 1331 is not dropped during the cleaning / drying process. 14 is a diagram showing the component holding jig 1350a, FIG. 14 is an enlarged plan view of the optical component holding jig shown in FIG. 13 viewed from directly above, and FIG. 15 is a view of the garnet wafer mounted on the optical component holding jig. It is a figure explaining arrangement | positioning, and the figure which abbreviate | omitted the optical component support component and showed only the garnet wafer.

  In FIGS. 13 to 15, every other garnet wafer 1331 a is mounted in the groove 1353 provided in the optical component support component 1350 so that the vibration of the cleaning liquid due to the ultrasonic wave is effectively applied to the garnet wafer.

  When the optical component having the above-described dimension and shape is cleaned by ultrasonic cleaning according to the conventional method, the garnet wafer is mounted on the optical component holding jig 1350a by the three-point support method as shown in FIG. The garnet wafer is cleaned in a series of cleaning steps in which ultrasonic cleaning in the inside and ultrasonic cleaning in ultrapure water are repeated as appropriate, and drying is performed by spin drying.

  The inventors of the present invention attach a garnet wafer having the above shape and size to the optical component holding jig 1350a as a workpiece and ultrasonically clean the workpiece by conventional ultrasonic cleaning. In order to investigate whether or not cleaning is possible, a garnet wafer was mounted on the optical component holding jig 1350a shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, and experiments were performed by changing various conditions of detergent and ultrasonic wave.

  FIG. 16 shows a result obtained by repeatedly washing with a washing tank using an alkaline detergent as a detergent and a washing tank using ultrapure water while changing the frequency of ultrasonic waves, and drying with a spin dryer. This is a photograph taken with, and reversed in black and white. In FIG. 16, reference numeral 1331b denotes the particles attached to the garnet wafer 1331a, and 1331c denotes a portion without the garnet particles 1331b.

  From FIG. 16, it can be seen that a very large number of particles 1331b are attached to the garnet. In addition, there were some chipped portions in the corner portions supported by the grooves 1353 formed in the support columns 1351 around the garnet wafer.

  As a result of examining the components and the like of the particle 1331b in FIG. 16, the particle 1331b has the same component as the garnet. As described above, the garnet wafer has a property of being easily chipped. Therefore, the surface of the groove 1353 formed on the support column 1351 and the contact portion of the garnet wafer vibrate and collide with each other during ultrasonic cleaning, and the garnet wafer It is presumed that the corners are missing and become particles.

  When the number of particles 1331b adhering to the garnet wafer 1331a was repeatedly cleaned in an attempt to reduce the number of particles 1331b, the number of particles 1331b increased as the number of cleanings was increased. Could not be reduced.

  Furthermore, even when garnet was placed in a cleaning / drying jig as shown in FIG. 12, the particles could not be prevented from adhering.

  This situation has become a major problem for manufacturers of Faraday rotators using garnets, and it has not been solved yet, and it is said that it is not possible to eliminate manual wiping work from garnet cleaning work. .

  FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a conventional spin dryer.

  In FIG. 17, reference numeral 1010 denotes a rotating body of the spin dryer, 1011 denotes a rotating shaft for rotating the rotating body 1010, 1012a, 1012b, 1013a, 1013b denote fixing screws for connecting and fixing the rotating body 1010 and the rotating shaft 1011; Reference numerals 1014 and 1015 denote cleaning / drying jigs for holding and holding the work to be dried, 1016 and 1017 are cradles for placing the cleaning / drying jigs 1014 and 1015 for placing and holding the work, and 1018a and 1019a are protrusions of the cradle. The holder 1010 is the upper frame of the rotating body, 1018b and 1019b are the cradle hanging grooves provided on the holders 1018a and 1019a, 1018 and 1019 are the projections of the cradle, and the grooves 1018b of the holders 1018a and 1019a, 1019b and holder 1018a, 1 19a to the connecting pin to retain the cradle 1016, 1017, 1021 to 1024 the support rod that holders 1018a, attached to 1019a to support the cradle during rotation of the rotary member 1010, 1370 is a rotating plate.

  In FIG. 17, the cradle 1016, 1017 has a central axis where the upper surface portions 1014 a, 1015 a of the cleaning / drying jig are the rotation center of the rotary shaft 1011 (when the cleaning / drying jig is a parallel plate, the bottom surface of the cradle). A tangential plane (not shown) of the outer surface at the center of the upper surface portions 1014a and 1015a of the virtual cylindrical cleaning / drying jig drawn parallel to A1-A2 and centered on the central axis A1-A2. ) Is further arranged symmetrically with respect to A1-A2 which is the central axis of the rotating body 1010, and after cleaning the optical components placed on the cleaning / drying jig, the rotating shaft 1011 is By rotating the entire rotator around the center, the cleaning liquid remaining on the cleaned optical component is removed and the optical component is dried.

  However, with the conventional drying method as described with reference to FIG. 17, the cleaning liquid cannot be completely removed from the work, and the remaining water creates a stain or the like on the work such as a multilayer filter. Therefore, good cleaning and drying could not be performed. In particular, when the optical component is small, this defect is fatal to the finished optical component.

  Of course, in the case where the workpiece is a magnetic part such as garnet that is easily chipped, the particles shown in FIG. 16 could not be removed by this spin drying.

  Therefore, conventionally, in order to remove the remaining moisture and deposits, it has been necessary to manually grasp a workpiece such as a multilayer filter with tweezers and wipe the moisture with a cleaning paper.

  FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 are schematic diagrams for explaining a method of wiping off residual cleaning liquid and magnetic substance deposits in a conventional optical component cleaning / drying method.

  18 and 19, reference numeral 400 is a workpiece, 501 is a cotton swab, 502 and 503 are ends of the cotton swab 501, 504 is an arrow indicating the direction of movement of the swab, 510 is a hand wrap, 511 is an organic solvent, and 512 is a hand wrap. , 513 is tweezers, and 514 is a tube. In FIG. 18, an organic solvent 511 is contained inside the hand wrap 510, and the organic solvent 511 penetrates the tube 514 to the dish portion 512 by capillary action, so that an appropriate amount of organic is placed on the end portion 502 or 503 of the cotton swab 501. Solvent 511 can be applied.

  In FIG. 19, the workpiece 400 is pinched by, for example, tweezers 513 and the optical surfaces 401 and 402 of the workpiece 400 are wiped and cleaned while moving the end 502 or 503 of the cotton swab 501 soaked with an organic solvent in the direction of the arrow 504. I can do it.

  Also, the work 400 can be wiped without attaching an organic solvent to the cotton swab 501 to remove moisture and deposits from the work 400.

  The cleaning / drying method described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19 is often used for cleaning / drying although it cannot be cleaned / dried by the method described with reference to FIGS. However, as described above, when a very small work having a side of 8 mm or less, for example, a 1.4 mm square, is gripped with tweezers, water is wiped off, or a large work with a side of 8 mm or more is attached to a garnet wafer as a work. It is very difficult to wipe off many magnetic deposits.

  As explained above, cleaning of magnetic optical components is difficult even when non-magnetic dirt on optical components before cleaning can be removed with detergent, etc. In the case of the above example where the optical component itself is chipped and small particles are generated and adhere to the optical component of the object to be cleaned, cleaning with an ultrasonic cleaner is not possible, and manual wiping is performed. I had to rely on work.

  Also, with the conventional cleaning method using a cleaning / drying jig, moisture remains on the workpiece such as a multilayer filter to be cleaned, particularly when the optical parts to be cleaned are small, and good cleaning is performed. As a result, it is not possible to obtain a clean multilayer filter, and as a result, to remove the remaining moisture, grasp the workpiece such as the multilayer filter with tweezers and wipe the stain and moisture caused by the residual cleaning liquid with cleaning paper Needed.

  When the work to be cleaned is very small, or when the number of adhering particles is fine and many, gripping the work with tweezers and wiping off the dirt with cleaning paper requires extremely high skill and obtains satisfactory quality characteristics. To do this, worker training for several months was required. Moreover, even if this wiping work is obtained, the work efficiency is poor, and in the work of wiping off a large optical component having a side of about 11 mm so that there are almost no particles, only about 3 to 5 sheets can be cleaned per hour. I could not do it.

  Therefore, it does not require the work that requires the skill that is essential for long-time worker training, and the work efficiency is good, and many optical parts can be washed and dried at one time. It has been strongly desired to realize a cleaning method that can obtain an optical component in a good state that can exhibit its functions satisfactorily.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the object of the present invention is not to rely on a wiping operation requiring skill for which long-time worker training is indispensable, and it is possible to efficiently perform magnetism. When using optical components such as garnets in modules such as isolators, cleaning methods and systems that can be cleaned in a good state so that the functions of the modules can be satisfactorily used, and cleaning An object of the present invention is to provide an optical component holding jig that can be used.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems.

  The optical component cleaning method according to claim 1 of the present invention cleans an optical component as an object to be cleaned by applying ultrasonic waves in a detergent such as an alkaline solution or water during a cleaning process for cleaning the optical component. A method for cleaning an optical component including a cleaning step, wherein a magnet including neodymium, iron and boron as a composition or a magnet including neodymium, iron and boron as a plurality of compositions is disposed on at least one optical surface of the optical component. An optical component cleaning method, wherein magnet plywood is disposed opposite to be cleaned.

  The optical component cleaning system according to claim 2 of the present invention cleans an optical component as an object to be cleaned by applying ultrasonic waves in a detergent such as an alkaline solution or water during a cleaning process for cleaning the optical component. In an optical component cleaning system including a cleaning process, an optical component holding jig that supports three optical components as an object to be cleaned, the optical component as an object to be cleaned on the optical component holding jig, and at least one of the optical components An optical component comprising: a magnet containing neodymium, iron and boron as a composition arranged facing the optical surface; or a magnet plywood formed from magnets containing neodymium, iron and boron as a plurality of compositions, and cleaning. The cleaning system.

  The optical component holding jig according to claim 3 of the present invention cleans an optical component as an object to be cleaned by applying an ultrasonic wave in a detergent such as an alkaline solution or water during a cleaning process for cleaning the optical component. An optical component holding jig that can be used in an optical component cleaning method or a cleaning system including a cleaning process, wherein the optical component holding jig is one or both of an optical component holding portion, a magnet holding portion, and a magnet plywood holding portion. And a magnet plywood formed of magnets containing neodymium, iron and boron as a composition or magnets containing neodymium, iron and boron as a plurality of compositions facing each other on at least one optical surface of the optical component It is an optical component holding jig characterized by being able to do.

  As described above, the present invention is an optical component that is easily chipped and magnetic, such as a garnet wafer for a Faraday rotator that could not be cleaned without using a hand wiping process. Ultrasonic cleaning and spin drying can be performed in large quantities in a short time with high quality without using a manual wiping process, resulting in a significant reduction in cleaning costs and a significant improvement in cleaning quality. This is a great industrial advantage.

  Examples of embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The drawings used for the description schematically show the dimensions, shapes, arrangement relationships, and the like of each component to the extent that an example of the present invention can be understood. For convenience of explanation of the present invention, there may be cases where the enlargement ratio is partially changed for illustration, and the drawings used for explanation of the examples of the present invention may not necessarily be similar to the actual objects and descriptions of the embodiments. Moreover, in each figure, about the same component, it attaches and shows the same number, The overlapping description may be abbreviate | omitted.

  As described above, the optical component holding jig, the cleaning method, and the cleaning system according to the present invention are particularly prominent. As described above, magnets including neodymium, iron, and boron as compositions are arranged oppositely. The optical component holding jig, cleaning method, and cleaning system that can clean optical components such as magnetic garnet without relying on highly skilled hand wiping work. is there.

  First, in order to deepen the understanding of the embodiment having the above features of the present invention, a cradle convenient for handling an optical component holding jig holding an optical component will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a cradle conventionally used in a cleaning or drying process. 1A is a view of the cradle as viewed from above, FIG. 1B is a view of the cradle as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 1C is a view of the cradle as viewed from the right side. The positional relationship is shown.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 800 is a cradle, 811 to 814 are side walls of the cradle, 820 and 821 are pins attached to lower portions of the side walls 812 and 813, 830 is a handle portion used when the cradle 800 is held, and 852 to 854 are respectively A support column 851 provided below the inner side of the side walls 811 to 814 (that is, the bottom of the cradle) is a mounting unit on which a cleaning / drying jig is mounted and is fixed to the columns 852 to 854. The cradle 800 can be made of, for example, stainless steel.

  In FIG. 1, when a cleaning / drying jig holding an optical component is placed in the cradle 800 and the cleaned optical component is spin-dried, the cleaning / drying jig is placed on the mounting portion 851 and the cradle is placed. Attach to the spin dryer. The mounting portion 851 is not limited to this, but is formed below the cradle, for example, slightly above the position of the pins 820 and 821, and when using a parallel plate cleaning / drying jig, It is convenient for handling if the bottom surface of the cradle mounted on the rotating body, the mounting portion 851, and the front and back surfaces of the parallel plate cleaning / drying jig are all parallel.

  Next, a plate-like garnet wafer having magnetism is supported at three points as shown in FIGS. 8, 10, and 11 using the optical component supporting parts described with reference to FIGS. One of the cleaning principles of the present invention that can be cleaned cleanly by repeating the cleaning process of performing ultrasonic cleaning in step 1 and then performing ultrasonic cleaning in ultrapure water will be described.

  Garnets used for Faraday rotators are usually used in the form of a wafer by depositing anti-reflective coatings on both sides of the wafer and processing them into Faraday rotators. It is important to remove dust and stains adhering to the surface from which the film is deposited by washing.

  However, as described above, in the case of a garnet wafer with magnetism, the ultrasonic cleaning with a conventional alkaline detergent or ultrapure water can completely clean non-magnetic deposits. Many particles of garnet powder adhere to the particles, and no matter how the detergent or ultrasonic conditions are selected, or when the detergent is replaced with a new one each time, No garnet wafer could be obtained.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the cleaning principle of the present invention, and is a diagram showing an example in which an optical surface of a garnet wafer as an optical component to be cleaned and a magnet are arranged facing each other in a detergent of an ultrasonic cleaning tank. In the drawing, the optical component holding jig and the holding frame holding the garnet wafer and the magnet are omitted and not shown.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 51 denotes a garnet wafer as an optical component to be cleaned, 51a and 51b denote optical surfaces of the garnet wafer 51, 52 denotes a magnet, and 52a denotes an optical surface 51a or 51b of the garnet wafer 51 of the magnet 52. Surface. N and S marked on each magnet indicate the N pole side and the S pole side of the magnet, respectively.

  The cleaning result of such a clean garnet wafer by ultrasonic cleaning has never been obtained in the past. Compared to the fact that the cleaning of garnet wafers was not possible with ultrasonic cleaning as described above and it had to be relied on by hand-wiping work, the cleaning method of the present invention and the cleaning system using the method were It is apparent that this is a new cleaning method and cleaning system based on a completely different technical idea from the conventional one, and the effect is extremely remarkable. Also, the optical component holding jig used in the cleaning method of the present invention and arranged so that the surface to be cleaned of the optical component and the magnetic pole surface such as a magnet or a magnet plywood face each other is also a novel cleaning jig. Is clear from the above description.

  An optical component holding jig such as a three-point support holding jig is created, and a garnet wafer 51 and a magnet 52 are arranged as shown in FIG. 2, and ultrasonic cleaning is repeated in an alkaline detergent and ultrapure water as appropriate. After drying by spin drying, cleanliness such as the presence of particles on the optical surface of the garnet wafer 51 was examined using a dark field microscope similar to the case of FIG. As washing conditions, the presence or absence of ultrasonic waves, the frequency of ultrasonic waves of ultrasonic cleaning, and the like were varied, and the cleaning results were examined.

  As a first cleaning example, when cleaning is performed without using ultrasonic waves in the cleaning process, the presence or absence of the particles does not matter, and dirt other than magnetic deposits that have been conventionally cleaned The optical surface of the garnet wafer 51 could not be effectively cleaned.

  As a second cleaning example, in the cleaning process, ultrasonic cleaning is performed without placing a magnet facing the optical surface of the garnet wafer 51, and after removing normal dirt, the garnet wafer 51 and As a result of arranging the magnet 52 and leaving it in alkaline detergent or ultrapure water for a predetermined time without using ultrasonic waves and examining the presence of the particles on the optical surface after drying, the normal dirt is removed. However, many particles were attached to the optical surface.

  As a third cleaning example, a garnet wafer 51 and a magnet 52 are arranged as shown in FIG. 2, and the first ultrasonic cleaning is performed in an alkaline detergent, followed by the second ultrasonic cleaning in ultra pure water. After cleaning, the third ultrasonic cleaning is performed in an alkaline detergent, followed by the fourth ultrasonic cleaning in ultrapure water, followed by drying with a spin dryer. As a result of investigating the presence of the particles, it was possible to remove normal dirt, and it was possible to greatly reduce the number of adhered particles on the optical surface.

  FIG. 3 shows an optical surface arranged opposite to the magnet plywood of the garnet wafer by the cleaning and drying according to the present invention, taken with a dark field microscope under the same conditions as in FIG. It is the photograph shown. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 51 c denotes a portion of the garnet wafer 51 that is free of particles caused by the chipping of the garnet wafer.

  FIGS. 3 and 16 each have a scale indicating 300 μm. When the scales are made the same in this way, FIG. 16 shows an extremely large number of garnets that could not be removed by the conventional cleaning method. In contrast to the particles 1331b adhering, FIG. 3 shows that no garnet particles are attached.

  The cleaning result of such a clean garnet wafer by ultrasonic cleaning has never been obtained in the past. Compared to the fact that the cleaning of garnet wafers was not possible with ultrasonic cleaning as described above and it had to be relied on by hand-wiping work, the cleaning method of the present invention and the cleaning system using the method were It is apparent that this is a new cleaning method and cleaning system based on a completely different technical idea from the conventional one, and the effect is extremely remarkable. It is apparent from the above description that the optical component holding jig used in the cleaning method of the present invention is also a novel cleaning jig.

  The magnet used for the magnet or the magnet plywood preferably has a high magnetic flux density when measured in contact with the magnet surface, and even if a weak magnet is used, it is difficult to obtain the above effect. As a particularly strong magnet, as described above, there is a magnet containing neodymium, iron and boron as a composition, that is, a neodymium / iron / boron magnet, and a magnetic flux density of 13,000 G or more is possible. It is preferable to use it after carrying out antirust coating.

  As described above, the cleaning method, the cleaning system, and the cleaning system of the present invention that can clean a garnet wafer as an example of an optical component that is easily chipped and has a good antireflection film by ultrasonic cleaning so that a good antireflection film can be deposited. Although the embodiment of the optical component holding jig that can be used has been described, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited to this.

  As described above, the present invention is an optical component that is easily chipped and magnetic, such as a garnet wafer for a Faraday rotator that could not be cleaned without using a hand wiping process. Ultrasonic cleaning and spin drying can be performed in large quantities in a short time with high quality without using a manual wiping process, resulting in a significant reduction in cleaning costs and a significant improvement in cleaning quality. The present invention is not limited to cleaning optical communication components, and can be widely applied to cleaning magnetic optical components.

It is a figure explaining a cradle, (A) is the figure which looked at the cradle from the upper part, (B) is the figure which looked at the cradle from this side, (C) is the figure which looked at the cradle from the right side. It is a figure explaining the cleaning principle of this invention, and is a figure explaining the example of arrangement | positioning of the optical surface of a garnet wafer as a to-be-cleaned optical component, and a magnet. It is the photograph which showed the optical surface of the garnet wafer wash | cleaned with the washing | cleaning method of this invention, image | photographed with the dark field microscope, and reversed black and white. It is the perspective view which showed the principal part of the conventional spin dryer modelly. It is a figure explaining the holding | maintenance method by 3 point | piece support of a workpiece | work. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of an optical component support component, and is a perspective view of one optical component support component. It is the figure which looked at the cross section which cut | disconnected the optical component support component of FIG. 6 in the position of the straight line Y1-Y2 from diagonally. It is a figure for demonstrating the state holding the workpiece | work with the three optical component support components of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of an optical component support component, and is a perspective view of one optical component support component. It is a figure explaining the state holding the workpiece | work with the three optical component support components of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the contact state of a workpiece | work and support components. It is a perspective view of the conventional washing | cleaning / drying jig | tool. It is a perspective view explaining the washing | cleaning method using the conventional optical component holding jig. It is a top view explaining the washing | cleaning method using the conventional optical component holding jig. It is a figure explaining the washing | cleaning method using the conventional optical component holding jig. It is the photograph which showed the optical surface of the garnet wafer wash | cleaned with the conventional washing | cleaning method, image | photographed with the dark field microscope, and reversed black and white. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the conventional spin dryer. It is a schematic diagram explaining the manual wiping operation | work of the residual washing | cleaning liquid in the washing | cleaning and drying method of the conventional optical component. It is a schematic diagram explaining the manual wiping operation | work of the residual washing | cleaning liquid in the washing | cleaning and drying method of the conventional optical component.

Explanation of symbols

1301: Spin dryer 1010, 1303: Rotating body 1370: Rotating plate 800, 1016, 1017: Cradle 830: Handle part 1014, 1015, 1355: Cleaning / drying jig 1018a, 1019a, 1310-1313: Holder 1018b, 1019b: Grooves 1021-1024, 1315: support rods 504, 1316: arrows 51, 1331a: garnet wafers 51a, 51b: optical surfaces 51c, 1331c: parts free of garnet particles 52: magnets 52a: arranged to face the optical surface to be cleaned 1350a: optical component holding jig 1350b: holding frame 1332-1334, 1340, 1350: optical component support component 1356: optical component insertion portion 1356b: through hole 400, 1331: work (optical component)
501: Cotton swab 502, 503: End portion 510: Hand wrap 511: Organic solvent 512: Dish portion 513: Tweezers 514: Tube 1011: Rotating shaft 1012a, 1012b, 1013a, 1013b: Fixing screw 1020: Upper frame 1018, 1019: Connection Pins 1310c, 1311c, 1312c, 1313c: Side walls 1310a, 1310b, 1311a, 1311b, 1312a, 1312b, 1313a, 1313b: Cradle installation grooves 1331b: Garnet wafer particles 1353: Grooves of optical component support components 1350 1356a: Optical component mounting Mounting frame N: N pole of magnetic pole S: S pole of magnetic pole

Claims (3)

  In a cleaning method for an optical component, including a cleaning step of cleaning an optical component as an object to be cleaned in a detergent such as an alkaline solution or water during the cleaning step of cleaning the optical component, at least the optical component A magnet plywood formed by arranging magnets containing neodymium, iron, and boron as a composition or magnets containing neodymium, iron, and boron as a plurality of compositions on one optical surface is disposed and washed. Cleaning method for optical components.   In an optical component cleaning system including a cleaning process in which an optical component as an object to be cleaned is irradiated with ultrasonic waves in a detergent such as an alkaline solution or water during the cleaning process for cleaning the optical component, An optical component holding jig that supports three optical components, and the optical component as the object to be cleaned and the composition arranged to face at least one optical surface of the optical component holding jig include neodymium, iron, and boron. An optical component cleaning system comprising: a magnet including or a magnet plywood formed of magnets including neodymium, iron, and boron as a plurality of compositions. It is used for a cleaning method or a cleaning system of an optical component including a cleaning step of cleaning an optical component as an object to be cleaned by applying ultrasonic waves in a detergent such as an alkaline solution or water during the cleaning step of cleaning the optical component. In the optical component holding jig, the optical component holding jig has an optical component holding portion, a magnet holding portion, and a magnet plywood holding portion or both, and at least one optical surface of the optical component And a magnet plywood formed of magnets containing neodymium, iron, and boron as a composition, or magnets containing neodymium, iron, and boron as a plurality of compositions.

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