JP2005128427A - Optical component - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical component with which a collimating lens is stably fixed to the case body over a long term without reduction of the mechanical strength by producing a crack in the collimating lens. <P>SOLUTION: In the optical component 10 provided with an optical fiber 13, the collimating lens 12 placed to face the tip 13c of the optical fiber 13, and a cylindrical casing 11 for holding them, the length of a lens holding part 11c of the casing 11 is made almost equal to that of the collimating lens 12, and the inside diameter of the lens holding part 11c is made larger than the outside diameter of the collimating lens, and the collimating lens 12 is fixed to the casing 11 with a fixing material 14 filled in a gap between the lens holding part 11c and the collimating lens 12 so that the longitudinal center axis of the collimating lens 12 is inclined to the longitudinal center axis of the part of the case body 11 for holding the collimating lens. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical component in which a collimating lens disposed opposite to one end of an optical fiber is accommodated in a housing.

As a method of extending the distance that can propagate the light propagating in the optical fiber with low loss, for example, a method in which a collimating lens is connected to one end of the optical fiber and the light propagating in the optical fiber is expanded by the collimating lens. There is.
In order to employ such a method, there has been proposed an optical component in which a collimator lens is connected to one end of an optical fiber, and these are housed in a cylindrical housing and fixed in the housing.

  Generally as a collimating lens used for such an optical component, a GRIN lens, a spherical lens, an aspherical lens, etc. are mentioned.

  As a method for fixing the collimating lens to the casing, a fixing method using an adhesive (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2), a fixing method for press-fitting the collimating lens into the casing (for example, refer to Patent Document 3), low A fixing method using melting point glass (for example, see Patent Documents 4 and 5), a fixing method using solder, and the like are used.

 Examples of the adhesive used in the fixing method using an adhesive include an ultraviolet curable adhesive, a thermosetting adhesive, or an ultraviolet heat combined adhesive using both in combination. In general, thermosetting adhesives used in optical components, or UV curable adhesives and UV heat adhesives, which have a high curing temperature, are about 200 ° C. There is an advantage that it can be fixed without applying thermal stress. In addition, if an ultraviolet curable adhesive is used, there is an advantage that the thermal stress on the collimating lens can be further reduced and fixed.

 The fixing method for press-fitting the collimating lens into the housing has no inclusions (fixing material such as adhesive) between the collimating lens and the housing, so there is no deterioration due to environmental factors, and the collimating lens is fixed to the specified inside of the housing. There is an advantage that it can be firmly fixed in position.

 The fixing method using the low melting point glass or solder can hermetically seal the space between the collimating lens and the housing, so that moisture can be completely prevented from entering the optical path. Thereby, an optical component with little deterioration due to environmental changes (temperature, humidity) can be produced. Further, the fixing part of the collimating lens itself is less susceptible to deterioration due to environmental changes, and has an advantage that a stable fixing state can be maintained over a long period of time.

 In particular, the fixing method using the low melting point glass, unlike the fixing method using the solder, does not require metallization to the collimating lens, so that it is possible to manufacture an optical component at a lower cost than the fixing method using the solder. .

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a conventional optical component.
This optical component 100 is generally configured by a cylindrical casing 101, a collimating lens 102, and an optical fiber strand 103.
In the optical component 100, the other end face 102b of the collimating lens 102 is joined to the exposed end 103c of the bare fiber 103a from which the coating layer 103b at one end of the optical fiber 103 is removed, and these are accommodated in the housing 101. Has been.

 The collimating lens 102 is inserted into the insertion hole 101 c such that one end face 102 a thereof is positioned on the one end 101 a of the casing 101 outside the insertion hole 101 c of the casing 101. The collimating lens 102 has a housing 101 formed of a low melting point glass 104 filled in a gap between the insertion hole 101c and the fiber accommodating portion 101d and the collimating lens 102 on the one end face 102a side of the broken line CC. It is fixed to. Furthermore, the side surface of the portion protruding from the insertion hole 101 c of the collimating lens 102 and one end surface 101 b of the housing 101 are covered with the low melting point glass 104.

 When the collimating lens 102 and the optical fiber strand 103 are directly joined as in the optical component 100, the reflected light from the other end surface 102b of the collimating lens 102 is again applied to the tip 103c of the optical fiber strand 103. The tip 103 c of the optical fiber 103 is joined to the end face 102 b of the collimating lens 102 so as not to be coupled with being shifted from the central axis of the collimating lens 102 by several tens of μm. In this case, the outgoing beam is emitted with an inclination from the center of the collimating lens 102. Therefore, in order to emit the outgoing beam from one end face 102a of the collimating lens 102 in parallel with the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the casing 101, the collimating lens 102 has a longitudinal central axis in the longitudinal direction of the casing 101. It is being fixed to the housing | casing 101 in the state inclined with respect to the central axis.

 In the optical component 100, the inner diameter of the insertion hole 101c is formed larger than the outer diameter of the collimating lens 102. Since the collimator lens 102 is joined while being inclined, the beam may be emitted from the center of the housing 101 by making the inner diameter of the insertion hole 101c smaller than the inner diameter of the fiber housing portion 101d. Further, the length of the insertion hole 101c is about half or less of the length of the collimating lens 102.

 Further, the optical fiber 103 is drawn out of the housing 101 from the other end 101e of the housing 101, and the fiber housing portion 101d and the covering portion 103b of the optical fiber 103 housed in the housing 101 are connected. The gap 105 is filled with the adhesive 105, the other end surface 101 f of the housing 101 is covered with the adhesive 105, and the optical fiber strand 103 is fixed to the housing 101.

 However, in the above-described method of fixing the collimating lens with an adhesive, the fixing strength of the collimating lens is reduced due to the deterioration of the adhesive, the collimating lens is displaced from a predetermined position, and the collimating lens is made to face to produce an optical component. After that, coupling loss with the collimating lens on the light receiving side may occur, which may adversely affect signal transmission. In addition, the collimating lens may fall out of the housing.

 In the fixing method in which the collimating lens is press-fitted into the casing, not only the manufacturing process is complicated, but also the manufacturing conditions are severe, so that there is a problem that the yield is lowered and the manufacturing cost is increased. Moreover, since a highly accurate dimension is required for the collimating lens and the lens holder for fixing the collimating lens, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost further increases.

 In the fixing method using the low-melting glass or solder described above, the stress acting on the collimating lens is very large due to thermal contraction when the low-melting glass is melted and solidified again. For this reason, when the low melting point glass is cooled and solidified, a crack may be generated inside the collimating lens, or the mechanical strength of the collimating lens may be reduced. Therefore, in an optical component in which the collimating lens is fixed to the housing with low melting point glass, especially when the optical fiber and the collimating lens are directly joined, the collimating lens is easily made by the tensile force applied to the optical fiber. There is a problem of breaking.

 In the optical component 100 shown in FIG. 6, the inner diameters of the insertion hole 101 c and the fiber housing portion 101 d are larger than the outer diameter of the collimating lens 102. In particular, the inner diameter of the fiber accommodating portion 101d is much larger than the outer diameter of the collimating lens 102, and the gap between the collimating lens 102 and the fiber accommodating portion 101d is larger at the other end face 102b side than the broken line CC. It has become.

 In such an optical component 100, the low melting point glass 104 is completely filled in the gap between the collimating lens 102, the insertion hole 101c, and the fiber housing portion 101d in the portion on the one end face 102a side from the broken line CC. The collimating lens 102 is fixed to the housing 101. On the other hand, the gap between the collimating lens 102 and the fiber housing portion 101d is too large in the portion on the other end face 102b side from the broken line CC, and the low melting point glass 104 is placed in the gap between the collimating lens 102 and the insertion hole 101c. Is almost unfilled.

 Therefore, with the broken line CC as a boundary, the magnitude of the stress acting when the low melting point glass 104 solidifies in the part on the one end face 102a side and the part on the other end part 102b side from the broken line CC. A difference arises. Therefore, when the low melting point glass 104 is solidified, a crack may occur in the collimating lens 102 at a portion along the broken line CC.

In addition, the mechanical strength of the collimating lens 102 is reduced due to a crack generated in the collimating lens 102, and the collimating lens 102 may be broken at a portion along the broken line CC due to a tensile force applied to the optical fiber 103. .
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-196840 Japanese Patent No. 2509582 Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 7-122687 JP 2002-243975 A Japanese Patent No. 3187706

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an optical component in which a collimating lens is stably fixed to a housing for a long period of time without reducing mechanical strength by causing cracks in the collimating lens. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is an optical component comprising an optical fiber, a collimating lens arranged to face one end of the optical fiber, and a cylindrical housing for housing these, The length of the portion of the housing that houses the collimating lens is substantially equal to the length of the collimating lens, and the inner diameter of the portion of the housing that houses the collimating lens is larger than the outer diameter of the collimating lens. The collimating lens is larger than the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the portion of the casing that accommodates the collimating lens, and the collimating lens is inclined in the casing. An optical component fixed to the casing is provided by a fixing material filled in a gap between the collimating lens and a portion accommodating the collimating lens.

  In the optical component having the above-described configuration, it is preferable that the fixing material is filled in the gap between the collimating lens and a portion of the housing that accommodates the collimating lens over the entire length of the collimating lens.

  In the optical component having the above-described configuration, the fixing material is filled in a gap between the collimating lens and a portion of the housing that accommodates the collimating lens on an end surface of the collimating lens on the optical fiber side. preferable.

In the optical component configured as described above, the fixing material is preferably an inorganic material.
The inorganic material is preferably low-melting glass.

  In the optical component of the present invention, the length of the portion of the housing that accommodates the collimating lens is substantially equal to the length of the collimating lens, and the inner diameter of the portion of the housing that accommodates the collimating lens is set to be larger than the outer diameter of the collimating lens. The collimating lens is accommodated in the housing so that the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the collimating lens is inclined with respect to the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the portion accommodating the collimating lens in the housing. By fixing to the housing with a fixing material filled over the entire length of the collimating lens in the gap between the part and the collimating lens, the partial bias of stress generated in the collimating lens when the fixing material solidifies is eliminated, As a result, it is possible to prevent a crack from occurring inside the collimating lens. Moreover, since the breaking strength of the collimating lens is improved, the mechanical reliability of the optical component is also improved. Therefore, the optical component of the present invention has a high manufacturing yield and a structure with few failures.

  In the optical component of the present invention, the length of the portion of the housing that accommodates the collimating lens is substantially equal to the length of the collimating lens, and the inner diameter of the portion of the housing that accommodates the collimating lens is larger than the outer diameter of the collimating lens. The collimating lens is accommodated in the housing so that the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the collimating lens is inclined with respect to the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the portion accommodating the collimating lens in the housing. By fixing to the housing with a fixing material filled in the side surface of the collimating lens on the optical fiber side in the gap between the part and the collimating lens, a partial stress of the collimating lens generated when the fixing material solidifies As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of cracks in the collimating lens. Furthermore, the possibility that a fixing material such as low-melting glass adheres to the vicinity of one end face of the collimating lens is reduced, resulting in a high manufacturing yield and a structure with few failures.

Hereinafter, an optical component embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of the optical component of the present invention.
The optical component 10 of this embodiment is generally configured by a cylindrical housing 11, a collimating lens 12, and an optical fiber 13.

 In the optical component 10, the collimating lens 12 is joined to the tip 13 c of the bare wire portion 13 a exposed by removing the covering portion 13 b at one end of the optical fiber 13, and these are accommodated in the housing 11.

 Further, the collimating lens 12 is a portion (hereinafter referred to as a “lens housing portion”) that accommodates a collimating lens provided at one end portion 11a of the housing 11 from the fiber housing portion 11d of the housing 11 toward the one end surface 11b. It is housed in 11c. The collimating lens 12 is fixed to the lens accommodating portion 11c by a fixing material 14 filled in the gap between the lens accommodating portion 11c and the collimating lens 12 over the entire length of the collimating lens 12. Note that the length of the lens housing portion 11c is substantially equal to the length of the collimating lens, and the inner diameter of the lens housing portion 11c is larger than the outer diameter of the collimating lens 12, so It is desirable to make the diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the fiber accommodating portion 11d so that the light is emitted from near the center of the fiber to facilitate alignment.

 As described above, the length of the lens housing portion 11c is substantially equal to the length of the collimating lens 12, but the length of the lens housing portion 11c is {(lens length) with respect to the length of the collimating lens 12. ) − (Projection amount of the front end of the lens)}.

 In addition, as described above, the inner diameter of the lens housing portion 11c is larger than the outer diameter of the collimating lens 12, but the inner diameter of the lens housing portion 11c is equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the fiber housing portion 11d. It is preferable that the outer diameter of the collimating lens 12 is about 1.5 times or more.

 If the inner diameter and the length of the lens housing portion 11c are set as described above, a sufficient amount of the fixing material 14 to have the required mechanical strength (breaking strength and the like) can be obtained. It can be filled between.

 The collimating lens 12 is accommodated in the lens accommodating portion 11 c so that one end surface 12 a protrudes about 0.2 to 0.4 mm from the one end surface 11 b of the housing 11. It is fixed to the accommodating part 11c. Further, the side surface of the collimating lens 12 that protrudes beyond the lens housing portion 11 c and one end surface 11 b of the housing 11 are covered with a fixing material 14.

 The distal end 13 c of the optical fiber 13 is joined to the other end face 12 b of the collimating lens 12 with a shift of several tens of μm from the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the collimating lens 12. Thereby, the reflected light from the other end surface 12b of the collimating lens 12 is not coupled to the tip 13c of the optical fiber 13 again.

 In this case, the collimating lens 12 is fixed in the lens housing portion 11 c in a state where the central axis in the longitudinal direction is inclined with respect to the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the housing 11. As a result, the outgoing beam can be emitted from the one end face 12 a of the collimating lens 12 in parallel with the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the housing 11.

  Further, the optical fiber 13 is pulled out from the other end 11e of the housing 11 to the outside of the housing 11, and in the gap between the fiber housing portion 11d and the covering portion 13b of the optical fiber 13 housed in the housing 11. The adhesive 15 is filled, and the other end surface 11 f of the housing 11 is covered with the adhesive 15, and the optical fiber 13 is fixed to the housing 11.

The casing 11 is a cylindrical member formed of various metals, various glasses, ceramics, and the like, and the outer shape and size thereof are appropriately set according to the shapes and sizes of the collimating lens 12 and the optical fiber 13. The Further, the shape (internal shape) and size of the lens housing portion 11 c are appropriately set according to the outer diameter and length of the collimating lens 12. Furthermore, the shape (internal shape) and size of the fiber housing portion 11 d that houses the optical fiber 13 are appropriately set according to the shape and size of the optical fiber 13.
In this embodiment, the casing 11 is a cylindrical member, but the optical component of the present invention is not limited to this.

  As the collimating lens 12, a lens having a function of collimating light emitted from the optical fiber 13, such as a rod lens made of quartz or the like, a GRIN lens, or an aspheric glass mold lens, is used. The outer diameter and length of the collimating lens 12 are appropriately set according to the refractive index distribution, material, and shape.

  As the optical fiber 13, an optical fiber or an optical fiber core made of a single mode fiber, a polarization maintaining fiber, a graded index fiber, or the like is used.

  As the fixing material 14, an inorganic material such as low melting point glass, solder, or metal brazing material is used. However, there is no need to metalize the collimating lens 12, and environmental stability is excellent (environmental changes such as temperature and humidity). Low melting point glass is preferable.

  As the adhesive 15, any material such as an ultraviolet curable adhesive, a thermosetting adhesive, and an ultraviolet heat combined adhesive can be used.

  In this embodiment, an example in which the collimating lens 12 and the optical fiber 13 are directly joined is shown. However, the optical component of the present invention is not limited to this, and the collimating lens 12 faces one end of the optical fiber 13. It only has to be arranged.

Next, the manufacturing method of the first embodiment of the optical component of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 2, the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the fiber holder 20 is the Z-axis direction, the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fiber holder 20, the direction parallel to the paper surface is the X-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to the paper surface is the Y-axis. The direction.
First, the tip 13c of the optical fiber 13 is fused to the other end surface 12b of the collimating lens 12 by a known method, shifted by several tens of μm from the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the collimating lens 12.

Next, a predetermined position of the optical fiber 13 is held by the fiber holder 20 and fixed so that the longitudinal directions of both are parallel.
Next, the fiber holder 20 is placed on a holder support (not shown) of an optical component manufacturing apparatus (not shown), and the longitudinal direction of the fiber holder 20 and the vertical direction (Z-axis direction in FIG. 2) are parallel to each other. Fix to be.
Next, the housing 11 is fixed to a clamp (not shown) of the optical component manufacturing apparatus.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the fiber holder 20 is moved in the Z-axis direction, and the collimating lens 12 is inserted into the lens housing portion 11 c of the housing 11.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2A, the fiber holder 20 is finely moved in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction so that one end face 12a of the collimating lens 12 is moved in the longitudinal direction of the housing 11 in the lens housing portion 11c. And the collimating lens 12 is in a state in which the central axis in the longitudinal direction is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the housing 11 in the lens housing portion 11c. .

  At the same time, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), one end face 12a of the collimating lens 12 is brought into contact with the casing 11 in accordance with the adjustment of the position on the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the casing 11 in the lens accommodating portion 11c. Since the protrusion amount that protrudes from the lens housing portion 11c varies, the fiber holder 20 is slightly moved in the Z-axis direction to adjust the protrusion amount to an appropriate value.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, an annular low-melting-point glass preform 30 is fitted into a portion of the collimating lens 12 that protrudes from the lens housing portion 11c of the housing 11, and then a semiconductor laser and a high-frequency heating device are used. The low melting point glass preform 30 is heated by a heat source such as a spot heater or a soldering hand to melt the low melting point glass preform 30.

  While the low melting point glass preform 30 is melted, the collimating lens 12 is once completely protruded from the lens housing portion 11c of the housing 11, and the outer peripheral surface of the collimating lens 12 is surrounded by the low melting point glass, By pulling again into the lens housing portion 11 c of the housing 11, the space between the collimating lens 12 and the lens housing portion 11 c can be completely filled with low melting point glass, and the lens housing portion of the housing 11 of the collimating lens 12. The side surface of the portion protruding from 11c and one end surface 11b of the housing 11 are covered with low-melting glass.

  Thereafter, the low melting point glass is gradually cooled and cured, so that the collimating lens 12 is firmly bonded to the housing 11.

  Next, an adhesive is filled between the fiber housing portion 11d of the housing 11 and the covering portion 13b of the optical fiber 13 housed in the housing 11, and the optical fiber 13 is fixed to the housing 11 by Get the optical components.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the optical component of the present invention.
The optical component 40 of this embodiment is generally configured by a cylindrical housing 41, a collimating lens 42, and an optical fiber 43.

 In the optical component 40, the collimating lens 42 is joined to the tip 43 c of the bare wire portion 43 a exposed by removing the covering portion 43 b at one end of the optical fiber 43, and these are accommodated in the housing 41.

 The collimating lens 42 is accommodated in one end 41a of the housing 41 in a lens housing 41c provided from the fiber housing 41d of the housing 41 toward the one end surface 41b. The collimator lens 42 is located in the gap between the lens housing portion 41c and the collimator lens 42 at a portion closer to the distal end 43c of the optical fiber 43 than the substantially center of the collimator lens 42 (portion along the broken line AA in FIG. 4). It is fixed to the lens accommodating portion 41c by a fixing material 44 filled in the lens. Note that the length of the lens housing portion 41 c is substantially equal to the length of the collimating lens, and the inner diameter of the lens housing portion 41 c is larger than the outer diameter of the collimating lens 42, so In order to emit a beam from the vicinity, it is desirable that it is smaller than the inner diameter of the fiber accommodating portion 41d.

 As described above, the length of the lens housing portion 41 c is substantially equal to the length of the collimating lens 42, but the length of the lens housing portion 41 c is about half or more than the length of the collimating lens 42. It is preferable.

 Further, as described above, the inner diameter of the lens housing portion 41c is larger than the outer diameter of the collimating lens 42, but the inner diameter of the lens housing portion 41c is equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the fiber housing portion 41d. It is preferable that the outer diameter of the collimating lens 42 is about 1.5 times or more.

 If the inner diameter and the length of the lens housing portion 41c are set as described above, a sufficient amount of the fixing material 44 to have the required mechanical strength (breaking strength, etc.) can be obtained. It can be filled between.

 The collimating lens 42 is accommodated in the lens accommodating portion 41 c so that one end surface 42 a protrudes about 0.2 to 0.4 mm from the one end surface 41 b of the housing 41, and the lens is fixed by the fixing material 44. It is being fixed to the accommodating part 41c.

 The tip 13c of the optical fiber 43 is joined to the other end face 42b of the collimating lens 42 while being shifted from the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the collimating lens 42 by several tens of μm. Thereby, the reflected light from the other end face 42 b of the collimator lens 42 is not coupled again to the tip 43 c of the optical fiber 43.

  In this case, the collimating lens 42 is fixed in the lens housing portion 41 c in a state where the central axis in the longitudinal direction is inclined obliquely with respect to the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the housing 11. As a result, the outgoing beam can be emitted from one end face 42 a of the collimating lens 42 in parallel with the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the housing 41.

  Further, the optical fiber 43 is pulled out from the other end 41 e of the housing 41 to the outside of the housing 41, and in the gap between the fiber housing portion 41 d and the covering portion 43 b of the optical fiber 43 housed in the housing 41. The adhesive 45 is filled, and the other end surface 41 f of the housing 41 is covered with the adhesive 45, and the optical fiber 43 is fixed to the housing 41.

As the casing 41, the same one as the casing 11 is used.
As the collimating lens 42, the same one as the collimating lens 12 is used.

  As the optical fiber 43, an optical fiber strand or an optical fiber core made of a single mode fiber, a polarization maintaining fiber, a graded index fiber, or the like is used.

As the fixing material 44, the same material as the fixing material 14 is used.
As the adhesive 45, the same adhesive as the adhesive 15 is used.

In this embodiment, an example in which the collimating lens 42 and the optical fiber 43 are directly joined is shown. However, the optical component of the present invention is not limited to this, and the collimating lens 42 faces one end of the optical fiber 43. It only has to be arranged.
Further, in this embodiment, in the gap between the lens housing portion 41c and the collimating lens 42, a portion closer to the tip 43c of the optical fiber 43 than the substantially center of the collimating lens 42 (portion along the broken line AA in FIG. 4). However, the optical component of the present invention is not limited to this. In the optical component of the present invention, it is only necessary that the fixing material 44 is filled in the gap between the lens housing portion 41 c and the collimating lens 42 on the side surface of the end portion 43 c of the optical fiber 43 of the collimating lens 42.

(Experimental example)
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically by experimental examples.
The first embodiment of the optical component of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 and the conventional optical component shown in FIG. 6 are manufactured, and the optical fiber constituting these optical components is pulled, and the collimating lens at that time The breaking strength of was measured. For the measurement of the breaking strength, the value indicated by the load cell at the time of breakage was read by attaching a casing with a lens fixed to the clamp part to which the load cell was attached and applying a tensile force to the fiber. The results are shown in FIG.

  From the results of FIG. 5, it was found that the optical component of the present invention has higher breaking strength than the conventional optical component. Therefore, it was confirmed that the structure for fixing the collimating lens in the optical component of the present invention improves the mechanical strength of the collimating lens.

  The optical component of the present invention can also be applied to a laser diode coupling collimator for taking light emitted from a laser diode chip into a fiber.

It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows 1st embodiment of the optical component of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing method of 1st embodiment of the optical component of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing method of 1st embodiment of the optical component of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows 2nd embodiment of the optical component of this invention. It is a graph which shows the result of having measured the breaking strength of the collimating lens in the optical component of this invention or the conventional optical component. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the conventional optical component.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,40 ... Optical component 11,41 ... Housing | casing, 11c, 43c ... Lens accommodating part, 11d, 41d ... Fiber accommodating part, 12, 42 ... Collimating lens 13, 43 ... Optical fiber, 13a, 43a ... Bare wire part, 13b, 43b ... Cover part, 13c, 43c ... Tip, 14, 44 ... Fixing material, 15, 45 ... Adhesive 20 ... Fiber holder, 30 ... Low melting point glass preform.

Claims (5)

An optical component comprising an optical fiber, a collimating lens disposed opposite to one end of the optical fiber, and a cylindrical housing for housing these,
The length of the portion of the housing that houses the collimating lens is substantially equal to the length of the collimating lens, and the inner diameter of the portion of the housing that houses the collimating lens is greater than the outer diameter of the collimating lens. The collimating lens is formed in such a manner that the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the collimating lens is inclined with respect to the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the portion of the casing that accommodates the collimating lens. An optical component fixed to the housing by a fixing material filled in a gap between a portion of the body that accommodates the collimating lens and the collimating lens.   2. The optical component according to claim 1, wherein the fixing material is filled in a gap between the collimating lens and a portion of the housing that accommodates the collimating lens over the entire length of the collimating lens.   2. The fixing material is filled in a gap between the collimating lens and a portion of the housing that accommodates the collimating lens on the side surface of the collimating lens on the optical fiber side. The optical component described.   The optical component according to claim 1, wherein the fixing material is an inorganic material. The optical component according to claim 4, wherein the inorganic material is low-melting glass.

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