JP2006154335A - Optical data link component and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An optical data link component having uniform manufacturing quality, excellent reliability, good mass productivity, and low cost, and a manufacturing method thereof are provided.
A plurality of short optical fibers 11 are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and are embedded and integrated in a mold resin 12 so that at least a coupling side with an optical element 18 is covered with a transparent resin. The end face of the optical fiber on the coupling side with the optical element 18 is formed by an inclined reflecting surface 13 and is configured to reflect and transmit signal light by the reflecting surface. Note that the end face of the optical fiber opposite to the coupling side with the optical element 18 is formed by a joint surface 14 that can be connected to the optical connector 19. Further, an opaque resin is used for a portion other than the transparent resin on the coupling side of the optical element 18, and a projection 17 that performs a lens action is integrally formed on the surface of the transparent resin portion at the coupling position with the optical element 18.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical data link that includes a plurality of optical elements such as light emitting and light receiving elements, and that transmits and receives optical signals using optical fibers, and in particular, optical data for optically coupling optical fibers and optical elements. The present invention relates to a link component and a manufacturing method thereof.

  In general, an optical data link is configured such that an optical element such as a light emitting element or a light receiving element is stored in an optical package and is stored in a larger circuit package. A single optical data link that transmits and receives optical signals of a plurality of channels optically connects a plurality of optical fibers for transmission and reception using multi-fiber optical connectors. A multi-fiber optical connector is usually optically coupled to a plurality of optical elements in an optical data link via a fiber array, and signal light is transmitted and received between the optical fibers and the optical elements. The optical device on the transmitting side having these optical connector interfaces is referred to as TOSA (Transmitter Optical Sub-Assembly), and the optical device on the receiving side is referred to as ROSA (Receiver Optical Sub-Assembly). In some cases, the optical fiber may be directly pulled out from the fiber array without using the optical connector, but the transmission / reception structure with the optical element is the same.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of optical coupling between a plurality of conventional optical fibers and a plurality of optical elements, and FIG. 4 (A) is a diagram for explaining a connection form of the optical fiber to the optical data link. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating optical coupling between an optical element and an optical fiber, and FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating an example of a fiber array. In the figure, 1 is an optical data link, 2 is a receptacle section, 3 is a fiber array, 3a is a reflecting surface, 3b is a V groove, 4 is a short optical fiber, 5 is an optical element, 6 is an optical fiber, and 7 is an optical connector. Indicates.

  The optical data link 1 is provided with a receptacle 2 for connecting a long optical fiber 6 via a multi-fiber optical connector 7. The receptacle 2 includes a fiber array 3, and optical signals from an optical connector 7 are transmitted to an optical element 5 such as a photodiode (PD) via a plurality of short optical fibers 4 arranged on the fiber array 3. Configured to combine. An optical waveguide formed by thin film technology may be used instead of the fiber array 3 and the short optical fiber 4.

As shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the fiber array 3 stores the short optical fiber 4 or the long optical fiber in the V groove 3b provided on the surface of the silicon substrate or the glass substrate. It is formed by positioning (see, for example, Patent Document 1). For example, an inclined reflecting surface 3a is formed on the front end side of the V-groove 3b of the fiber array 3, and the signal light incident on the short optical fiber 4 through the optical connector or the like is reflected by the reflecting surface 3a. There is a form in which the light is incident on the optical element 5 (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Further, a spherical lens (not shown) is arranged between the optical element 5 and the optical fiber 4, and the signal light is collected and incident on the optical element, or the signal light emitted from the optical element 5 is The light is converted into parallel light and emitted to the optical fiber 4 (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
JP-A-8-136768 (FIG. 1) JP-A-10-170769 (FIGS. 1 and 2) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-151940 (FIG. 6)

  When the optical element 5 and the optical fiber 4 on the fiber array 3 are optically coupled, the optical element 5 is an element (lateral element) such as an LD or ELED (Edge Emitting LED) in which light is input / output from the side of the element. In this case, optical coupling is relatively easy to form. However, when the optical element 5 is an element (vertical element) such as a VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser), PD, or APD in which light is input / output from the element surface direction, it is difficult to form optical coupling. Has been. Therefore, normally, as shown in FIG. 4B, the signal light is reflected on the reflecting surface 3a inclined with respect to the optical axis to guide the light in the surface direction of the optical element.

  In the method shown in FIG. 4B, a V-groove 3b is formed on a glass or ceramic substrate, and, for example, a short optical fiber 4 or a long optical fiber is inserted into the glass substrate, and pressed with another substrate. The optical axis is fixed by However, such a fixing method has a problem in long-term reliability because it is weak against vibration. In the method using the fiber array 3, the end faces of the optical fibers 4 are aligned in order to align the optical coupling characteristics between each of the optical elements 5 arranged in parallel and the optical fibers 4. There is a need.

  Usually, in order to cut an optical fiber (a glass fiber having an outer diameter of 125 μm), a method is used in which the outer surface is scratched and bent. However, it is difficult to cut a plurality of optical fibers in the order of μm. . Although it is possible to increase the accuracy of cutting by clamping using a jig, this short optical fiber 4 is considered to lack remarkably mass productivity in consideration of the length of several millimeters. I must say. In addition, although the above points can be improved by elongating the short optical fiber 4, there arises a problem that the optical data link cannot be reduced in size. In addition, the lens for condensing the signal light is also difficult to align and the productivity is difficult to increase.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical data link component having a uniform manufacturing quality, excellent reliability, high productivity and low cost, and a manufacturing method thereof.

  An optical data link component according to the present invention transmits a light signal by optically coupling a plurality of light-emitting or light-receiving optical elements and a plurality of optical fibers, respectively, and includes a plurality of short optical fibers. Are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and are embedded and integrated in the mold resin so that at least the coupling side with the optical element is covered with the transparent resin. The end face of the optical fiber on the coupling side with the optical element is formed by an inclined reflecting surface, and is configured to reflect and transmit signal light by the reflecting surface. Note that the end face of the optical fiber opposite to the coupling side with the optical element is formed as a joint surface that can be connected to the optical connector. In addition, an opaque resin is used for a portion other than the transparent resin on the coupling side of the optical element, and a projection that forms a lens function is integrally formed on the surface of the transparent resin portion at the coupling position with the optical element.

  Also, in the method for manufacturing the optical data link component according to the present invention, a plurality of short optical fibers are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and embedded in the mold resin so that at least the coupling side with the optical element is covered with a transparent resin. Integrate. Thereafter, the end face of the optical fiber on the coupling side with the optical element is polished together with the resin so as to be an inclined reflecting surface, and the signal light is reflected by the reflecting surface to be transmitted and received, opposite to the coupling side with the optical element. The end face of the optical fiber on the side is polished together with the resin so as to be a joint surface connectable with the optical connector.

  According to the configuration and the manufacturing method of the present invention, it is possible to uniformly hold and fix a short optical fiber that is optically coupled to an optical element, and to have excellent reliability without positional deviation due to vibration or the like. . Further, since the end face of the short optical fiber can be polished integrally with the mold resin, the workability and workability are good, the mass productivity is high, and the cost can be reduced. Furthermore, the length of the short optical fiber can be further shortened, and the optical data link can be miniaturized.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of an optical data link component according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an optical coupling form with an optical element, and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an outline of a method for manufacturing an optical data link component according to the present invention. FIG. In the figure, 10 is an optical data link component, 11 is an optical fiber, 12 is a mold resin, 13 is a reflective surface, 14 is a joint surface, 15 is a front end, 16 is a rear end, 17, 17a and 17b are protrusions, 18 Is an optical element, 19 is an optical connector, 20a is a lower mold, 20b is an upper mold, 21a and 21b are mold recesses, and 22a and 22b are fiber holding grooves.

  An optical data link component 10 according to the present invention includes a plurality of short optical fibers 11 arranged in parallel, as shown in the external view of FIG. 1A and the axial sectional view of FIG. It is formed by being embedded and integrated. The optical data link component 10 has a front end 15 that is optically coupled to the optical element 18 and a rear end 16 that is optically coupled to an optical connector 19 attached to an optical fiber cable or the like. On the front end 15 side, at least the region S that is optically coupled to the optical element 18 is covered with a transparent mold resin. However, the whole may be a transparent mold resin.

  The optical fiber end face on the front end 15 side that is optically coupled to the optical element 18 is formed by an inclined reflecting surface 13. The reflection surface 13 can reflect the signal light in the optical fiber 11 in a side surface direction orthogonal to the optical axis by setting the inclination angle to, for example, 45 ° with respect to the optical axis of the optical fiber 11. Note that the inclination angle of the reflecting surface 13 is not necessarily reflected in the orthogonal direction because of the positional relationship with the optical element 18 and may be selected so that the optical coupling with the optical element 18 is maximized. The reflective surface 13 may be provided with a reflective member, and the front end portion 15 that becomes the inclined surface is easily chipped mechanically, so that the edge portion is rounded or covered with a protective resin. It is desirable to form.

  The optical fiber end surface on the rear end 16 side of the optical fiber 11 to be optically coupled with the optical connector 19 is formed by a joint surface 14 that can be optically connected to the optical connector 19. For the bonding surface 14, for example, any conventionally known bonding form such as right-angle polishing, spherical polishing, and oblique polishing with respect to the optical axis can be used. That is, a joining form that minimizes the connection loss may be selected according to the connection condition with the optical connector 19.

  As described above, the mold resin 12 for embedding and integrating a plurality of optical fibers 11 is molded using a transparent resin having good light transmittance in the region S on the front end 15 side, and the other regions T are opaque resins. Is preferably used. By making the region T other than the optical coupling region with the optical element 18 opaque, crosstalk of signal light can be suppressed when the arrangement density of the optical fibers is increased.

  On the front end portion 15 side where a transparent resin is used, a protrusion 17 that forms a lens action on the optical coupling path with the optical element 18 can be integrally formed during resin molding. The protrusions 17 may be formed for each optical fiber 11, but may be formed in a semi-cylindrical continuous shape as shown in FIG. By forming the lens integrally with the mold resin 12, it is not necessary to prepare and assemble a lens separately. As a result, it is easy to form an optical coupling path including a lens with high positional accuracy, and it is possible to manufacture a uniform quality that does not require adjustment.

  In FIG. 2 for explaining the optical coupling form between the optical data link component 10 and the optical element 18 described above, FIGS. 2A and 2B are examples in which a projection 17 a that performs a lens action is formed for each optical fiber 11. 2 (C) and 2 (D) are examples in which protrusions 17b having a lens action are continuously formed so as to straddle all optical fibers 11. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, when the protrusions 17a are individually formed, the protrusions 17a are formed in, for example, a semi-spheroid shape. The individual protrusions 17a are formed by providing recesses for forming protrusions in a mold, which will be described later. However, there is a possibility that some variations will occur due to the respective protrusions 17a, and the cost of the mold will be high.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2C and 2D, when the semi-cylindrical protrusion 17b is formed to be a single ridge that straddles the entire optical fiber 11, the entire optical fiber 11 is formed. On the other hand, a substantially uniform lens can be obtained. The protrusion 17b in this case acts as a lens having a light condensing effect in the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber 11, but the surface of the optical fiber 11 itself functions as a lens having a light condensing effect in the lateral direction, and thus the optical element 18 Is incident as a circular or somewhat elliptical light bundle. The semi-cylindrical protrusion 17b is lower in cost of the mold than the protrusion 17a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, for example, the signal light from the optical fiber 11 is directly incident on the optical element 18 arranged in the side surface direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the optical fiber 11 by the reflecting surface 13 formed on the end surface of the optical fiber. Can be made. When the optical element 18 is a light emitting element, it can be directly incident on the optical fiber 11 from the side surface direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the optical fiber 11. Therefore, the optical element 18 can be easily optically coupled to a shape (vertical element) that emits or receives light on the element surface side, and can be aligned with high accuracy, so that it has excellent reliability. Can be produced.

  In FIG. 3 which shows an example of the manufacturing method of the optical data link component 10 mentioned above, FIG. 3 (A) shows an example of the metal mold | die for a mold, FIG. 3 (B) shows mold resin when it takes out from a metal mold | die. The state is shown, and FIG. 3C shows the state of the molded resin after processing. The mold is formed by, for example, a two-part structure of a lower mold 20a and an upper mold 20b. The lower mold 20a has both ends of a short optical fiber 11 at both ends of a mold recess 21a provided in the center. A plurality of fiber holding grooves 22a for holding the fibers in a predetermined arrangement are formed. Similarly, the upper mold 20b is formed with a plurality of fiber holding grooves 22b for holding both sides of the short optical fiber 11 in a predetermined arrangement at both ends of a mold recess 21b provided in the center. The optical fiber 11 is fixed with the fiber holding groove 22a of 20a. A concave portion (not shown) is also formed on the upper mold 20b side for simultaneously molding the projection 17 that performs the lens action.

  With the above-described mold, a molded product having a shape as shown in FIG. 3B, for example, in which a plurality of optical fibers 11 are embedded and integrated in a transparent mold resin 12 at a predetermined interval, is obtained. Next, the optical fiber protruding from the end portion is cut with the end portion on which the protrusion 17 is formed as the front end portion 15, and the mold resin is formed at an angle of 45 °, for example, on the lower surface with the side having the protrusion 17 as the upper surface. 12 and the end face of the optical fiber are polished. The polished end surface of the optical fiber 11 is a signal light reflecting surface 13. Further, the optical fiber protruding from the end portion is cut with the end portion on the opposite side as the rear end portion 16 and, for example, the end surface of the optical fiber is polished with the mold resin 12 vertically. The polished end face of the optical fiber 11 serves as a joint surface 14 with the optical connector.

It is a figure explaining the outline of the optical data link component by this invention. It is a figure explaining the optical coupling form of the optical data link component by this invention, and an optical element. It is a figure explaining the outline of the manufacturing method of the optical data link component by this invention. It is a figure explaining the prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Optical data link component, 11 ... Optical fiber, 12 ... Mold resin, 13 ... Reflecting surface, 14 ... Joining surface, 15 ... Front end part, 16 ... Rear end part, 17, 17a, 17b ... Protrusion, 18 ... Optical element 19 ... Optical connector, 20a ... Lower mold, 20b ... Upper mold, 21a, 21b ... Mold recess, 22a, 22b ... Fiber holding groove.

Claims (6)

An optical data link component that optically couples a plurality of optical elements for light emission or reception and a plurality of optical fibers to transmit an optical signal,
A plurality of short optical fibers are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and are embedded and integrated in a molding resin so that at least the coupling side with the optical element is covered with a transparent resin, and the light on the coupling side with the optical element An optical data link component having a configuration in which a fiber end surface is formed by an inclined reflecting surface, and signal light is reflected by the reflecting surface and transmitted / received.   The optical data link component according to claim 1, wherein an end face of the optical fiber opposite to the coupling side with the optical element is formed as a joint surface connectable with an optical connector.   3. The optical data link component according to claim 1, wherein an opaque resin is used for a portion other than the transparent resin on the coupling side of the optical element.   The optical data link component according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a projection that forms a lens function is integrally formed on the surface of the transparent resin at a coupling position with the optical element.   The optical data link component according to claim 4, wherein the projection that performs the lens action is continuously formed in a semi-cylindrical shape. A method of manufacturing an optical data link component that optically couples a plurality of optical elements for light emission or light reception and a plurality of optical fibers, respectively, and transmits an optical signal,
A plurality of short optical fibers are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and are embedded and integrated in a mold resin so that at least the coupling side with the optical element is covered with a transparent resin, and then light on the coupling side with the optical element The fiber end face is polished with a resin so as to be an inclined reflecting face, and the signal light is reflected by the reflecting face to be transmitted and received, and the end face of the optical fiber opposite to the coupling side with the optical element is an optical connector. A method for manufacturing an optical data link component, comprising polishing together with a resin so as to form a connectable joint surface.

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