JP2006184680A - Optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make an optical connector attachable to a substrate on which an optical element is directly or indirectly mounted, and to increase the number of optical fibers attachable to the optical connector. <P>SOLUTION: The optical connector 10 is provided with: a block-shaped connector body 11 having a mounting face 12 which is oppositely arranged to be joined to the joining face of a substrate or a mount when the connector is installed opposite to an optical element; optical fiber holes 13a which serve to position the tip end of a plurality of the optical fibers 21 fixed internally; and a recessed part 14 for changing the optical axis having a reflection surface for changing the optical axis for the purpose of forming an optical path between the end face of the optical fibers 21 and the optical input/output end of the optical element. The optical fiber holes 13a constitute a plurality of steps 15A, 15B in which the plurality of optical fiber holes 13a are arranged side by side and the positions of the optical fiber holes 13a are shifted from one another between the adjacent steps 15A, 15B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention is attached to the tip of an optical fiber, and is installed so as to face an optical input / output end mounted directly or indirectly on a substrate, and optically connects the optical fiber and the optical input / output end. The present invention relates to an optical connector.

An optical transceiver currently used in an optical LAN system or the like generally has a light emitting element such as a semiconductor laser or a light receiving element such as a photodiode mounted on a substrate (particularly a circuit board) housed inside the transceiver case. A method is generally used in which an optical connector attached to the tip of an optical fiber is attached to a substrate, and an optical input / output end constituted by a light emitting element and / or a light receiving element is connected to an external optical fiber (for example, , See Patent Document 1).
As the ferrule of the optical connector used here, a known single-core type (for example, MU type, SC type) or multi-core type (for example, MT type, MINI-MT type) optical ferrule is used.
JP-A-6-273461

  By the way, in recent years, as the demand for the photoelectric composite circuit and the opto-electric hybrid board increases, the optical transceiver of the connection method in which the optical axis of the optical element is along the board has various restrictions on the mounting position of the optical connector. There is a problem that the degree of freedom of design of circuit boards is limited.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the degree of freedom in designing the mounting position of the optical connector on the substrate on which the optical element is directly or indirectly mounted is improved, and the optical axis direction of the optical fiber is changed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical connector that can be directed to an optical element with high accuracy.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is attached to the tip of an optical fiber and is installed so as to face an optical element mounted directly on a substrate or indirectly by a mount provided on the substrate. An optical connector for optically connecting between the optical input / output end of the optical element and an optical fiber, comprising a block-shaped connector main body installed on the substrate or mount, the connector main body comprising the connector main body A mounting surface disposed opposite to the bonding surface so as to be bonded to the bonding surface of the substrate or mount when the optical element is placed facing the optical element, and a tip portion of the optical fiber fixed inside the connector body A plurality of optical fiber holes for positioning the optical fiber, and an end surface of the optical fiber positioned in the optical fiber hole face each other, and an optical path is formed between the end surface and the light input / output end. An optical axis changing recess having an optical axis changing reflective surface for the optical fiber, and the optical fiber hole is connected to the optical axis changing reflective surface via the optical axis changing recess in the connector body. A plurality of optical fiber holes are formed in a wall portion on the facing side, and the optical fiber hole forms a plurality of stages in which a plurality of optical fiber holes are arranged side by side, and the optical fiber is between adjacent stages. Provided is an optical connector characterized in that the positions of the holes are shifted from each other.

It is preferable that the positions of the optical fiber holes are shifted from each other in any stage including between stages not adjacent to each other.
The optical fiber is a bare optical fiber exposed at the tip of a tape-type optical fiber, and a plurality of bare optical fibers exposed at the tip of one tape-type optical fiber are arranged in one stage. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which positioning is performed in correspondence with a plurality of optical fiber holes constituting the.
It is also possible to employ a configuration in which a guide groove for guiding an optical fiber to the optical fiber hole is provided at the other end of the optical fiber hole opposite to the optical axis changing recess.
The connector main body protrudes into the positioning pin that fits into the positioning pin hole drilled in the board side or the board side through the optical axis changing recess on both sides in the width direction of the connector main body. It is also possible to employ a configuration including positioning pin holes that fit into the positioning pins provided.

The optical connector of the present invention is obtained by positioning and attaching the tip of an optical fiber inside a block-shaped connector body, and when the connector body is installed facing the optical element, the mounting surface of the connector body is A configuration in which an optical element bonded to a substrate or mount and mounted on the substrate and an optical fiber inclined with respect to the optical axis of the optical element can be optically connected via an optical axis changing reflecting surface Therefore, it is possible to easily mount the optical connector on the board, and to obtain an excellent effect that the degree of freedom in designing the mounting position in the board can be improved.
Further, the optical fiber fixed inside the connector body is positioned by a plurality of optical fiber holes arranged so as to form a plurality of steps arranged in parallel to the mounting surface, and adjacent steps to each other. Since the position of the optical fiber hole is shifted in a direction parallel to the mounting surface and perpendicular to the extending direction of the optical fiber hole, the number of optical fibers attached to one optical connector is increased. In addition, the distance between the upper optical fiber and the lower optical fiber can be widened, and noise due to beam diffusion to the optical path of the adjacent optical fiber can be suppressed.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 to 9 are drawings for explaining a first embodiment of the optical connector of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of the connector main body, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the connector main body, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the connector main body taken along line III-III in FIG. 4 is a plan view of the optical connector of the present embodiment, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the optical connector, and FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view of the optical connector taken along line VI-VI in FIG.
FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a state in which the optical connector of this embodiment is attached to the substrate on which the optical element is mounted. FIG. 8 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part in a state where the optical connector of the present embodiment is attached to the substrate. FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view of the optical connector when the optical fiber is viewed from the direction facing the end face.
3, 5, 7, and 8, the cutting plane is set along both of the two-stage optical fiber holes, as indicated by the cutting line III-III in FIG. 1. In addition, the cross-sectional direction changes between the steps.
As shown in FIG. 7, the optical connector 10 of this embodiment is attached to the tip of an optical fiber 21 and installed so as to face the optical element 4 mounted on the substrate 2. The end and the optical fiber 21 are optically connected.
The optical fiber 21 in this embodiment is a bare optical fiber exposed at the tip of the multi-core optical fiber 20. As the multi-core optical fiber 20, a tape-type optical fiber (which may be abbreviated as a tape core) is used. Here, the tape core wire is one in which a plurality of optical fiber strands are integrated by tape coating (secondary coating). The bare optical fiber is exposed by removing a resin coating (for example, made of a photo-curing resin) at the tip of each optical fiber. Here, as the bare optical fiber, for example, a silica-based optical fiber such as a graded index (GI) type optical fiber can be employed.
The optical connector 10 according to this embodiment can be assembled by inserting a plurality of single-core optical fibers into the connector main body 11 one by one instead of the multi-core optical fibers.

  7 and 8, reference numeral 1 denotes a circuit board to which the optical connector 10 of this embodiment is attached. The circuit board 1 is obtained by mounting on a substrate 2 a photoelectric conversion module 8 constituted by an optical element 4 and a mount 7 on which the optical element 4 is mounted. That is, in the circuit board 1, the optical element 4 is indirectly mounted on the board 2 via the mount 7. The optical element 4 may be directly mounted on the substrate 2 without interposing a configuration such as the mount 7.

The optical element 4 is a light emitting element or a light receiving element configured by, for example, a semiconductor element, and includes one or a plurality of light input / output ends 3 that are optically connected to the optical fiber 21.
As the light emitting element, for example, a semiconductor laser such as a surface emitting laser (VCSEL), an FP laser diode, or a laser diode (LD) can be used. As the light receiving element, a photodiode (PD) such as an avalanche photodiode (APD) can be used.
Here, the light input / output end 3 of the optical element 4 is, for example, a light emitting portion (outgoing end) in a light emitting element and a light receiving portion (incident end) in a light receiving element. The light input / output end 3 is not limited to the light emitting part or the light receiving part of the optical element 4. In general, it may be an incident end face or an outgoing end face of light, and may be, for example, an end face of an optical fiber arranged perpendicular to the substrate surface 2a (in this case, the optical fiber is regarded as an optical element).
The optical axis of the light input / output end 3 of the optical element 4 extends in the direction perpendicular to the substrate surface 2a, and the light input / output end 3 is above the photoelectric conversion module 8 on the side opposite to the substrate 2 side (see FIG. 7, upward of FIG. 8).

The optical element 4 is electrically connected to an electric circuit (not shown) provided on the circuit board 1. Although not particularly illustrated, the circuit board 1 on which the photoelectric conversion module 8 is mounted includes a photoelectric conversion circuit, a control processing unit, an optical signal processing circuit, an optical element driving circuit, and other electronic components on the circuit board 1. Various circuits and components that perform control and the like can be mounted as necessary.
The photoelectric conversion module 8 is a chip-shaped or array-shaped module in which one or a plurality of optical elements 4 are provided and a plurality of light input / output ends 3 are arranged corresponding to the plurality of optical fibers 21. The upper surface 5 of the mount 7 is a bonding surface bonded to the optical connector 10 (hereinafter, the upper surface 5 may be referred to as a bonding surface 5). The bonding surface 5 is parallel to the surface 2 a (substrate surface) of the substrate 2.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the optical connector 10 has two positioning pins 16 protruding from the mounting surface 12. Here, the connector main body 11 has positioning pin holes 16a recessed at two positions on both sides in the width direction of the connector main body 11 through the optical axis changing recesses 14, and the positioning pins 16 are This is a round bar pin inserted and fixed in the positioning pin hole 16a. As the positioning pin 16, for example, a stainless steel round bar pin can be used.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the mount 7 has positioning pin holes 6 (pin fitting holes) formed on the joint surface 5 to the optical connector 10. The shape of the positioning pin hole 6 is designed in accordance with the shape of the positioning pin 16 so that the positioning pin 16 is positioned with high accuracy. The positioning pin hole 6 of this embodiment is a round hole that fits with the positioning pin 16 made of a round bar.
The optical connector 10 and the photoelectric conversion module 8 are positioned with the mounting surface 12 of the optical connector 10 facing the joint surface 5 of the mount 7 and the positioning pins 16 of the optical connector 10 inserted into the positioning pin holes 6 of the mount 7. This is done by mating.
However, the present invention is not particularly limited to the above examples, and the positioning pins 16 are formed integrally with the connector main body 11, and when the connector main body 11 is formed, the positioning pins 16 are embedded and integrated by insert molding. Various configurations can be adopted. Needless to say, the material (for example, metal) and shape of the positioning pin 16 are not particularly limited thereto. The number of positioning pins 16 is not particularly limited, and can be one, two, or three or more depending on the purpose. The shapes of the positioning pin 16 and the positioning pin hole 6 are not particularly limited, and the positioning pin 16 and the positioning pin hole 6 having various shapes such as an ellipse and a quadrangle may be employed depending on the purpose and the like. it can.

  When a positioning pin separate from the connector main body 11 and the mount 7 is prepared, in the illustrated example, the positioning pin 16 is first inserted and fitted into the positioning pin hole 6 of the connector main body 11, and the optical connector 10. Is attached to the positioning pin hole 6 on the mount 7 side when it is attached to the photoelectric conversion module 8. In addition, when the optical connector 10 is attached to the photoelectric conversion module 8, a configuration in which the optical connector 10 is fitted into the positioning pin hole 6 of the connector main body 11 can be employed. Further, the positioning pin hole 6 on the circuit board 1 side is not limited to be formed in the mount 7, and a configuration formed in the board 2 or the like can also be adopted.

In addition, various configurations can be adopted as a mechanism for holding the optical connector 10 and the substrate 2 or the mount 7 in an optical connection state.
Furthermore, a pair of opposed springs (pressing members) are provided so as to protrude from the board or mount (not shown) so that the springs move toward each other and close in the closing direction, and the connector connection At this time, the optical connector 10 may be sandwiched between the pressing members. The position at which the pressing member presses the optical connector 10 can be set, for example, on the back surface that is the surface opposite to the mounting surface 12 of the optical connector 10 or on the side surface that is a surface that is different from the bonding surface. . When the mechanism for pressing the optical connector 10 toward the photoelectric conversion module 8 is provided as described above, the contact between the mounting surface 12 of the optical connector 10 and the bonding surface 5 of the photoelectric conversion module 8 is further ensured, and the optical connection is achieved. The state can be stably maintained over the long term.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the optical connector 10 of this embodiment is fixed to a connector body 11 made of, for example, plastic such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) or epoxy resin, and one surface of the connector body 11. A cover plate 17 and a boot 19 attached to the outer periphery of the multi-core optical fiber 20 inserted into the connector main body 11.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the connector main body 11 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped block shape, and is bonded so that one surface (the upper surface in FIG. 1) faces the bonding surface 5 of the mount 7. The mounting surface 12 is made. The connector main body 11 has the same size as the photoelectric conversion module 8 and does not protrude too much outside the photoelectric conversion module 8.
A cover plate attachment portion 11 c to which the cover plate 17 is attached is recessed in the mounting surface 12 of the connector main body 11. A groove-like optical axis changing recess 14 extending in the width direction of the connector main body 11 (the vertical direction in FIG. 2) is formed in the cover plate mounting portion 11c. Is provided with an optical axis changing reflecting surface 14a.

The cover plate 17 is fixed to the connector main body 11 by fitting or bonding to the cover plate attachment portion 11c so as to cover the optical axis changing recess. The cover plate 17 is exposed on the mounting surface 12 side of the optical connector 10 facing the optical element 4. When the optical connector 10 is placed so as to overlap the mount 7 on the substrate 2, the cover plate 17 is It arrange | positions so that the optical element 4 may be faced. The cover plate 17 is not particularly essential in terms of the function of the optical connector 10, but by providing the cover plate 17, the light disposed facing the optical axis changing reflection surface 14 a and the optical axis changing recess 14. Foreign matter such as dust is prevented from adhering to the end face 22 of the fiber 21, which is useful for maintaining optical characteristics.
The cover plate 17 passes through an optical path 23 formed between the end face 22 of the optical fiber 21 and the light input / output end 3 of the optical element 4 as will be described in detail later. Accordingly, at least a portion through which the optical path 23 passes is made of a translucent material such as glass or transparent plastic. Here, the light-transmitting material may be a material that is low enough to cause no attenuation or loss of light in practical use at least in the wavelength band of light used for optical connection. For example, the entire cover plate 17 can be formed of a translucent material, but is not particularly limited to this. At least a portion where the optical path 23 is formed (for example, an opening of the optical axis changing recess 14). The part which closes the side) should just consist of translucent materials, such as glass and a transparent plastic. For example, the window which consists of a translucent material may be provided in the part through which the optical path 23 passes, and the structure that parts other than a window are opaque may be sufficient.

The connector main body 11 has an optical fiber hole 13a for positioning the optical fiber 21 in the wall portion 11a on the side (right side in FIG. 3) facing the optical axis changing reflecting surface 14a through the optical axis changing recess 14. It has a plurality. These optical fiber holes 13a are opened in the wall surface 11b of the wall portion 11a on the optical axis changing recess 14 side. The wall surface of the wall portion 11a opposite to the optical axis changing recess 14 may be the outer surface of the connector main body 11, but in this embodiment, the hollow portion 18 formed inside the connector main body 11 is used. Facing. That is, the optical fiber hole 13a passes through the wall portion 11a, and one end thereof opens to the optical axis changing recess 14 and the other end opens to the hollow portion 18.
The optical fiber hole 13a of the present embodiment extends in parallel to the mounting surface 12. For this reason, when a plurality of multi-core optical fibers 20 are inserted into the connector main body 11, the multi-core optical fibers 20 can be sequentially or collectively inserted so as to be stacked.

As shown in FIG. 7, the optical fiber 21 is positioned so as to face the reflecting surface 14a for changing the optical axis in a predetermined direction by being precisely positioned by the optical fiber hole 13a. In order to accurately position the optical fiber 21, the inner surface of the optical fiber hole 13a is formed with high accuracy (for example, within 1 μm) in accordance with the outer diameter of the optical fiber 21.
For example, when the optical fiber 21 having a diameter of 125 μm is precisely positioned, the inner diameter of the optical fiber hole 13a must be set to 126 μm or less. The specification of the optical fiber hole 13a is preferably determined as appropriate with reference to a standard such as JIS C 5981 (MT type optical fiber connector).

Since the optical fiber 21 is precisely positioned by the optical fiber hole 13a, the optical path via the reflecting surface 14a is provided between the end surface 22 of the optical fiber 21 and the light input / output end 3 of the optical element 4 as shown in FIG. 23 is formed reliably. In other words, the optical axis of the reflected light obtained by converting the optical axis of the optical fiber 21 by the reflecting surface 14a is precisely positioned toward a specific light input / output end 3 provided at a predetermined position on the optical element 4. As a result, the optical signals of the individual optical fibers 21 can be reliably identified in the optical element 4.
In this embodiment, the end face 22 of the optical fiber 21 is positioned in the optical axis changing recess 14 so as to protrude from the wall surface 11b of the wall portion 11a facing the optical axis changing reflecting surface 14a. However, the arrangement of the end face 22 of the optical fiber 21 with respect to the optical axis changing recess 14 is not particularly limited as long as it does not adversely affect the optical connection, and the end face 22 may be flush with the wall surface 11b. 22 may be recessed in the wall portion 11a without reaching the wall surface 11b.

The optical axis changing reflection surface 14a is formed of a metal vapor deposition film or the like. Here, the reflection surface 14a for changing the optical axis is inclined by 45 ° with respect to the extending direction of the optical fiber hole 13a, and when the optical connector 10 is mounted on the photoelectric conversion module 8 as shown in FIG. The optical axis of the light emitted from the end face 22 of the optical fiber 21 is bent by 90 ° and is incident on the light input / output end 3 of the optical element 4. It functions as a mirror that bends the optical axis of the outgoing light from the input / output end 3 by 90 ° and enters the end surface 22 of the optical fiber 21. That is, an optical path 23 is formed between the end face 22 of the optical fiber 21 and the light input / output end 3 of the optical element 4 by the reflecting surface 14a for changing the optical axis, and optical connection is made.
When the optical element 4 is a light emitting element, the signal light oscillated from the light emitting portion of the light emitting element can be made incident on the optical fiber 21. Also,
When the optical element 4 is a light receiving element, the signal light emitted from the optical fiber 21 can be received by the light receiving unit of the light receiving element. The optical element 4 is configured to fulfill both functions of light emission and light reception by combining a light emitting element and a light receiving element or the like, and is a part of the optical fiber 21 facing the optical axis changing reflecting surface 14a. One or a plurality of optical fibers 21 may be optically connected to a light emitting element for reception, and the other one or a plurality of optical fibers 21 may be optically connected to a light receiving element for transmission. In this case, how the receiving optical fiber and the transmitting optical fiber are arranged is arbitrary, and the receiving optical fiber and the transmitting optical fiber may be arranged alternately, or the optical fiber hole 13a. On the wall surface 11b on which the connection side is arranged, the region where the receiving optical fibers are arranged and the region where the transmitting optical fibers are arranged may be divided so that they are not mixed.

  The reflecting surface 14a is not limited to a configuration in which a metal film such as a metal vapor deposition film is directly formed on the inner wall surface of the optical axis changing recess 14. For example, a chip on which a metal film is formed is used for changing the optical axis. A configuration incorporated in the recess 14 can also be adopted. Further, the inclination angle of the reflecting surface 14a is not limited to 45 °, but the extending direction of the optical fiber hole 13a (the optical axis of the optical fiber 21 positioned by the optical fiber hole 13a and the light input / output end of the optical element 4) The angle at which the optical fiber 21 and the optical element 4 are optically connected by the intersection angle with the optical axis 3 is sufficient.

The inside of the optical axis changing recess 14 can be filled with a light-transmitting filler (resin, adhesive, etc.) such as an optical adhesive. As the filler (not shown), for example, an epoxy-based optical adhesive can be used, and various types such as a UV curable type and a thermosetting type can be adopted. Here, with regard to the material of the filler, “having translucency” means that the material is low enough to cause no loss due to light absorption or the like in at least the wavelength band used.
By filling the optical axis changing recess 14 with a light-transmitting filler, it is possible to prevent dust and the like from entering the optical axis changing recess 14. Further, the difference in refractive index between the medium in the optical axis changing recess 14 and the optical fiber 21 is smaller than that in the case where a gas such as air is interposed in the optical axis changing recess 14, and the light is changed. Scattering, reflection at the interface, refraction, and the like can be suppressed, and loss can be reduced.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the optical fiber holes 13a are two-dimensionally arranged so as to form a plurality of steps 15A and 15B in which the plurality of optical fiber holes 13a are arranged side by side. In each step 15A, 15B, the optical fiber holes 13a are arranged in the width direction of the connector body 11 (longitudinal direction of the optical axis changing recess 14).
In the optical connector 10 of the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the optical fiber holes 13a are arranged in two stages. Hereinafter, in the description of the optical connector 10 of the first embodiment, for the sake of convenience, the first step 15A (lower side in FIG. 9) and the second step 15A and 15B are arranged in order of increasing distance from the mounting surface 12. It may be distinguished as 15B (upper side in FIG. 9).

  As shown in FIG. 9, for each of the steps 15A and 15B, a plurality of optical fiber holes 13a are arranged so that the end face of the optical fiber 21 is positioned at equal intervals by a pitch α in a direction parallel to the mounting surface 12. ing. As a result, each of the steps 15A and 15B corresponds to the multi-core optical fiber 20 made of a tape core, and each optical fiber hole 13a corresponds to the optical fiber 21. As a result, a large number of optical fibers 21 can be collectively inserted into the optical connector 10 for each multi-fiber optical fiber 20 and assembled. When the pitch α between the centers of the optical fiber holes 13a belonging to the same stage 15A, 15B and adjacent to each other is matched with the pitch of the optical fiber 21 in the tape core wire, the optical fibers are aligned in parallel. This is preferable because inconveniences such as an increase in loss due to bending can be suppressed.

Further, the position of the optical fiber hole 13a is shifted between the first step 15A and the second step 15B in the width direction of the connector body 11 (longitudinal direction of the optical axis changing recess 14). .
As a result, the distance between the optical fiber 21 of the first stage 15A and the optical fiber 21 of the second stage 15B is increased, so that noise and signal light interference due to beam diffusion to the optical path 23 of the adjacent optical fiber 21 are increased. Is prevented, and a good optical connection can be realized.
Here, the magnitude δ of the deviation secured between the first stage 15A and the second stage 15B is made larger than the beam diameter of the optical path 23 so that the optical paths 23 do not overlap. Since the beam diameter of the optical path 23 is slightly larger than the diameter of the core 24 of the optical fiber 21 in consideration of beam diffusion, the shift amount δ is set slightly larger than the diameter of the core 24. For example, according to JIS C 6832 that defines a silica-based multimode optical fiber, 50 μm / 125 μm, 62.5 μm / 125 μm, 85 μm / 125 μm, and the like are given as combinations of the core diameter / cladding diameter of a GI optical fiber. These examples can be suitably employed. Of course, the diameter of the core 24 and / or the diameter of the clad 25 of the optical fiber 21 is not particularly limited, and an appropriate combination of dimensions can be adopted.

The hollow portion 18 is connected to the outside of the connector main body 11 via an opening 18a opened on the side surface 11d (surface different from the mounting surface 12) of the connector main body 11 and a window 18b opened on the mounting surface 12 of the connector main body 11. Leads to.
Here, the side surface 11d is a surface through which an extension line of the optical fiber hole 13a passes, and the optical fiber 21 introduced into the connector body 11 through the opening 18a is smoothly inserted into the optical fiber hole 13a. Can do.
Further, the optical fiber 21 inserted into the hollow portion 18 can be observed with the naked eye, a magnifying glass, or the like through the window 18b. This is advantageous when the optical connector 10 is accurately assembled. Further, after the optical fiber 21 is inserted into the connector main body 11, the optical fiber 21 can be bonded and fixed to the connector main body 11 in the hollow portion 18 by injecting an adhesive (not shown) from the window 18 b. .

Furthermore, in the optical connector of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 and the like, the optical fiber hole 13a is communicated with the other end of the optical fiber hole 13a on the hollow portion 18 side. The same number of guiding grooves 13b are formed in parallel. The guiding groove 13b is recessed on the base portion 18c projecting from the wall portion 11a in the hollow portion 18, and is in a position where it can be observed from the window 18b. The cross-sectional shape of the guide groove 13b is, for example, a V-groove, but various shapes such as a round groove, a U-groove, and a square groove having a semicircular cross-section can be employed. Since the base portion 18c and the guide groove 13b are formed in a plurality of steps corresponding to the steps 15A and 15B of the optical fiber hole 13a, any of the guide grooves 13b can be observed from the window 18b.
Here, the guiding groove 13b guides the optical fiber 21 to the optical fiber hole 13a when the optical fiber 21 is inserted into the hollow portion 18. Since the width of the guiding groove 13b is larger than the outer diameter of the optical fiber 21, the use of the guiding groove 13b makes it easier than the case where the optical fiber 21 is directly inserted into the optical fiber hole 13a. Can be inserted into the optical fiber hole 13a, and inconveniences such as damaging the optical fiber 21 during insertion can be suppressed.

  A portion of the multi-core optical fiber 20 provided with the tape coating is partially inserted into the hollow portion 18 from the opening 18a. A cylindrical boot 19 made of a flexible rubber or the like is attached to the outer periphery of the multi-core optical fiber 20, and a part of the boot 19 is inserted into the hollow portion 18. The boot 19 collectively holds all the multi-core optical fibers 20 (here, two laminated tape core wires) inserted into the connector main body 11 so that the multi-core optical fibers 20 do not come apart. And protecting the multi-core optical fiber 20 from being subjected to a sharp bend that affects the optical transmission characteristics of the multi-core optical fiber 20 exposed to the outside of the connector main body 11 from the opening 18a. Fulfills the function.

When the optical connector 10 of this embodiment is assembled at the tip of the multi-core optical fiber 20, the coating of the tip of the multi-fiber optical fiber 20 is removed to expose the individual optical fibers 21, and the multi-fiber optical fiber 20 is opened to the opening. The optical fiber 21 is inserted into the connector body 11 from 18a and guided to the optical fiber hole 13a via the guiding groove 13b, and positioned in the optical fiber hole 13a. As described above, the end surface 22 of the optical fiber 21 is disposed at a predetermined position so as to face the optical axis changing reflection surface 14a.
Next, the hollow portion 18 is filled with an adhesive (not shown) from the window 18 b opened on the mounting surface 12 side, and the optical fiber 21 is fixed to the connector body 11.
When the optical axis changing recess 14 is filled with the translucent filler, it is performed before the cover plate 17 is attached to the cover plate attaching portion 11c.
The cover plate 17 can be fixed to the connector body 11 by, for example, applying an adhesive to the cover plate attaching portion 11c and bonding the cover plate 17 to the cover plate attaching portion 11c. When the translucent filler filled in the recess 14 for changing the optical axis is a translucent adhesive, the cover plate 17 can also be adhered by the translucent adhesive.

When the optical fiber 21 incorporated in the optical connector 10 is optically coupled to the optical element 4 mounted on the substrate 2, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the optical connector is arranged so that the mounting surface 12 faces downward. 10 is turned over, the mounting surface 12 of the optical connector 10 is opposed to the bonding surface 5 of the mount 7, and the positioning pins 16 protruding from the mounting surface 12 of the optical connector 10 are opened to the bonding surface 5 of the mount 7. Insert and fit into hole 6 (pin fitting hole). As a result, the optical fibers 21 arranged so as to face the reflecting surface 14a for changing the optical axis are correctly positioned with respect to the light input / output end 3 of the optical element 4, and the optical fiber is passed through the reflecting surface 14a for changing the optical axis. The end face 22 of 21 and the light input / output end 3 of the optical element 4 are optically connected.
As described above, in the optical connector 10 according to this embodiment, the optical fiber hole 13a for precisely positioning the optical fiber 21 and the optical axis changing reflecting surface 14a are formed in the connector main body 11 which is a block-like integral part. Since the mutual positional relationship between the optical axis direction of the optical fiber 21 and the reflecting surface 14a for changing the optical axis is fixed with high precision, each optical fiber 21 and each light input / output end 3 are precisely associated with each other. It is done. In addition, the optical connector can be miniaturized.
By arranging the optical fibers 21 in the plurality of stages 15A and 15B, a higher density can be realized as compared with the case where the optical fibers 21 are arranged in a line.
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 9, the arrangement of the optical fiber holes 13a forms a plurality of stages 15A and 15B in which the plurality of optical fiber holes 13a are arranged side by side, and the position of the optical fiber holes 13a is the first. Since the arrangement is shifted between the first stage 15A and the second stage 15B, the interval between the end faces of the optical fibers 21 positioned by the optical fiber holes 13a is widened. For this reason, noise and signal light interference due to beam diffusion to the optical path 23 of the adjacent optical fiber 21 are prevented, and good optical connection can be realized.

As mentioned above, although this invention has been demonstrated based on suitable embodiment, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example, Various modifications are possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.
6 and 9 illustrate the optical connector 10 having two optical fiber holes 13a. However, in the present invention, the optical fiber holes 13a can be arranged in three or more stages.
When the optical fiber holes 13a are arranged in three or more stages, the positions of the optical fiber holes 13a are shifted from each other at least between adjacent stages. Thereby, since the space | interval of an upper stage optical fiber and a lower stage optical fiber is expanded, interference of a noise and signal light is prevented and favorable optical connection is realizable.

For example, FIGS. 10 and 11 show an optical connector 10A of a second embodiment in which optical fiber holes 13a are arranged in three stages. Hereinafter, in the description of the optical connector 10A of the second embodiment, for the sake of convenience, the respective steps are distinguished as the first step 15A, the second step 15B, and the third step 15C in descending order of the distance from the mounting surface 12. Sometimes.
In the optical connector 10A of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the positions of the optical fiber holes 13a are at least between the first stage 15A and the second stage 15B and between the second stage 15B and the third stage. The connector body 11 is shifted in the width direction (left-right direction in FIG. 11) between the connector body 15C and the terminal 15C. Furthermore, it is preferable that the first step 15A and the third step 15C that are not adjacent to each other are also shifted from each other in the width direction of the connector body 11 (the left-right direction in FIG. 11).
The magnitude of the deviation between the end faces of the optical fiber 21 (intervals between the centers of the cores 24) δ ₁ , δ ₂ , δ ₃ is made larger than the beam diameter of the optical path 23 so that the optical paths 23 do not overlap. . In FIG. 11, δ ₁ indicates the amount of deviation between the first stage 15A and the second stage 15B, δ ₂ indicates the amount of deviation between the second stage 15B and the third stage 15C, δ ₃ indicates the amount of deviation between the first stage 15A and the third stage 15C. These deviation amounts δ ₁ , δ _2, and δ ₃ may be equal to each other. Further, any _{two of} δ ₁ , δ ₂ , and δ ₃ may be equal, or all may be different from each other. As shown in FIG. 11, the optical fiber holes 13a belonging to the same stage 15A, 15B, 15C and adjacent to each other are arranged at equal intervals so that the pitch α between the centers is equal. In this case, since the relationship of δ ₁ + δ ₂ + δ ₃ = α is established, the pitch α is set such that deviation amounts δ ₁ , δ ₂ , and δ ₃ between the respective stages 15A, 15B, and 15C are secured. . As long as it is based on the above-described idea, the minimum values of the deviation amounts δ ₁ , δ ₂ , δ ₃ may be smaller than α / 3.

  Even when the number of stages of the optical fiber holes 13a is 4, 5 or the like, the arrangement of the optical fiber holes 13a can be determined based on the above-described idea.

  The optical connector of the present invention can be used for optically connecting an optical fiber to an optical element mounted on a substrate in a photoelectric conversion component such as an optical transceiver or various optical components.

It is a perspective view which shows the connector main body which concerns on the 1st example of an optical connector of this invention. It is a top view of the connector main body shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the III-III line of the connector main body shown in FIG. It is a top view of the optical connector of the 1st form example. It is sectional drawing of the optical connector shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the VI-VI line of the optical connector shown in FIG. It is the schematic which shows a mode that the optical fiber with an optical connector shown in FIG. 4 is attached with respect to the board | substrate with which the optical element was mounted. FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part in a state where the optical fiber with an optical connector shown in FIG. 4 is attached to a substrate on which an optical element is mounted. In the optical connector of a 1st form example, it is the elements on larger scale which looked at the optical fiber from the direction which faces the end surface. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the arrangement state of the optical fiber hole of the optical connector of a 2nd form example. In the optical connector of the 2nd form example, it is the elements on larger scale which looked at the optical fiber from the direction which faces the end surface.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Board | substrate, 3 ... Light entrance / exit end (light emitting part / light receiving part), 4 ... Optical element (light emitting element / light receiving element), 5 ... Joining surface, 6 ... Pin hole for positioning, 7 ... Mount, 10, 10A ... Light Connector 11, connector main body 11 a, wall portion 12, mounting surface, 13 a optical fiber hole, 13 b guiding groove, 14 optical axis changing recess, 14 a optical axis changing reflecting surface, 15 A, 15 B, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15C ... Step, 16 ... Positioning pin, 20 ... Multi-core optical fiber (tape-type optical fiber core wire), 21 ... Optical fiber, 22 ... End face of optical fiber, 23 ... Optical path.

Claims (5)

It is attached to the tip of the optical fiber (21) and installed so as to face the optical element (4) mounted directly on the substrate (2) or indirectly by the mount (7) provided on the substrate. An optical connector for optically connecting the optical input / output end (3) of the optical element and the optical fiber,
A block-shaped connector body (11) installed on the substrate or mount;
The connector body includes a mounting surface (12) disposed opposite to the joint surface so that the connector body is joined to the joint surface (5) of the substrate or mount when the connector body is placed facing the optical element. The plurality of optical fiber holes (13a) for positioning the tip end portions of the optical fibers fixed inside the connector body and the end faces (22) of the optical fibers positioned in the optical fiber holes face each other, and An optical axis changing recess (14) having an optical axis changing reflecting surface (14a) for forming an optical path (23) between an end face and the light input / output end;
A plurality of the optical fiber holes are formed in the wall (11a) on the side of the connector body facing the optical axis changing reflection surface via the optical axis changing recess in the connector body,
The optical fiber hole forms a plurality of stages (15A, 15B, 15C) in which a plurality of optical fiber holes are arranged side by side, and the positions of the optical fiber holes are mutually adjacent between the adjacent stages. An optical connector (10, 10A) characterized by being shifted.   2. The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the positions of the optical fiber holes are shifted with respect to each other in any stage including between stages not adjacent to each other.   The optical fiber is a bare optical fiber exposed at the tip of a tape-type optical fiber, and a plurality of bare optical fibers exposed at the tip of one tape-type optical fiber are arranged in one stage. The optical connector according to claim 1, wherein the optical connector is positioned so as to correspond to a plurality of optical fiber holes constituting the optical fiber.   The guiding groove (13b) for guiding the optical fiber to the optical fiber hole is provided at the other end of the optical fiber hole opposite to the optical axis changing recess. 4. The optical connector according to any one of 3.   The connector body has positioning pins (16) which are fitted into positioning pin holes (6) drilled on the board side on both sides in the width direction of the connector body via the recesses for changing the optical axis. 5. The optical connector according to claim 1, further comprising a positioning pin hole that fits into a positioning pin protruding from the substrate side.

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