JP2006323034A - Optical connecting component, and method for assembling same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide optical connecting components 1 of different number of cores, which can be assembled by a single dummy connecting component 3, and to provide an assembling method therefor. <P>SOLUTION: Each optical connecting component 1 connects optical fibers having the predetermined number A of cores altogether. Recesses 14 are formed in areas corresponding to optical fiber insertion holes 10 of the connection-side end face 11 of the optical connecting component 1, the optical fiber insertion holes 10 being used to connect altogether optical fibers the number B of the cores of which is larger than the predetermined number of the cores A. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical connection component used in a connection portion between optical fibers in optical communication and a connection portion of an optical module such as an optical semiconductor, and an optical connection component assembling method. In particular, the present invention relates to an optical connection component for MT (multi-core collective connection) connection and an optical connection component assembly method.

  In recent years, when connecting optical fibers, optical connection using an optical connection component has been adopted. For such optical connection, first, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, an optical fiber tape 2 is fixed to an optical connection component 1 such as an optical connector. The optical fiber tape 2 is separated into individual optical fibers 20, 20... Having a predetermined length at the tip portion, and is appropriately passed through the optical connection component 1 and inserted into the optical fiber insertion holes 10, 10. At this time, the end faces of the optical fibers 20, 20... Are positioned on substantially the same plane as the connection side end face 11 of the optical connecting component 1. In this state, the optical fibers 20, 20... And the optical connecting component 1 are fixed by, for example, an adhesive. The insertion holes 10, 10... Penetrate through to the connection side end face 11 of the optical connection component 1.

The pair of optical connecting components 1 and 1 to which the optical fiber tape 2 is fixed in this way are opposed to each other as shown in FIG. 8, and for example, the pin hole 12 and the fixing pin 13 are fitted and connected. At this time, the optical fibers 20, 20... Facing each other are also optically connected because their end faces are in contact with each other or are opposed through an extremely small gap.
In order to stabilize the optical connection, a refractive index matching agent is often filled between the end faces of the optical fibers 20, 20. The configuration of such an optical connection is described in Patent Document 1, for example.

  In such an optical connection, it is necessary to fix the positional relationship between the connection-side end face 11 of the optical connection component 1 and the end faces of the optical fibers 20, 20. According to Patent Document 1, the end face of the optical fiber is once projected from the tip face of the ferrule as an optical connection component, and then pushed back from the reference face so that the end face of the optical fiber is positioned. The worry that it is not pressed against the reference surface is eliminated and the positioning accuracy is improved.

By the way, in consideration of damage to the end face of the optical fiber at the time of high-speed switching of the optical connection, the end face of the fibers 20, 20.. 20, 20 are preferably recessed from the connection-side end surface 11 of the optical connection component 1.
On the other hand, in consideration of the optical characteristics of the optical connection part, even when a refractive index matching agent is used, the dent amount of the end faces of the optical fibers 20, 20. It is necessary to suppress it slightly (about 15 μm). Therefore, when assembling the optical connection component, the dummy connection component 3 is used as shown in FIGS.
The dummy connection component 3 has a protruding portion 31 as a second reference surface that protrudes slightly from the first reference surface 30. When assembling the optical connection component 1, the first reference surface 30 is provided on the connection-side end surface 11 of the optical connection component 1 and the optical fibers 20, 20 as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C. The optical fibers 20, 20... Are bonded and fixed to the optical connection component 1 while pressed against the protruding portion 31 serving as the second reference surface to the end surface of the optical connection component 1.
FIG. 9C is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the end face of the optical fiber 20.
JP-A-8-248265

  In the case of such an optical connection component assembling method, a dummy connection component is required for each number of target optical fibers of the optical connection component. For example, when assembling a 4-fiber optical connection component, if an 8-fiber dummy connection component having 8 protrusions 31 is used, the end faces of the optical fibers 20, 20,. . As shown in FIG. 10, the connection-side end surface 11 of the optical connection component 1 abuts against the protruding portion 31 of the dummy connection component 3, and the connection-side end surface 11 of the optical connection component 1 and the dummy connection component to be originally contacted. This is because the contact of the third first reference surface 30 is hindered.

  Further, when assembling an 8-fiber connector, the end faces of the optical fibers 20, 20,... Are not aligned even if a dummy connection part having four 4-fiber projections is used. As shown in FIG. 11, in the optical fibers 20, 20... Corresponding to the protruding portions 31, the end surfaces of the optical fibers 20, 20. However, the end surfaces of the surplus optical fibers 20 ′, 20 ′, etc. abut on the first reference surface 30 of the dummy connection component 3, and cannot be positioned at their original positions.

By the way, at the time of assembling optical connection parts, workability improvement and cost reduction are required. If a special connection is required for each number of target optical fibers of the optical connection parts as in the past, dummy connection parts with different numbers of cores may be used by mistake, which improves workability. There is a limit.
In addition, a large number of dedicated dummy connection parts must be manufactured for each number of target core wires, and there is a limit to reducing the price.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical connection component that can assemble optical connection components having different numbers of cores with a single dummy connection component, and to provide an assembly method thereof. And

To achieve the above objective,
(1) An optical connection component according to claim 1 is an optical connection component for connecting optical fibers having a predetermined number of cores A at a time, and is greater than the predetermined number of cores A on the connection side end face of the optical connection component. A concave portion is provided at a position corresponding to an optical fiber insertion hole of an optical connection component that collectively connects optical fibers having a predetermined number of cores B.
(2) The optical connection component according to claim 2 is the optical connection component according to claim 1, wherein the depth of the concave portion is 20 μm or less.
(3) The optical connection component according to claim 3 is the optical connection component according to claim 1, wherein the depth of the recess is deeper than 15 μm and 20 μm or less.
(4) An optical connecting component assembling method according to claim 4 uses the optical connecting component according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and a dummy connecting component having the predetermined number B of cores. The optical fiber end surface is positioned by abutting the end surface of the optical fiber inserted into the reference surface of the dummy connection component.

In the optical connection component according to claim 1, when the number of target cores of the optical connection component is A, the positioning of the optical fiber end face is performed using a dummy connection component having the target core count of B core (A <B). Even so, on the connection-side end face of the optical connection component, the location corresponding to the optical fiber insertion hole of the optical connection component having the number B of the target cores, that is, the protruding portion of the dummy connection component having the number B of target cores Since the concave portion is provided at a location corresponding to the above, the correct contact between the optical connection component and the dummy connection component is not hindered by the excessive protruding portion from the center A. Therefore, if, for example, one dummy connecting part with a larger number of target cores is prepared, even if there are optical connecting parts having different target core numbers, the optical connecting part includes positioning of the optical fiber end face with one dummy connecting part. Can be assembled.
Moreover, when the refractive index matching agent is filled between the end faces of the optical fibers to be connected, the concave portion prevents air from being mixed into the refractive index matching agent. Therefore, the depth is preferably 20 μm or less. Further, the depth of the concave portion is preferably deeper than 15 μm because the preferred protruding height of the protruding portion of the dummy connection component is about 15 μm, and needs to be deeper than the protruding height.
Furthermore, according to the optical connection component assembling method of the fourth aspect, it is possible to assemble a suitable optical connection component by taking advantage of the characteristics of the optical connection component.

The best embodiment of the present invention will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical connecting component 1 of this embodiment is configured as an optical connecting component having four target cores. For the assembly, a dummy connection part 3 having a target number of 8 cores is assumed. Four optical fiber insertion holes 10, 10... Are provided on the connection-side end surface 11 of the optical connection component 1.
The positions of the optical fiber insertion holes 10, 10... Correspond to the protruding portions 31, 31. And the recessed part 14 is provided in the location corresponding to protrusion part 31 ', 31' ... of the dummy connection component 3 surplus with respect to 4 center of the connection side end surface 11 of the optical connection component 1, and an optical connection component is provided. In the first connection side end face 10, the contact of the dummy connection part 3 with the first reference surface 30 is not hindered by the excessive protruding portions 31 ′, 31 ′. Further, in the optical connecting component 1 of the present embodiment, the depth of the concave portion 14 is 17 μm, and the protrusions 31 ′ and 31 ′ having a height of 15 μm are sufficiently escaped and air is effectively mixed into the refractive index matching agent. Can be suppressed.
Further, the concave portion 14 penetrates from the upper surface 15 to the lower surface 16 of the optical connection component 1, and when the optical connection component 1 is formed by resin molding, when the molded product is released from the mold, the molded product and the mold are used. Can be separated in the vertical direction (in the direction of arrow J in the figure), and mold release is easy. In addition, the optical connection component 1 is provided with a pin hole 12 for fitting a positioning pin of the counterpart component. Since the peripheral portion of the pin hole 12 is the same plane as the connection side end surface 10, it is stable at the time of connection. For example, it is suitable for the case where the positions of the optical fiber insertion holes 10, 10,. Although resin molding technology can be applied in the manufacture of such an optical connection component 1, even if the shape of the optical connection component is somewhat complicated as described above, there is a problem in mass productivity because it is only necessary to create a mold once. It does not occur.

As another embodiment, FIGS. 3 to 6 show an optical connection component 101 that assumes the use of a dummy connection component 300 having 60 target cores as shown in FIG. The optical connecting component 101 of FIG. 3 is for 24 cores, and a recess 14 is provided at a location corresponding to the excess 36 core protrusions 31, 31,.
Similarly, the optical connecting component 102 in FIG. 4 is for 12 cores, and the optical connecting component 103 in FIG. 5 is for 8 cores. Also, the optical connecting component 104 of FIG. 6 is for eight cores, but the recess 14 is not the one in which several corresponding protruding portions 31, 31,... It may be individually recessed.
The number of target cores of the optical connection component and the dummy connection component assumed to be used can be various, and the arrangement of the optical fiber insertion holes 10, 10... Needless to say, the shape can be changed as appropriate.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an optical connection component that can assemble optical connection components having different numbers of cores with a single dummy connection component, and also provide an assembly method thereof.

The optical connection component which concerns on this invention, and the contact state of an optical connection component and a dummy connection component are shown. The dummy connection components assumed to be used in the present invention are shown. 1 shows an optical connecting component according to the present invention. 1 shows an optical connecting component according to the present invention. 1 shows an optical connecting component according to the present invention. 1 shows an optical connecting component according to the present invention. The conventional optical connection component is shown. The connection state of the conventional optical connection components is shown. The contact state of the conventional optical connection component and the dummy connection component is shown. The contact state of the conventional optical connection component and the dummy connection component is shown. The contact state of the conventional optical connection component and the dummy connection component is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical connection component 101 Optical connection component 102 Optical connection component 103 Optical connection component 104 Optical connection component 10 Optical fiber insertion hole 11 Connection side end surface 12 Pin hole 13 Fixing pin 14 Recess 15 Upper surface 16 Lower surface 2 Optical fiber tape 20 Optical fiber 3 Dummy Connection component 30 First reference surface 31 Protruding part (second reference surface)

Claims (4)

  An optical connection part for connecting optical fibers having a predetermined number of cores A at a time, wherein optical fibers having a predetermined number of cores B having more cores than the predetermined number of cores A on the connection side end face of the optical connection part are collectively An optical connection component having a recess at a position corresponding to an optical fiber insertion hole of an optical connection component to be connected.   The optical connection component according to claim 1, wherein the depth of the concave portion is 20 μm or less.   2. The optical connection component according to claim 1, wherein the depth of the concave portion is deeper than 15 μm and equal to or less than 20 μm. 4. The optical connection part according to claim 1, and a dummy connection part having the predetermined number of cores B, and an end face of the optical fiber inserted through the optical connection part is defined as the dummy connection part. An optical connecting component assembling method, wherein the optical fiber end face is positioned by abutting against a reference plane of the optical fiber.

Images