JP2009192834A - Optical fiber and optical connection structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical fiber that can reduce a light leak at a bent part of an optical fiber having a thin cladding compared with a core, and that can also reduce the occurrence of cross talk of adjacent optical fibers, and to provide an optical connection structure which occupies no large space on a substrate while facilitating positioning, which has a smaller number of components, shorter connecting time, and connection/release flexibility, and which stably obtains an output even with an increase in the number of optical fibers. <P>SOLUTION: The optical fiber is provided, at least in one end, with a bent part which is covered with a reflective film. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an optical fiber and an optical connection structure.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, optical fibers have been used for home information networks, optical information communication and optical sensors in mobile media such as automobiles, airplanes, and railways.
As an invention related to the structure of an optical fiber, for example, an optical fiber that is optically and structurally stable even at high temperatures can be obtained by providing a cladding made of a specific material and a compounding ratio around a core made of a specific material. It is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
However, light leakage may occur at a portion where the optical fiber is bent. This leakage of light is particularly noticeable when the portion that receives light from the optical functional component is bent. As a result, there is a problem in that the output from the optical fiber is reduced. In addition, there is a problem that crosstalk is likely to occur due to light leakage from the optical fiber.

Further, an optical connection structure having an optical fiber is used to connect optical functional components on a substrate. In the optical connection structure, an optical fiber having a connection point opened in a direction perpendicular to the substrate, which is connected in parallel to the substrate, such as attaching an optical fiber to the ferrule and butting the optical functional component along the substrate Some components cut the tip of an optical fiber obliquely and connect it vertically to the substrate.

In an optical connection structure for connecting in parallel with a substrate, an optical connector having a housing or a ferrule is generally used, and connection can be made by positioning and attaching. However, there is a problem that the housing and the ferrule occupy a large space on the substrate.
On the other hand, in the optical connection structure connected in the vertical direction to the substrate, it is difficult to process the optical fiber, and there is no effective alignment method. Therefore, it is difficult to connect stably.

Although it is possible to optically connect non-contact using a reflective layer such as a lens, the number of components increases, and the time required for connection increases due to the alignment of the reflective layer with optical functional components and optical fibers. There has been a problem of cost (for example, see Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-95048 JP 9-26515 A

The present invention has been made for the purpose of improving the above-mentioned problems in the prior art. The purpose is to reduce light leakage and reduce the occurrence of crosstalk between adjacent optical fibers at a bent part of an optical fiber with a thin clad compared to the core. It is to provide a fiber. In addition, positioning is easy without occupying a large space on the board, the number of components is small, connection time can be shortened, connection and disconnection can be made free, and the number of optical fibers is increased. It is another object of the present invention to provide an optical connection structure that can stably output.

The present invention has solved the above problems by the following technical configuration.

(1) At least one end of the optical fiber has a bent portion, and the bent portion is covered with a reflective film.
(2) The reflective film is made of platinum, gold, silver, nickel, copper, zinc, tin, chromium, or a mixture of two or more thereof. Optical fiber.

(3) The optical fiber according to (1), wherein the bent portion is formed by bending the optical fiber at 90 degrees.
(4) An optical connection structure in which at least one end of an optical fiber has a bent portion, and an optical fiber in which the bent portion is covered with a reflective film and an optical functional component or another optical fiber are connected.
(5) An optical connection structure in which the optical fiber and an optical functional component or another optical fiber are vertically connected via an optical connection component, and the optical connection component has a connection member having a convex portion and a concave portion. A connecting member, and the connecting member having the convex portion includes a holding portion that holds the optical fiber in alignment, and the connecting member having the concave portion aligns with an optical functional component or another optical fiber. The optical connection structure according to (4), further comprising an alignment portion, wherein the connection member having the convex portion and the connection member having the concave portion are detachable by fitting the convex portion and the concave portion.
(6) The optical connection structure according to (5), wherein the connection member having the convex portion has a cam structure for holding an optical fiber.
(7) The optical connection structure according to (5), wherein the connection member having the concave portion includes a pressing portion that presses the connection member having the convex portion.
(8) An optical connection structure in which the optical fiber and an optical functional component or another optical fiber are connected via an optical connection component, the optical connection component including a holding unit that holds the optical fiber, and an optical An alignment part that aligns with a functional component or another optical fiber, a pressing unit and a pressing wall are provided, and the pressing unit presses the optical fiber against the pressing wall, thereby the optical fiber. The optical connection structure according to the item (4), wherein the optical connection structure is aligned with the alignment unit.
(9) The optical connection structure according to (8), wherein the connection direction is a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the optical fiber.
(10) The optical connection structure according to (8), wherein the pressing unit shapes the optical fiber by pressing the optical fiber against the pressing wall.
(11) The optical connection structure according to (8) or (10), wherein the pressing means has a cam structure.
(12) The optical connection structure according to any one of (8) to (11), wherein the optical connection structure has a base leg.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce light leakage at a portion where an optical fiber having a thin clad as compared with a core is bent, and to reduce the occurrence of crosstalk with an adjacent optical fiber. An optical fiber that can be used can be provided.
According to the present invention, there is provided an optical connection component and an optical connection structure that can be easily aligned, reduced in the number of components, shortened in connection time, and freely connected and disconnected without occupying a large space on the substrate. Can be provided.
That is, according to the optical connection structure of the present invention, the optical fiber can be easily connected in the vertical direction by bending the tip of the optical fiber, and the connection state can be kept compact. This eliminates the need to control the direction of travel using lenses or the like, and eliminates the need for steps such as alignment of each lens with individual optical functional components and optical fibers.
In addition, the angle of the end face of the optical fiber with respect to the optical functional component can be adjusted after contact, reducing the return loss and reducing problems such as optical noise caused by return light and damage to the optical functional component. We were able to.
In addition, since the optical fiber is aligned near the substrate surface, it is possible to reduce the size of the conventional optical connection structure and reduce the number of components, thereby reducing costs and reducing the occupied space on the substrate. I was able to.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the scale of each component is described in a different scale for each component so that it can be easily shown in the drawing.
In addition, the optical connection component referred to in the present embodiment below is, for example, a combination of the connection member 100 having a convex portion and the connection member 200 having a concave portion in FIG. 4 or the optical connection component 300 illustrated in FIG. The optical connection structure is, for example, a structure in which the optical fiber 1 and the optical functional component 16 are connected using the optical connection component in FIGS. 4 and 13.

(Embodiment 1)
First, the optical fiber of Embodiment 1 is demonstrated using FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the optical fiber of the present invention refers to an optical fiber 1 in which at least one end has a bent portion 8 and the bent portion 8 is covered with a reflective film.
FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of the bent portion 8 shown in FIG. The entire bent portion 8 is covered with the reflective film R. In the present invention, the bending portion 8 refers to the portion from the folding start portion A to the bending end portion X, and the reflective film R covers the portion from the bending start portion A to the bending end portion X. Note that the reflective film R may be formed so as to cover the end B of the optical fiber beyond the bending end X. As a result, light leakage from the bent portion 8 can be reduced, and occurrence of crosstalk to other adjacent optical fibers can also be reduced. Note that the optical fiber 1 other than the bent portion 8 may or may not be covered with the reflective film R.

As a method for coating the reflective film, for example, plating, sputtering, vacuum deposition, thermal spraying, or the like can be used. Among these, plating is preferable, and the coating of the reflective film can be easily performed.
If the coating thickness of the reflective film is 0.1 μm or more, light leakage from the bent portion can be reduced, and occurrence of crosstalk of the optical fiber to other adjacent optical fibers can be reduced. . The coating thickness of the reflective film need not be uniform.
As a material for the reflective film, metals such as platinum, gold, silver, nickel, copper, zinc, tin, and chromium can be used. Of these, gold and silver have good reflectivity for light and are preferably used. These metal materials may be used alone or in combination of two or more.
Further, a protective polymer film may be provided on the surface of these reflective films.

In the present invention, the optical fiber 1 is not limited to a single-core optical fiber, but may be a tape core wire in which a plurality of optical fibers are taped. The bending radius of the optical fiber is preferably 105 to 200% of the diameter of the optical fiber. This is because if it is less than 105%, the inner radius becomes too small, and if it exceeds 200%, a large space is taken up. In addition, when the cross section of an optical fiber is an ellipse etc., 105-200% of the diameter of a bending direction is preferable.

The bent part is not particularly limited as long as it is bent at an arbitrary angle with respect to the optical fiber, and the angle of the bent part with respect to the optical fiber is not limited. The angle of the bent portion with respect to the optical fiber is preferably 70 to 110 degrees, more preferably 80 to 100 degrees, and particularly preferably 90 degrees. By setting the angle of the bent portion to 70 to 110 degrees, an optical connection structure described later can be formed in a space-saving manner.
The length from the bent portion 8 to the tip is not particularly limited, but is preferably 2 mm or less from the viewpoint of space saving.
Note that the bent portion 8 of the optical fiber 1 may be polished flatly so that the arc portion has reflectivity.

Next, the manufacturing method of the optical fiber of Embodiment 1 is demonstrated using FIG. 2 and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of an optical fiber tape forming apparatus, which can be used to obtain a taped optical fiber.
3 is a taped optical fiber, 401w to 401z are optical fibers, 404 is a coating material application start position, 405 is a coating material application end position, 407 is an adhesive tape, 408 is a dispenser, 409 is a uniaxial control robot, and 410 is an optical fiber. 411 is a ball screw shaft, 412 is a movable unit, 413 is a flexible pipe, 414 is a drive motor, 415 is a bearing, and N is a nozzle.

First, a taped optical fiber 3 is obtained by tapering four plastic optical fibers using the tape forming apparatus shown in FIG.
The tape forming apparatus includes a uniaxial control robot 409 and a material supply apparatus such as a dispenser 408 for supplying a coating material to the nozzle. The uniaxial control robot 409 is used to place an optical fiber. A ball screw shaft 411 is disposed along the longitudinal direction, a drive motor 414 is provided at an end portion, and the other end portion is supported by a bearing 415. The movable unit 412 is provided on the ball screw. The movable unit 412 has a nozzle N installed perpendicular to the stage surface. In the movable unit 412, the nozzle N is movable in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and is configured to be fixed at a predetermined position. Further, a flexible pipe 413 is connected to the nozzle N, and a coating material is supplied from the dispenser 408. The nozzle N is preferably a stainless steel dispenser needle.

First, the four optical fibers 401w to 401z are aligned in parallel on the substrate 410 along the line along which the movable unit 412 of the uniaxial control robot 409 moves, so that a certain tension is applied to each optical fiber core wire. The parts that are not covered at both ends are fastened and fixed with an adhesive tape 407.
Instead of fastening with the adhesive tape 407 and fixing, an adhesive sheet may be laid and an optical fiber core wire may be stuck thereon.
A thermosetting silicone rubber resin is used as the coating material, and a dispenser 408 is used as a material supply device for supplying the coating material to the nozzle.
Next, the movable unit 412 of the uniaxial control robot 409 is controlled to move the nozzle N to the coating material application start position 404 of the aligned four optical fibers 401w to 401z (FIG. 2A).
The movable unit 412 of the uniaxial control robot 409 is adjusted so that the center of the nozzle N becomes the center of the four optical fiber core wires 401w to 401z, and the distance between the optical fiber and the tip of the nozzle N is set.

Next, the moving speed of the movable unit 412 of the uniaxial control robot 409 and the discharge pressure of the dispenser 408 are set. The coating material 403 is applied onto the optical fibers 401w to 401z by starting the discharge of the coating material 403 together with the movement of the nozzle N and moving the nozzle N in the optical fiber axial direction (FIG. 2B).
When the nozzle N moves to the coating material application end position 405, the discharge of the coating material is stopped (FIG. 2 (c)).
Thereafter, the coating material is cured by allowing to stand at room temperature for 1 hour to obtain a taped optical fiber core 3 (for further details of tape formation, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2004-045937 and 2004-2004). 163634).
In order to apply and cure the coating material, another apparatus or method may be used. However, when the tape forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is used, the nozzle N is moved while discharging the coating material at a constant pressure. Since only the material necessary for coating can be discharged, the yield is good and the cost of the coating material can be reduced.

3A is an optical fiber obtained by the method shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3B is a bent optical fiber, FIG. 3C is a bent optical fiber, and FIG. It is an optical fiber. 3 ′ is an optical fiber obtained by bending one end of the optical fiber by 90 °, 3b ′ is an optical fiber of another form, and 8 ′ is a bent portion obtained by polishing a circular arc portion flatly.
The optical fiber (FIG. 3A) obtained by the method shown in FIG. 2 is bent at 90 degrees at one end of the optical fiber 3 (FIG. 3B), and about 0.2 mm from the bent portion 8. Cut (FIG. 3C). Thereafter, the cut surface was polished to produce the optical fiber 3b of the first embodiment. The length from the bent portion 8 to the tip is not particularly limited, but is preferably 2 mm or less from the viewpoint of space saving. Further, as shown in FIG. 3D, the optical fiber 3b may be an optical fiber 3b ′ having a bent portion 8 ′ by polishing the arc portion flatly.
Note that the angle of bending in the step shown in FIG. 3B is not limited to 90 degrees, and may be determined as appropriate. Further, bent portions may be formed at both ends of the optical fiber 3.

The optical fiber can be appropriately coated with the reflective film. Therefore, for example, it may be before or after the optical fiber shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D is manufactured, but after the optical fiber is manufactured in order to prevent the reflection film from being broken. Further, it may be before or after the optical fiber ribbons of FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (c) are manufactured, but after the alignment of the optical fibers is taken into consideration, it is preferable that the optical fiber tapes are manufactured. Furthermore, a reflective film may be formed when the optical fiber is connected to an optical functional component or the like, or may be formed before the optical fiber is taped.

According to this embodiment, the optical fiber 3b, which is a so-called vertical conversion optical path, can be easily obtained simply by forming a plastic optical fiber into a tape and bending it, and then cutting the bent end. The space in the height direction could be reduced by using the optical fiber 3b whose bent tip was cut. Moreover, by covering the bent portion of the optical fiber with a reflective film, it is possible to reduce light leakage from the bent portion and reduce the occurrence of crosstalk to other adjacent optical fibers.

The optical fiber of Embodiment 1 can be used for any of the optical fibers constituting the optical connection structures of Embodiments 2 to 14 below.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, the optical connection component of Embodiment 2 and the optical connection structure using the same will be described with reference to FIGS.
4 is an exploded perspective view of the optical connection structure of the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a view showing a connection member having a convex portion of the second embodiment, where (a) is a plan view and (b) is an easy view. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a connecting member having a recess according to the second embodiment, where (a) is a plan view and (b) is a side view.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 is an optical fiber, 5 is a board | substrate, 8 is a bending part, 16 is optical functional components, such as a surface emitting laser, 17 is a base, 100 is a connection member which has a convex part, 101 is a convex part, 102 hold | maintains the optical fiber 1 Holding part, 103 is a hill part, 200 is a connecting member having a concave part, 201 is a concave part, 202 is a protruding part, 203 is a plate part, 206 is a pressing part, C is a notch part, H is an alignment with an optical functional component The alignment part R to be used is a reflective film. The connecting member 100 having a convex portion and the connecting member 200 having a concave portion constitute an optical connecting component in the present invention.

In the optical connection structure of the second embodiment, the optical fiber 1 and the optical functional component 16 are connected in the vertical direction using an optical connection component including a connection member having a convex portion and a connection member having a concave portion.

The connecting member 100 having a convex portion has a convex portion 101, a holding portion 102, and a hill portion 103, and the optical fiber 1 is connected to the holding portion 102 using a step between the holding portion 102 and the hill portion 103. It can be held in alignment. Although the optical fiber 1 may be simply placed on the connecting member 100 having a convex portion, it is preferable to fix and integrate them with an adhesive tape or an adhesive.

The connecting member 200 having a recess has a protruding portion 202, a plate portion 203, and a pressing portion 206, and a part of the protruding portion 202 is cut out to form the recessed portion 201. The concave portion 201 is sized to fit with the convex portion 101. In addition, a hole as an alignment portion H is formed in the center of the plate portion 203, and the position of the connecting member 200 having the recess and the optical functional component 16 can be easily adjusted by aligning the alignment portion H with the optical functional component 16. Can be combined. A part of the pressing portion 206 is cut out to form a cutout portion C, through which the optical fiber 1 can be passed. Instead of the pressing part 206, a plate provided with a notch C may be used.
The connecting member 200 having a recess is preferably fixed to the base 17 with an adhesive or the like.

The optical functional component 16 has an optical axis in a direction perpendicular to the substrate 5 by being attached to the substrate 5.
The base 17 is a base on which the connection member 200 having a recess is placed, and is built around the optical functional component 16. As the optical functional component 16 and the base 17, existing ones such as plastic, metal and ceramic can be used.

The connecting member 100 having a convex portion and the connecting member 200 having a concave portion are detachable by fitting the convex portion 101 and the concave portion 201.
In addition, the convex part 101 and the recessed part 201 are not restricted to the shape shown by the figure, What kind of shape can be used if it can mutually fit.

Next, the manufacturing method of the optical connection structure of Embodiment 2 is demonstrated using FIGS.
7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the connecting member having the convex portion of Embodiment 2 holds the optical fiber, and FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which the connecting member having the concave portion of Embodiment 2 and the optical functional component are aligned. FIG. 9 is a side view showing a process of integrating the connecting member having a convex portion and the connecting member having a concave portion according to the second embodiment, where (a) is a view before integration, and (b) is an integrated view. (C) is a view after integration.

First, as shown in FIG. 7, the optical fiber 1 is placed on the holding portion 102 of the connecting member 100 having a convex portion, thereby holding the optical fiber on the connecting member 100 having the convex portion.
Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the base 1 is arranged so that the alignment portion H comes on the optical functional component 16.
By placing the connection member 200 having a recess on the surface 7, the connection member 200 having the recess and the optical functional component 16 can be aligned.
And as shown in FIG. 9, the optical connection structure of Embodiment 2 can be formed by integrating the connection member 100 which has a convex part, and the connection member 200 which has a recessed part.
First, as shown in FIG. 9A, the connecting member 100 having the convex portion holding the optical fiber 1 is brought close to the connecting member 200 having the concave portion aligned with the optical functional component 16.
Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the convex portion 101 is fitted into the concave portion 201.
Then, as shown in FIG. 9C, the convex portion 101 is fitted into the concave portion 201 of the connecting member 200. At this time, the pressing portion 206 presses the connecting member 100 having the convex portion by its own elasticity, and the connecting member 100 having the convex portion is integrated with the connecting member 200 having the concave portion.
In addition, the connection member 100 having a convex portion and the connection member 200 having a concave portion are detachable, and the optical connection structure can be released by performing the above procedure in reverse.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, the optical connection component of Embodiment 3 and the optical connection structure using the same will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.
10A and 10B are diagrams showing a connecting member having a convex portion according to the third embodiment, where FIG. 10A is a plan view, FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Haha, and FIG. 11 has the convex portion according to the third embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the process in which a connection member hold | maintains an optical fiber, Comprising: (a) is a figure before holding | maintenance, (b) is a figure which is holding, (c) It is a figure holding.
100b is a connecting member having a convex part, 106 is a bearing part, 107 is an eccentric cam, and 108 is a rotating shaft.

The third embodiment is the same as the second embodiment except that the connecting member 100 having the convex portion of the second embodiment is replaced with the connecting member 100b having the convex portion.
As shown in FIG. 10, the connecting member 100 b having a convex portion includes a bearing portion 106, an eccentric cam 107, and a rotating shaft 108.
The eccentric cam 107 is rotatable about the rotation shaft 108 and constitutes an eccentric cam structure.
As shown in FIG. 11, the connection member 100 b having a convex portion can hold the optical fiber 1.
That is, first, as shown in FIG. 11A, the optical fiber 1 is brought close to the connection member 100b having a convex portion.
Next, as shown in FIG. 11B, the optical fiber 1 is inserted while turning the eccentric cam 107.
Then, as shown in FIG. 11C, the optical fiber 1 is placed on the holding unit 102. At this time, the eccentric cam 107 presses the optical fiber 1 against the holding portion 102, and the optical fiber 1 does not come off.
In addition, the optical fiber 1 and the connection member 100b having a convex portion are detachable, and the holding can be released by performing the above procedure in reverse.

(Embodiment 4)
Next, the optical connection component of Embodiment 4 and the optical connection structure using the same will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 12 is a side view of the optical connection structure of the fourth embodiment.
1 ′ is another optical fiber, 100 ′ is a connecting member having a convex part, 101 ′ is a convex part, 103 ′ is a hill part, 200 ′ is a connecting member having a concave part, 202 ′ is a protruding part, and 203 ′ is a plate part. , 206 ′ is a pressing portion, and 8 ′ is a bent portion. The connecting member 100 having a convex portion, the connecting member 200 having a concave portion, and the connecting member 100 ′ having a convex portion and the connecting member 200 ′ having a concave portion constitute an optical connecting component.

The fourth embodiment is implemented except that the optical functional component 16 and the base 17 of the second embodiment are replaced with another optical fiber 1 ′, a connecting member 100 ′ having a convex portion, and a connecting member 200 ′ having a concave portion. It is the same as Form 2.
That is, in the fourth embodiment, two optical connecting components [(100 + 200) and (100 ′ + 200 ′)] are overlapped via the plate portions 203 and 203 ′, and the optical fiber 1 and another optical fiber 1 ′ are overlapped. It is a connected vertical optical connection structure. The bent portion 8 is covered with a reflective film. The bent portion 8 ′, which is another optical fiber, may be covered with the reflective film or may not be covered with the reflective film.
The other optical fiber 1 ′ is held in advance by the connecting member 100 ′ having the convex part and integrated with the connecting member 200 ′ having the concave part, and the connecting member 200 ′ having the concave part is placed on the substrate 5 so that the connecting member 200 ′ is on the upper side. To place.
Then, the connecting member 200 having the concave portion is aligned and disposed on the connecting member 200 ′ having the concave portion, and the connecting member 100 having the convex portion holding the optical fiber 1 is integrated, so that the optical fibers are perpendicular to each other. Can be connected.

(Embodiment 5)
First, the optical connection component of Embodiment 5 and the optical connection structure using the same will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing the optical connection structure of the fifth embodiment, FIG. 14 is a view showing the optical connection component of the fifth embodiment, (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a cross section of a knee line. FIG.

1 is an optical fiber, 5 is a substrate, 8 is a bent portion, 16 is an optical functional component such as a surface emitting laser, 17a and 17b are bases, 300 is an optical connection component, 301 is a shoulder portion, and 302 is an optical fiber 1 A holding part, 303 is a hill part, 350 is a lid provided on the hill part 303 so as to be rotatable as an eccentric cam by a rotating shaft 351, 351 is a rotating shaft, H is an aligning part for aligning with an optical functional component, W is The pressing wall, R is a reflective film.

In the optical connection structure of the fifth embodiment, the optical functional component 16 and the optical fiber 1 are connected in the vertical direction using the optical connection component 300.

The optical connecting component 300 includes a shoulder portion 301, a holding portion 302, a hill portion 303, and a lid 350. The shoulder portion 301 surrounds the holding portion 302 in a U-shape, and the optical fiber 1 can be held on the holding portion 302 by using a step between the shoulder portion 301 and the holding portion 302. The inner part of the holding part 302 comes into contact with a pressing wall W that is a part of the shoulder part 301, and a through-hole penetrating the holding part 302 directly below is provided as an alignment part H under the pressing wall W. ing.
By making the optical functional component 16 visible from the alignment portion H, the optical connecting component 300 and the optical functional component 16 can be easily aligned.
The lid 350 is provided on the hill portion 303 so as to be freely rotatable by a rotation shaft 351. The optical fiber 1 can be inserted into the alignment portion H when the lid 350 is opened, and the optical fiber 1 can be held when the lid 350 is closed. it can.
The lid 350, the rotation shaft 351, and the hill portion 303 constitute a pressing means for aligning the optical fiber 1 to the alignment portion by pressing the optical fiber 1 against the pressing wall W. Details will be described later with reference to FIG.
The lid 350, the rotating shaft 351, and the hill portion 303 preferably constitute an eccentric cam structure.
By opening and closing the lid 350, the optical connecting component 300 can hold the optical fiber 1 in a detachable manner.

The optical functional component 16 has an optical axis in a direction perpendicular to the substrate 5 by being attached to the substrate 5.
The bases 17 a and 17 b are bases on which the optical connection component 300 is placed, and are built around the optical functional component 16. As the optical functional component 16 and the bases 17a and 17b, existing ones such as plastic, metal and ceramic can be used.
By installing the optical connection component 300 holding the optical fiber 1 on the bases 17a and 17b, the optical connection structure of the fifth embodiment is formed.
The optical connection component 300 may be simply placed on the bases 17a and 17b, but is preferably fixed to the bases 17a and 17b with an adhesive or the like.

Next, the manufacturing method of the optical connection structure of Embodiment 5 is demonstrated using FIGS.
15A and 15B are cross-sectional views showing a process of holding an optical fiber in the optical connecting component of Embodiment 5, wherein FIG. 15A is a view before holding, FIG. 15B is a view showing a state in which the optical fiber is inserted, and FIG. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a state in which the lid is being closed, FIG. 16D is a diagram showing a state in which the lid is held, and FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a state in which the optical connecting component of the fifth embodiment is installed on a base.
T is a bending portion of the optical fiber 1.

First, as shown in FIG. 15A, the optical fiber 1 is brought close to the optical connection component 300 with the lid 350 opened.
Next, as shown in FIG. 15B, the optical fiber 1 is inserted along the holding portion 302, and the tip is brought to the alignment portion H.
Then, as shown in FIG. 15C, the lid 350 is rotated about the rotation shaft 351. At this time, the tip of the lid 350 presses the optical fiber 1 against the holding portion 302 and slightly pushes it toward the pressing wall W so as to drag the optical fiber 1 as it rotates. As a result, the bent portion 8 of the optical fiber 1 is pressed against the pressing wall W, and the tip of the optical fiber 1 enters the alignment portion H deeply, so that the optical fiber 1 is aligned with the alignment portion H.
At this time, the optical fiber 1 can be shaped according to the shape of the groove. That is, as shown in FIG. 15C, the optical fiber 1 may be shaped so that the bent portion 8 is substantially perpendicular and the tip of the optical fiber 1 is directed directly downward.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 15C, a bending portion T may be generated due to the elasticity of the optical fiber 1 when the tip of the lid 350 presses the optical fiber 1.
However, as shown in FIG. 15 (d), the optical fiber 1 can be held while adjusting the bent portion T by further rotating the lid 350 to the closed state.
As described above, the optical fiber 1 can be held in a state where the tip is directed toward the optical functional component 16 and is not bent.
The tip of the optical fiber 1 is deeply inserted into the alignment portion H, and the upper portion is blocked by the lid 350, so that the optical fiber 1 does not come off.
The optical fiber 1 and the optical connection component 300 are detachable by opening and closing the lid 350, and the holding can be released by performing the above procedure in reverse.

Next, as shown in FIG. 16, the optical connection component 300 holding the optical fiber 1 is fixed on the bases 17 a and 17 b provided on the substrate 5 with an adhesive or the like, so that the optical fiber 1 and the optical functional component are fixed. 16 are aligned to form the optical connection structure of the fifth embodiment.
The direction of connection is a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the straight portion of the optical fiber 1. That is, it is connected to the substrate 5 in the vertical direction.

It is also possible to change the order of the steps so that the optical connection component 300 is first installed on the bases 17a and 17b, and then the optical fiber 1 is held by the optical connection component 300.
That is, first, alignment is performed so that the optical functional component 16 can be seen from the alignment portion H of the optical connection component 300, and the optical connection component 300 is fixed to the bases 17a and 17b with an adhesive or the like.
Next, the optical fiber 1 is inserted along the holding portion 302 of the optical connection component 300, and the tip is brought to the alignment portion H.
Thereafter, the lid 350 is rotated and closed, so that the bent portion 8 can be pressed against the pressing wall W while pressing the optical fiber 1 against the holding portion 302, and the tip of the optical fiber 1 is aligned. By entering the portion H deeply, the optical fiber 1 is aligned with the alignment portion H. Further, the optical fiber 1 can be shaped according to the shape of the groove.
Thus, the optical connection structure of Embodiment 5 is formed.

(Embodiment 6)
Next, the optical connection component of Embodiment 6 and the optical connection structure using the same will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view showing the optical connection structure of the sixth embodiment.
Reference numeral 300a denotes an optical connection component, and reference numerals 317a and 317b denote base legs. Since other configurations are the same as those of the fifth embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted.

The sixth embodiment is the same as the fifth embodiment except that the optical connection component 300 of the fifth embodiment is replaced with the optical connection component 300a and the bases 17a and 17b are excluded.
That is, as shown in FIG. 17, by providing the base legs 317 a and 317 b in the optical connection component 300, it is not necessary to previously provide a base on the substrate 5.
According to the sixth embodiment, by integrating the optical connection component 300 and the base, the number of components in the optical connection structure can be reduced, so that the cost can be reduced.

(Embodiment 7)
Next, the optical connection component of Embodiment 7 and the optical connection structure using the same will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing the optical connection structure of the seventh embodiment.
1 ′ is an optical fiber, 8 ′ is a bent portion, 300 ′ is an optical connection part, 301 ′ is a shoulder portion, 302 ′ is a holding portion, 303 ′ is a hill portion, 350 ′ is a lid, and 351 ′ is a rotation axis.

The seventh embodiment is the same as the fifth embodiment except that the optical functional component 16 and the bases 17a and 17b of the fifth embodiment are replaced with another optical fiber 1 ′ and an optical connection component 300 ′.
That is, in the seventh embodiment, two optical connecting components (300 and 300 ′) are overlapped via the holding portions 302 and 302 ′, and the optical fiber 1 and the other optical fiber 1 ′ are connected to each other in the vertical direction. Connection structure. The bent portion 8 is covered with a reflective film. The bent portion 8 ′, which is another optical fiber, may be covered with the reflective film or may not be covered with the reflective film.

Another optical fiber 1 ′ is held in advance by the optical connection component 300 ′, and is arranged on the substrate 5 so that the holding portion 302 ′ is on the upper side.
Then, by holding the optical fiber 1 on the optical connecting component 300 and positioning and arranging the optical fiber 1 on the optical connecting component 300 ′, the optical fibers can be connected vertically.

(Embodiment 8)
Next, the optical connection component of Embodiment 8 and the optical connection structure using the same will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing the optical connection structure of the eighth embodiment.
1 is an optical fiber, 8 is a bent portion, 300c is an optical connection component, 301 is a shoulder portion, 302 is a holding portion, 303 is a hill portion, 318 is a bottom plate, 350 is a lid, 351 is a rotating shaft, R is a reflection film, S Is a storage section.

The eighth embodiment is the same as the fifth embodiment except that the optical connection component 300 of the fifth embodiment is replaced with an optical connection component 300c having base legs 317a and 317b and a bottom plate 318.
The storage part S is provided by providing the bottom plate 318 under the base leg, and the optical functional component 16 is stored in the storage part. Thereby, the optical connection component 300c integrated with the optical functional component 16 in advance can be obtained.

(Embodiment 9)
Next, Embodiment 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 and 3.
FIG. 20A is a front view showing the optical connection structure of the ninth embodiment, and FIG. 20B is a perspective view showing the optical connection structure of the ninth embodiment.
Reference numeral 7 denotes a multimode optical fiber, which is another optical fiber to be connected.
Is an MT connector attached to the tip of the tape core wire 1, 3b is an optical fiber disposed on the printed circuit board 5, 4 is a guide pin for an MT connector provided on the printed circuit board 5, 5 is a printed circuit board, and 6 is a connection. The other optical fiber is a plastic optical fiber, for example, 0.5 mmΦ. 9a is a bent portion formed by bending both ends of the optical fiber 3b at an angle of 90 degrees, 10 is a mending tape, and Ra is a reflection film.
Both ends of the optical fiber 3b are bent at an angle of 90 degrees and are cut, and have a bent portion 9a.
The MT connector 2 is fixed by the guide pins 4 with the tip thereof in contact with the bent portion 9a.
The plastic optical fiber 6 is fixed by an adhesive or the like with its tip in contact with the bent portion 9a.
In the optical connection structure of the ninth embodiment, the tape core wire 7 and the plastic optical fiber 6 are connected via the optical fiber 3b.

Next, the manufacturing method of the optical connection structure of Embodiment 9 is demonstrated.
The optical connection structure of the ninth embodiment is manufactured by performing the same method as that shown in FIG. 3 except that both ends of the optical fibers 3, 3 ′, 3b, and 3b ′ shown in FIG. 3 are bent at 90 degrees.
Next, two holes were formed in advance, and the optical fiber 3b was arranged on the printed circuit board 5 on which the guide pins 4 were inserted and fixed.
At this time, the tip of the bent portion 9a is positioned in the middle of the guide pin 4, and the optical fiber 3b is fixed on the printed board 5 with the mending tape 10 or the like so that the tip faces upward.
Thereafter, the MT connector 2 and the guide pins 4 on the printed circuit board 5 are aligned, and the optical fiber 3b is pressed by the MT connector 2 to optically connect as shown in FIG. Further, the other end of the optical fiber 3b was optically connected by fixing the plastic optical fiber 6 with an adhesive or the like.
According to the present embodiment, the optical fiber 3b, which is a so-called vertical conversion optical path, can be easily obtained by simply forming a plastic optical fiber into a tape, bending it, and cutting the bent tip, and optical connection using the optical fiber 3b. A structure can be made. The space in the height direction could be reduced by using the optical fiber 3b whose bent tip was cut.

(Embodiment 10)
Next, Embodiment 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 21 is a front view showing the optical connection structure of the tenth embodiment.
3c is an optical fiber, 9b is a bent portion bent in a direction different from the bent portion 9a, 16 is a surface emitting laser which is an optical functional component to be connected, 17 is a base made of polyphenol sulfide resin, 18 is a polyimide film, Reference numeral 19 denotes a protective component made of a base 17 and a polyimide film 18, and Ra and Rb denote reflection films.
The optical fiber 3c, which is an optical fiber, has its both ends bent and cut in different directions, and has bent portions 9a and 9b.
The surface emitting laser 16 has an optical axis in a direction perpendicular to the substrate by being attached to the printed circuit board 5.
A base 17 is built around the surface emitting laser 16, and a polyimide film 18 is provided so as to bridge the base 17. Therefore, the polyimide film 18 covers and protects the upper part of the surface emitting laser 16. The polyimide film 18 may be provided with a hole through which the laser passes.
The bent portion 9b is aligned so as to receive light from the surface emitting laser 16 with or without the polyimide film 18 interposed therebetween. The bent portion 9b, the polyimide film 18, and the surface emitting laser 16 may or may not be in contact.
The optical fiber 3 c is arranged on the printed circuit board 5 according to the height of the base 17.
The plastic optical fiber 6 is fixed by an adhesive or the like with its tip in contact with the bent portion 9a.

The optical connection structure of the tenth embodiment is configured as described above, and the surface emitting laser 16 and the plastic optical fiber 6 are connected via the optical fiber 3c.
The manufacturing method of the optical connection structure of the tenth embodiment is the same as the manufacturing method of the optical connection structure of the ninth embodiment except for the optical fiber 3c, the surface emitting laser 16, the base 17, and the polyimide film 18.
The optical fiber 3c is manufactured in the same manner as the optical fiber 3b of the first embodiment except that both ends thereof are bent in different directions.
As the surface emitting laser 16, the base 17, and the polyimide film 18, existing ones can be used. A protective component 19 in which the base 17 and the polyimide film 18 are integrated may be used.

(Embodiment 11)
Next, Embodiment 11 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 22 is a front view showing the optical connection structure of the eleventh embodiment.
Reference numeral 20 denotes an alignment component having a curved surface matched to the shape of the bent portion 9b, and Ra and Rb are reflection films.
The optical connection structure of the ninth embodiment is the same as the optical connection structure of the tenth embodiment except that the alignment component 20 is provided.
When the alignment component 20 was attached to the protective component 19, the alignment of the optical fiber 3c only abutted against the alignment component 20 as shown in FIG. 22, and the connection work was facilitated.

The material which comprises this invention is demonstrated below.
A plastic fiber or the like can be used as the optical fiber constituting the present invention, but this is an example of an optical fiber that can be easily processed. If the optical fiber can be processed by other processing methods such as thermal processing, The material is not limited.

The refractive index distribution is appropriately selected and used depending on the purpose of use, such as a step distribution or a graded distribution. Moreover, there is no restriction | limiting in the quantity of the optical fiber connected at once, Therefore, there is no restriction | limiting in the number of the optical fibers used for the optical connection structure of one Embodiment of this invention.
Also, a similar optical connection structure (optical fiber) can be configured by using a polymer flexible optical waveguide instead of the optical fiber. Preferably, the thing produced with polymeric materials, such as a polyimide, an acryl, an epoxy, and polyolefin, can be used.

Each material used for the base and the base leg of the present invention, the connection member 100 having a convex part, the connection member 200 having a concave part, the optical connection parts 300, 300a, 300b, and the alignment part 20 are used for connection. Although it is appropriately selected depending on the material of the optical fiber used and the required alignment accuracy, those made of plastic, ceramic, metal, etc., which have a particularly small thermal dimensional change, are preferably used. As the plastic material, a glassy epoxy material, a crystalline polymer such as PPS (polyphenyl sulfide), PEEK (polyether ether ketone) is preferably used.

When the base and base legs of the present invention, the connecting member 100 having a convex part, the connecting member 200 having a concave part, and the optical connecting parts 300, 300a, 300b are made of a metal such as brass, phosphor bronze, stainless steel, nickel, etc. Can be fixed to the printed circuit board, or a metal position fixing member or holding fixing member with solder, and when an optical fiber such as an optical fiber is pulled out of the substrate or from the substrate, light is emitted in the same process as the mounting of the electronic element. It becomes possible to connect fibers.

Further, the material is used properly such that the plate portion 203 of the connecting member 200 having a recess is made of metal and other partial plastics, or the base legs 317a and 317b of the optical connection component 300a are made of metal and the other parts are made of plastic. May be.

In addition, a refractive index matching material can be inserted between the optical fiber and the optical functional component such as a surface emitting laser in each embodiment. The refractive index matching material is appropriately selected and used according to the environmental conditions in which the optical connection structure of the present invention is used, the manufacturing process, and the like. The refractive index matching material may be liquid or solid, and may be, for example, oil, grease, gel, or film.

As Example 1, the optical fiber of Embodiment 1 described above and the optical connection structure of Embodiment 2 were produced (FIGS. 1 to 9).
First, the optical fiber of Embodiment 1 was produced by the following procedure. Four plastic optical fibers (trade name: ESCA outer diameter 250 μmΦ manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.) were taped to obtain an optical fiber 1.
The production jig of Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-203140 was used for production of the optical fiber 1.
As the nozzle, a needle (inner diameter 1 mm: manufactured by Musashi Engineering Co., Ltd.) was used.
On the substrate, an adhesive sheet (total thickness 50 μm) formed by providing an adhesive layer having a thickness of 25 μm on a polyethylene terephthalate film was installed.
As the coating material, an ultraviolet curable resin (trade name: Viscotac PM-654 manufactured by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) was used, and a dispenser was used as a material supply device for supply.
Specifically, four 2.1 m optical fibers were first aligned and attached in parallel on a PET adhesive sheet placed on a substrate.
Next, the needle hole was brought close to the upper end of one end of the four optical fibers aligned, and the center of the needle hole was adjusted to be the center of the four optical fibers.
At this time, the height of the needle was set to 1 mm from the substrate.
The material was applied to the upper surface of the optical fiber by simultaneously applying the material with a dispenser and moving the needle 2 m in the axial direction of the optical fiber.
The coated material was cured by ultraviolet treatment (irradiation intensity: 20 mW / cm ² , 10 seconds) using an ultraviolet irradiation device to obtain a taped optical fiber.
One end of the optical fiber was bent 90 degrees so that the straight portion was 130 mm, and cut from the bent portion 8 at about 0.2 mm, and the cut surface was polished.
Then, the portion from the bent portion to the tip of the optical fiber was coated with gold so as to have a thickness of 5 μm by electroless plating, and the optical fiber 1 was produced.

Then, the optical connection structure of Embodiment 2 was produced.
The connecting member 100 having a convex portion was molded from polyetheretherketone resin.
In the connection member 200 having a recess, the protruding portion 202 is formed of polyether ether ketone, and the plate portion 203 and the pressing portion 206 are integrally formed of metal. The pressing portion 206 has a structure that uses its elasticity by rounding a metal.
A surface-emitting laser (wavelength 850 nm, manufactured by Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., 4 cores) was used as the optical functional component 16, and a base made of polyphenol sulfide resin was used as the base 17.
First, the optical fiber 1 was placed on the holding portion 102 of the connecting member 100 having a convex portion and held with an adhesive tape.
Next, the alignment part H and the optical functional component 16 were aligned, and the connection member 200 having a recess was fixed on the base using an adhesive.
Then, the connection member 100 having the convex portion and the connection member 200 having the concave portion were integrated to form the optical connection structure of Example 1.

As Example 2, the optical connection structure of Embodiment 3 described above was manufactured (FIGS. 10 and 11).
The optical connection structure of Example 2 has the same configuration as that of Example 1 except that the connection member 100 having a convex portion is replaced with a connection member 100b having a convex portion.
Metal was used for the bearing portion 106, the eccentric cam 107, and the rotating shaft 108.

As Example 3, the optical connection structure of Embodiment 4 described above was produced (FIG. 12). The bent portion 8 'of the other optical fiber 1' was not plated.

As Example 4, the optical connection structure of Embodiment 5 described above was produced (FIGS. 13 to 16).
An optical fiber 1 was produced in the same manner as in Example 1.

The optical connecting part 300 was molded from polyetheretherketone resin.
A surface emitting laser (wavelength 850 nm, manufactured by Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., 4 cores) was used as the optical functional component 16, and a base made of polyphenol sulfide resin was used as the bases 17a and 17b.
First, the optical connection component 300 was aligned and fixed on the bases 17a and 17b using an adhesive so that the optical functional component 16 could be seen from the alignment portion H.
Next, the optical fiber 1 is placed along the holding portion 302 of the optical connection component 300, and the lid 350 is closed in a state where the bent portion 8 is pressed against the pressing wall W. It could be held in the direction toward the part 16 and without bending.
Thus, the optical connection structure of Example 4 was formed.

As Example 5, the optical connection structure of the above-described Embodiment 6 was produced (FIG. 17).
The optical connection structure of Example 5 has the same configuration as that of Example 4 except that the optical connection component 300 is replaced with an optical connection component 300a having base legs 317a and 317b.
As the base legs 317a and 317b, mounting brass plates were used.
The mounting brass plate is a plate-like member having protrusions, and is attached to the optical connecting part 300 by making a hole in the optical connecting part 300, inserting the protrusions, and fixing with a thermosetting adhesive.
Then, the optical connection component 300 was aligned and fixed on the substrate 5 using solder so that the optical functional component 16 could be seen from the alignment portion H.
Next, the optical fiber 1 is placed along the holding portion 302 of the optical connection component 300, and the lid 350 is closed in a state where the bent portion 8 is pressed against the pressing wall W. It could be held in the direction toward the part 16 and without bending.
Thus, the optical connection structure of Example 5 was formed.

As Example 6, the optical connection structure of Embodiment 7 described above was produced (FIG. 18). The bent portion 8 'of the other optical fiber 1' was not plated.

As Example 7, the optical connection structure of Embodiment 8 described above was produced (FIG. 19).
The optical connection structure of the seventh embodiment has the same configuration as that of the fourth embodiment except that the optical connection component 300 is replaced with an optical connection component 300c having base legs 317a and 317b and a bottom plate 318.
A mounting brass plate was used as the bottom plate 318.
The mounting brass plate is a plate-like member having protrusions, and holes are formed in the base legs 317a and 317b, and the protrusions are inserted and fixed with a thermosetting adhesive to produce the optical connection component 300c. And the optical connection component 300c was fixed to the desired location on the board | substrate 5 using the solder.
Next, the optical fiber 1 is placed along the holding portion 302 of the optical connection component 300c, and the lid 350 is closed in a state where the bent portion 8 is pressed against the pressing wall W. It could be held in the direction toward the part 16 and without bending.
Thus, the optical connection structure of Example 7 was formed.

As Example 8, the optical connection structure of Embodiment 9 described above was produced (FIG. 20).
First, four plastic optical fibers (trade name: ESCA outer diameter 250 μmΦ manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.) were taped to obtain an optical fiber 3.
The production jig of FIG. 2 was used for the production of the optical fiber 3.
As the nozzle N, a needle (inner diameter 1 mm: manufactured by Musashi Engineering Co., Ltd.) was used.
On the substrate 410, a PET adhesive sheet (total thickness 50 μm) having an adhesive layer of 25 μm was placed.
As the coating material, an ultraviolet curable resin (trade name: Viscocot PM-654 manufactured by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) was used, and a dispenser 408 was used as a material supply device for supplying the coating material.
Specifically, four 2.1 m optical fibers 401 w to 401 z were first aligned and attached in parallel on a PET adhesive sheet placed on a substrate 410.
Next, the needle hole was brought close to one end upper part of the aligned four optical fibers 401w to 401z, and the center of the needle hole was adjusted to be the center of the four optical fibers 401w to 401z.

At this time, the height of the needle was set to 1 mm from the substrate.
The material was applied to the upper surface of the optical fibers 401w to 401z by simultaneously applying the material with the dispenser 408 and moving the needle 2 m in the optical fiber axial direction.
The coated material was cured by ultraviolet treatment (irradiation intensity: 20 mW / cm ² , 10 seconds) using an ultraviolet irradiation device to obtain a taped optical fiber 3.
The both ends of the taped optical fiber 3 used above are bent at 90 degrees so that the straight portion is 130 mm, cut at about 0.2 mm from the bent portion 9a, the cut surface is polished, and then gold plating is performed. Thus, an optical fiber medium 3b of this example was produced.
Next, two holes having a width of 4.6 mm and a diameter of 0.69 mm were formed in the printed circuit board 5, and the guide pins 4 were inserted into the holes and adhered and fixed to the printed circuit board 5.
The optical fiber 3b was fixed on the printed circuit board 5 with the mending tape 10 so that the tip of the bent portion 8 was positioned in the middle of the guide pin 4 so that the folded portion was upward.
After that, the MT connector 2 attached to the tip of the tape core wire 7 and the guide pin 4 on the printed circuit board 5 are aligned, and the optical fiber 3b is pressed by the MT connector 2 so that the optical fiber as shown in FIG. Connected.
The plastic optical fiber 6 was 0.5 mmΦ.

As Example 9, the optical connection structure of Embodiment 10 described above was produced (FIG. 21).
First, the both ends of the optical fiber 3 produced in Example 8 were bent into a crank shape so that the straight portion was 130 mm, cut at about 0.2 mm from the bent portions 9a and 9b, and the cut surface was polished. The optical fiber 3c of this example was manufactured by applying gold plating.
As the surface emitting laser 16 and the base 17, a surface emitting laser 16 (wavelength 850 nm, 4 cores manufactured by Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.) and a base 17 made of polyphenol sulfide resin were used.

As Example 10, the optical connection structure of Embodiment 11 described above was produced (FIG. 22).

[Comparative example]
In the optical fibers constituting the optical connection structures of Examples 1 to 10, the optical connection structures of Comparative Examples 1 to 10 were produced in the same manner except that the part from the bent portion to the tip of the optical fiber was not plated. . Note that Example 1 corresponds to Comparative Example 1, Example 2 corresponds to Comparative Example 2, and the subsequent Examples also correspond to Comparative Examples in order.

When a laser beam having a wavelength of 850 nm is incident from a surface emitting laser on each optical fiber constituting the optical connection structure of Examples 1-2, 4-5, 7 and Comparative Examples 1-2, 4-5, 7 The emission of scattered light could be confirmed at the tip of the optical fiber 1.
In the optical connection structures of Examples 3 and 6 and Comparative Examples 3 and 6, when laser light having a wavelength of 850 nm was incident from the tip of the optical fiber 1 ′, emission of scattered light was confirmed at the tip of the optical fiber 1.
In Example 8 and Comparative Example 8, when laser light having a wavelength of 650 nm was incident from the tape core wire 7, emission of red scattered light could be confirmed on the plastic optical fiber 6.
When laser light having a wavelength of 850 nm is incident on the optical fibers constituting the optical connection structures of Examples 9-10 and Comparative Examples 9-10, scattered light is emitted to the plastic optical fiber 6. It could be confirmed.
In each example and each comparative example, the insertion loss (dB) and the crosstalk (dB) to another adjacent optical fiber when the laser beam was incident as described above were measured. The obtained results are shown in Table 1. In addition, all the values described in Table 1 are average values of values measured five times.

As described above, according to the present invention, the value of the insertion loss is reduced in the embodiment of the present invention in which the reflection film is provided in the bent portion as compared with the comparative example in which the reflection film is not provided in the bent portion. Since the insertion loss indicating the attenuation amount of the output decreased, it was confirmed that the output increased in each of the above examples. Therefore, it was confirmed that light leakage at the bent portion was reduced. Further, since the value of the crosstalk in the embodiment of the present application was reduced as compared with the comparative example, the occurrence of crosstalk to other adjacent optical fibers could be reduced.
Without occupying a large space on the substrate, it is possible to provide an optical connection component and an optical connection structure that can be easily aligned, shorten the connection time, and can freely connect and disconnect. Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the number of parts can be small, the cost can be reduced.

It is the figure which showed the optical fiber of Embodiment 1, Comprising: (a) is a front view, (b) is the front perspective view seen from the downward | lower direction A perspective view showing an example of an optical fiber tape forming apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the manufacturing method of the optical fiber of Embodiment 1, Comprising: (a) is a taped optical fiber, (b) is a bent optical fiber, (c) is a bent optical fiber cut, (D) is another form of optical fiber. Exploded perspective view of the optical connection structure of Embodiment 2 It is the figure which showed the connection member which has a convex part of Embodiment 2, Comprising: (a) is a top view, (b) is a II line sectional drawing. It is the figure which showed the connection member which has a recessed part of Embodiment 2, Comprising: (a) is a top view, (b) is a side view Sectional drawing which shows the state with which the connection member which has a convex part of Embodiment 2 hold | maintained the optical fiber The side view which shows the state which aligned the connection member and optical functional component which have a recessed part of Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a side view which shows the process in which the connection member which has a convex part of Embodiment 2, and the connection member which has a recessed part are integrated, (a) is a figure before integration, (b) is the figure which is integrating (C) Diagram after integration It is the figure which showed the connection member which has a convex part of Embodiment 3, Comprising: (a) is a top view, (b) is a ha-ha sectional drawing. It is sectional drawing which shows the process in which the connection member which has a convex part of Embodiment 3 hold | maintains an optical fiber, Comprising: (a) is a figure before holding | maintenance, (b) is a figure which is holding, (c) It hold | maintains Figure Side view of optical connection structure of Embodiment 4 FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing an optical connection structure of Embodiment 5. It is the figure which showed the optical connection component of Embodiment 5, Comprising: (a) is a top view, (b) is a knee line sectional drawing. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of holding an optical fiber in the optical connecting component of Embodiment 5, where (a) is a view before holding, (b) is a view with an optical fiber inserted, and (c) is a cover. The figure of the state which is closing, (d) is the figure of the held state The figure of the state which installed the optical connection component of Embodiment 5 in the base Exploded perspective view showing the optical connection structure of Embodiment 6 Sectional drawing which shows the optical connection structure of Embodiment 7. Sectional drawing which shows the optical connection structure of Embodiment 8. It is the figure which showed the optical connection structure of Embodiment 9, Comprising: (a) is a front view, (b) is a perspective view. The front view which showed the optical connection structure of Embodiment 10. Front view showing the optical connection structure of Embodiment 11

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1 '... Optical fiber, 2 ... MT connector, 3b, 3c ... Optical fiber, 3, 3' ... Optical fiber, 3b ', 3b' '... Optical fiber, 4 ... Guide pin, 5 ... Printed circuit board, 6 ... Plastic optical fiber, 7 ... Tape core, 8, 8 ', 9a, 9b ... Bending part, 9a', 9a '' ... Bending part, 10 ... Mending tape, 16 ... Optical functional parts, 17, 17a, 17b ... Base 18 ... Polyimide film 19 ... Protective part 20 ... Alignment part 100, 100a, 100b, 100 '... Connecting member having convex part 101,101' ... Convex part 102,102a ... Holding part 103 , 103 '... Hill part, 106 ... Bearing part, 107 ... Eccentric cam, 108 ... Rotating shaft, 200, 200' ... Connection member having a recess, 201 ... Recess, 02, 202 '... projecting part, 203, 203' ... plate part, 206, 206 '... pressing part, 300, 300a, 300b, 300c, 300' ... optical connecting part, 301, 301 '... shoulder part, 302, 302b , 302 '... holding part, 303, 303' ... hill part, 317a, 317b ... base leg, 350, 350 '... lid, 351, 351' ... rotating shaft, 401w to 401z ... optical fiber, 404 ... start coating material coating Position, 405: Coating material application end position, 407 ... Adhesive tape, 408 ... Dispenser, 409 ... Single axis control robot, 410 ... Substrate, 411 ... Ball screw, 412 ... Movable unit, 413 ... Pipe, 414 ... Drive shaft, 415 ... Bearing A ... Bending start part, B ... Tip, C ... Notch part, H ... Positioning part, L ... Light R, R ', Ra, Rb ... reflection film, S ... storage unit, T ... flexure, W ... pressing wall X ... bent end portion

Claims (12)

At least one end of the optical fiber has a bent portion, and the bent portion is covered with a reflective film. 2. The optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the reflection film is made of platinum, gold, silver, nickel, copper, zinc, tin, or chromium, or a mixture of two or more thereof. The optical fiber according to claim 1, wherein the bent portion is formed by bending the optical fiber at 90 degrees. An optical connection structure in which at least one end of an optical fiber has a bent portion, and an optical fiber in which the bent portion is covered with a reflective film and an optical functional component or another optical fiber are connected. An optical connection structure in which the optical fiber and an optical functional component or another optical fiber are vertically connected via an optical connection component, wherein the optical connection component includes a connection member having a convex portion and a connection member having a concave portion. The connecting member having the convex portion includes a holding portion that holds the optical fiber in alignment, and the connecting member having the concave portion aligns with an optical functional component or another optical fiber. 5. The optical connection structure according to claim 4, wherein the connection member having the convex portion and the connection member having the concave portion are detachable by fitting the convex portion and the concave portion. 6. The optical connection structure according to claim 5, wherein the connection member having the convex portion has a cam structure for holding an optical fiber. The optical connection structure according to claim 5, wherein the connection member having the concave portion includes a pressing portion that presses the connection member having the convex portion. An optical connection structure in which the optical fiber and an optical functional component or another optical fiber are connected via an optical connection component, wherein the optical connection component includes a holding unit that holds the optical fiber, an optical functional component, or An alignment portion for aligning with another optical fiber, a pressing unit and a pressing wall are provided, and the pressing unit presses the optical fiber against the pressing wall, thereby positioning the optical fiber in the position. The optical connection structure according to claim 4, wherein the optical connection structure is aligned with an alignment portion. The optical connection structure according to claim 8, wherein a connection direction is a direction perpendicular to an optical axis of the optical fiber. The optical connection structure according to claim 8, wherein the pressing unit shapes the optical fiber by pressing the optical fiber against the pressing wall. The optical connection structure according to claim 8, wherein the pressing means has a cam structure. It has a base leg, The optical connection structure in any one of Claims 8-11 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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