JP2015031818A - Lens component and optical module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lens component having a lens face with high shape accuracy, which can be easily formed and can connect an optical fiber and a light-emitting/receiving element with high optical coupling efficiency.SOLUTION: A lens component 60 includes a fixing part 61 where a coated optical fiber 7 is fixed, and a light controlling part 62 that controls light transmitted between the coated optical fiber 7 and a light-emitting/receiving element. A recessed part 63 described below is disposed on an optical path (A) between the fixing part 61 and the light controlling part 62: the recessed part has a first side face 64 opposing to a side of the fixing part 61 closer to the light controlling part 62, and a second side face 65 opposing to a side closer to the fixing part 61 of the light controlling part 62, and is open in a predetermined direction intersecting the optical path (A). The first side face 64 is inclined relative to the second side face 65 in such a manner that a distance between the first side face 64 and the second side face 65 along a direction starting from a given position of either the first side face 64 or the second side face 65 and being perpendicular to a tangential line at the given position, does not decrease toward the open side with respect to a predetermined direction; and a concave lens surface 66 is formed on one of the first side face 64 and the second side face 65 inclined to each other.

Description

  The present invention relates to a lens component and an optical module.

  In recent years, optical fiber cables have been used for communications between personal computers and peripheral devices, and communications between boards in data centers or high performance computers. At the end of such an optical fiber cable, the light emitting / receiving element mounted on the electronic substrate and the optical fiber are optically coupled by a lens component.

Miniature Detachable Photonic Turn Connector for Optical Module Interface, Darrell Childers et al., 1922, 2011 Electronic Components and Technology Conference

  In order to connect the light emitting / receiving element and the optical fiber with high coupling efficiency at the end portion of the optical fiber cable described above, the positional accuracy of the optical fiber with respect to the lens surface of the lens component is important.

  In Non-Patent Document 1, an optical fiber is inserted into a hole formed in a lens component and abutted against an abutting surface. Thereby, the positioning accuracy of the optical fiber is increased. In this lens component, since the surface facing the end face of the optical fiber is an abutting surface, a lens surface cannot be formed on the abutting surface. For this reason, a lens surface is formed on the reflecting surface that changes the direction of the optical path between the optical fiber and the light emitting / receiving element, and the lens surface is disposed on the surface of the lens component positioned on the optical path between the reflecting surface and the light emitting / receiving element. Is forming. Thereby, the optical fiber and the light emitting / receiving element are connected via the two lens surfaces.

  However, in such a configuration, it is difficult to improve the shape accuracy of the lens surface, and stray light may be generated in the lens component.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a lens component that can easily connect an optical transmission element such as an optical fiber and an optical component such as a light receiving and emitting element.

The present invention
A lens component for optically connecting an optical transmission element and an optical component,
A fixing part to which the optical transmission element is fixed;
A light control unit that controls light transmitted between the light transmission element and the optical component,
On the optical path between the fixed part and the light control part, there is a first side surface facing the light control part side of the fixed part and a second side surface facing the fixed part side of the light control part. A recess opening in a predetermined direction intersecting the optical path is provided,
The first side so that the distance between the first side and the second side along the normal of either the first side or the second side does not decrease toward the opening with respect to the predetermined direction. The side surface is inclined with respect to the second side surface,
A lens component in which a lens surface is formed on one of the first side surface and the second side surface inclined with respect to each other.

The present invention also provides the lens component described above,
An optical module including a substrate including an optical component.

  According to the present invention, an optical transmission element and an optical component can be easily connected.

It is a perspective view which shows the optical module which concerns on this embodiment. It is a perspective view of the optical module which shows the state which removed the housing. It is sectional drawing of an optical module. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows a recessed part. It is sectional drawing of the lens component explaining the molding method of a lens component. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the lens component which concerns on the modifications 1-4. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the lens component which concerns on the modifications 5-8. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a lens component according to Modification 8. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a lens component according to Modification 9. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a lens component according to Modification Example 10. FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a concave lens surface of a lens component according to Modification Example 10.

<Outline of Embodiment of the Present Invention>
First, an outline of an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
One embodiment of the lens component according to the present invention is:
(1) A lens component for optically connecting an optical transmission element and an optical component,
A fixing part to which the optical transmission element is fixed;
A light control unit that controls light transmitted between the light transmission element and the optical component,
On the optical path between the fixed part and the light control part, there is a first side surface facing the light control part side of the fixed part and a second side surface facing the fixed part side of the light control part. A recess opening in a predetermined direction intersecting the optical path is provided,
The distance between the first side surface and the second side surface along the direction perpendicular to the tangent at the first side surface and the second side surface is the opening side with respect to the predetermined direction. The first side surface is inclined with respect to the second side surface so as not to become smaller toward
A lens surface is formed on one of the first side surface and the second side surface inclined with respect to each other.
According to the configuration of (1), the light transmission element and the optical component can be connected with high coupling efficiency by the lens surface. Further, this lens surface can be easily molded by removing the mold along the surface on the side where the lens surface is not provided. Thereby, an optical transmission element and an optical component can be easily connected with high coupling efficiency.

(2) When the bottom portion of the concave portion is viewed from the predetermined direction, the entire surface of the bottom portion may be configured not to be blocked by the first side surface and the second side surface.
According to the configuration of (2), the lens component can be easily molded.

(3) The second side surface may have a surface that is parallel to or larger than the first side surface in a region between the lens surface and the bottom of the concave portion.
According to the configuration of (3), the lens component can be easily molded.

(4) The fixing portion may be provided with a hole portion into which the optical transmission element is inserted.
According to the configuration of (4), the optical transmission element can be easily positioned.

(5) The hole may be provided with an abutting surface against which an end of the optical transmission element is abutted.
According to the configuration of (5), the positioning accuracy of the optical transmission element can be increased.

(6) The normal line of the first side surface may be parallel to the axis of the hole.
According to the configuration of (6), the optical design can be facilitated.

(7) The normal of the first side surface may not be parallel to the axis of the hole.
According to the configuration of (7), it is possible to prevent the light emitted from the light transmission element and reflected by the first side surface from entering the light transmission element.

(8) An additional lens surface may be formed on a surface different from the second side surface of the light control unit.
According to the configuration of (8), the optical coupling efficiency can be increased.

(9) With respect to the lens surface and the additional lens surface arranged on the same optical path, the additional lens surface is positioned on the optical axis of the lens surface in a cross section of the opening including the concave direction and the plane including the optical path. You don't have to.
According to the configuration of (9), since there are few restrictions on the positional relationship between the lens surface and the additional lens surface, the lens surface and the additional lens surface can be arranged in any way. Thereby, the freedom degree of design of a lens component is raised.

(10) The optical axis of the lens surface and the optical axis of the additional lens surface may be parallel to each other.
According to the configuration of (10), the optical design can be facilitated.

(11) A plurality of the lens surfaces are provided,
The lens surfaces adjacent when the lens surface is seen through from one side of the lens surface in the optical axis direction may be provided on different surfaces of the first side surface and the second side surface.
According to the structure of (11), a lens surface can be formed in high density and a lens component can be reduced in size.

One embodiment of the optical module according to the present invention is:
(12) The lens component according to any one of (1) to (11) above and a substrate including an optical component.
According to the configuration of (12), the light transmission element and the optical component can be connected with high coupling efficiency by the lens surface. Moreover, cost can be reduced by facilitating manufacture.

(13) The lens component may include an optical path changing unit that changes an optical path from the optical transmission element toward the optical component.
According to the structure of (13), an optical component can be freely arranged with respect to an optical transmission element, and the freedom degree of design can be raised.

(14) The opening of the recess may be covered with the substrate.
According to the structure of (14), since a lens surface is sealed with a lens component and a board | substrate, adhesion of dust to a lens surface can be suppressed.

(15) The opening of the recess may not be covered with the substrate.
According to the configuration of (15), the inspection after mounting can be facilitated.

(16) a multi-core optical fiber as an optical transmission element that is optically connected to the optical component;
The same number of additional lens surfaces as the number of cores of the multi-core optical fiber may be formed on a surface different from the second side surface of the light control unit.
According to the configuration of (16), the light emitted from the core can be separately controlled by the additional lens surface.

<Details of Embodiment of the Present Invention>
Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of a lens component and an optical module according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to these illustrations, is shown by the claim, and intends that all the changes within the meaning and range equivalent to a claim are included.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an optical module according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the optical module with the housing removed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the optical module 1 includes a housing 20, an electrical connector 22 provided on the front end side of the housing 20, and an optical fiber cable 3 attached to the rear end side of the housing 20.

  The optical fiber cable 3 includes a plurality (four in this case) of optical fiber core wires (optical transmission elements) 7. As the optical fiber core 7, an optical fiber (AGF: All Glass Fiber) whose core and clad are quartz glass, a plastic optical fiber (HPCF: Hard Plastic Clad Fiber) whose clad is made of hard plastic, and the like can be used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a circuit board (substrate) 24 and a lens component 60 provided on the circuit board 24 are accommodated in the housing 20.

  The electrical connector 22 is a part that is inserted into a connection target (such as a personal computer) and is electrically connected to the connection target. The electrical connector 22 is disposed on the front end side of the housing 20 and protrudes forward from the housing 20. The electrical connector 22 is electrically connected to the circuit board 24 by a contact 22a.

  The circuit board 24 on which the lens component 60 is mounted has a predetermined thickness. The circuit board 24 has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. The circuit board 24 is an insulating board such as a glass epoxy board or a ceramic board. Circuit wiring is formed of gold (Au), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), or the like on the surface or inside of the circuit board 24. A semiconductor 51 is mounted on the mounting surface 24 a of the circuit board 24.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the optical module.
As shown in FIG. 3, a light receiving / emitting element (optical component) 52 is mounted on the mounting surface 24 a of the circuit board 24. The circuit board 24 electrically connects the semiconductor 51 and the light emitting / receiving element 52 to the electrical connector 22. The semiconductor 51 is, for example, a drive IC (Integrated Circuit) that drives the light emitting / receiving element 52 or a CDR (Clock Data Recovery) device that is a waveform shaper.

  The plurality of light emitting / receiving elements 52 are mounted on the mounting surface 24 a of the circuit board 24. The light emitting / receiving element 52 is a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode (LED), a laser diode (LD), or a surface emitting laser (VCSEL). Alternatively, the light receiving / emitting element 52 is, for example, a light receiving element such as a photodiode (PD).

<Lens parts>
The lens component 60 is provided on the mounting surface 24 a of the circuit board 24 so as to cover the light emitting / receiving element 52. The light receiving / emitting element 52 and the optical fiber core wire 7 of the optical fiber cable 3 are optically connected via a lens component 60. In this example, the lens component 60 optically connects the four optical fiber core wires 7 and the four light receiving and emitting elements 52 through a total of four channels including two transmission channels and two reception channels.

  The lens component 60 is a component formed by resin molding of a transparent resin. As the material for injection molding of the lens component 60, various commercially available transparent materials can be used. For example, PEI (polyetherimide) is suitable as the transparent material.

  The lens component 60 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped member. The lower surface of the lens component 60 is substantially parallel to the circuit board 24. A leg portion 60 a that protrudes toward the circuit board 24 is provided on the lower surface of the lens component 60. The lens component 60 is supported on the circuit board 24 in a state where the leg portion 60 a is in contact with the mounting surface 24 a of the circuit board 24.

  The lens component 60 includes a fixing unit 61, a light control unit 62, and a reflection surface 73. A recessed portion 63 that opens upward is provided between the fixed portion 61 and the light control portion 62.

  In the illustrated lens component 60, an optical path A through which an optical signal passes is a path extending in the left-right direction between the optical fiber core wire 7 and the reflection surface 73, the reflection surface 73, and the light emitting and receiving elements 52 on the circuit board 24. And a path extending in the vertical direction. Specifically, the optical path A is a path from the optical fiber core wire 7 fixed to the hole 71 described later to the light receiving and emitting element 52 through the concave lens surface 66, the reflecting surface 73, and the element side lens surface 75. A concave portion 63 is provided on the optical path A and between the fixed portion 61 and the light control portion 62.

(Fixed part)
The fixing portion 61 of the lens component 60 is a portion closer to the optical fiber core wire 7 than the concave portion 63. The fixing portion 61 is provided with a hole 71 into which the optical fiber core wire 7 is inserted. The hole 71 extends in the left-right direction along the circuit board 24. The hole 71 opens to the optical fiber core wire 7 side. The concave portion 63 side of the hole 71 is closed to form a fiber abutting surface 71a. The axis of the hole 71 coincides with the optical axis of the optical fiber core 7 in the portion inserted into the hole.

(Light control unit)
The light control part 62 of the lens component 60 is a part on the opposite side of the fixing part 61 with respect to the concave part 63. The light control unit 62 is formed with an element-side lens surface 75 (an example of an additional lens surface). The element side lens surface 75 provided in the light control unit 62 controls the light transmitted from the optical fiber core wire 7 to transmit the light to the light receiving element 52 or to transmit the light emitted from the light emitting element 52. The light is transmitted to the optical fiber core wire 7 under control.

  In the present embodiment, the element side lens surface 75 is provided on the element side lens forming surface 62a. The element side lens forming surface 62 a is formed on the lower surface of the light control unit 62 facing the circuit board 24. The element side lens forming surface 62 a is a surface parallel to the circuit board 24. The element side lens surface 75 is a convex lens protruding toward the circuit board 24.

  The surface above the element-side lens forming surface 62a of the light control unit 62 is a reflection surface 73 (an example of an optical path changing unit). The reflecting surface 73 forms an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the element side lens forming surface 62a. The direction of the optical path A extending from the optical fiber core wire 7 extending in the left-right direction along the circuit board 24 toward the recess 63 by the reflecting surface 73 is directed toward the optical path A passing through the light emitting / receiving element 52 and the element side lens surface 75. has been changed.

(Concave)
The recess 63 is formed of a first side face 64, a second side face 65, and a bottom face connecting the lower ends of the two side faces 64, 65. The recess 63 opens toward the side opposite to the circuit board 24. The first side surface 64 is a surface facing the light control unit 62 side of the fixing unit 61. The second side surface 65 is a surface facing the fixed unit 61 side of the light control unit 62. The recess 63 opens toward a direction (predetermined direction) B that intersects the optical path A.

  In the present embodiment, a concave lens surface 66 (an example of a lens surface) is formed on the second side surface 65 of the first side surface 64 and the second side surface 65. The concave lens surface 66 is a convex lens protruding toward the fixed portion 61 side. A plurality (four in the present embodiment) of the concave lens surface 66 and the element-side lens surface 75 described above are provided along the width direction of the lens component 60 (perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 3).

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the recess 63. As shown in FIG. 4, the first side surface 64 has a normal line that is not parallel to the axis of the hole 71, and a surface whose normal line is inclined with respect to the axis of the hole 71. The second side surface 65 is formed so as to be orthogonal to the axis of the hole 71.

  The first side surface 64 is inclined with respect to the second side surface 65 so that the distance D between the first side surface 64 and the second side surface 65 does not decrease toward the opening side. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the distance D is the length of the first side face 64 and the second side face 65 along the direction perpendicular to the tangent at the position from the position in the plane of the first side face 64. Is defined as That is, the distance D at an arbitrary first point on the first side face 64 is set to be equal to or smaller than the distance D at an arbitrary second point located on the opening side from the first point. The predetermined direction B is a direction in which all of the inner surfaces (the first side surface 64, the second side surface 65, and the bottom surface) forming the recess 63 are not obstructed by the lens component 60 when the recess 63 is observed from that direction. is there. In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the direction parallel to the first side face 64 is the predetermined direction B.

  More specifically, in the lens component 60 of the present embodiment, the recess 63 has a shape shown in FIG. In FIG. 4A, the contact 66 </ b> A is a contact of the concave lens surface 66 in which the tangent line of the concave lens surface 66 is parallel to the first side surface 64. Of the second side surface 65, a region 65 </ b> A between the contact 66 </ b> A and the bottom surface of the recess 63 is a surface parallel to the first side surface 64. Thereby, the concave lens surface 66 and the region 65A are smoothly continuous.

  According to such a configuration, the distance D is constant regardless of the vertical position in the section of the region 65A. Above the region 65A, the distance D increases toward the opening side along the shape of the concave lens surface 66. Further, since the second side surface 65 is inclined with respect to the first side surface 64 above the concave lens surface 66, the distance D increases toward the opening side along the inclination of the second side surface 65. That is, the first side surface 64 and the second side surface 65 are formed to be inclined with respect to each other so that the distance D does not decrease toward the opening side.

  Note that the shape of the region 65A is not limited to the example shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4B, the region 65A may be an inclined surface whose lower side is closer to the first side face 64 side than a tangent line (a line parallel to the first side face 64) at the contact point 66A. Thereby, a large effective diameter of the concave lens surface 66 can be secured.

  Alternatively, the region 65A is not necessarily a flat surface. The region 65A may be composed of two surfaces or a plurality of three or more surfaces as shown in FIG. Even in this case, the second side surface 65 is a surface in which the distance D increases from the bottom surface of the recess 63 toward the opening side. Further, at least one of the first side surface 64 and the second side surface 65 may be formed as a curved surface so that the distance D does not decrease toward the opening side.

Such a lens component 60 is manufactured in a plurality of types according to the optical fiber core wire 7 and the light emitting / receiving element 52 to be optically connected. The shape of the concave lens surface 66 and the element side lens surface 75 of each type of lens component 60 is designed to be optimal so that the optical coupling efficiency is the highest.
For example, in the plurality of types of lens components 60, the shape of each concave lens surface 66 and element side lens surface 75 is the thickness and type of the optical fiber core 7 to be optically connected, the number of modes of the optical signal, or the light receiving / emitting element 52. Depending on the size and type, the size and curvature are different from each other.

  In such a lens component 60, when light is transmitted from the optical fiber core wire 7, the light enters the lens component 60 while diffusing from the end face of the optical fiber core wire 7. The diffused light is refracted by the first side face 64 and becomes substantially parallel light by the concave lens surface 66 provided on the second side face 65, and this parallel light is reflected by the reflecting surface 73 toward the element side lens surface 75. . The element side lens surface 75 condenses the parallel light and makes it incident on the light receiving element 52. In this way, the light from the optical fiber core wire 7 is transmitted to the light receiving element 52.

  When the light emitting element 52 emits light, the light enters the element side lens surface 75 while diffusing. The element-side lens surface 75 makes the diffused light substantially parallel light and enters the reflecting surface 73. The reflecting surface 73 reflects the parallel light toward the concave lens surface 66 of the second side surface 65, and the concave lens surface 66 condenses the parallel light. The condensed light is refracted by the first side face 64 and enters the end face of the optical fiber core wire 7. In this way, the light from the light emitting element 52 is transmitted to the optical fiber core 7.

<Lens component manufacturing method>
The lens component 60 of the present embodiment is formed by resin molding using a mold. The lens component 60 is resin-molded by combining a plurality of dies according to the shape.

  First, a plurality of molds are combined to form a cavity having a shape corresponding to the lens component 60 inside the mold. The inside of the cavity is filled with resin, and the resin is cured. At this time, the shapes of various lens surface forming portions provided on the inner surface of the mold are transferred to the surface of the lens component 60 to form various lens surfaces. When the resin is cured, the mold is opened and the lens component 60 formed inside the cavity is taken out. In the following description, the metal mold 80 for forming the recess 63 will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the concave part 63 of the lens component 60 is formed.
The mold 80 for forming the recess 63 has a first side molding surface 81 and a second side molding surface 82. The first side surface forming surface 81 forms the first side surface 64 of the recess 63. The second side molding surface 82 forms the second side 65 of the recess 63. The second side molding surface 82 has a lens surface molding portion 83 that forms the concave lens surface 66.

  In this mold 80, the first side molding surface 81 is in relation to the second side molding surface 82 so that the distance D1 between the first side molding surface 81 and the second side molding surface 82 does not increase toward the inside of the cavity. Is inclined.

  When the mold is opened and the lens component 60 is taken out, the mold 80 is pulled out along the first side face 63 where the concave lens surface 66 is not formed (along the predetermined direction B). Then, since the mold 80 has a shape that does not increase toward the inside of the cavity, the second side molding surface 82 and the lens surface molding portion 83 of the mold 80 come into contact with the concave lens surface 66 of the lens component 60. There is no fear. For this reason, the concave lens surface 66 is not damaged by the mold 80. Further, the concave portion 63 having a complicated shape having the concave lens surface 66 can be formed by a single mold 80. Further, since it is not necessary to form a lens surface on the reflecting surface as in Non-Patent Document 1, the shape accuracy of the concave lens surface 66 and the element side lens surface 75 can be increased. Thereby, the lens component 60 with high shape accuracy of the concave lens surface 66 can be easily manufactured.

<Effect>
As described above, since the lens component 60 according to the embodiment includes the concave lens surface 66, the optical fiber core wire 7 and the light emitting / receiving element 52 can be easily connected with high coupling efficiency. Further, the first side face 64 and the second side face 65 are inclined along the predetermined direction B so that the mutual distance D does not decrease toward the opening side of the recess 63. Accordingly, the lens component 60 having the concave lens surface 66 with high shape accuracy can be easily manufactured by removing the mold 80 forming the concave portion 63 along the first side surface 64 where the concave lens surface 66 is not provided. Can do.

  In this embodiment, the fixing part 61 of the lens component 60 is provided with a hole 71 into which the optical fiber core wire 7 is inserted. Thereby, the optical fiber core wire 7 can be easily positioned with respect to the position in the in-plane direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the optical fiber core wire 7 by inserting and fixing the optical fiber core wire 7 into the hole 71. .

  In addition, the hole 71 is provided with an abutting surface 71a against which the end of the optical fiber core wire 7 is abutted. Thereby, the positioning accuracy can be increased with respect to the position of the optical fiber core wire 7 in the optical axis direction.

  In the present embodiment, the first side face 64 and the hole portion 71 are arranged so that the normal line of the first side face 64 is not parallel to the axis of the hole portion 71. Part of the light emitted from the optical fiber core wire 7 may be reflected by the first side face 64. Since the first side surface 64 is inclined with respect to the optical axis of the optical fiber core wire 7, it is possible to prevent the reflected light from the first side surface 64 from entering the optical fiber core wire 7 to deteriorate the transmission characteristics.

  In the present embodiment, the element-side lens surface 75 is formed on the element-side lens forming surface 62 a that is a surface different from the second side surface 65 of the light control unit 62. Since the optical fiber core wire 7 and the light emitting / receiving element 52 are optically connected using the two lens surfaces of the concave lens surface 66 and the element side lens surface 75, the optical coupling efficiency can be increased.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the lens component 60 in a plane including the opening direction of the recess 63 and the optical path A. This plane is also a cross section including the optical path A and perpendicular to the circuit board 24.
In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, since the direction of the optical path A is changed by the reflecting surface 73, the concave lens surface 66 and the element-side lens surface 75 are arranged on the same optical path A. The side lens surface 75 and the optical fiber core wire 7 are not positioned on a straight line. That is, the element side lens surface 75 is not located on the optical axis of the concave lens surface 66.
Since there is no design restriction that the optical fiber core wire 7, the concave lens surface 66, and the element side lens surface 75 must be arranged in a straight line, the degree of freedom in arrangement of the concave lens surface 66 and the element side lens surface 75. Has been increased. As a result, the degree of freedom in designing the lens component 60 can be increased, and the lens component 60 can be formed in an optimum shape according to the required shape.

  The optical module 1 according to this embodiment includes the lens component 60 and the circuit board 24 including the light emitting / receiving element 52. As described above, since the lens component 60 has the concave lens surface 66 with high shape accuracy, the optical fiber core wire 7 and the light emitting / receiving element 52 can be connected with high coupling efficiency. In addition, since the lens component 60 having the concave lens surface 66 with high shape accuracy can be easily molded, the high-quality optical module 1 can be provided at low cost.

The lens component 60 includes a reflecting surface 73 that is an example of an optical path changing unit that can change the direction of the optical path A between the optical fiber core wire 7 and the light receiving and emitting element 52. By providing the reflecting surface 73, the light emitting / receiving element 52 can be freely arranged with respect to the optical fiber core wire 7, and the degree of freedom in designing the optical module 1 can be increased.
In the optical module 1 of the present embodiment, the opening of the recess 63 is not covered with the circuit board 24. For this reason, after mounting the lens component 60 on the circuit board 24, it is possible to easily perform a post-mounting inspection in which it is determined whether or not the concave lens surface 66 is positioned at a predetermined location on the optical path.

<Modification 1 to Modification 8>
Next, various modifications of the present invention will be described mainly regarding differences from the above-described embodiment of the present invention. Modifications 1 to 8 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. In the description of Modification Examples 1 to 8, the opening side of the recess 63 is referred to as the upper side and the opposite side is referred to as the lower side.

FIGS. 6A to 6D and FIGS. 7A to 7D are schematic cross-sectional views similar to FIG. 3 of the lens component according to Modifications 1 to 8 of the present invention, respectively.
In the lens component according to Modification 1 to Modification 8, the reflection surface is omitted, and the surface opposite to the second side surface 65 in the light control unit 62 is an element side lens formation surface 62a (an example of an additional lens surface). ing. An element side lens surface 75 is provided on the element side lens forming surface 62a. The circuit board 24 is disposed at a position facing the element side lens forming surface 62a, and the element side lens surface 75 is optically connected to the light emitting / receiving element 52 mounted on the circuit board 24. The lens component 60 may be separated from the circuit board 24, or may be supported on the circuit board 24 through legs or the like.

  In the lens components according to Modifications 1 to 4 shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D, the concave lens surface 66 is formed on the second side surface 65 as in the above-described embodiment.

  In the lens component according to Modification 1 shown in FIG. 6A and Modification 2 shown in FIG. 6B, the second side surface 65 is a surface parallel to the element-side lens forming surface 62a. The first side surface 64 is a surface inclined with respect to the second side surface 65 so that the distance D does not decrease toward the opening side of the recess 63.

(Modification 1)
The lens component 60 according to Modification 1 is the same as that of the above-described embodiment except that the reflection surface 73 is omitted.
Also in Modification 1 shown in FIG. 6A, the concave lens surface 66 is formed on the second side surface 65. The first side surface 64 is inclined with respect to the second side surface 65 so that the distance D between the first side surface 64 and the second side surface 65 does not decrease toward the opening side of the recess 63.
For this reason, the mold can be removed without damaging the concave lens surface 66 by extracting the mold forming the concave 63 along the first side face 64 where the concave lens surface 66 is not provided. Therefore, a lens component having the concave lens surface 66 with high shape accuracy can be easily formed.

In the first modification, the first side surface 64 is inclined with respect to the optical axis of the optical fiber core wire 7. Thereby, the light reflected by the 1st side surface 64 does not enter into the optical fiber core wire 7 similarly to embodiment mentioned above.
In Modification 1, the optical axis of the concave lens surface 66 and the optical axis of the element side lens surface 75 are parallel to each other. Thereby, the optical design of the lens component 60 is facilitated.

(Modification 2)
The lens component 60 according to Modification 2 shown in FIG. 6B is different from Modification 1 in that the normal of the first side face 64 is parallel to the optical axis of the optical fiber core wire 7. Is a point. By making the normal of the first side face 64 parallel to the optical axis of the optical fiber core wire 7, the optical design of the lens component is facilitated.
Of course, even with such a configuration, the mold for forming the recess 63 is removed along the first side face 64 where the recess lens surface 66 is not provided, so that the mold can be removed without damaging the recess lens surface 66. Can be removed. Therefore, a lens component having the concave lens surface 66 with high shape accuracy can be easily formed.

(Modification 3)
In the lens component according to the third modification shown in FIG. 6C and the fourth modification shown in FIG. 6D, unlike the first and second modifications described above, the first side face 64 is an element side lens. Parallel to the forming surface 62a, the second side surface 65 is inclined with respect to the first side surface 64 so that the distance D does not decrease toward the opening side of the recess 63.
Even in such a configuration, the mold for forming the concave portion 63 is pulled out along the first side face 64 where the concave lens surface 66 is not provided, so that the concave lens surface 66 can be removed without damaging the mold. Can do. Therefore, the lens component 60 having the concave lens surface 66 with high shape accuracy can be easily formed.

  Moreover, in the modification 3 shown in FIG.6 (c), since the 1st side surface 64 is made into the surface inclined with respect to the optical axis of the optical fiber core wire 7, the reflected light in the 1st side surface 64 is optical fiber. There is no incidence on the core 7.

  As shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C, the side surface 67 where the hole portion 71 of the fixing portion 61 opens is formed on a surface orthogonal to the axis of the hole portion 71, and the upper surface 68 of the fixing portion 61 and It is preferable that the angle formed by the lower surface 69 and the axis of the hole 71 is 90 ° or more. The mold for forming the fixing portion 61 having the hole 71 needs to be punched in the axial direction of the hole 71. At this time, if the fixing portion 61 has such a shape, a mold for forming the fixing portion 61 can be easily removed.

(Modification 4)
Modification 4 shown in FIG. 6D is different from Modification 3 in that the first side face 64 is orthogonal to the optical axis of the optical fiber core wire 7. Even in such a configuration, the mold for forming the concave portion 63 is pulled out along the first side face 64 where the concave lens surface 66 is not provided, so that the concave lens surface 66 can be removed without damaging the mold. Can do. Therefore, the lens component 60 having the concave lens surface 66 with high shape accuracy can be easily formed.

(Modification 5 and Modification 6)
FIGS. 7A to 7D show Modifications 5 to 8 of the present invention, respectively. In the lens component 60 according to the modified example 5 to the modified example 8, unlike the modified examples 1 to 4, the recessed lens surface 66 is formed on the first side surface 64 of the recessed part 63.

  In the modified example 5 shown in FIG. 7A and the modified example 6 shown in FIG. 7B, the second side surface 65 is parallel to the element side lens forming surface 62a, as in the modified example 1 and modified example 2. It is considered as a surface. The first side surface 64 is inclined with respect to the second side surface 65 so that the distance D does not decrease toward the opening side of the recess 63.

In Modification 5 shown in FIG. 7A, the first side surface 64 is a surface inclined with respect to the optical axis of the optical fiber core wire 7. The reflected light from the first side face 64 is prevented from entering the optical fiber core wire 7.
In the modified example 6 shown in FIG. 7B, the first side surface 64 is a surface orthogonal to the optical axis of the optical fiber core wire 7, which facilitates the design of lens components.

  Even in the configurations of the modified examples 5 and 6, the mold for forming the concave portion 63 is pulled out along the second side surface 65 where the concave lens surface 66 is not provided, so that the concave lens surface 66 is not damaged. Can be removed. Therefore, a lens component having the concave lens surface 66 with high shape accuracy can be easily formed.

(Modification 7 and Modification 8)
In the modified example 7 shown in FIG. 7C and the modified example 8 shown in FIG. 7D, the first side face 64 is parallel to the element side lens forming surface 62a, as in the modified examples 3 and 4. Has been. The second side surface 65 is inclined with respect to the first side surface 64 so that the distance D does not decrease toward the opening side of the recess 63.

In Modification 5 shown in FIG. 7A, the first side surface 64 is a surface inclined with respect to the optical axis of the optical fiber core wire 7. Thereby, the light reflected by the first side face 64 is prevented from entering the optical fiber core wire 7.
In Modification 6 shown in FIG. 7B, the first side surface 64 is a surface orthogonal to the optical axis of the optical fiber core wire 7. Thereby, the optical design of the lens component is facilitated.

  Even in the configurations of the modified example 7 and the modified example 8, the concave lens surface 66 is not damaged by removing the mold forming the concave portion 63 along the second side surface 65 where the concave lens surface 66 is not provided. The mold can be pulled out. Therefore, a lens component having the concave lens surface 66 with high shape accuracy can be easily formed.

(Modification 9)
In the above-described embodiment and Modifications 1 to 8, examples in which a single core optical fiber is used as an optical transmission element have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. Modification 9 shown in FIG. 8 is obtained by connecting a multi-core optical fiber 7A to the hole 71 of the lens component according to Modification 1 described above. In the multi-core optical fiber 7A, a plurality of cores are arranged apart from each other at intervals of 40 μm or 50 μm in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

  In the first modification, the example in which the single element-side lens surface 75 is provided on the surface orthogonal to the circuit board 24 including the optical path A has been described. However, in the ninth modification, the cores of a plurality of multi-core optical fibers are provided. The same number of element side lens surfaces 75 are provided.

The light emitted from the multi-core fiber follows the different optical paths A and reaches the element-side lens forming surface 62a. Therefore, in this modification, the element side lens surfaces 75 are formed at different positions in the vertical direction in accordance with the respective optical paths A.
In this way, by providing the same number of element-side lens surfaces 75 as the number of cores of the multi-core optical fiber, the shape of the element-side lens surfaces 75 can be optimized according to the light transmitted through each core. Can do. For this reason, an optical module with high optical coupling efficiency can be provided in each channel.

(Modification 10)
In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the concave portion 63 is opened toward the upper side opposite to the circuit board 24 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this example. Modification 10 shown in FIG. 9 is an example in which the recess 63 is formed so as to open downward on the circuit board 24 side. In the optical module according to the modified example 10, since the opening of the recess 63 is closed by the circuit board 24, it is difficult for dust to collect inside the recess 63, and an optical module with high reliability can be provided in the long term. .

(Modification 11)
Modification 11 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is an example in which concave lens surfaces 66 arranged in the width direction of the lens component are alternately provided on the first side surface 64 and the second side surface 65 in the multi-channel optical module. It is. 10 is a side sectional view of the optical module, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the lens surface 66 from the direction of the arrow XI in FIG. 10 which is one side of the concave lens surface 66 in the optical axis direction.

  If the effective diameter of the lens surface is large, the optical coupling efficiency can be increased. If a plurality of lens surfaces having a large effective diameter are formed on the same surface, the surface on which the lens surface is formed becomes larger. If the outer peripheral edges of adjacent lens surfaces are too close, the shape accuracy of the lens surfaces at the time of resin molding tends to be lowered.

  However, according to the lens component according to this modification, when the concave lens surfaces 66b and 66c are seen in perspective in FIG. Is formed. That is, the concave lens surface 66 b is provided on the first side surface 64, and the concave lens surface 66 c is provided on the second side surface 65.

  For this reason, even when the effective diameter of the concave lens surface 66 is increased, the concave lens surface 66b does not interfere with the concave lens surface 66c of the adjacent channel. In the illustrated example, when the concave lens surfaces 66b and 66c are viewed as shown in FIG. 11, a part of the adjacent concave lens surfaces 66b and 66c overlap each other. Thus, a large effective diameter of each concave lens surface 66b, 66c can be secured.

  Further, a large interval between the plurality of concave lens surfaces 66 formed on the first side surface 64 can be ensured, and the shape accuracy of the concave lens surface 66 can be maintained high. Similarly, the shape accuracy of the plurality of concave lens surfaces 66 formed on the second side surface 65 can be maintained high.

  In such a lens component, a mold for forming the concave lens surface 66 formed on the first side surface 64 side is extracted along the second side surface 65, and a gold for forming the concave lens surface 66 formed on the second side surface 65 side. It can be easily formed by removing the mold along the first side face 64.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Optical module, 3: Optical fiber cable, 7: Optical fiber core wire (optical transmission element), 7A: Multi-core optical fiber (optical transmission element), 24: Wiring board (board | substrate), 52: Light receiving / emitting element (optical component) ), 60: lens component, 61: fixing part, 62: light control part, 63: recessed part, 64: first side face, 65: second side face, 66, 66a, 66b: lens face, 71: hole part, 71a: Abutting surface, 73: reflecting surface (optical path changing unit), 75: element side lens surface (additional lens surface), A: optical path

Claims (15)

A lens component for optically connecting an optical transmission element and an optical component,
A fixing part to which the optical transmission element is fixed;
A light control unit that controls light transmitted between the light transmission element and the optical component,
On the optical path between the fixed part and the light control part, there is a first side surface facing the light control part side of the fixed part and a second side surface facing the fixed part side of the light control part. A recess opening in a predetermined direction intersecting the optical path is provided,
The distance between the first side surface and the second side surface along the direction perpendicular to the tangent at the first side surface and the second side surface is the opening side with respect to the predetermined direction. The first side surface is inclined with respect to the second side surface so as not to become smaller toward
A lens component in which a lens surface is formed on one of the first side surface and the second side surface inclined with respect to each other.   2. The lens component according to claim 1, wherein the second side surface has a surface that is parallel to or larger than the first side surface in a region between the lens surface and the bottom of the concave portion.   The lens component according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion is provided with a hole portion into which the light transmission element is inserted.   The lens component according to claim 3, wherein the hole is provided with an abutting surface against which an end of the light transmission element is abutted.   The lens component according to claim 3, wherein a normal line of the first side surface is parallel to an axis of the hole.   The lens component according to claim 3 or 4, wherein a normal line of the first side surface is not parallel to an axis of the hole.   The lens component according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an additional lens surface is formed on a surface different from the second side surface of the light control unit.   The additional lens surface is not located on the optical axis of the lens surface with respect to the lens surface and the additional lens surface arranged on the same optical path in a cross section of the concave portion in the plane including the opening direction and the optical path. Item 8. The lens component according to Item 7.   The lens component according to claim 7 or 8, wherein an optical axis of the lens surface and an optical axis of the additional lens surface are parallel to each other. A plurality of the lens surfaces are provided,
The lens surfaces adjacent to each other when the lens surfaces are seen through from one side in the optical axis direction of the lens surfaces are provided on different surfaces of the first side surface and the second side surface. The lens component according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The lens component according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
An optical module including a substrate including optical components.   The optical module according to claim 11, wherein the lens component includes an optical path changing unit that changes an optical path from the optical transmission element toward the optical component.   The optical module according to claim 11, wherein an opening of the recess is covered with the substrate.   The optical module according to claim 11, wherein an opening of the concave portion is not covered with the substrate. A multi-core optical fiber as an optical transmission element optically connected to the optical component,
The light according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the same number of additional lens surfaces as the number of cores of the multi-core optical fiber are formed on a surface different from the second side surface of the light control unit. module.

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