JP2016139065A - Optical wiring component, optical wiring component with end face protection member, and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical wiring component capable of minimizing a significant reduction in optical coupling efficiency caused by connection to another optical element, an optical wiring component with an end face protection member capable of minimizing a significant reduction in optical coupling efficiency caused by an assembling process, and a highly reliable electronic device having the optical wiring component or the optical wiring component with the end face protection member.SOLUTION: An optical wiring component 10 includes an optical waveguide 1 and an optical connector 5. The optical connector 5 has a through-hole 50, and the optical waveguide 1 is mounted on a mounting surface 501a located on an inner surface of the through-hole 50 via an adhesive 6. The connector 5 also has a recess 501b comprising a recessed portion of a flat surface that includes the mounting surface 501a. The optical wiring component 10, in planar view from a direction normal to the mounting surface 501a, is configured such that a tip end face 102 (light I/O surface) of the optical waveguide 1 and an opposing surface 52 are displaced from each other, and that the tip end face 102 and the recess 501b overlap with each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical wiring component, an optical wiring component with an end face protection member, and an electronic device.

  Conventionally, supercomputers and large-scale servers are constructed by storing a large number of electric circuit boards on which electronic components such as semiconductor elements are mounted in a rack and electrically connecting them together.

  On the other hand, in recent years, it has been studied to replace a connection portion such as an electric connection in an electric circuit board, an electric connection between electric circuit boards, and an electric connection between racks with an optical connection using an optical wiring. This replacement is expected to increase the capacity, speed, and energy saving of information transmission and improve performance.

  As this optical wiring, for example, an optical wiring component in which a connector is attached to an optical fiber is used.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an optical wiring component including a tape-type optical fiber cord including a plurality of optical fibers, and an MT connector (having a configuration defined in JIS C5981) attached to an end portion of the fiber cord. Is disclosed. The optical fiber included in the fiber cord is inserted through a through hole formed in the MT connector. And the optical fiber is hold | maintained so that the end surface of an optical fiber may be located in the end surface of MT connector.

  On the other hand, the MT connector is mechanically connected to the holding member. An optical fiber is inserted through the holding member so that the end face is exposed. Then, by mechanically connecting the MT connector and the holding member, the end face of the optical fiber inserted through the MT connector and the end face of the optical fiber inserted through the holding member face each other and are optically connected. Yes.

JP 2012-93536 A

  However, in the connection form described in Patent Document 1, when performing the work of connecting the MT connector and the holding member, when the connection work and the release work are repeated many times, the optical fibers contact each other. Or the optical fiber to which the MT connector is attached may come into contact with the holding member. When such contact occurs, the end face of the optical fiber is scratched or foreign matter adheres. As a result, the incidence efficiency of light incident on the optical fiber and the emission efficiency of light emitted from the optical fiber are significantly reduced, and as a result, the optical coupling efficiency between the optical fibers is significantly reduced.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an optical wiring component capable of suppressing a significant decrease in optical coupling efficiency associated with a connection operation with another optical component, and an optical wiring having an end face protection member capable of suppressing a significant decrease in optical coupling efficiency associated with an assembly operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly reliable electronic device including a component and the optical wiring component or the optical wiring component with an end face protection member.

Such an object is achieved by the present inventions (1) to (6) below.
(1) An optical waveguide comprising an elongated core portion and a light incident / exit surface that can be optically coupled to the core portion;
A connector body, a facing surface that is provided on the connector body and faces another optical component that is optically coupled to the optical waveguide, a non-facing surface that is provided on the connector body and is located on the opposite side of the facing surface, An optical connector comprising: a mounting surface provided on the connector main body on which the optical waveguide can be mounted; and a concave portion in which a part of the plane including the mounting surface is recessed.
In the state where the optical waveguide is placed on the mounting surface, an adhesive that bonds the optical waveguide and the mounting surface;
Have
In the plan view from the normal direction of the mounting surface, the light incident / exit surface and the facing surface are displaced from each other so that the light incident / exit surface is located on the non-facing surface side with respect to the facing surface. An optical wiring component characterized by having

  (2) The optical wiring component according to (1), wherein the light incident / exit surface and the recess overlap each other in the plan view.

(3) The optical connector further includes a penetrating portion that opens in a plane including the facing surface and a plane including the non-facing surface and penetrates the connector body,
The mounting surface is the optical wiring component according to the above (1) or (2), which is a part of the inner surface of the through portion.

(4) The optical waveguide has a layer shape and includes two main surfaces facing each other.
One of the main surfaces is bonded to the mounting surface via the adhesive,
The other main surface is the optical wiring component according to the above (3), which is separated from the inner surface of the penetrating portion.

(5) The optical wiring component according to any one of (1) to (4) above,
An end face protection member provided to face the facing surface as the other optical component;
An optical wiring component with an end face protection member, comprising:

  (6) An electronic device comprising the optical wiring component according to any one of (1) to (4) or the optical wiring component with an end surface protection member according to (5).

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when it uses for the connection with another optical component, the optical wiring component which can suppress the remarkable fall of the optical coupling efficiency accompanying a connection operation is obtained.

  In addition, according to the present invention, when assembling the end face protection member and the optical wiring component, it is possible to obtain the optical wiring component with the end face protection member capable of suppressing a significant decrease in the optical coupling efficiency associated with the assembling work.

  In addition, according to the present invention, since the optical wiring component or the optical wiring component with the end face protection member is provided, a highly reliable electronic device can be obtained.

It is a perspective view which shows embodiment of the optical wiring component of this invention. It is the front view which shows the opposing surface which opposes another optical component among the optical connectors shown in FIG. 1, and the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 2. It is a perspective view which shows only the optical connector contained in the optical wiring component shown in FIG. It is the front view which shows the opposing surface which opposes another optical component among the optical connectors shown in FIG. 4, and CC sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the DD sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating a mode that the optical wiring component shown in FIG. 1 and another optical component are connected. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a part of an optical waveguide included in the optical wiring component shown in FIG. 3. It is an exploded sectional view showing an embodiment of an optical wiring part with an end face protection member of the present invention, and is a figure explaining a state of assembly work.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an optical wiring component, an optical wiring component with an end face protection member, and an electronic device according to the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

<Optical wiring parts>
First, an embodiment of the optical wiring component of the present invention will be described.

  1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an optical wiring component of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing a facing surface facing another optical component in the optical connector shown in FIG. 1, and AA in FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing only the optical connector included in the optical wiring component shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a front view showing a facing surface facing the other optical components in the optical connector shown in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a state in which the optical wiring component shown in FIG. 1 is connected to another optical component. In the following description, for convenience of explanation, the upper part of FIGS. 2 and 5 is referred to as “upper” and the lower part is referred to as “lower”.

  An optical wiring component 10 shown in FIG. 1 has an optical waveguide 1 and an optical connector 5 provided at an end of the optical waveguide 1.

  The optical waveguide 1 shown in FIG. 1 is in the form of a strip having a long cross-sectional shape with a thickness smaller than the width. In the optical waveguide 1, an optical signal can be transmitted between one end and the other end in the longitudinal direction.

  In each drawing of the present application, only the vicinity of the left end of the optical waveguide 1 shown in FIG. 2 among the optical wiring components 10 is shown, and the other parts are not shown. The configuration of the optical wiring component 10 other than the vicinity of the left end of the optical waveguide 1 shown in FIG. 2 is not particularly limited. For example, the configuration can be the same as that of the vicinity of the left end. In this specification, the left end portion of the optical waveguide 1 in FIG. 2B is also referred to as a “tip portion 101”, and the left end face is also referred to as a “tip surface 102”.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, such an optical waveguide 1 includes a laminate in which a clad layer 11, a core layer 13, and a clad layer 12 are laminated in this order from below. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, eight long core portions 14 provided in parallel and side clad portions 15 adjacent to the side surfaces of the core portions 14 are formed on the core layer 13. ing. In FIG. 3, the core layer 13 of the optical waveguide 1 is seen through.

  These core portions 14 function as a transmission path for transmitting an optical signal in the optical waveguide 1. The front end surface 102 of each core portion 14 is a light incident / exit surface that can be optically coupled to each core portion 14.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an optical connector 5 is provided at the distal end portion 101 of the optical waveguide 1 so as to cover the distal end portion 101. That is, the optical connector 5 includes a connector main body 51 and a through hole 50 (through part) formed in the connector main body 51, and the distal end portion 101 of the optical waveguide 1 is inserted into the through hole 50. Yes.

  The left end surface of the optical connector 5 in FIGS. 2B and 5B is a surface facing the optical component when the optical wiring component 10 is optically connected to another optical component 9. In this specification, the left end surface of the optical connector 5 in FIGS. 2B and 5B is referred to as “opposing surface 52”, and the right end surface of the optical connector 5 in FIGS. 2B and 5B. Is referred to as “non-facing surface 53”. In other words, the optical connector 5 includes a connector body 51, a facing surface 52 provided in the connector body 51, a non-facing surface 53 provided in the connector body 51, and a through hole 50 formed in the connector body 51. It is equipped with.

  The through hole 50 is formed so as to penetrate from the plane including the opposing surface 52 of the connector body 51 to the plane including the non-facing surface 53. Moreover, the through-hole 50 is comprised so that it may have a cut surface which makes a rectangle, when cut | disconnected along the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction.

  Of the inner surfaces of the through-holes 50, assuming that the upper inner surface is an “upper surface 501”, the upper surface 501 includes a mounting surface 501 a on which the optical waveguide 1 is mounted. The optical waveguide 1 is bonded to the mounting surface 501a with an adhesive 6 interposed therebetween.

  Further, the boundary between the mounting surface 501a and the recess 501b is accompanied by a step. That is, the mounting surface 501a and the recess 501b are connected via a step surface 503 orthogonal to a plane including the mounting surface 501a.

  By the way, in this embodiment, the front end surface 102 (light incident / exit surface) of the optical waveguide 1 is shifted to the right side (non-opposing surface 53 side) from the facing surface 52 of the optical connector 5 in plan view. In addition, planar view means planar view from the normal line direction of the mounting surface 501a.

  In other words, it can be said that the front end surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 is retracted to the non-opposing surface 53 side with respect to the opposing surface 52 of the optical connector 5. Thereby, for example, when the optical wiring component 10 is connected to another optical component 9 as shown in FIG. 7, the tip surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 can be prevented from coming into contact with the other optical component 9. Another optical component 9 shown in FIG. 7 includes an optical fiber 91 and an optical connector 92 provided so as to cover one end of the optical fiber 91.

  In FIG. 7, the optical wiring component 10 and other optical components are arranged as shown by the arrows in FIG. 7 while the end surface of the optical fiber 91 provided in the other optical component 9 and the facing surface 52 of the optical connector 5 are opposed to each other. 9 is shown in the state of being connected close to each other. At the time of this connection, the tip surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 is retracted from the facing surface 52 of the optical connector 5, thereby preventing the tip surface 102 from being scratched or adhering foreign matter. As a result, it is possible to prevent the optical coupling efficiency from being significantly reduced.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the upper surface 501 also includes a recess 501 b in which a part of a plane including the placement surface 501 a is recessed. That is, the concave portion 501b is a portion formed by denting a plane including the placement surface 501a upward. Therefore, the upper surface 501 includes a placement surface 501a located on the non-facing surface 53 side and a recess 501b located on the facing surface 52 side relative to the placement surface 501a.

  By providing such a recess 501 b, a thicker gap is formed between the recess 501 b and the optical waveguide 1 than between the mounting surface 501 a and the optical waveguide 1. Assuming that the gap between the recess 501b and the optical waveguide 1 is “gap 501c”, in this embodiment, a part of the adhesive 6 that bonds the mounting surface 501a and the optical waveguide 1 is also present in the gap 501c. It is sticking out. As described above, since the thickness of the gap 501c is larger than the thickness of the gap between the mounting surface 501a and the optical waveguide 1, the protruding adhesive 6 can be accumulated in a sufficient amount in the gap 501c. As a result, the adhesive 6 is more difficult to protrude to the facing surface 52 side.

  As described above, since the protrusion of the adhesive 6 is suppressed, it is assumed that the tip surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 has entered the right side of the facing surface 52 of the optical connector 5, that is, the inside of the through hole 50 as described above. However, it becomes difficult for the adhesive 6 to wrap around the tip surface 102 side of the optical waveguide 1. As a result, it is possible to suppress the adhesive 6 from adhering to the front end surface 102 and to suppress a decrease in optical coupling efficiency between the optical wiring component 10 and the other optical component 9.

  Here, in the conventional optical wiring component, when the operation of connecting the optical connector and other optical components is performed, the connection between the optical waveguide and the other optical components is repeated when the connection operation and the release operation are repeated many times. In some cases, the tips of the optical waveguides are in contact with each other, and the tip surface of the optical waveguide may be scratched or foreign matter may adhere. When such a problem occurs, the optical coupling efficiency between the optical waveguide and the other optical component is significantly lowered, and the S / N ratio of optical communication performed between the optical wiring component and the other optical component is reduced.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, in plan view, the distal end surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 and the facing surface 52 of the optical connector 5 are shifted to the right side, and the distal end surface 102 and the other optical component 9 are separated from each other. Because of the positional relationship, it is possible to prevent or suppress the tip surface 102 from being scratched or foreign.

  However, if the tip surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 enters the inside of the through hole 50, the distance between the adhesive 6 and the tip surface 102 becomes short, so that the adhesive 6 adheres to the tip surface 102. Probability increases.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as described above, the probability is reduced by providing the optical connector 5 with the recess 501b. That is, in the present embodiment, by providing the concave portion 501b in the optical connector 5 and by retreating the distal end surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1, the probability that the distal end surface 102 is scratched or foreign matter and the adhesive on the distal end surface 102 are reduced. Both the probability that 6 will adhere is reduced. As a result, even when the connection work and the release work are repeated, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the optical coupling efficiency between the optical wiring component 10 and the other optical component 9.

  For the tip surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1, for example, a cut surface obtained by cutting the base material of the optical waveguide 1 can be used. Usually, the cut surface is likely to be a smooth surface and has a high light incident / exit efficiency. Therefore, if it is possible to prevent scratches and foreign matter from adhering as described above, the light with other optical components 9 can be prevented. A reduction in coupling efficiency can be particularly suppressed. In other words, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a connection with another optical component 9 while maintaining a good tip surface 102 immediately after cutting in a good state.

  Further, the upper surface 501 of the through-hole 50 of the optical connector 5 only needs to include the recess 501b. Therefore, the position of the recess 501b is not particularly limited, but preferably, as shown in FIG. The front end surface 102 and the recess 501b are provided at a position where they overlap each other. In other words, the optical waveguide 1 is arranged so that the front end surface 102 and the recess 501b overlap each other in plan view.

  By satisfying such a positional relationship, it is possible to more reliably prevent the adhesive 6 protruding from between the placement surface 501a and the optical waveguide 1 from reaching the tip surface 102. That is, when the above-described positional relationship is satisfied, a thicker gap 501c is formed in the vicinity of the front end face 102. Therefore, the adhesive 6 is further accumulated in the gap 501c, so that the adhesive 6 further moves to the front end face. It is prevented from protruding to 102.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the optical wiring component 10 will be further described in detail.
As described above, the optical waveguide 1 is bonded to the upper surface 501 via the adhesive 6. Thereby, the optical waveguide 1 is fixed in a state of being inserted into the through hole 50. As a result, the optical waveguide 1 can be protected from external forces, environmental changes, and the like, so that a decrease in optical coupling efficiency between the optical wiring component 10 and the other optical component 9 can be more reliably suppressed.

  The through hole 50 is a cavity (hole) formed so as to penetrate the connector main body 51, and opens in a plane including the facing surface 52 and a plane including the non-facing surface 53 of the optical connector 5.

  The cross-sectional shape of the through hole 50 (cut surface shape in a direction orthogonal to the line connecting the openings) is not limited to the rectangle as described above, and may be a square, a parallelogram, a hexagon, an eight Other shapes such as a square shape and an oval shape may be used.

  The length L1 of the concave portion 501b, that is, the length L1 of the concave portion 501b in the direction connecting the openings of the through holes 50 is the amount of the adhesive 6 used for the optical wiring component 10 and the gap between the optical waveguide 1 and the mounting surface 501a. Although it is appropriately adjusted according to the thickness of the film, it is preferably about 10 to 1000 μm, and more preferably about 20 to 800 μm. By setting the length L1 within the above range, it is possible to suppress the adhesive 6 from protruding to the tip surface 102 while suppressing the position accuracy of the tip surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 from being lowered. .

  Further, when the width of the optical waveguide 1 (the length in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the core portion 14) is W, the length L1 of the recess 501b is preferably about 0.003 W to 1 W, and More preferably, it is about 006W to 0.5W. As a result, by optimizing the position where the optical waveguide 1 is placed, the concave portion 501b and the optical waveguide 1 overlap each other with a length that does not cause the tip surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 to be greatly bent. That is, when the concave portion 501b and the optical waveguide 1 overlap with each other over a long distance, the optical waveguide 1 may be bent by its own weight, but by keeping the length L1 of the concave portion 501b within the above range, The bending of the end face 102 of the optical waveguide 1 can be suppressed to such an extent that the optical coupling efficiency is not significantly reduced. As a result, it is possible to sufficiently suppress the protrusion of the adhesive 6 while sufficiently suppressing a decrease in position accuracy of the distal end surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1.

  On the other hand, the width W1 of the recess 501b may be narrower than the width W of the optical waveguide 1, but is preferably set wide. As a result, by optimizing the position where the optical waveguide 1 is placed, not only the thickness direction of the optical waveguide 1 but also the width direction can be accompanied by a space at the most distal portion 103 of the optical waveguide 1. . That is, a gap can be provided between the entire side surface of the most distal portion 103 of the optical waveguide 1 and the inner surface of the through hole 50. As a result, it is possible to allow the adhesive 6 to protrude into the space located in the width direction of the optical waveguide 1, thereby preventing the adhesive 6 from entering the side surface in the width direction of the optical waveguide 1. Can be more reliably suppressed from protruding until the tip surface 102 is reached.

  In this case, the ratio of the width W1 of the recess 501b to the width W of the optical waveguide 1 depends on the amount of the adhesive 6 used for the optical wiring component 10, the thickness of the gap between the optical waveguide 1 and the mounting surface 501a, and the like. Although adjusted appropriately, it is preferably about 1.01 W to 3 W, more preferably about 1.1 W to 2 W. Thereby, the effect mentioned above can be heightened more.

  Further, the recess depth d of the recess 501b affects the amount of the adhesive 6 that can be stored, and therefore is appropriately set according to the length L1 of the recess 501b, but is preferably about 3 to 100 μm. More preferably, it is about 5 to 80 μm.

  On the other hand, the recess depth d is preferably about 0.5 to 30% of the length L1 of the recess 501b, and more preferably about 1 to 20%.

  By setting the recess depth d of the recess 501b within the above range, a sufficient amount of the adhesive 6 can be stored, so that the protrusion of the adhesive 6 can be easily suppressed and a large amount of adhesive can be bonded. It can suppress that the position accuracy of the front end surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 falls by the agent 6 accumulating. That is, it is possible to achieve both prevention of the adhesive 6 from protruding and suppression of a decrease in positional accuracy of the distal end surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1.

  Further, as described above, the front end surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 is retreated to the non-opposing surface 53 side with respect to the facing surface 52 of the optical connector 5, but the retreating amount L2 is about 3 to 100 μm. Is preferable, and about 5 to 50 μm is more preferable. If the retraction amount L2 is about this level, even if a gap (air layer) having a length corresponding to the retraction amount L2 is generated between the front end surface 102 and the optical coupling surface of the other optical component 9, light A decrease in coupling efficiency can be minimized. If the retreat amount L2 can be ensured to such a degree, the probability that the tip surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 contacts the other optical component 9 when the facing surface 52 of the optical connector 5 and the other optical component 9 are connected to each other. Can be lowered sufficiently.

  On the other hand, the retreat amount L2 is preferably about 1 to 70% of the length L1 of the recess 501b, and preferably about 3 to 50%. As a result, both the effect of reducing the probability that the tip surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 and the other optical component 9 are in contact with each other and the effect of storing excess adhesive 6 in the recess 501b and suppressing further protrusion are provided. Can be made. As a result, a decrease in optical coupling efficiency between the optical wiring component 10 and the other optical component 9 can be suppressed, and high-quality optical communication can be realized.

  Further, when the inner surface located below among the inner surfaces of the through-hole 50 is a “lower surface 502”, the optical waveguide 1 is separated from the lower surface 502 with a space. That is, the optical waveguide 1 is fixed to the optical connector 5 in a state where the optical waveguide 1 is shifted to the upper surface 501 side of the through hole 50.

  In other words, since the optical waveguide 1 has a strip shape as described above, the optical waveguide 1 includes two main surfaces facing each other (in a front-back relationship). Therefore, one of the two main surfaces is bonded to the upper surface 501 of the through hole 50 via the adhesive 6, while the other main surface is between the lower surface 502 of the through hole 50. Separates the space.

  In such a state, even if a volume change occurs in the adhesive 6 or the optical waveguide 1 due to a change in the environment in which the optical wiring component 10 is placed, depending on the space between the optical waveguide 1 and the lower surface 502, The volume change can be absorbed. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a large stress from being generated along with the volume change, and to prevent a decrease in transmission efficiency of the optical waveguide 1 due to the stress concentration.

  The distance L3 between the optical waveguide 1 and the lower surface 502 of the through hole 50 is preferably about 1 to 1500% of the average thickness t of the optical waveguide 1, and more preferably about 3 to 1000%. By setting the distance L3 within the above range, even if the optical waveguide 1 expands, the volume change can be sufficiently absorbed by the space of the distance L3. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in transmission efficiency of the optical waveguide 1 due to stress concentration.

  The present invention does not necessarily require that the optical waveguide 1 and the lower surface 502 of the through hole 50 be separated from each other. For example, the optical waveguide 1 and the lower surface 502 may also be bonded via an adhesive or the like. Moreover, although the adhesive agent etc. are not used, the state which the optical waveguide 1 and the lower surface 502 are contacting may be sufficient.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the recess 501 b according to the present embodiment is exposed in a plane including the facing surface 52 of the optical connector 5. The optical connector 5 having such a structure is easy to manufacture because the concave portion 501b can be easily formed by, for example, machining. In addition, even when the adhesive 6 accumulates in the concave portion 501b, it is easy to shine light on the adhesive 6 or the adhesive 6 easily touches the outside air, so that the curing reaction of the adhesive 6 can easily proceed quickly. The optical connector 5 having the above-described structure is useful.

  Therefore, in the present invention, as described above, the recess 501b does not necessarily have to be exposed in a plane including the facing surface 52. In this case, for example, the concave portion 501b may be provided at a position where it is not exposed to the facing surface 52 or the non-facing surface 53.

(Optical connector)
As described above, the optical connector 5 includes the connector main body 51 and the through hole 50 formed in the connector main body 51.

  The optical connector 5 may include a part conforming to various connector standards. Examples of such connector standards include a miniature MT connector, an MT connector specified in JIS C 5981, a 16MT connector, a two-dimensional array MT connector, an MPO connector, and an MPX connector.

  In the plane including the opposing surface 52 of the connector main body 51 of the optical connector 5 according to this embodiment, two guide holes 511 are opened as shown in FIGS. The guide hole 511 passes through the optical connector 5.

  When connecting the optical wiring component 10 to another optical component 9, guide pins (not shown) are inserted into these guide holes 511. Thereby, when aligning the optical wiring component 10 and the other optical component 9, the positions of each other can be more accurately aligned, and both can be fixed to each other. That is, the guide hole 511 functions as a connection mechanism for connecting the optical wiring component 10 to another optical component 9.

  The guide hole 511 does not pass through the optical connector 5 and does not have to be opened in a plane including the non-facing surface 53.

  Further, instead of the connection mechanism, a locking mechanism using locking by a claw, an adhesive, or the like may be used.

  Further, the shape of the through hole 50 is not limited to the illustrated shape. For example, in the optical connector 5 shown in FIG. 2, the distance between the mounting surface 501a and the lower surface 502 is constant, but the shape of the optical connector 5 is not limited to this, and for example, the non-facing surface 53 from the facing surface 52 side. The shape may be such that the distance gradually increases toward the side.

  Examples of the constituent material of the optical connector 5 include phenolic resins, epoxy resins, olefin resins, urea resins, melamine resins, various resin materials such as unsaturated polyester resins, stainless steel, and aluminum alloys. Various metal materials.

  Moreover, although the side surface of the through-hole 50 (penetration part) which concerns on this embodiment is completely closed, the penetration part which concerns on this invention is not limited to this structure. For example, the connector main body 51 may be divided into a plurality of parts. That is, the connector main body 51 may be configured in a state where these plural parts are assembled and fixed to each other. For example, the connector main body 51 may be formed by removing a portion including the lower surface 502 of the through hole 50. In this case, the lower surface of the through hole 50 is in an open state.

  In addition, from the viewpoint of protecting the optical waveguide 1 from external force, environmental change, and the like, it is preferable that the side surface of the through hole 50 is closed.

(Optical waveguide)
FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a part of an optical waveguide included in the optical wiring component shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, for convenience of explanation, the vicinity of the two core portions 14 in the optical waveguide 1 shown in FIG.

  The two core parts 14 shown in FIG. 8 are each surrounded by a clad part (side clad part 15 and each clad layer 11, 12), and light can be confined and propagated in the core part 14.

  The refractive index distribution in the cross section of the core portion 14 may be any distribution. This refractive index distribution may be a so-called step index (SI) type distribution in which the refractive index changes discontinuously, or a so-called graded index (GI) type distribution in which the refractive index changes continuously. May be. If the SI type distribution is used, it is easy to form a refractive index distribution. If the GI type distribution is used, the probability that the signal light is collected in a region having a high refractive index is increased, so that transmission efficiency is improved.

  Further, the core portion 14 may be linear or curved in plan view. Furthermore, the core part 14 may branch or cross | intersect on the way.

  The cross-sectional shape of the core portion 14 is not particularly limited, and may be a circle such as a perfect circle, an ellipse, or an oval, or a polygon such as a triangle, a quadrangle, a pentagon, or a hexagon. By being (rectangular), there is an advantage that the core portion 14 can be easily formed.

  The width and height of the core portion 14 (thickness of the core layer 13) are not particularly limited, but are preferably about 1 to 200 μm, more preferably about 5 to 100 μm, and about 10 to 70 μm. More preferably. Thereby, it is possible to increase the density of the core portion 14 while suppressing a decrease in the transmission efficiency of the optical waveguide 1.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the plurality of core portions 14 are arranged in parallel, the width of the side cladding portion 15 located between the core portions 14 is preferably about 5 to 250 μm, preferably 10 to 200 μm. More preferably, it is about 10 to 120 μm. Thereby, it is possible to increase the density of the core portion 14 while preventing the optical signals from being mixed (crosstalk) between the core portions 14.

  The constituent material (main material) of the core layer 13 as described above is, for example, acrylic resin, methacrylic resin, polycarbonate, polystyrene, cyclic ether resin such as epoxy resin or oxetane resin, polyamide, polyimide, poly Benzoxazole, polysilane, polysilazane, silicone resin, fluorine resin, polyurethane, polyolefin resin, polybutadiene, polyisoprene, polychloroprene, polyester such as PET and PBT, polyethylene succinate, polysulfone, polyether, benzocyclo In addition to various resin materials such as cyclic olefin resins such as butene resin and norbornene resin, glass materials such as quartz glass and borosilicate glass can be used. Note that the resin material may be a composite material in which materials having different compositions are combined.

  The average thickness of the cladding layers 11 and 12 is preferably about 0.05 to 1.5 times the average thickness of the core layer 13, and more preferably about 0.1 to 1.25 times. Specifically, the average thickness of the cladding layers 11 and 12 is preferably about 1 to 200 μm, more preferably about 3 to 100 μm, and further preferably about 5 to 60 μm. Thereby, the function as a clad part is ensured while preventing the optical waveguide 1 from becoming thicker than necessary.

  Further, as the constituent material of the cladding layers 11 and 12, for example, the same material as the constituent material of the core layer 13 described above can be used, and in particular, (meth) acrylic resin, epoxy resin, silicone resin, It is preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of a polyimide resin, a fluorine resin, and a polyolefin resin, and more preferably a (meth) acrylic resin or an epoxy resin.

  Although the width | variety of the optical waveguide 1 is not specifically limited, It is preferable that it is about 1-100 mm, and it is more preferable that it is about 2-10 mm.

  Moreover, the number of the core parts 14 formed in the optical waveguide 1 is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 1 to 100. When the number of core portions 14 is large, the optical waveguide 1 may be multilayered as necessary. Specifically, the optical waveguide 1 shown in FIG. 8 can be multilayered by alternately stacking core layers and cladding layers.

  Further, the optical waveguide 1 shown in FIG. 8 further includes a support film 2 as a lowermost layer and a cover film 3 as an uppermost layer.

  Examples of the constituent material of the support film 2 and the cover film 3 include various resin materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyolefin such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polyimide, and polyamide.

  Moreover, although the average thickness of the support film 2 and the cover film 3 is not specifically limited, It is preferable that it is about 5-500 micrometers, and it is more preferable that it is about 10-400 micrometers. Thereby, since the support film 2 and the cover film 3 will have moderate rigidity, while supporting the core layer 13 reliably, the core layer 13 can be reliably protected from external force and an external environment.

  In addition, the support film 2 and the cover film 3 should just be provided as needed, respectively, and may be abbreviate | omitted.

(adhesive)
Examples of the adhesive 6 include an epoxy adhesive, an acrylic adhesive, a urethane adhesive, a silicone adhesive, an olefin adhesive, and various hot melt adhesives (polyester and modified olefin). .

  The tensile modulus (Young's modulus) of the cured product of the adhesive 6 is preferably about 100 to 20000 MPa, more preferably about 300 to 15000 MPa, still more preferably about 500 to 12500 MPa, and particularly preferably 1000 to 2000 MPa. The pressure is about 10,000 MPa. By setting the tensile elastic modulus of the cured product of the adhesive 6 within the above range, it is possible to more reliably fix the optical waveguide 1 to the optical connector 5 and to concentrate thermal stress or the like in the optical waveguide 1. It is possible to suppress the increase in transmission loss.

  The tensile modulus of the adhesive 6 is measured at a temperature of 25 ° C. in accordance with a method defined in JIS K 7127.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the glass transition temperature of the hardened | cured material of the adhesive agent 6 is about 30-260 degreeC, and it is more preferable that it is about 35-200 degreeC. By setting the glass transition temperature of the cured product of the adhesive 6 within the above range, the heat resistance of the optical wiring component 10 can be further increased.

  In addition, the glass transition temperature of the hardened | cured material of the adhesive agent 6 can be measured by the dynamic viscoelasticity measuring method (DMA method).

  In each figure, a state in which a part of the adhesive 6 provided between the mounting surface 501a of the optical connector 5 and the optical waveguide 1 protrudes into the gap 501c between the recess 501b and the optical waveguide 1 is illustrated. Although shown, it is not essential for the adhesive 6 to protrude in this manner. That is, by providing the recess 501b, even if the adhesive 6 protrudes into the gap 501c, an effect of preventing the adhesive 6 from protruding to the distal end surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 can be obtained. Depending on the size of the gap between the mounting surface 501a and the optical waveguide 1, it may not protrude.

  Note that the adhesive 6 does not need to be provided on the entire surface of the placement surface 501a. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the adhesive 6 is applied to a part of the placement surface 501a on the non-facing surface 53 side. There may be a site that is not provided. Thus, since the optical waveguide 1 is not restrained in the part where the adhesive 6 is not provided, the optical waveguide 1 is allowed to bend to some extent in the thickness direction. For this reason, even when the optical waveguide 1 is bent in the thickness direction, it is possible to prevent stress from being easily concentrated on a part of the optical waveguide 1. As a result, an increase in transmission loss or the like can be suppressed even when the optical waveguide 1 is bent.

<Optical wiring parts with end face protection member>
Next, an embodiment of the optical waveguide with an end face protection member of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 9 is an exploded cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the optical wiring component with an end face protection member of the present invention, and is a diagram illustrating the state of assembly work.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an optical wiring component with an end face protection member will be described. However, in the following description, differences from the embodiment of the optical wiring component will be mainly described, and description of similar matters will be omitted. In FIG. 9, the same components as those in the embodiment of the optical wiring component are denoted by the same reference numerals as those described above, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The embodiment of the optical wiring component with the end surface protection member is the same as each embodiment of the optical wiring component described above except that the lens 8 (end surface protection member) is added.

  The optical wiring component 100 with the end surface protection member shown in FIG. 9 includes the optical wiring component 10 and the lens 8 provided so as to face the facing surface 52 of the optical connector 5.

  As described above, in the optical wiring component 10, the optical connector 5 has the recess 501b, and the front end surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 is retracted from the facing surface 52 of the optical connector 5 to the non-facing surface 53 side. When the optical wiring component 10 and the lens 8 are assembled to manufacture the optical wiring component 100 with the end surface protection member, the front end surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1 is prevented from being deteriorated. Contact with the lens 8 can be prevented. Thereby, it is prevented that the front end surface 102 is scratched or foreign matter or the adhesive 6 adheres. As a result, it is possible to prevent the optical coupling efficiency from being significantly reduced.

  Further, by adding the lens 8, the light emitted from the optical waveguide 1 or the light incident on the optical waveguide 1 can be condensed. Also by this, it is possible to prevent a decrease in optical coupling efficiency between the optical wiring component with end face protection member 100 and other optical components.

  Here, the lens 8 includes a lens body 80 that functions as a convex lens, a support portion 81 that is provided outside the optical axis of the lens body 80 and supports the lens body 80 from the side, and a surface that is provided on the support portion 81. When the optical wiring component with end face protection member 100 is connected to another optical component (other second optical component), the first surface 811 facing the other optical component and the support portion 81 are provided. And a second surface 812 located on the opposite side of the facing surface 52.

  In the present embodiment, the lens 8 and the optical wiring component 10 are assembled so that the second surface 812 of the lens 8 and the facing surface 52 of the optical connector 5 are in contact with each other.

  Further, in the lens 8 shown in FIG. 9, the lens surface 800 of the lens 8 is located on the second surface 812 side with respect to the first surface 811 and is located on the first surface 811 side with respect to the second surface 812. Yes. That is, the lens surface 800 of the lens 8 recedes inward from the plane including the first surface 811 and the plane including the second surface 812. For this reason, also in the lens 8, the lens surface 800 is difficult to come into contact with other optical components, and the lens surface 800 is prevented from being scratched or adhering foreign matter. As a result, it is possible to prevent the optical coupling efficiency between the lens 8 and the optical wiring component 10 and the optical coupling efficiency between the lens 8 and other optical components from being significantly reduced.

  Therefore, the optical wiring component 100 with the end face protection member according to the present embodiment can prevent a significant decrease in optical coupling efficiency when connecting to other optical components.

  In addition, the shape of the lens 8 is not limited to what is illustrated, and may be any shape. For example, the support portion 81 may be provided as necessary, and can be replaced with other means that can support the lens body 80.

  In addition, the lens surface 800 is preferably located on the inner side (the second surface 812 side) than the plane including the first surface 811 from the viewpoint of the effects described above, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, it may protrude beyond the plane including the first surface 811.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the lens surface 800 does not have to be located on the inner side (first surface 811 side) than the plane including the second surface 812, and is outside the plane including the second surface 812. You may stick out.

  Also in this embodiment, the same operations and effects as those of the above-described optical wiring component embodiments can be obtained.

  The lens 8 can be replaced with an arbitrary member provided at a position facing the distal end surface 102 of the optical waveguide 1. That is, examples of the end face protection member include a single plate, a film, a filter, a prism, a light guide, and the like in addition to the lens.

<Electronic equipment>
As described above, the optical wiring component of the present invention as described above can suppress a decrease in optical coupling efficiency in the optical connecting portion even when connected to other optical components. Therefore, by providing the optical wiring component of the present invention, a highly reliable electronic device (electronic device of the present invention) capable of performing high-quality optical communication is obtained.

  Examples of the electronic device including the optical wiring component of the present invention include electronic devices such as a mobile phone, a game machine, a router device, a WDM device, a personal computer, a television, and a home server. In any of these electronic devices, it is necessary to transmit a large amount of data at high speed between an arithmetic device such as an LSI and a storage device such as a RAM. Therefore, by providing such an electronic device with the optical wiring component of the present invention, problems such as noise and signal degradation peculiar to electric wiring can be eliminated, and a dramatic improvement in performance can be expected.

  In addition, the amount of heat generated in the optical waveguide portion is greatly reduced compared to electrical wiring. For this reason, the electric power required for cooling can be reduced and the power consumption of the whole electronic device can be reduced.

  As mentioned above, although the optical wiring component and electronic device of this invention were demonstrated based on embodiment of illustration, this invention is not limited to these.

  For example, in each of the above embodiments, an optical connector is attached to one end of the optical waveguide. However, a similar optical connector may be attached to the other end, and a different optical connector is attached. May be. Various light receiving and emitting elements may be mounted on the other end instead of the optical connector.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical waveguide 2 Support film 3 Cover film 5 Optical connector 6 Adhesive 8 Lens (end surface protection member)
9 Other optical component 10 Optical wiring component 11 Cladding layer 12 Cladding layer 13 Core layer 14 Core portion 15 Side cladding portion 50 Through hole 51 Connector body 52 Opposing surface 53 Non-facing surface 80 Lens body 81 Supporting portion 91 Optical fiber 92 Optical connector 100 Optical wiring component 101 with an end face protection member Tip portion 102 Tip surface 103 Endmost portion 501 Upper surface 501a Placement surface 501b Recess 501c Gap 502 Lower surface 503 Step surface 511 Guide hole 800 Lens surface 811 First surface 812 Second surface

Claims (6)

An optical waveguide comprising a long core portion and a light incident / exit surface that can be optically coupled to the core portion;
A connector body, a facing surface that is provided on the connector body and faces another optical component that is optically coupled to the optical waveguide, a non-facing surface that is provided on the connector body and is located on the opposite side of the facing surface, An optical connector comprising: a mounting surface provided on the connector main body on which the optical waveguide can be mounted; and a concave portion in which a part of the plane including the mounting surface is recessed.
In the state where the optical waveguide is placed on the mounting surface, an adhesive that bonds the optical waveguide and the mounting surface;
Have
In the plan view from the normal direction of the mounting surface, the light incident / exit surface and the facing surface are displaced from each other so that the light incident / exit surface is located on the non-facing surface side with respect to the facing surface. An optical wiring component characterized by having   The optical wiring component according to claim 1, wherein the light incident / exit surface and the recess overlap each other in the plan view. The optical connector further includes a penetrating portion that opens into the plane including the facing surface and the plane including the non-facing surface and penetrates the connector body,
The optical wiring component according to claim 1, wherein the placement surface is a part of an inner surface of the penetrating portion. The optical waveguide is layered and includes two main surfaces facing each other.
One of the main surfaces is bonded to the mounting surface via the adhesive,
The optical wiring component according to claim 3, wherein the other main surface is separated from an inner surface of the penetrating portion. The optical wiring component according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An end face protection member provided to face the facing surface as the other optical component;
An optical wiring component with an end face protection member, comprising:   An electronic device comprising the optical wiring component according to claim 1 or the optical wiring component with an end face protection member according to claim 5.

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