JP2565124B2 - Array optical fiber alignment structure - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an array optical fiber alignment structure, and more particularly to an array optical fiber alignment structure for positioning using dummy optical fiber strands.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional arrayed optical fiber alignment structure, as shown in FIG. 2, an optical signal transmitting light is transmitted to the V groove of a plate 20 having optical fiber positioning V grooves 22a to 22d formed on the upper surface thereof. The fibers 11a to 11d are placed, and the pressing plate 21 is placed on the fibers 11a to 11d, and the plate 20
There has been a method of positioning the optical fibers 11a to 11d by using a clamper 23 for pressing the pressing plate 21 (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-146506).

[0003]

This conventional array optical fiber alignment structure requires a plate having a V groove for positioning the optical fibers.

As a method of forming a V groove on a plate with an accuracy of several μm or less, (1) a V groove pattern mask is formed on a silicon substrate by using a photolithography technique, and then the V groove is formed by an etching solution. Molding method.

(2) There is a method of forming a V-groove on a ceramic substrate or a glass substrate by using a precision machine tool.

In either case, expensive and highly accurate equipment is required to form a plate having a V groove. Further, it has a drawback that the yield is deteriorated because the processing is precise.

For this reason, the plate having the V-grooves becomes expensive, and the entire array optical fiber alignment structure becomes expensive.

[0008]

In the array optical fiber alignment structure of the present invention, a dummy optical fiber is used to determine the position between the optical fibers for transmitting an optical signal, and an L-shaped ferrule and two flat plates are provided. It is characterized in that the position of each optical fiber is fixed by using it.

[0009]

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing an arrayed optical fiber alignment structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along the line AA 'in FIG.

In aligning the optical fibers, first, the optical fiber strands 11a to 11 for transmitting an optical signal on the L-shaped ferrule 2 having two planes perpendicular to each other.
1d and the dummy optical fiber wires 12a to 12c are arranged in a line.

At this time, the outer shape of the optical fiber is 125.
μm, and the distance between the optical fibers to be placed is 250 μm
In this case, one dummy optical fiber is arranged between each optical fiber for transmitting an optical signal.

Next, the first flat plate 3 is used to hold each optical fiber element from above and determine the position in the Y-axis direction.

After that, by pressing the optical fiber wires from the side surface with the second flat plate 4, the optical fiber wires can be aligned with the accuracy determined by the outer shape accuracy of each optical fiber wire.

Here, the outer shape accuracy of the optical fiber strand is ± 1 μm.
When m is set, an error of maximum ± 6 μm occurs at the centers of the optical fiber strands at both ends when seven optical fibers are arranged, which is not so different even when compared with the alignment structure by the conventional method. Finally, the arrayed optical fibers can be aligned by fixing the L-shaped ferrule 2, the first flat plate 3, and the second flat plate 4 using an ultraviolet curing resin.

Here, the optical fiber strand 11 for signal transmission
The coatings a to 11d are obtained by removing the coating from the tape fiber cord 5.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, a dummy optical fiber is used to determine the position between the optical fibers for transmitting an optical signal, and an L-shaped ferrule and two flat plates are used to detect each optical fiber. Since the position is fixed, the components used are simple and inexpensive, so that it is possible to provide an array optical fiber alignment structure that is less expensive than conventional techniques.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a perspective view and (B) is a sectional view.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 L-type ferrule 3 1st flat plate 4 2nd flat plate 5 Tape fiber cord 11a-11d Optical fiber element wire 12a-12c for optical signal transmission 12a-12c Dummy optical fiber element wire 20 Plate with V groove 21 Holding plate 22a-22d V groove

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] And L-shaped ferrule with a 1. A two mutually perpendicular planar surfaces, a first flat plate parallel to the horizontal plane of the L-shaped ferrule, the second flat plate parallel to the vertical surface of the L-shaped ferrule Yes Then, a plurality of optical fiber strands are arranged on a horizontal plane of the L-shaped ferrule in a direction parallel to a vertical plane, and the first flat plate is used to press the plurality of optical fiber strands from the upper surface direction, Ru pressing the side surface direction using the second flat plate
The structure of the plurality of optical fiber strands arranged
An array optical fiber alignment structure, characterized in that a dummy optical fiber strand for pitch interval adjustment is included between them.