JP2974650B2 - Optical connection unit for optical members - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an optical connection unit for an optical member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, at an optical fiber connection point in optical fiber communication, for example, a connection operation is performed as follows. That is, first, a flanged holder is fixed to a connection end of one optical fiber, and a flanged holder is similarly fixed to a connection end of the other optical fiber.

Then, both holders are arranged so as to face both end surfaces of the cylindrical unit body, and one of them is fixed,
The other is temporarily fixed. Next, by temporarily moving the holder on the fixed side, adjustment in the orthogonal XY directions and adjustment in two orthogonal angle directions (θ, ψ) in a plane perpendicular to the optical coupling direction are performed.

After that, the temporary fixing side holder is permanently fixed by an adhesive or laser welding, thereby completing a series of connection work.

[0005]

The above four optical adjustments of both holders (both optical fibers) are cumbersome and troublesome tasks which themselves require considerable skill. Further, when the adjustment (setting) is completed, for example, when laser welding is performed, there is a problem that the setting of the angle is easily deviated due to the solidification contraction force of the portion. It is conceivable to perform the fixing operation using an adhesive or the like that is considered to have a relatively small effect, but there is a problem that even if there is no problem at the time of fixing, the positional displacement easily occurs with time.

The present invention has been made in order to overcome such inconveniences, and it is not only a joint between optical fibers but also an optical connection between an optical fiber and an optical element and an optical element between optical elements. Provides a reasonable and economical optical connection unit for optical members that can be applied to connection points, etc., is less likely to be displaced when the optical member is fixed or over time, and can be stably supported for a long time. Is the task.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical system in which one optical member and the other optical member are axially aligned at opposite axial ends. An optical connection unit for optically connecting, a movable member with a spherical portion having a spherical surface on the outside, holding an end portion of one optical member on the inside, and an end portion of the other optical member on the inside. An insert having an axial end face that holds the portion and complementarily engages with the spherical surface of the movable member with a spherical portion, and a cylindrical resin body member that houses the movable member with the spherical portion and the insert therein. The body member frictionally engages with the spherical surface outside the movable member with a spherical portion so that the movable member with a spherical portion can be held at a predetermined holding force at an arbitrary angular position, and the insert is press-fitted into the main body member. An optical connection unit is provided.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of an optical connection unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. Referring to both figures, the illustrated optical connection unit 1 is basically composed of a cylindrical stepped main body 3 made of a predetermined resin and a metal (aluminum, brass, stainless steel, etc.) press-fit into the inside of the main body 3. An insert 5 and a spherical member (movable member) 7 mounted in the main body so as to spherically (contact) engage with the insert 5 in a universal joint type;
And

In the illustrated embodiment, an unillustrated optical cable (one optical member) is inserted and fixed inside the elongated cylindrical portion (on the right hand side in the figure) of the insert 5, and is inserted inside the spherical member on the left hand side (see FIG. 2 as partially shown by broken lines)
An optical element package (the other optical member) composed of a laser diode or the like is inserted and fixed. The present invention is not limited to this, and although not shown, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to joints between optical cables, joints between optical element packages, and the like.

A ball lens 9 having a diameter of, for example, about 2 mm is preferably disposed between the insert 5 and the spherical member 7, and the ball lens 9 is fixed, for example, on the insert side. A spherical concave surface complementary to the spherical surface (convex surface) of the spherical member 7 is formed on the end surface (on the left hand side in FIG. 2) of the insert 5, and the concave surface and convex surface of both members (5, 7) are spherical. That is, the relative angular positions of the two can be freely changed like a so-called universal joint.

Here, "like a universal joint" does not mean that transmission in the rotational direction is performed (moves), but that one of the other is freely movable in an arbitrary direction about the connection portion. Can be relatively rotated so as to have an arbitrary angle in the direction. To put it optically, XY perpendicular to the plane perpendicular to the optical coupling direction
This means that the adjustment of the direction and the adjustment of two orthogonal angular directions (θ, ψ) can be performed freely.

This embodiment has the following features in addition to the above features.
The outer peripheral (curved) surface, which is the side surface of the spherical member 7 (that is, the spherical member portion different from the spherical engaging portion), frictionally engages with the inner peripheral surface inside the main body 5 and holds (holds) with a predetermined holding force inside the main body. ). Therefore,
After the above optical adjustment (setting), the adjustment angle position of the spherical member 7 with respect to the main body 3 is stably held by itself, that is, it can be temporarily fixed.

Therefore, when shifting to the final fixing operation (for example, by laser welding or using an adhesive), there is no fear that the setting of the angle is inadvertently ruined due to hand shake, own weight, vibration, or the like. . As described above, in the present embodiment, without using a very expensive dedicated optical adjustment automatic machine, at extremely low cost, the optical adjustment by hand can be easily performed mechanically, at a level that does not pose a problem in practical use. It can be performed with high accuracy.

[0014] After the adjustment, the setting state is conveniently and stably held by itself, whereby the workability and efficiency of the work can be drastically improved. In addition, since there is no latent stress or the like, it can be said that there is almost no risk of inconvenience such as positional deviation over time. By the way, as shown in FIG. 3, an optical element package (L) is formed using the optical connection unit 1 of the present embodiment.
The centering work between D) and the optical fiber was performed experimentally, and its excellent operation and effect were confirmed.

Optical device package (spherical member 7) and main body 3
Relative simple manual alignment is performed by mechanically connecting a rod-shaped member (alignment rod) to an optical element package inserted and fixed in the spherical member 7 and moving the alignment rod angularly. Was. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, even when this excellent embodiment unit is used, the core diameter / clad diameter is small (for example, 10SM, 5SM) due to the limitation of manual operation.
It will be appreciated that 0 (core diameter) / 125 (cladding diameter) GI) is difficult for coarse and fine alignment, but is possible for larger dimensions. Note that “tolerance” in FIG. 5 indicates deterioration of optical characteristics (light output and the like) with respect to axis deviation.

FIG. 6 collectively shows (i) In the case of automatic alignment using a dedicated automatic machine (including an automatic XY stage), (ii) manual alignment using a manual XY stage A comparison of the characteristics of the four structures, namely, (iii) the case of simple alignment according to the present invention, and (iv) the case of non-alignment (depends on the processing accuracy of parts and elements; accuracy is not good) is shown. Was.

[0017]

As described above, in the present invention,
It is hard to cause misalignment etc. when fixing the optical member or over time, it can be stably supported in the long term, reasonable and economical,
An optical connection unit for an optical member can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an optical connection unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 and viewed from a direction of an arrow.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a centering experiment.

FIG. 4 is a table showing alignment of a fiber.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of light output during alignment.

FIG. 6 is a table showing a comparative example of characteristics of the adjusting structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical connection unit 3 ... Main body 5 ... Insert 7 ... Spherical member 9 ... Spherical lens

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-10-9867 (JP, A) JP-A-4-242705 (JP, A) JP-A-63-213806 (JP, A) JP-A-61-1986 134712 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G02B ^6/ 26-6/43

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An optical connection unit for optically connecting one optical member and the other optical member at opposite axial ends so as to be capable of aligning an axis, wherein: A movable member with a spherical portion holding an end portion and having a spherical surface on the outside, and an axis holding an end portion of the other optical member on the inside and complementary engaging with the spherical surface of the movable member with a spherical portion A movable member having a spherical surface portion and a cylindrical resin body member accommodating the movable member with a spherical portion therein, the main body member holding the movable member with a spherical surface portion at a predetermined holding force at an arbitrary angular position. An optical connection unit characterized in that the optical connection unit is frictionally engaged with the outer spherical surface of the movable member having a spherical portion so that the insert can be held in the main body member, and the insert is press-fitted into the main body member.