JP4051565B2 - Optical waveguide module of optical waveguide type optical recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical waveguide module of an optical waveguide type optical recording apparatus in a laser printer that scans and prints a large number of beams emitted from a plurality of semiconductor lasers.

  In recent years, there is a high demand for a high-speed and high-definition laser printer in the printer market. Therefore, in the optical system of the laser printer, the optical scanning speed of the laser beam on the photosensitive member has been increased. However, as the speed increases, the light energy per dot on the photosensitive drum decreases, so that a sufficient latent image cannot be formed and high-definition image printing cannot be performed. In the case of a semiconductor laser printer using a semiconductor laser as the light source, the light energy of the laser light is small, so that it is more remarkable. Therefore, multi-beam optical recording is performed in which a plurality of parallel optical scanning lines are formed on the photosensitive drum by a plurality of laser beams (hereinafter referred to as multi-beams) formed using a plurality of semiconductor lasers. .

  An example of a multi-beam optical recording apparatus that performs multi-beam optical recording will be described with reference to FIG. The semiconductor lasers of the plurality of semiconductor modules 31 are guided to the optical waveguide module 30 in which the optical fiber array 1 is connected to the optical fiber array array portion 15 in which the optical fibers 6 are arrayed. A plurality of array-shaped beams emitted from the optical waveguide module 30, so-called multi-beams, pass through lenses 26, 27, 28, and 29 and enter the rotary polygon mirror 25, and are incident on the photosensitive drum 23 by the rotary polygon mirror 25. The parallel optical scanning lines 32 are scanned simultaneously. The scanning lens 24 narrows the beam deflected by the rotary polygon mirror 25 as a minute spot on the photosensitive drum 23.

  The structure of the optical waveguide module 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. The optical waveguide module 30 joins the optical waveguide 1 and the optical fiber array array portion 15, transmits the laser light transmitted through the core portion 10 of the optical fiber 6 to the incident core portion 4 of the waveguide 1, and further transmits it to the core portion 2. The light is emitted from the emission core portion 3.

  The optical fiber array array section 15 is formed on the array member 5 in which a plurality of V grooves 7 are formed by anisotropic etching of silicon crystals in order to array the optical fibers 6 including the clad section 14 and the core section 10 with high precision. Bonded by an adhesive 8. A reinforcing member 13 is bonded to the bottom of the array member 5 for reinforcement.

  The optical waveguide 1 includes an incident core portion 4 formed at equal intervals with the arrangement interval of the optical fibers 6, a core portion 2 for guiding laser light, an output core portion 3 having a smaller interval than the incident core portion 4, and a cladding portion 11. It consists of.

The optical fiber array array portion 15 and the optical waveguide 1 are bonded to each other with the optical fiber 6 and the incident core portion 4 of the optical waveguide 1 and the reinforcing member 13 and the optical waveguide 1 with a light-transmitting adhesive 12.
Incidentally, the connection surface between the optical waveguide 1 and the optical fiber array array part 15 may be obliquely polished to eliminate the return light at the connection part, and in this example, it is polished 8 degrees.

  The conventional optical waveguide module 30 conventionally uses red laser light as a semiconductor laser. However, in order to enable high-speed and high-definition printing, a blue semiconductor laser having high sensitivity has been used for the photosensitive drum. However, the adhesive used to bond the optical fiber 6 and the optical waveguide 1 when transmitting the blue laser light from the blue semiconductor laser through the optical fiber 6 of the optical waveguide module 30 through the adhesive surface and to the optical waveguide 1. No. 12 has a wavelength of blue laser light (near 405 nm) close to ultraviolet light, and therefore absorbs blue laser light and changes its quality. Therefore, the light transmission efficiency is deteriorated, and the optical waveguide module 30 becomes unusable.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an optical waveguide module that stabilizes light transmission at the connection between an optical waveguide and an optical fiber in an optical waveguide type optical recording apparatus, enabling high-quality printing, and a laser beam printer. This is to improve the reliability of the optical system.

The above-described object is that the optical axes of the optical fiber and the optical waveguide that make a pair of the optical fiber array array portion and the waveguide coincide with each other, and the connecting portion of the core portion has surface contact or a certain gap. The reinforcing member and the optical waveguide are fused and connected by a CO ₂ laser at a position away from the connection portion of the optical fiber and the optical waveguide.

According to the present invention, there is provided an optical waveguide module for blue laser in which an optical fiber array array part and an optical waveguide are fused with a CO ₂ laser avoiding a connection part between the optical fiber and the incident core part, and high quality printing is provided. Therefore, the reliability of the optical system of the laser beam printer can be improved.

  The present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Since FIG. 5 has the configuration as described above, a detailed description thereof is omitted, but the present invention is different from the above in that blue laser light is used for the semiconductor. In the following embodiments, description will be made mainly on the optical waveguide module.

  1 and 2 show the structure of the optical waveguide module 33. The optical waveguide module 33 connects the optical waveguide 1 and the optical fiber array array part 15, guides blue laser light (wavelength: around 405 nm) from the core part 10 of the optical fiber 6, and transmits it to the incident core part 4 of the waveguide 1. Further, it is transmitted to the core portion 2 and emitted from the emission core portion 3.

  The optical fiber array array section 15 uses the blue laser optical fiber 6 composed of the clad section 14 and the core section 10, and in order to array the plurality of optical fibers 6 with high accuracy, the silicon crystal is anisotropically etched. An adhesive 8 is bonded to the array member 5 in which a plurality of V grooves 7 are formed. A reinforcing member 13 is bonded to the bottom of the array member 5 for reinforcement. A quartz glass plate is used for the reinforcing member 13.

  The optical waveguide 1 includes an incident core portion 4 formed at equal intervals with the arrangement interval of the optical fibers 6, a core portion 2 that guides blue laser light, an output core portion 3 that has an arrangement interval smaller than the incident core portion 4, and a cladding. Part 11. These are mostly made of quartz glass.

The optical fiber array array 15 and the optical waveguide 1 are connected to a position where the optical axes of the core 10 of the optical fiber 6 and the incident core 4 of the optical waveguide 1 coincide. When the deviation of the optical axis of the core portion is larger than 1 μm, the light transmission rate is deteriorated. At that position, the reinforcing member 13 and the optical waveguide 1 are fusion-connected at a plurality of locations by a CO ₂ laser. At this time, the connection portion between the optical fiber 6 and the incident core portion 4 is in close contact. In the case where a gap is provided in the connecting portion, the interval is preferably 10 μm or less so that the light transmission loss is 10% or less.

  Further, in this embodiment, the heat and gas generated when the reinforcing member 13 and the fused portion 9 of the optical waveguide 1 are fused do not adversely affect the connection portion between the optical fiber 6 and the incident core portion 4. The connecting portion between the side surface and the bottom of the member 13 and the optical waveguide 1 is used. At the time of fusion, an inert gas may be blown so that the generated gas does not touch the optical fiber 6 and the incident core portion 4.

  The connection surface between the optical waveguide 1 and the optical fiber array array portion 15 is obliquely polished at 8 degrees in order to eliminate return light at the connection portion.

  With the above configuration, the optical waveguide module 33 having a small transmission loss of blue laser light can be obtained at the connection portion between the optical fiber 6 and the incident core portion 4. By mounting the optical waveguide module of the present invention on a printer, high-speed and high-definition printing is possible.

The top view which shows the Example of the optical waveguide module concerning this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the Example of the optical waveguide module concerning this invention. The top view of the conventional optical waveguide module. Sectional drawing of the conventional optical waveguide module. The figure which shows the optical recording device using the multi-beam by an optical waveguide module.

Explanation of symbols

1 is an optical waveguide, 2 is a core part, 3 is an output core part, 4 is an incident core part, 5 is an array member, 6 is an optical fiber, 7 is a V-groove, 8 is an adhesive, 9 is a fusion part, Core part, 11 is clad, 12 is an adhesive, 13 is a reinforcing member, 14 is a clad part, 15 is an optical fiber array array part, 23 is a photosensitive drum, 24 is a scanning lens, 25 is a polygon mirror, and 26 is a lens. , 27 is a lens, 28 is a lens, 29 is a lens, 30 is an optical waveguide module, 31 is a semiconductor module, 32 is an optical scanning line, and 33 is an optical waveguide module.

Claims (4)

A blue laser beam from a blue semiconductor laser by connecting an optical waveguide with an optical fiber array array section composed of an array member having a plurality of optical fiber positioning grooves and an optical fiber array array and a reinforcing member bonded to the bottom thereof. In an optical waveguide type optical recording apparatus using an optical system that guides an optical fiber from an optical fiber to an optical waveguide, emits a plurality of arrayed blue laser beams from the end face of the optical waveguide, and guides them onto a photosensitive material. An optical axis of the core portion of the optical fiber and the optical waveguide that make a pair with the array portion and the waveguide respectively match, and a connection portion of the core portion is connected to a position having surface contact or a certain gap, An optical waveguide type optical recording apparatus, wherein the reinforcing member and the optical waveguide are fusion-bonded by a CO ₂ laser at a position away from a connection portion between the optical fiber and the optical waveguide. Optical waveguide module. 2. The optical waveguide module of an optical waveguide type optical recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an optical axis deviation between the optical fiber and the core of the optical waveguide is 1 [mu] m or less, and a gap between the connecting portions is 10 [mu] m or less. . 2. The optical waveguide module of an optical waveguide type optical recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a fusion-bonding portion between the reinforcing member and the optical waveguide is located at a connection portion between a side surface or a bottom portion thereof. 2. The optical waveguide module of an optical waveguide type optical recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein both the reinforcing member and the optical waveguide are made of quartz glass.

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