JP4821158B2 - Optical module manufacturing method and optical module manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing an optical module having a core manufactured using a photocurable resin solution and light. The present invention can be applied to an optical module such as an inexpensive optical transmitter / receiver, optical interconnection, optical demultiplexer, or multiplexer in optical fiber communication.

The present inventors have developed and filed an optical waveguide having a so-called self-forming core together with the joint inventors. A self-forming core means that, for example, by irradiating an uncured liquid photocurable resin in a beam shape with light having a curing wavelength from an optical fiber, only the resin in the optical path portion irradiated in the beam shape is cured. Then, a shaft-like cured product (core) is formed, and then the periphery is surrounded by a resin having a lower refractive index, for example, to form an optical waveguide (see Patent Document 1). In addition, by using two photocurable resins having different refractive indexes and curing wavelengths, only the resin on the high refractive index side is cured over time (see Patent Document 2), or only the resin on the low refractive index side. In the case of curing in a short time (see Patent Document 3), it was shown that two types of optical waveguides having a specific refractive index distribution can be formed by curing the remaining uncured resin solution thereafter.
JP-A-2002-365459 JP 2002-169038 A JP2004-149579

  The technique described in Patent Document 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing a manufacturing process of an optical module described in Patent Document 1 having one light receiving element and one light emitting element.

  FIG. A case 91 made of a transparent resin without an upper surface is prepared as shown in A, and the end surface 921 of the core of the optical fiber 92 is introduced into the inside of the case 91 and fixed by the fixing member 93. Next, a half mirror or a dichroic mirror (wavelength selective mirror) 94 is fixed to the casing 91. The half mirror or dichroic mirror (wavelength selective mirror) 94 is fixed in a state inclined by 45 degrees with respect to the bottom surface of the casing 91. Then, in order to form a core member, the inside of the housing | casing 91 is filled with the uncured photocurable resin liquid 95 with a high refractive index.

  Next, when light having a curing wavelength is irradiated from the end face 921 to the photocurable resin liquid 95 filled in the housing 91 by the optical fiber 92, a cured product 95c is formed in an axial shape along the optical path of the light. (Figure 4.B). Since the half mirror or the dichroic mirror (wavelength selective mirror) 94 is used this time, the cured product 95c has a branch. Thereafter, the uncured photocurable resin liquid 95 is removed (FIG. 4.C). Next, the inside of the housing 91 is filled with an uncured curable resin liquid 96 having a low refractive index to be a clad. The curing method of the curable resin liquid 96 is photocuring, thermosetting, or any other method. Thus, all of the curable resin liquid 96 filled in the housing 91 is cured to become a cured product 96c, and an optical waveguide having a high refractive index cured product 95c as a core and a low refractive index cured product 96c as a cladding is formed. (Fig. 4.D).

  Thereafter, a light emitting element 97 and a light receiving element 98, for example, are mounted in the vicinity of the joint between the cured product 95c as the core and the casing 91 made of transparent resin, thereby completing the optical module 900 capable of single-line bidirectional optical communication. (FIG. 4.E).

  FIG. In the optical module 900 of E, the light emitting element 97 and the light receiving element 98 face the cured product 95c that is a core through a casing 91 made of a transparent resin. In this structure, when the lifetime and characteristic deterioration as a module were evaluated by a so-called acceleration test, the core 95c and the optical element were loaded in a few hours under a load of 85 ° C. normal humidity or 75 ° C. relative humidity 95%. It became clear that the coupling | bonding with 97 and 98 deteriorated and the transmission loss of light increased. This is mainly due to peeling of the cured resin from the casing.

  Therefore, the present inventors have intensively studied an optical module having a self-forming core different from the configuration shown in FIG. 4 and completed the present invention. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical module manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method in which the coupling between a core made of a cured resin and an optical element is not easily deteriorated.

The invention according to claim 1 is an optical fiber made of plastic for radiating light forming a core , one or a plurality of optical elements, and an arbitrary optical path provided between the optical fibers and the optical elements. In an optical module manufacturing method in which an optical component consisting of a number of mirrors, half mirrors, or wavelength selective mirrors is connected by a core formed using a photocurable resin and covered with a clad material, an opening is formed at the top. In the state where the bottom part is slidable, uncured resin can be discharged from the discharge port formed by opening the bottom part , and one end of the optical fiber is inserted in the horizontal direction The optical fiber is detachably supported, and the optical component and the optical element and the optical fiber are connected and removed from the mold. Difference in Nde write, a step of detachably supporting the optical fiber in the mold, one or a plurality of the step of the optical element and optical components inserted from the type of opening is temporarily fixed, for forming a core in a mold The step of introducing the photocurable resin and the light having a wavelength for curing the photocurable resin from the other end of the optical fiber are emitted to the uncured photocurable resin, and the photocurable resin is cured in a shaft shape. A step of forming an axial core that is continuously bonded to the light emitting surface of the optical fiber, bonded to the optical component, and bonded to the optical element via the optical component, and the bottom of the mold is slid Opening the bottom outlet and discharging the uncured photocurable resin from the outlet, and temporarily fixing one or more optical elements and optical components connected by the core, slide the bottom in the original direction, to introduce the clad material into the mold to close the discharge port A step, curing the clad material, to release the support for the type of optical fiber, is integral with the cured cladding material, the light having an optical fiber and one or a plurality of optical elements and optical components And a step of removing the module from the mold.
Here, when there are a plurality of optical elements, it is derived that the core needs one branch less than the number of the optical elements. Moreover, Ru is also possible to form the bent portion of any number by using the mirror. An optical element means a light emitting element, a light receiving element, a light modulation element, a coupler, or other elements.

The invention according to claim 2 is an optical fiber made of plastic for radiating light forming the core , one or a plurality of optical elements, and an arbitrary optical path provided between the optical fibers and the optical elements. An optical module manufacturing apparatus in which an optical component consisting of a number of mirrors, half mirrors, or wavelength selective mirrors is connected by a core formed using a photocurable resin, and these are covered with a clad material. The bottom is slidable, the uncured resin can be discharged from a discharge port formed by opening the bottom , and one end of the optical fiber is inserted into it horizontally In this state, the optical fiber is detachably supported, the mold for resin formation that can be removed while the optical component and the optical element are connected, and the support for detachably supporting the optical fiber to the mold Means and 1 Alternatively, a jig for temporarily fixing a plurality of optical elements and optical components by inserting them from the mold opening, means for introducing a photocurable resin for forming a core in the mold, and an optical fiber An optical module comprising: means for introducing light having a wavelength for curing the photocurable resin from the other end of the optical module; means for introducing the clad material into the mold; and means for curing the clad material. It is a manufacturing device.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an optical module that uses a self-forming core and the core and the optical element do not easily peel off. According to the present invention, since the optical element can be positioned in advance, the process can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. In addition, since the resin reservoir for the photocurable resin for forming the core and the mold for forming the clad are used in common, the process can be simplified. Further, since the core is directly coupled to the optical element without using the housing, the coupling efficiency can be improved, the element life can be extended, and the characteristic deterioration can be suppressed.

  Any optical component for carrying out the present invention can be used. An optical fiber (POF, GOF) can be preferably used. Among these, when a material that can easily process the clad portion such as POF is used, the POF is removed from the optical module by covering the clad portion of the processed POF with the clad material of the self-forming optical waveguide as will be described later. It is easy to make it difficult to come off.

  Any available photocurable resin for forming the core can be used. For example, Patent Documents 2 and 3 list radical polymerization type, cationic polymerization type photocurable resins and polymerization initiators as examples of use as a mixture of two liquids, but for forming the core of the present application. As the photocurable resin, any one of the photocurable resins described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 can be used alone. In order to reinforce the adhesion between the core end face of the optical fiber and the element surface of the optical element, a silane coupling material may be dissolved or dispersed in a photocurable resin liquid as described in Patent Document 1. Similarly, any one of the photocurable resin and the polymerization initiator described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 can be used alone for the clad material, and other thermosetting resins may be used.

  FIG. 1 is a process chart conceptually showing the production method of the present invention. First, a plastic optical fiber (POF) 1, a green PD (light receiving element) 2, a red LED (light emitting element) 3 and a wavelength selective mirror 4 are prepared. As the wavelength selective mirror 4, a mirror that reflects red light and transmits green light was used. The core end surface 11 of the POF 1 is fixed by the mold 5, and the light receiving surface of the light receiving element 2, the light emitting surface of the light emitting element 3, and the reflecting surface of the wavelength selective mirror 4 are temporarily fixed by a jig (not shown) to Place. 4 is a side view showing the process from the horizontal direction, while each figure in FIG. 1 is a plan view shown from the top. A photocurable resin liquid 6 serving as a core can be disposed inside the mold 5 indicated by a dotted line in FIG. As shown below, the core 6c formed by self-formation is formed between the core end surface 11 of the POF 1 and the lower left surface of the wavelength selective mirror 4, the upper right surface of the wavelength selective mirror 4, and the light receiving element. Between the two light receiving surfaces and between the lower left surface of the wavelength selective mirror 4 and the light emitting surface of the light emitting element 3. These are conceptually illustrated in FIG. Shown as A. An example of the overall shape of the mold 5 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent figures, and only conceptually shown in FIG.

  POF1 having a core diameter of 980 μm and NA of 0.30 was used. When UVX-4037 manufactured by Toagosei Co., Ltd., which is an acrylic resin, is used as the photocurable resin liquid 6 and a laser beam having a wavelength of 458 nm is irradiated from the POF 1 into the photocurable resin liquid 6, before and after the wavelength selective mirror 4. A shaft-like cured product 6c having a branch is formed. The shaft-shaped cured product 6 c is formed between the core end surface 11 of the POF 1 and the lower left surface of the wavelength selective mirror 4, between the right upper surface of the wavelength selective mirror 4 and the light receiving surface of the light receiving element 2, and between the wavelength selective mirror 4. The left lower surface and the light emitting surface of the light emitting element 3 are connected to each other (FIG. 1.B). The factor of axial curing is that the refractive index of the photocurable resin liquid 6 increases due to curing. In fact, "UVX-4037" has a refractive index before curing of 1.471 and a refractive index after curing of 1.491.

  Thereafter, the outlet at the bottom of the mold 5 is opened, and the uncured photocurable resin liquid 6 is removed (FIG. 1.C). Thereafter, the optical module 100 capable of single-line bidirectional optical communication can be easily formed by performing cleaning, filling the clad material 7 into the mold 5 and curing it (FIG. 1.D). In addition, as the clad material 7, “OP-38ZT” manufactured by Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, Inc., which is a photocurable fluorinated acrylic resin, was used. The refractive index after curing is 1.380.

  As the mold 5, a substantially rectangular shape having no upper surface and having an opening portion upward as shown in FIG. 2 can be used. The mold 5 has a configuration in which the bottom 5B is slidable in the longitudinal direction, and the bottom surface inside the mold can be fully opened. A part 5 'of the front surface of the mold 5 is detachable. The mold 5 has a semicylindrical side surface groove 1H on the front surface, and forms a support portion of the POF 1 together with the semicylindrical side surface groove 1H 'of the portion 5'. The cylindrical side surfaces of the groove 1H and the groove 1H 'are cylindrical side surfaces having a radius R, and are formed so as to coincide with the outer peripheral surface of the POF 1. Further, the mold 5 and its portion 5 ′ have packing at the connecting surface, and when combined, the resin liquid filled in the mold 5 does not leak.

  A process diagram in the case of using the mold 5 of FIG. 2 is shown as a side view (cross-sectional view). FIG. A closes the bottom 5B of the mold 5 and fixes the POF 1 by a detachable part 5 ', and a green PD (light receiving element) 2, red LED (light emitting element) 3 and wavelength selectivity by jigs 2H, 3H and 4H. A state in which the mirror 4 is temporarily fixed and the uncured photocurable resin 6 is filled is shown. FIG. A is shown in FIG. Corresponds to A. The wiring electrodes of the green PD (light receiving element) 2 and the red LED (light emitting element) 3 are omitted.

  FIG. B is a view in which the bottom 5B of the mold 5 is slid and opened to remove uncured resin. FIG. B is shown in FIG. Corresponds to C.

  FIG. C is a view in which the bottom 5B of the mold 5 is slid and closed, and the clad material 7 is filled. FIG. After C, when the clad material 7 is cured, FIG. D optical module 100 can be formed. As shown in FIG. 2, the optical module 100 can be easily removed from the mold 5 by removing the detachable portion 5 '.

  In the above embodiment, the bottom 5B uses the slide type mold 5, but the mold may be provided with means for removing the uncured photocurable resin at the bottom. In addition, as a discharge port, the form sucked up from a nozzle may be sufficient. As the temporary fixing jig, any object that can position each optical element and optical component can be used. The jig may be removed prior to the removal of the uncured photocurable resin or may be removed while the clad material is being filled.

  In the above embodiment, one wavelength selective filter and one light emitting element and one light receiving element are used. However, by using a plurality of wavelength selective filters, light from an arbitrary number of light emitting elements can be aggregated and POF. It is also possible to adopt an optical module that guides incident light to a desired number of light receiving elements from a POF or the like with or without selecting a wavelength.

  An optical module in which the green PD (light receiving element) 2 and the red LED (light emitting element) 3 of the optical module 100 described above are replaced with a green LED (light emitting element) and a red PD (light receiving element) is configured. By using the modules in combination, a mutual optical communication module that uses two wavelengths of light for upstream and downstream communications can be easily formed. The wavelength characteristics of the light receiving element and the light emitting element and the wavelength characteristics of the wavelength selective mirror can be arbitrarily selected and used.

Process drawing (plan view) which shows the manufacturing method of this invention notionally. The perspective view which showed an example of the type | mold used by this invention. Process drawing (side view) which shows a part of manufacturing method at the time of using the type | mold of FIG. Process drawing (side view) which shows the manufacturing process of the optical module described in patent document 1. FIG.

1: POF
2: Light receiving element 3: Light emitting element 4: Wavelength selective filter 5: Mold 6: Photocurable resin liquid 6c: Core made of cured photocurable resin 7: Clad material

Claims (2)

An optical fiber made of plastic for radiating light forming a core , one or a plurality of optical elements, and an arbitrary number of mirrors, half mirrors provided in an optical path between the optical fibers and the optical elements; Or, in an optical module manufacturing method in which an optical component composed of a wavelength selective mirror is connected by a core formed using a photo-curable resin, and these are covered with a clad material,
It has an opening at the top, the bottom is slidable, and uncured resin can be discharged from a discharge port formed by opening the bottom , and one end of the optical fiber is inserted into it horizontally. In this state, the optical fiber is detachably supported, and using a mold for resin formation that can be removed while the optical component and the optical element and the optical fiber are connected,
Plug the one end of the optical fiber therein in the horizontal direction in the mold, a step of detachably supporting the optical fiber in the mold,
Inserting and temporarily fixing the one or more optical elements and the optical component from the opening of the mold;
Introducing a photocurable resin for forming a core in the mold;
Light having a wavelength for curing the photocurable resin from the other end of the optical fiber is emitted to the uncured photocurable resin, and the photocurable resin is cured in an axial shape, so that the optical fiber is cured. A step of forming a shaft-shaped core that is continuously bonded to the light emitting surface, bonded to the optical component, and bonded to the optical element via the optical component ;
Sliding the bottom of the mold, opening the outlet of the bottom and discharging the uncured photocurable resin from the outlet;
The temporary fixing of the one or more optical elements and the optical components connected by the core is released, the bottom of the mold is slid in the original direction, the discharge port is closed, and the clad material is placed in the mold A process of introducing
Curing the clad material;
An optical module including the optical fiber, the one or a plurality of optical elements, and the optical component integrated with the hardened clad material after releasing the support of the optical fiber from the mold. And a step of taking out the optical module. An optical fiber made of plastic for radiating light forming a core , one or a plurality of optical elements, and an arbitrary number of mirrors, half mirrors provided in an optical path between the optical fibers and the optical elements; Alternatively, an optical module manufacturing apparatus in which an optical component composed of a wavelength selective mirror is connected by a core formed using a photocurable resin, and these are covered with a clad material,
It has an opening at the top, the bottom is slidable, and uncured resin can be discharged from a discharge port formed by opening the bottom , and one end of the optical fiber is inserted into it horizontally. In this state, the optical fiber is detachably supported, and the mold for resin formation that can be removed while the optical component and the optical element and the optical fiber are connected,
Support means for detachably supporting the optical fiber to the mold;
A jig for inserting and temporarily fixing the one or more optical elements and the optical component from the opening of the mold;
Means for introducing a photocurable resin for forming a core in the mold;
Means for introducing light of a wavelength for curing the photocurable resin from the other end of the optical fiber;
Means for introducing a cladding material into the mold;
And a means for curing the clad material.

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