JP5214042B2 - Method for manufacturing optical element package - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an optical element package, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing an optical element package that draws an optical fiber out of the package in an airtight manner.

  In recent years, high-speed and large-capacity optical communication systems have been put into practical use, and development of high-speed and small-sized optical elements such as light-emitting elements, light-receiving elements, and modulation elements to be incorporated into such optical communication systems has been actively promoted. ing. In an optical communication system, an optical element is required to operate stably over a period exceeding 20 years. For this reason, in order to suppress deterioration of the optical element, the optical element needs to be hermetically sealed.

  A conventional optical element package having a housing for accommodating an optical element and drawing out (or drawing into) the optical fiber coupled with the optical element from the inside of the casing through the optical fiber insertion pipe includes an optical fiber insertion pipe There is one that hermetically seals the inside of a package including an optical fiber inside (for example, see Patent Document 1). FIG. 7 shows the structure of an optical fiber lead-out sealing portion of a conventional optical element package.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the sealing portion includes (1) a step of bonding and fixing the optical element 101 inside the housing 102 to which the optical fiber insertion pipe 104 is fixed in advance by welding or the like; An optical fiber 103 including an optical fiber strand portion including an optical fiber strand 103b provided with a metal coat 103a and an optical fiber sheath portion provided with a coating 103c on the optical fiber strand 103b is inserted into the optical fiber. A process of adhering the optical fiber 103b of the optical fiber 103 and the optical element 101 with the adhesive 105 on the optical fiber alignment device, and (3) the optical fiber alignment device A step of hermetically sealing the housing 102 with the solder 106 between the fiber insertion pipe 104 and the metal coat 103a; and (4) reinforcing the coating 103c and the optical fiber insertion pipe 104. And fixing with adhesive 107, it is formed through a step of fixing the housing 102 by (5) a lid member (not shown) the seam welding or the like.

  In some cases, between the steps (2) and (3), the optical fiber 103 is pushed in the direction of the optical element on the optical fiber aligning device, and the optical fiber 103 is inserted into the optical fiber insertion pipe 104. A process of adding extra length to the fiber 103 is added.

JP-A-3-259105

  However, in the conventional optical element package disclosed in Patent Document 1, the hermetically sealing operation after bonding the optical fiber and the optical element (step (3) above), and further, the covering and the optical fiber insertion pipe are used for reinforcement. Since it is manufactured by performing the operation of fixing with an adhesive (the above step (4)) for each housing on the optical fiber alignment device, the workability is poor. For example, alignment operation and sealing operation are performed. There was a problem that it was not possible to collectively perform a plurality of cases.

  The present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an optical element package that can improve the workability of the hermetic sealing operation.

In order to solve the above problems, an optical element package manufacturing method of the present invention includes an optical element package including a step performed on an optical fiber aligning device and a step performed outside the optical fiber aligning device after the step. A manufacturing method of
On an optical fiber alignment apparatus , an optical fiber having an optical fiber strand portion made of an optical fiber strand and an optical fiber coating portion covering the optical fiber strand on an optical fiber insertion pipe supported by a housing An optical fiber adhering step for adhering the optical fiber strand portion and the optical element accommodated in the housing in a state where optical coupling is obtained, and an optical fiber aligning device outer step in a later step. A temporary fixing step of temporarily fixing and fixing the optical fiber coating portion to the optical fiber insertion pipe by a holding member so as to be possible ,
Outside the optical fiber aligning device, a sealing step of hermetically sealing the housing with an airtight sealing member between the optical fiber strand portion and the optical fiber insertion pipe; and A reinforcing step of reinforcing and fixing the optical fiber coating portion fixed and fixed to the optical fiber insertion pipe with a reinforcing adhesive is sequentially performed .
By this method, the workability of the hermetic sealing work can be improved.

  Moreover, the manufacturing method of the optical element package of this invention may have the structure that the said holding member is an adhesive agent hardened | cured by ultraviolet irradiation, and the said airtight sealing member is a metal sealing agent.

  Moreover, the manufacturing method of the optical element package of this invention may have the structure whose said metal sealing agent is solder.

In the optical element package manufacturing method of the present invention, in the temporary fixing step, the coupling portion of the optical element and the optical fiber strand portion, the optical fiber insertion pipe, and the holding member of the optical fiber covering portion are used. There is a method of performing the temporary fixing so that the optical fiber has an extra length between the fixing portion.
By this method, since the coupling characteristics of the optical element and the optical fiber are not affected by the change in the environmental temperature, an optical element package in which the usable environmental temperature range is expanded can be manufactured.

  In the present invention, prior to the hermetic sealing operation in the optical fiber insertion pipe, the optical fiber coating part and the optical fiber insertion pipe are bonded with a reinforcing adhesive by temporarily fixing the optical fiber coating part to the optical fiber insertion pipe. It is not necessary to perform the fixing operation on the optical fiber aligning device, and it is possible to provide an optical element package manufacturing method having an effect that the workability of the hermetic sealing operation can be improved.

Sectional drawing and exploded perspective view of the optical element package of the 1st Embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing which shows the optical element adhesion process and optical fiber preparation process of the manufacturing method of the optical element package of this invention Sectional drawing which shows the optical fiber adhesion process and temporary fixing process of the manufacturing method of the optical element package of this invention Sectional drawing which shows the sealing process and reinforcement process of the manufacturing method of the optical element package of this invention Sectional drawing of the optical element package of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing of the optical element package of 3rd Embodiment as reference embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the optical fiber drawer sealing part of the conventional optical element package

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an optical element package according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of an optical element package according to the present invention. 1A is a cross-sectional view of the optical element package 1, and FIG. 1B is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the optical element package 1. FIG.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the optical element package 1 according to the first embodiment includes a housing 12 that accommodates the optical element 11, and light that is partially coated with a metal coat 13a. An optical fiber having a fiber strand 13b, an optical fiber covering portion for covering the optical fiber strand 13b with a coating 13c, an optical fiber 13 optically coupled to the optical element 11, and at least the housing 12 An optical fiber insertion pipe 14 that extends from one side surface and allows the optical fiber 13 to be inserted into the housing 12 is provided.

  As will be described in detail later, the housing 12 is hermetically sealed with solder 17 as a hermetic sealing member between the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 and the metal coat 13a of the optical fiber 13, and the optical fiber 13 is covered 13c. Is temporarily fixed by a quick-drying adhesive 16 as a holding member in the optical fiber insertion pipe 14.

The optical element 11 shown in FIG. 1 is, for example, a waveguide type LN optical modulator chip. The LN optical modulator chip thermally diffuses Ti or the like on a LiNbO ₃ (lithium niobate) substrate, which is a ferroelectric material having an electro-optic effect, to form an optical waveguide having a relatively high refractive index on the substrate surface. This is an optical element in which a microwave propagation waveguide (for example, a coplanar line) for propagating microwaves is formed on a substrate, and an electric field caused by the microwaves is applied to the light waves propagating through the optical waveguide to modulate by the electrooptic effect.

  The casing 12 is made of a metal material such as stainless steel (SUS) or Kovar, and fixes the optical element 11 such as a waveguide type LN optical modulator chip inside.

  The optical fiber 13 includes an optical fiber strand 13b having a core for confining and propagating a light wave, and nylon for enclosing the optical fiber strand 13b to protect scratches on the strand and reinforcing the strength of the optical fiber itself. Coating 13c.

  Further, as the metal coat 13a of the optical fiber 13, a metal coat such as Au formed by a plating method or a vapor deposition method is used in order to improve the wettability of the solder.

  A method for manufacturing an optical element package according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the method for manufacturing an optical element package according to the present invention includes (1) an optical element bonding step for bonding and fixing the optical element 11 inside the housing 12, and (2) an optical fiber 13. An optical fiber preparation step of removing the coating at a predetermined location and applying a metal coating to the predetermined location; and (3) an optical fiber insertion pipe 14 fixed to the housing 12 on the optical fiber alignment device. An optical fiber bonding step in which the optical fiber 13b of the optical fiber 13 and the optical element 11 fixed to the housing 12 are bonded by the adhesive 15; and (4) the coating 13c of the optical fiber 13 is inserted into the optical fiber. Between the temporary fixing step of temporarily fixing the pipe 14 with the quick-drying adhesive 16 and (5) the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 and the metal coat 13a of the optical fiber 13, a metal sealant is used as an airtight seal member. A sealing step in which the solder 17 is poured to hermetically seal the housing 12; and (6) a reinforcing step in which the coating 13c of the optical fiber 13 and the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 are fixed with a reinforcing adhesive 18. .

  That is, in the optical element bonding step (1), the optical element 11 is bonded and fixed inside the housing 12 to which the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 is fixed in advance by welding or the like (FIG. 2 (1)).

  In the optical fiber preparation step (2), the coating at a predetermined location of the optical fiber 13 is removed, and metallization (metal coating) is performed on the location where the coating is removed with Au or the like in order to improve the wettability of the solder ( FIG. 2 (2)).

  In the optical fiber bonding step (3), the casing 12 to which the optical element 11 is bonded and fixed is fixed to the optical fiber aligning device, and the optical fiber 13 is inserted into the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 and drawn into the casing 12. To be close to the end face 11 a of the optical element 11. The optical axis is aligned and the end face 11a and the optical fiber 13b of the optical fiber 13 are adjusted to a position where sufficient optical coupling can be obtained. In this state, the optical fiber 13b and the end face 11a are bonded with the adhesive 15. Fix (Fig. 3 (3)).

  Usually, in order to increase the connection area between the optical fiber strand 13b and the end face 11a, a glass bead-shaped reinforcing member (not shown) is attached to the tip of the optical fiber strand 13b. In addition, a metal coating such as Au may be applied in advance to a portion that is hermetically sealed with solder in the sealing step (5) described later inside the optical fiber insertion pipe 14.

  In the temporary fixing step (4), the coating 13c of the optical fiber 13 is temporarily fixed to the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 with a quick-drying adhesive 16 such as a UV curable adhesive (FIG. 3 (4)). In addition, when the housing | casing 12 has multiple optical fiber penetration pipes, an optical fiber adhesion process (3) and a temporary fix | stop process (4) are repeated with respect to each optical fiber penetration pipe. And the housing | casing 12 after passing through all the optical fiber adhesion processes (3) and temporary fixing processes (4) is removed from an optical fiber aligning apparatus.

  In the sealing step (5), solder as a metal sealing agent is melted using a soldering iron, a high-frequency heater, a laser, or the like, and between the metal coat 13a of the optical fiber 13 and the optical fiber insertion pipe 14. The housing 12 is hermetically sealed with the solder 17 (FIG. 4 (5)).

  In the reinforcing step (6), in order to sufficiently satisfy 1 kgf or more, which is a guideline for the optical fiber tensile test required for the optical fiber 13 and the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 as a highly reliable optical component, The fiber insertion pipe 14 is reinforced and fixed with a reinforcing adhesive 18 such as epoxy (FIG. 4 (6)).

  Finally, the lid member 20 shown in FIG. 1B is fixed to the housing 12 by seam welding or the like, and the optical element package 1 is completed.

  As described above, the optical element package according to the first embodiment is aligned by fixing the optical fiber coating portion to the optical fiber insertion pipe temporarily before the hermetic sealing operation in the optical fiber insertion pipe. Since the housing after finishing can be removed from the optical fiber aligning device, the workability of the hermetic sealing work can be improved.

  Specifically, for example, after performing a temporary fixing process on a plurality of optical element packages with an optical fiber alignment device, an optical fiber alignment apparatus is applied to the plurality of optical element packages that have undergone the temporary fixing process. The sealing step and the reinforcing step can be performed together outside, and workability can be improved. Further, since the optical fiber alignment device is in an empty state at the time of the sealing process and the reinforcing process, the process of sealing the plurality of optical element packages and the like up to a temporary fixing process with respect to another plurality of optical element packages It can be performed in parallel and productivity can be improved.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the optical element package according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, the cross section of FIG. 5 is formed on the optical fiber 13 between the coupling portion of the optical element 11 and the optical fiber 13b and the fixed portion of the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 and the coating 13c by the quick-drying adhesive 16. Provide extra length as shown in the figure. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  In the method of manufacturing the optical element package 2 of the second embodiment, the optical element 13 is temporarily fixed to the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 with the quick-drying adhesive 16 in the temporary fixing step. 5 between the connecting portion of the optical fiber 11 and the optical fiber 13b and the fixing portion of the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 and the coating 13c by the quick-drying adhesive 16 as shown in FIG. Except for this point, the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment.

  In general, the linear expansion coefficient of a casing made of metal is larger than that of an optical fiber made of quartz glass or the like. However, by providing extra length to the optical fiber as described above during sealing at room temperature, even if the environmental temperature rises, the optical fiber will not be cut. The extra length is only slightly increased, and the coupling state between the optical fiber and the optical element does not change significantly. For this reason, the optical fiber can be prevented from being broken, and the usable environmental temperature range of the optical element package is expanded.

  As described above, the optical element package according to the second embodiment is excellent in that it does not depend on changes in the environmental temperature by providing an extra length to the optical fiber in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment. Connection characteristics can be obtained.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment as a reference embodiment of the optical element package according to the present invention.

  That is, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, the optical element package 3 of the third embodiment includes a housing 12 that accommodates the optical element 11, an optical fiber strand portion that includes an optical fiber strand 33a, An optical fiber covering portion formed by coating the fiber strand 33a with a coating 33b, extending from at least one side surface of the housing 12 and optical fiber 33 optically coupled to the optical element 11, and into the housing 12 And an optical fiber insertion pipe 14 for inserting 33.

  The housing 12 is hermetically sealed between the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 and the optical fiber strand 33a of the optical fiber 33 by the resin sealing agent 31 as an airtight sealing member. The coating 33 b is reinforced and fixed in the optical fiber insertion pipe 14.

  In addition, the manufacturing method of the optical element package 3 of the third embodiment includes (1) an optical element bonding step (not shown) for bonding and fixing the optical element 11 to the inside of the housing 12, and (2) an optical fiber adjustment. The optical fiber 33 is inserted into the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 fixed to the casing 12 on the core device, and the optical fiber 33a of the optical fiber 33 and the optical element 11 fixed to the casing 12 are bonded to the adhesive 15. (3) a temporary fixing step (not shown) for temporarily fixing and fixing the coating 33b of the optical fiber 33 to the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 with the quick-drying adhesive 16; (4) The housing 12 is hermetically sealed between the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 and the optical fiber strand 33a of the optical fiber 33 by the resin sealant 31, and the optical fiber 33 is covered with the coating 33b of the optical fiber 33. In 14 and a sealing step of reinforcing fixed (not shown).

  That is, in the manufacturing method of the optical element package 3 of the third embodiment, the sealing work in the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 is changed from a metal sealing method such as solder sealing to a resin sealing method. A metal coat for improving the wettability of the solder becomes unnecessary. For this reason, the cost required for manufacturing the optical element package is reduced. Furthermore, by selecting a resin sealant with sufficient adhesive strength as the resin sealant, the sealing work and the reinforcement of the optical fiber with the optical fiber insertion pipe can be performed at the same time, thereby further reducing the cost. Can do.

  Even if the optical fiber 33 is provided with an extra length between the coupling portion between the optical element 11 and the optical fiber strand 33a and the portion where the optical fiber insertion pipe 14 and the coating 33b are fixed by the quick-drying adhesive 16. Good.

  As described above, the optical element package of the third embodiment can be used for manufacturing an optical element package by using a resin sealant as an airtight sealing member in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment. Costs required can be reduced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the LN modulator, which is a waveguide type electro-optic element, is described as an example of the optical element. However, the optical element accommodated in the optical element package of the present invention is limited to the LN modulator. However, the present invention can be applied to all optical elements that require coupling with an optical fiber such as a semiconductor laser (LD) and a photodiode (PD).

  In addition, the same adhesive may be used for the adhesive fixing between the end face of the optical element and the optical fiber strand, the temporary fixing and the reinforcing fixing of the covering and the optical fiber insertion pipe, or an adhesive that is effective in the right place. Needless to say.

1, 2, 3 Optical element package 11 Optical element 12 Case 13, 33 Optical fiber 13b, 33a Optical fiber strand 13c, 33b Cover 14 Optical fiber insertion pipe 16 Quick-drying adhesive 17 Solder 31 Resin sealant

Claims (4)

A process performed on the optical fiber alignment device, and a process performed outside the optical fiber alignment device after the step,
On the optical fiber alignment device,
An optical fiber insertion pipe supported by a housing is inserted into an optical fiber element comprising an optical fiber element and an optical fiber covering part covering the optical fiber element, and the optical fiber element is inserted. The optical fiber so that the optical fiber bonding step of bonding the line portion and the optical element accommodated in the housing in a state where optical coupling is obtained and the optical fiber aligning device outer step of the post step can be performed. A temporary fixing step of temporarily fixing and fixing the covering portion to the optical fiber insertion pipe by a holding member ,
Outside the optical fiber alignment device,
A sealing step of hermetically sealing the housing with an airtight sealing member between the optical fiber strand and the optical fiber insertion pipe; and the optical fiber temporarily fixed to the optical fiber insertion pipe method for manufacturing an optical element package that the cover portion and a reinforcing step of reinforcing fixed reinforcement adhesive to the optical fiber penetration pipe, characterized in that sequentially performed.   The method of manufacturing an optical element package according to claim 1, wherein the holding member is an adhesive that is cured by ultraviolet irradiation, and the hermetic sealing member is a metal sealing agent.   The method for manufacturing an optical element package according to claim 2, wherein the metal sealant is solder.   In the temporary fixing step, the optical fiber has an extra length between the coupling portion of the optical element and the optical fiber strand portion, the optical fiber insertion pipe, and the fixing portion of the optical fiber coating portion by the holding member. The method of manufacturing an optical element package according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the temporary fixing is performed so as to include the optical element package.

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