JPH02251806A - Manufacture of connection structure between optical fiber and optical waveguide - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To greatly reduce the position staggering of the optical fiber on fixing and to accurately control the shape of guide grooves by forming the guide grooves on a base at the same time by excimer laser process with a mask pattern. CONSTITUTION:The end part of the optical fiber 13 is installed in a guide groove 17 and the optical waveguide 12 is aligned with the coated optical fiber 13 to maximize the optical coupling efficiency between the optical waveguide 12 and optical fiber 13. Then a laser main body 12 emits an excimer laser beam 22, which is bent by a mirror 23 when necessary and converged on the base 11 by a lens 25 after passing through the enlarged and manufacture mask pattern 24 to form a guide groove 17 corresponding to the mask pattern 24. Consequently, the shape after the process is accurately controlled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention is used in optical communication, optical information processing, etc., and relates to a method of manufacturing a connection structure between an optical waveguide and an optical fiber formed on a substrate.

"Prior Art" When connecting an optical fiber 13 to an optical waveguide 12 formed on a substrate 11 as shown in FIGS.
Since the optical fibers (t, vboz, oxide, etc.) that make up the
3 was sandwiched, and after alignment, it was fixed to the substrate 11 with adhesive.

Alternatively, as shown in Figures 8 and 9,
5 to form the first groove 16 perpendicular to the optical waveguide 12 in the substrate 1.
1, and the optical waveguide 12 appearing on the wall surface of the first groove 16
A guide groove 17 with one end facing the end face of the optical waveguide 12 is formed in i[11. oppose to.

``Problems to be Solved by the Invention'' In the connection structure shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the optical fiber and the optical waveguide are Moreover, the use of adhesive caused positional displacement, and problems such as mounting accuracy caused large optical loss at the connection.

If the grooves are formed directly on the substrate by a mechanical method, etching, etc. as in the connection structure explained with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the drawbacks of the connection structure shown in FIGS. Due to the fragility of the guide groove, the edges of the guide groove may be bent, and the optical fiber may not be guided correctly. Since the guide grooves must be formed one by one, it is difficult to align each guide groove, leading to variations in connection errors and low machining efficiency.

It is conceivable to process the guide groove using a YAG laser or a Cow laser, but in this case, it is difficult to control the shape after processing with high precision because it involves thermal processing such as melting and vaporization.

"Means for Solving the Problem" According to the present invention, the guide groove is formed by excimer laser processing using a mask pattern.

An excimer laser is a rare gas halide excimer laser that has high output in the ultraviolet range.It is capable of non-thermal equilibrium, low temperature, fine, shallow processing, and is used for ultra-fine processing such as semiconductor processing. .

Embodiment FIG. 1 shows an example of a connection structure between an optical waveguide and an optical fiber. A Y-branch waveguide is formed as an optical waveguide 12 on a substrate 11 of I, 1NbOz. A first groove 16 is formed perpendicularly to the optical waveguide 12 in the substrate 11 by micro-lapping or the like. The end surface of the optical waveguide 12 appearing on the wall surface of the first groove 16 is mirror-finished.

A guide groove 17 (with one end facing the end surface of the optical waveguide 12)
Based on Figure 2)! , till it is formed. The end of the optical fiber 13 is installed in the guide groove 17, and the end surface of the optical fiber 13 is brought into contact with the end surface of the optical waveguide 12. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the optical waveguide 12 and the core of the optical fiber 13 coincide. That is, the guide groove 17 is processed so that the optical coupling efficiency between the optical waveguide 12 and the optical fiber 13 is maximized.

In this invention, the guide groove 17 is formed in the substrate 11 as follows. That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an excimer laser beam 22 is emitted from the laser main body 2, the laser beam 22 is bent by a mirror 23 as necessary, and is further passed through an enlarged mask pattern 24. Thereafter, the light is focused onto the substrate 11 by a lens 25 to form a guide groove 17 corresponding to the mask pattern 24.

"Effects of the Invention" As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of guide grooves are simultaneously formed on a substrate by excimer laser processing using a mask pattern. It is possible to form a guide groove that meets the purpose with small errors and repeatability errors, and it can greatly reduce the positional deviation of the optical fiber during fixation. Unlike mechanical processing, there is no cracking at the edge of the guide groove, and the optical fiber can be easily fixed. Since it can be guided accurately and can be processed simultaneously, it can be processed in a shorter time than mechanical processing.

Since the excimer laser is used, the shape of the guide groove can be precisely controlled without causing thermal deformation of the substrate.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a connection structure between an optical fiber and an optical waveguide, Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a part thereof, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the connection between an optical fiber and an optical waveguide, and Fig. 4 5 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a part thereof, FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective views respectively showing a conventional connection structure between an optical fiber and an optical waveguide, and FIG. 8 FIG. 9 is a right side view of FIG. 8. FIG. 9 is a right side view of FIG. 8. FIG.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A first groove is formed perpendicularly to the optical waveguide on the substrate on which the optical waveguide is formed, and a guide groove with one end facing the end surface of the optical waveguide appearing on the wall of the first groove is formed on the substrate. In a connection structure between an optical fiber and an optical waveguide, in which the end face of the optical fiber is brought into contact with the end face of the optical waveguide, and the end of the optical fiber is installed in the guide groove, the guide groove is formed using a mask pattern. A method for manufacturing a connection structure between an optical fiber and an optical waveguide, characterized in that the structure is formed by excimer laser processing.