JPH0488307A - Jig for assembling optical element module - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To assure the positioning of a sleeve and to enhance workability by providing a projecting part having the outside diameter equal to the inside diameter of the sleeve projecting downward from a base part and the side wall part of a cylindrical shape formed concentrically with the projecting part apart a spacing equal to the thickness of the base material. CONSTITUTION:The jig 11 is formed so that the outside diameter of the projection 11a thereof is equal to the inside diameter of the sleeve 8 and the width of a recessed part formed between the projection 11a and the side wall 11b is equal to the thickness of the base material 1 inserted internally with the sleeve 8. Then, the sleeve 8 and the base material 1 are successively mounted to this jig 11, by which both are exactly and coaxially positioned. Since the jig has such a shape as not to conceal the joint part between the base material 1 and the lens holder 2, the workability at the time of the operation to assemble the optical module is enhanced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a jig for assembling an optical device module. More specifically, the present invention can be used when assembling an optical device module used for coupling a light emitting device and an optical fiber in optical communication equipment, etc., and makes the assembly of the optical device module more accurate and easy. This article relates to the configuration of a new jig for leveling.

2. Description of the Related Art When an optical element such as a light emitting element or a light receiving element is coupled to an optical fiber in an optical communication device, it is common to use an optical element module containing the optical element and some optical systems.

FIGS. 6(a) and 6(6) are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of an optical element module used for the above-mentioned applications.

As shown in the figure, this optical element module mainly consists of a cylindrical base material 1 and a lens holder 2 which holds a distributed index lens 3 inside and has a header 4 attached to its lower end. There is.

Mounted on the header 4 are an optical element 5 such as a light receiving element or a light emitting element, and a ball lens 6 loaded directly above the optical element 5.

The lens holder 2 holds a press-fitted distributed index lens 3, and is bonded to the base material 1 with an adhesive 7 such as resin or solder. The top of the lens holder 2 comes into contact with the tip of a ferrule, which will be described later, and holds the distributed index lens 3.
A spacer 21 is configured to determine the distance between the upper end and the lower end of the ferrule. Further, the lower end of the lens holder 2 forms a flange portion larger than the inner diameter of the sleeve portion of the base material 1, and is configured to be able to support a split sleeve, which will be described later, from below.

The base material 1 forms a sleeve portion for accommodating the ferrule, and in this optical element module, the inner surface of the base material 1 is processed to be thinner in this sleeve portion, and then the split sleeve 8 is housed in the sleeve portion. The ferrule is inserted into the split sleeve 8.

In the optical element module according to this embodiment configured in this way, since the joint between the base material 1 and the lens holder 2 is exposed to the outside, the bonding between the two can be performed by YAG laser welding or the like. Stronger bond strength can be obtained.

6(a) and 6(b) are a plan view and a partially sectional side view showing the shape of the split sleeve 8 used in the optical element module shown in FIG. 6(a).

As shown in both figures, the split sleeve 8 is a cylindrical member made of an elastic material, and as shown in FIGS. ing. Therefore, by forming the base material 1 so that it has an outer diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter in the open state,
When inserted into the base material 1, it is automatically fixed to the inner surface of the base material. In addition, since air flows in the length direction through the notch 8a, when inserting the ferrule into the optical device module shown in FIG. 1(a), air inside the optical device module can escape to the outside. I can do it.

In this way, in this optical element module, even when the ferrule is inserted into the sleeve part, air circulates between the inside and outside of the sleeve part, so the ferrule can be easily and reliably inserted deep into the sleeve part. It is also easy to remove the ferrule.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view for explaining the shape and function of a jig used when assembling the optical element module shown in FIG. 6(a).

That is, in assembling the optical element Modicoll, a jig 10 is used to align the base material 1 and the lens holder 2. This jig 10 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and has ribs 10a inside.
It is equipped with Rib 10a from below with respect to jig 10
The lens holder 2 and the base material 1 can be joined coaxially by inserting the lens holder 2 until it contacts the rib 10a and inserting the base material 1 from above until it contacts the rib 10a.

The jig 10 is provided with a through hole 10b at a position where the lens holder 2 and the base material 1 come into contact with each other.
The lens holder 2 and the base material 1 are bonded through 0b.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention What is particularly important in an optical element module is that the optical axes of the optical element and optical system mounted on the optical element module and the optical fiber inserted in the sleeve 8 are well aligned. It is desirable that each member constituting the optical element module be assembled with high precision. The optical device assembly jig as described above is used for this purpose.

However, when a conventional jig as shown in FIG. 5 is used, what is actually aligned by the jig is the base material 1 and the lens holder 2, and the sleeve 8 that directly supports the ferrule is It is simply attached to the upper end of the lens holder 2. Therefore, the positioning of the sleeve during assembly of the optical module depends solely on the machining accuracy of the lens holder.

Furthermore, when a conventional jig is used, the base material and the lens holder are inserted into the jig and the two are joined through holes, which results in extremely poor workability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and provide a new optical module assembly jig that allows reliable sleeve positioning and higher workability.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cylindrical base material having a longitudinally extending through hole and a substantially cylindrical sleeve fitted into the through hole; A lens holder that is coupled to a lower end of a base material, has a through hole that is continuous with the through hole of the base material, and holds an optical component near the lower end of the through hole of the base material; At least a header attached to the lower opening of the through hole of the holder to seal the lower opening and fix the optical element in the through hole of the lens holder, the header being attached above the through hole of the base material. A jig used for assembling an optical element module configured such that the optical element and the optical fiber are optically coupled by inserting a ferrule holding the tip of the optical fiber, , a plate-shaped base, a protrusion projecting downward from the base and having an outer diameter equal to the inner diameter of the sleeve, and concentrically formed with an interval equal to the thickness of the protrusion and the base material. Provided is an optical module assembly jig characterized by comprising a cylindrical side wall portion.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the optical module assembly jig further includes an optical fiber that passes through the center of the protrusion and has an exposed end face at the tip of the protrusion.

Function: The optical module assembly jig according to the present invention is configured to directly support the base material of the optical module and the sleeve accommodated inside the base material, and to position them relative to each other. Its main characteristic is that it exists. Further, as will be specifically described later, this jig has a shape that does not cover the joint between the base material and the lens holder, so that the workability during the optical module assembly work is also high.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples, but the following disclosure is merely an example of the present invention and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention in any way.

Embodiment FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are diagrams showing the basic shape of an optical module assembly jig according to the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the jig 11 has a thin cylindrical projection 11.
a, and a cylindrical side wall 11b that is thicker than the protrusion 11a,
The ends are coaxially connected.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing how to use the jig shown in FIG. 1 when assembling an optical module.

As shown in the figure, after the protrusion 11a of the jig 11 is inserted into the base material 1, the sleeve 8 is further inserted through the protrusion 11a, thereby positioning the base material 1 and the sleeve 8 relative to each other. That is, the outer diameter of the protrusion 11a of the jig 11 is equal to the inner diameter of the sleeve 8, and the width of the recess formed between the protrusion 11a and the side wall 11b is equal to the width of the base material 1 into which the sleeve 8 is inserted. It is made to have the same thickness. Therefore,
By sequentially mounting the sleeve 8 and the base material 1 on this jig 11, both can be accurately positioned coaxially. still,
By inserting the upper end of the lens holder 2 into the sleeve 8, the mutual positions of the sleeve 8 and the lens holder 2 are automatically determined.

With the mutual positioning of each member determined as described above, the base material 1 and the lens holder 2 are welded or bonded together to complete the main part of the optical module. In reality, the inner diameter of the sleeve 8 is about 0.004 mm, and if the dimensional accuracy of the jig 11 is sufficiently high, the processing accuracy of the lens holder can be relaxed.

Example 2 FIGS. 3(a) and 3(6) are diagrams showing other embodiments of the optical module according to the present invention.

As shown in the figure, this jig consists of the base material of the optical module,
The shape of the jig for aligning the sleeve and lens holder is exactly the same as that already shown in FIG. However, this jig differs in configuration from the jig shown in FIG. 1 in that it includes one optical fiber 9 inserted through the center of the protrusion 11a.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the assembly work of the optical module performed using the jig shown in FIG. 3.

When assembling an optical module using this jig, the base material 1, sleeve 8, and lens holder 20 are assembled in the same way as when using the jig shown in FIG. That is, after the protrusion 11a of the jig 11 is inserted into the base material 1, the sleeve 8 is further inserted through the protrusion 11a, thereby positioning the base material 1 and the sleeve 8 relative to each other.

Subsequently, by inserting the upper end of the lens holder 2 into the sleeve 8, the mutual positions of the sleeve 8 and the lens holder 2 are automatically determined.

By the time the optical module is completed, it is further necessary to attach and fix the header 4 carrying the optical element 5 to the lower end of the lens holder 2. Here, the jig 11 according to this embodiment
is equipped with an optical fiber 9 on its protrusion 11a. Therefore, while the jig 11 is attached to the base material 1, the optical fiber 9
can be used to position the optical element 5.

That is, the optical axis of the optical element 5 can be aligned using the protrusion 11a of the jig 11 as a dummy ferrule.

As described in detail of the invention, the optical module assembly jig directly supports the base material of the optical module and the sleeve accommodated inside the base material, so that the two can be positioned relative to each other. It is composed of

Therefore, the mutual positioning of the sleeve that directly positions the tip of the optical fiber attached to this optical module and the base material that accommodates this sleeve can be performed more reliably.

Further, since this jig has a shape that does not hide the joint between the base material and the lens holder, the workability when assembling the optical module is also high.

In addition, in the jig according to the present invention, the protrusion formed inside the jig is regarded as a dummy optical ferrule, and by inserting the optical fiber through this, the jig can be used as a dummy optical ferrule while the jig is attached to the optical module. It is also possible to align the optical axis of the element.
Work efficiency during optical module assembly is further improved.

By using such an optical module assembly jig according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the precision required for the outer diameter dimensions of the sleeve and lens holder, and
Since the workability during assembly is high, mass production of optical modules,
It is possible to reduce the price.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a specific configuration example of an optical module assembly jig according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an optical module assembly performed using the jig shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the optical module assembly jig according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation using the jig shown in FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an optical module assembly operation performed using a conventional jig; FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an optical module assembly operation performed using a conventional jig. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of an optical module assembled using a tool. [Main reference number]

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A cylindrical base material having a through hole in the length direction and comprising a substantially cylindrical sleeve fitted into the through hole; A lens holder that has a through hole that forms a continuous through hole with the through hole of the base material and holds an optical component near the lower end of the through hole of the base material, and a lens holder that is attached to the lower opening of the through hole of the lens holder. a ferrule that holds the tip of the optical fiber from above the through hole of the base material, and includes at least a header that seals the lower opening and fixes the optical element in the through hole of the lens holder. A jig used for assembling an optical element module configured to optically couple the optical element and the optical fiber by inserting the jig, the jig comprising: a plate-shaped base; It is characterized by comprising a protrusion having an outer diameter equal to the inner diameter of the sleeve and a cylindrical side wall formed concentrically with an interval equal to the thickness of the protrusion and the base material. A jig for assembling an optical module. (2) The optical module assembly jig according to claim 1, comprising an optical fiber that passes through the center of the protrusion and has an exposed end face at the tip of the protrusion. Assembly jig.