JPH05165015A - Mounting method for optical module - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily conduct optical axis alignment of many light switch modules without troublesome adjustment. CONSTITUTION:First, a liquid crystal light switch matrix substrate 2 is fixed in conformity to a positioning mark on a matrix substrate mounting surface 1a of a mounting substrate 1. Next, the matrix substrate mounting surface 1a of a mounting substrate 1 is brought into contact and fixed with positioning guide blocks 8 provided on the horizontal plane 9a and a vertical plane 9b of an assembly surface plate 9, and the bottom surface and the side surface of the mounting substrate 1 are brought into contact and fixed with the horizontal surface 9a and the vertical surface 9b of the assembling surface plate 9, respectively. All mounting substrates are likewise fixed on the respective designated position of the assembling surface plate 9, thereby automatically finishing the optical axis alignment of all modules.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical module mounting method for highly accurately and easily assembling an optical switching system used for optical path conversion of an optical signal in an optical communication network or an optical switching system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when an optical switching system or an optical information processing system is constructed by using optical parts such as optical switches, lenses, polarizing elements, etc. Since it is necessary to perform the adjustment with precision, it is common to provide an adjusting mechanism for assembly.

[0003]

However, in the combination of the optical components of the conventional optical switching system and optical information processing system, it is difficult to miniaturize the assembling apparatus, and the assembling apparatus has many adjustment mechanisms. Therefore, there is a problem in reliability because problems such as misalignment due to vibration and temperature change occur.

Further, when the number of optical components used increases, it takes a lot of time for adjustment, which makes it difficult to mass-produce, and there are drawbacks such that the cost cannot be reduced. In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention aims to provide an optical module mounting method capable of easily performing optical axis alignment of a large number of optical modules without complicated adjustment. is there.

[0005]

The solution to the above problems can be achieved by adopting the novel characteristic construction methods listed below by the present invention. That is, the first feature of the method of the present invention is that, in an optical system configured by using a plurality of optical modules consisting of an optical element substrate and a mounting substrate, first, the optical system is orthogonal to the optical element substrate mounting surface on the surface and mutually On a mounting board that has a positioning mark that is spaced from the reference side surface that is perpendicular to
An optical element substrate having an alignment mark corresponding to the alignment mark is positioned and placed so that the alignment mark on the mounting substrate and the alignment mark on the optical element substrate overlap, and then fixed by appropriate means. When the optical element substrate is mounted on the mounting substrate to form an optical module and then the formed optical module is mounted and mounted on an assembly surface plate, insides of the assembly surface plate that are orthogonal to each other. The optical element board mounting surface of the mounting board is brought into contact with a plurality of alignment guides provided on the same plane extending over the right-angled surface, and the right-angled reference side surface of the mounting board is the inner side of the assembly surface plate. After contacting the right-angled surface and maintaining the squareness and parallelism, after positioning the optical module on the assembly surface plate,
It is a method of mounting an optical module in which the optical module is mounted and mounted on the assembly surface plate while being fixed by appropriate means.

The second feature of the method of the present invention is that the shapes of the alignment mark on the mounting substrate and the alignment mark of the optical element substrate in the first feature are formed by two orthogonal fine lines. It is a method of mounting an optical module, which is formed in a letter shape, and in which fine lines which are spaced at equal intervals in the width direction of both ends of the alignment mark of the optical element substrate are arranged in parallel.

A third feature of the method of the present invention is that the mounting substrate according to the first or the second feature has a U-shaped groove formed in a surface position on which the peripheral edge of the optical element substrate is mounted, and the U-shaped groove is formed. Both end portions of the U-shaped groove are excavated to the outside by straddling the peripheral edge of the optical element substrate, and the adhesive is injected and solidified from one of the two protruding ends of the U-shaped groove, and the mounting substrate and the This is a method of mounting an optical module in which an element substrate is fixed.

The fourth characteristic of the method of the present invention is that the first and second
Alternatively, the mounting platen according to the third aspect is such that the optical element substrate mounting surface of the mounting substrate is brought into contact with a plurality of alignment guides provided on the same plane over the inner right-angled surface orthogonal to each other,
And after positioning the optical module on the assembly surface plate by abutting the right-angled reference side surfaces of the mounting board to the orthogonal right-angled surfaces of the assembly surface plate, respectively, to maintain the squareness and parallelism. The fixing method is an optical module mounting method in which the right reference side surface of the mounting substrate is fixed to the inner right surface of the assembly surface plate by a tensile force or a pressing force.

[0009]

Since the present invention has taken the above-described method, when forming an optical module consisting of an optical element substrate and a mounting substrate, the positioning mark and the optical mark on the optical element substrate mounting surface on the surface of the mounting substrate are used. The optical element substrate is positioned and placed on the mounting substrate so that the alignment marks of the element substrate are overlapped. Then, the mounting substrate and the optical element substrate are fixed with an adhesive or the like, and the mounting of the optical element substrate on the mounting substrate is completed.

Next, when mounting and mounting the formed optical module on an assembly surface plate, a plurality of alignment guides are provided on a plurality of alignment guides provided on the same plane over the inner right surface of the assembly surface plate. The optical element board mounting surface of the mounting board constituting the optical module is brought into contact with each other, and the orthogonal reference side surfaces of the mounting board which are orthogonal to each other are respectively brought into contact with the inner right-angled surfaces of the assembly surface plate to maintain the squareness and parallelism. Position. After that, the right reference side surface of the mounting substrate and the inner right surface of the mounting surface plate that constitute the optical module are fixed by appropriate means such as screwing or pressing with a spring, and the optical module to the mounting surface plate is fixed. Onboard mounting is completed.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. still,
In this embodiment, a case where a two-dimensional optical switch module as an optical module uses a liquid crystal optical switch module composed of a liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate as an optical element substrate and a mounting substrate will be described.

FIG. 1 is an assembly procedure diagram for mounting a liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate on a mounting substrate, FIG. 2 (a) is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the shapes of positioning marks and alignment marks, and FIG. 2 (b) is a diagram. 2 (a) is an enlarged view of a position of a positioning mark and an overlapping end of an alignment mark. FIG. In the figure, 1 is a mounting substrate having a window hole α formed in the center thereof, 2 is a liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate, 3 is a positioning mark, and 4 is an alignment mark.

First, the procedure of the method of this embodiment for mounting the optical switch matrix substrate 2 on the mounting substrate 1 will be described in detail. The mounting board 1 is a rectangular planar board whose left, right, front, and rear sides are parallel to each other. The mounting board 1 is provided on the periphery of the window hole α corner of the matrix board mounting surface 1 a of the mounting board 1.
Side faces 1b and 1c that are perpendicular to each other
Positioning marks 3 shown in FIG. 2 are provided at a predetermined distance from. The reference side surfaces 1b and 1c are formed so as to have a right angle relationship with the matrix substrate mounting surface 1a.

On the other hand, the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 to be mounted is such that the liquid crystal optical switch matrix cell 2a is formed on the transparent substrate 2b, and the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 has a corner portion of the transparent substrate 2b. The alignment mark 4 shown in FIG. 2 is formed on the matrix substrate mounting surface 1a of the mounting substrate 1 by photolithography.
The same number and the same positional relationship as the positioning marks 3 marked above are formed. Alignment mark 4 of each
Are formed so as to have a fixed positional relationship with the outer frame of the liquid crystal optical switch matrix cell 2a.

A positioning mark 3 formed on the matrix substrate mounting surface 1a of the mounting substrate 1 and an alignment mark 4 formed on the transparent substrate 2b of the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 are overlapped as shown in FIG. By mounting the liquid crystal switch matrix substrate 2 on the mounting substrate 1 at the position, the position of the liquid crystal optical switch matrix cell 2a of the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 becomes the reference side surface 1b which is the reference of the mounting substrate 1. , 1c, it is possible to accurately maintain a constant interval. Since the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 is made of a transparent substrate material as described above, the positioning mark 3 marked on the matrix substrate mounting surface 1a of the mounting substrate 1 and the transparent substrate 2b of the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 are provided. The superposition operation with the alignment mark 4 formed above can be easily performed.

The shapes of the positioning mark 3 and the alignment mark 4 shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) will be described in detail. The positioning mark 3 and the alignment mark 4 are in the shape of a cross composed of two fine lines that intersect at right angles. Furthermore, the alignment mark 4 on the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2
In order to align the mounting substrate 1 and the liquid crystal switch matrix substrate 2 with high accuracy, the ultrafine wires 4a, which are finely divided at equal intervals in the width direction of the tip portion, are arranged in parallel.

As a result, the positional deviation between the positioning mark 3 on the mounting substrate 1 and the alignment mark 4 on the liquid crystal switch matrix substrate 2 can be easily detected, so that the alignment accuracy can be improved. At the same time, it becomes possible to perform the alignment in a short time. Further, the alignment accuracy can be further improved by changing the interval and line width of the ultrafine wires 4a at the tip of the alignment mark 4.

When the mounting substrate 1 is made of a metallic material, the positioning marks 3 can be formed by a marking method or a laser beam processing method. Further, as the material of the mounting substrate 1, a ceramic material can be used in addition to the metal material. In this case, the positioning mark 3 is formed by laser beam processing as in the case of the metal material.

Next, a method of fixing the mounting substrate 1 and the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating the fixing method. On the mounting side of the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 on the mounting substrate 1,
The U-shaped groove 5 is excavated.

The U-shaped groove 5 is arranged on the inside so that the curved portion excluding both end portions is overlapped with the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2, and both end portions are outside so as not to overlap with the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2. It is arranged so as to face out. The mounting substrate 1 and the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 can be fixed by injecting an adhesive from one side of the U-shaped groove 5 and solidifying it.

At this time, since the both ends of the U-shaped groove 5 are arranged so as to protrude to the outside of the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 as described above, the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 is mounted on the mounting substrate 1. The adhesive can be injected without generating bubbles or the like at the contacting portions, and the mounting substrate 1 and the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 can be fixed to each other without forming a gap between them, and the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate is also provided. 2 can be accurately arranged and fixed in a position parallel to the mounting substrate 1. U
The shape of the V-shaped groove 5 is not limited to the U-shape, and it is sufficient if both ends are arranged so as to face the outside of the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2, and the same effect can be obtained even if the shape between both ends is linearly bent. Needless to say.

Next, a method of mounting the assembled mounting substrate 1 and liquid crystal optical switch matrix 2 on an assembly surface plate will be described. In FIG. 4, the liquid crystal optical switch module 7 in which the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 and the circuit board 6 for driving the liquid crystal matrix cells 2a are mounted on the mounting substrate 1 is brought into a parallel positional relationship by positioning the alignment guide block 8 group. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the assembling surface plate 9 is mounted on the horizontal surface 9a.

The laid-down L-shaped assembly surface plate 9 has an inner right-angled surface consisting of a horizontal surface 9a and a vertical surface 9b which are orthogonal to each other, and the liquid crystal optical switch module 7 is mounted on the horizontal surface 9a and the vertical surface 9b. A plurality of alignment guide blocks 8 for vertically standing with respect to the horizontal plane 9a are provided on the same plane. The matrix substrate mounting surface 1a of the mounting board 1 is pressed against the group of alignment guide blocks 8 on the same plane so that the reference side surfaces 1b and 1c contact the vertical surface 9b and the horizontal surface 9a of the assembly surface plate 9, respectively. By fixing the mounting substrate 1, the matrix substrate mounting surface 1 on which the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 is mounted is mounted on the horizontal surface 9a and the vertical surface 9b of the assembly surface plate 9.
a is vertical, and naturally the liquid crystal optical switch matrix cell 2a is also vertical.

By assembling a plurality of liquid crystal optical switch modules 7 in the same manner, the mounting substrates 1 of the respective liquid crystal optical switch modules 7 can maintain a parallel positional relationship with each other, and at the same time, each of the mountings described above can be performed. Each of the liquid crystal optical switch matrix cells 2a of the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 mounted on the substrate 1 is in a position perpendicular to the same optical axis and in a mutually parallel relationship. Further, since each of the liquid crystal optical switch matrix cells 2a is arranged so as to be spaced from the reference side surfaces 1b and 1c serving as the reference of the mounting substrate 1 by the same distance, each of the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrates 2 is provided. The liquid crystal optical switch matrix cell 2a exists on the same optical axis.

By adopting the above mounting method, it is extremely easy to arrange the liquid crystal optical switch matrix cells 2a on the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2 on the same optical axis. It goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained by using a ceramic material as the material of the assembly surface plate 9 in addition to the metal material.

Further, regarding the method of fixing the mounting substrate 1 and the assembly surface plate 9, the reference side surfaces 1b and 1c of the mounting substrate 1 are provided with fixing screw holes (not shown) respectively and correspond to the screw holes. A screw hole (not shown) is formed in the assembly surface plate 9 so that the reference side surfaces 1b and 1c of the mounting board 1 and the vertical surface 9b and the horizontal surface 9a of the assembly surface plate 9 are respectively screwed. By pulling, fix it while maintaining the squareness and parallelism. As a result, the matrix board mounting surface 1a of the mounting board 1 is secured at right angles to the horizontal surface 9a and the vertical surface 9b of the assembly surface plate 9.

As another fixing method, using a spring material, the surface opposite to the matrix substrate mounting surface 1a of the mounting board 1 which is in contact with the group of alignment guide blocks 8 is used as the group of alignment guide blocks 8a. It is fixed by pressing, and further includes a horizontal surface 9a of the assembly surface plate 9 and a side surface 1e of the mounting substrate 1 which is in contact with the horizontal surface 9a and is opposite to the reference side surface 1c and a vertical surface 9b of the assembly surface plate 9. A side surface 1 opposite to the reference side surface 1b of the mounting substrate 1 that is in contact with the horizontal surface 9b.
By pressing d with a spring in the same manner as described above, the squareness and parallelism are maintained as in the case of fixing with a screw, and the matrix substrate mounting surface 1a of the mounting board 1 is arranged at a right angle to the horizontal surface 9a and the vertical surface 9b of the assembly surface plate 9. Can be secured.

In the above embodiment, the liquid crystal optical switch module is used as the two-dimensional optical switch module. However, when the two-dimensional optical switch matrix is formed by using, for example, a thin film micromirror other than liquid crystal. Alternatively, in the case of a two-dimensional optical matrix using PLZT, it is clear that the same mounting method is effective even in the case of other optical modules using other optical elements, and it is apparent from the present embodiment.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, not only the optical switching system and the optical information processing system can be assembled and mounted accurately and easily, but also the assembling reliability is high and the assembling time is greatly shortened. Therefore, it has various practicalities and usefulness such as reduction of manufacturing cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an assembly procedure diagram for mounting a liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate on a mounting substrate in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 (a) is an explanatory view showing an example of the shapes of a positioning mark and an alignment mark, and FIG. 2 (b) is an enlarged view of the overlapping ends of the positioning mark and the alignment mark.

FIG. 3 is a plan view explaining a method of fixing the mounting substrate and the liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate in the above.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory perspective view showing a state in which the liquid crystal optical switch module of the above is mounted on a horizontal surface of an assembly surface plate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Mounting substrate 1a ... Matrix substrate mounting surface 1b, 1c ... Reference side face 1d, 1e ... Side face 2 ... Liquid crystal optical switch matrix substrate 2a ... Liquid crystal optical switch matrix cell 2b ... Transparent substrate 3 ... Positioning mark 4 ... Alignment mark 4a ... Extra fine wire 5 ... U-shaped groove 6 ... Circuit board 7 ... Liquid crystal optical switch module 8 ... Alignment guide block 9 ... Assembly surface plate 9a ... Horizontal surface 9b ... Vertical surface α ... Window hole

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An optical system comprising a plurality of optical modules each comprising an optical element substrate and a mounting substrate, wherein first, a predetermined side surface is defined from a reference side surface which is orthogonal to the surface on which the optical element substrate is mounted and which is perpendicular to each other. An optical element substrate having alignment marks corresponding to the positioning marks is superimposed on the mounting substrate having the positioning marks spaced apart from each other, and the positioning marks on the mounting substrate and the alignment marks of the optical element substrate are overlapped with each other. When the optical module is mounted on the mounting board by fixing the optical module on the mounting board, then the optical module is mounted on the mounting board and mounted. The optical element board mounting surface of the mounting board is brought into contact with a plurality of alignment guides provided on the same plane over the inner right-angled surfaces orthogonal to each other of the assembly surface plate, and The right reference side surfaces of the mounting board are respectively brought into contact with the inner right-angled surfaces of the assembly surface plate to maintain the squareness and parallelism, and after positioning the optical module on the assembly surface plate, an appropriate means is provided. Mounting method of the optical module, wherein the optical module is mounted and mounted in parallel on the mounting surface plate while being fixed by 2. The positioning mark on the mounting substrate and the alignment mark of the optical element substrate are formed in a cross shape by two thin lines that are orthogonal to each other, and each of the alignment marks of the optical element substrate is formed. The method for mounting an optical module according to claim 1, characterized in that ultrafine wires which are spaced at equal intervals in the width direction of both end portions are arranged in parallel. 3. A mounting board is provided with a U-shaped groove at a surface position where an optical element board peripheral edge is mounted, and both end portions of the U-shaped groove are
The optical element substrate is digged out to the outside by straddling the peripheral edge of the optical element substrate, and an adhesive is injected and solidified from one of the protruding ends of the U-shaped groove to fix the mounting substrate and the optical element substrate. The method for mounting an optical module according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 4. An assembly surface plate is provided with a plurality of alignment guides provided on the same plane over the inner right-angled surface orthogonal to each other.
The optical element board mounting surface of the mounting board is abutted, and the right-angled reference side surfaces of the mounting board are respectively abutted on the inner right-angled surfaces of the mounting surface plate which are orthogonal to each other to maintain squareness and parallelism, After positioning the optical module on the mounting surface,
The mounting of the optical module according to claim 1, wherein, when fixing, the right reference side surface of the mounting substrate is fixed to the inner right surface of the assembly surface plate by a tensile force or a pressing force. Method