JPH07209549A - Packaging structure of optical module - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a packaging structure of an optical module capable of suppressing an increase of a module cost, preventing deterioration of characteristics according to mechanical impact and decreasing the number of parts. CONSTITUTION:The optical module consisting of an optical waveguide substrate l, an optical fiber 9 for input, V-grooved silicone 10, an optical fiber 12 for output and V-grooved silicone 13 is housed in a container 14 and silicone RTV rubber 16 having a buffer and protection effect is encapsulated therein. In addition, the entire part of the container 14 is securely enveloped with an epoxy resin 17 having a protective effect. The parts near the projecting parts of the optical fiber 9 for input and the optical fiber 12 for output which project from the container 14 are respectively enveloped by the epoxy resin 17 so that this epoxy resin 17 plays the role of a fiber sleeve.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical module provided with an optical waveguide circuit used in an optical communication system, and more particularly to a mounting structure of an optical module having excellent environment resistance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional optical module mounting structure is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, an input optical fiber 9 for making light incident on the core portion of the optical waveguide 6 is connected to the input portion 7 of the optical waveguide substrate 1 having the optical waveguide 6, and the output portion 8 of the optical waveguide substrate 1 is connected to the input optical fiber 9. Is connected to the output optical fiber 12 that transmits the light emitted from the core portion of the optical waveguide 6. The optical fiber is sealed in a cylindrical hermetically-sealed container (housing) 18 having a sealing action via a filler material 19, and the penetrating portions 15 at both ends of the hermetically-sealed container 18 are hermetically sealed with the penetrating and projecting optical fibers. Cap-shaped fiber sleeves 20 for protecting in a state are fitted respectively, and are effectively protected from environmental changes such as humidity. In addition, the conventional optical module mounting structure may be encapsulated in a resin (not shown) instead of the hermetically sealed container 18 and effectively protected from a change in environment such as humidity.

[0003]

As described above, the conventional mounting structure of the optical module is as follows.
Although it was encapsulated in resin, there was a problem in that the price of the module inevitably increased because technology such as laser welding was essential for this encapsulation. Further, when the module is fixed inside the hard hermetically sealed container 18 by resin encapsulation, the characteristics often deteriorate due to mechanical shock from the outside. Furthermore, the package structure is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Since it consisted of a combination of many parts, there was a strong desire to reduce the number of parts from the viewpoint of price control.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to suppress an increase in module price, prevent deterioration of characteristics due to a mechanical shock from the outside, and make the number of parts effective. It is an object to provide an optical module mounting structure that can be reduced.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object in the present invention, an optical waveguide substrate provided with an optical waveguide and an optical waveguide substrate connected to an input portion of the optical waveguide substrate are provided with light. An input optical fiber to be made incident, and an output optical fiber connected to the output part of the optical waveguide substrate and transmitting the light emitted from the core part of the optical waveguide,
The optical waveguide substrate, the input optical fiber and the output optical fiber are housed in a housing, and a filler is sealed between the optical waveguide substrate, the input optical fiber and the output optical fiber and the housing. The surface of the housing is covered with a surface protective body.

Further, according to the present invention, the vicinity of the projecting portions of the input optical fiber and the output optical fiber which project through the penetrating portion of the casing are covered with surface protectors. .

The filler in the present invention is preferably a silicone resin.

Further, in the present invention, the Shore hardness of the above-mentioned surface protector is preferably less than 50.

In the present invention, the input optical fiber or the output optical fiber and the penetrating portion of the housing are
It is desirable to bond with an adhesive having an adhesive strength of 50 kg / cm ² .

Further, the adhesive in the present invention is preferably at least either an epoxy adhesive or an acrylate adhesive.

[0011]

According to the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, a strong casing accommodates an optical module comprising an optical waveguide substrate, an input optical fiber, and an output optical fiber, and the filler enclosed in the casing buffers. In addition to providing a protective action, the surface protector envelops the entire surface of the container and effectively protects it from mechanical shock.

According to the present invention having the above structure,
The surface protectors respectively cover the vicinity of the protruding portions of the input optical fiber and the output optical fiber that protrude through the penetrating portion of the housing, and protect these from mechanical shocks,
It acts as a fiber sleeve that performs an airtight action.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in FIGS.

The mounting structure of the optical module according to the present invention is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 1, the optical waveguide substrate 1, the input optical fiber 9, and the output optical fiber 12 are housed in a container 14, and the optical waveguide substrate 1, the input optical fiber 9, and the output optical fiber 12 are provided. A silicon-based RTV rubber 16 is sealed between the container 14 and the container 14, and the entire surface of the container 14 is covered with an epoxy resin 17.

The optical waveguide substrate 1 is, as shown in FIG.
A buffer layer 3 and a plurality of cores 4 are formed on the upper surface of the silicon substrate 2.
A glass layer composed of a core layer 4 provided with a and a protective layer 5 is formed by laminating by a flame deposition method (FHD), and as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a core system 8 μm, An embedded linear waveguide 6 having a relative refractive index of 0.3% is formed by a reactive ion etching (RIE) method.
Further, an input portion 7 that guides light to the core 4a of the waveguide 6 is formed at one end of the optical waveguide substrate 1, and is emitted from the core 4a of the waveguide 6 at the other end of the optical waveguide substrate 1. An output section 8 for transmitting light is formed.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 (a), 2 (b) and 2 (c), the tip end portion of the input optical fiber 9 is V-shaped.
It is placed in a V groove of the grooved silicon 10 in a fitted state.
The grooved silicon 10 is adhered to the input portion 7 of the optical waveguide substrate 1 with an epoxy-based photo-curing adhesive 11, and based on this adhesion, the input optical fiber 9 and the core 4a of the waveguide 6 are formed. The optical axes of and are designed to coincide with each other.

On the other hand, as shown in the figure, the output optical fiber 12 is placed with its tip end fitted in the V groove of the V grooved silicon 13, and this V grooved silicon 13 is placed on the optical waveguide substrate. The optical axis of the output optical fiber 12 and the optical axis of the core 4a of the waveguide 6 coincide with each other on the basis of this adhesion. It is like this. Input / output optical fiber 9
The loss including the connecting portion of 12 is 0.31 dB, and the return loss is -45 dB.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the above-mentioned container (housing) 14 is made of a substantially cylindrical container made of polycarbonate, and both ends thereof are formed with projecting through-holes 15 of reduced diameter. The input optical fiber 9 or the output optical fiber 12 passes through the plurality of penetrating portions 15. However, the container 14 has a function of housing the optical waveguide substrate 1, the input optical fiber 9, the V-grooved silicon 10, the output optical fiber 12, and the V-grooved silicon 13.

Further, the above-mentioned silicon-based R having heat stability
The TV rubber (filler) 16 is, as shown in FIG.
The inside of the optical waveguide substrate 1, the input optical fiber 9, the V-grooved silicon 10, the output optical fiber 12, and the V-grooved silicon 13 are hermetically sealed to protect them. Carry out the action. The silicon-based RTV rubber 16 has an adhesive strength of 5 to the input optical fiber 9 or the output optical fiber 12 in the vicinity of the penetrating portion 15 of the container 14.
It is adhered via an epoxy adhesive of 0 kg / cm ² .

Further, the above-mentioned epoxy resin (surface protector) 17 has the characteristics of high strength and a small shrinkage factor upon curing, and its Shore hardness is set to less than 50, as shown in FIG. As described above, the entire surface of the container 14 is covered to cover and protect it. Furthermore, epoxy resin 1
Reference numeral 7 encloses the input optical fiber 9 protruding through the penetrating portion 15 of the container 14 or the vicinity of the output optical fiber 12 in a cap-shaped closed state to protect them. In addition to the protective function, it also serves as a fiber sleeve that performs an airtight function.

According to the above structure, the optical waveguide substrate 1, the input optical fiber 9, the V-grooved silicon 10 is provided in the container 14,
An optical module consisting of an output optical fiber 12 and a V-grooved silicon 13 is housed, a silicon-based RTV rubber 16 having a buffer protection function is enclosed, and the container 14 is entirely covered with an epoxy resin 17 having a protection function. Since the surface is firmly encapsulated, it is possible to certainly omit the technique such as laser welding. Therefore, through this, it is possible to significantly suppress the increase in the module price. In addition, since the silicon-based RTV rubber 16 and the epoxy-based resin 17 have a buffer protection function, it is possible to surely solve the problem that the characteristics are deteriorated by a mechanical shock from the outside. With respect to this point, a drop impact test in which the optical module mounting structure according to the present example is dropped 100 times from a height of 1.5 m was attempted, but no deterioration was observed in the characteristics of the optical module mounting structure. . Furthermore, since the vicinity of the protruding portions of the input optical fiber 9 and the output optical fiber 12 are covered with the epoxy resin 17, respectively, the fiber sleeve 20 which is a separate component in the related art can be surely omitted. Clearly, a significant reduction in the number of parts can be expected.

In the above embodiment, the penetrating portion 15 of the container 14 is used.
Although the input optical fiber 9 and the output optical fiber 12 and the silicon RTV rubber 16 in the vicinity are adhered with an epoxy adhesive, the same as in the above embodiment even if an acrylate adhesive is used. Produces the effect of. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the substantially cylindrical container 14 is used is shown, but the shape and structure are not limited at all.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress an increase in the price of a module and solve the problem that the characteristics are deteriorated by a mechanical shock from the outside. It has a remarkable effect. Further, since the vicinity of the protruding portions of the input optical fiber and the output optical fiber are respectively covered with the surface protector, the sleeve and the like, which are conventionally separate parts, can be omitted, and a reduction in the number of parts can be expected. There is a special effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional explanatory view showing an embodiment of a mounting structure of an optical module according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of an optical module mounting structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing an example of a mounting structure of an optical module according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a mounting structure of a conventional optical module.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical waveguide substrate, 4a ... Core, 6 ... Waveguide, 7 ... Input part, 8 ... Output part, 9 ... Input optical fiber, 12 ... Output optical fiber, 14 ... Container, 15 ... Penetration part, 16 ... Silicon RTV rubber, 17 ... Epoxy resin, 20 ... Fiber sleeve.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shigeru Semura 1 Taya-cho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi Kanagawa Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Yokohama Works (72) Inventor Shigeru Hirai 1 Taya-cho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Sumitomo Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Yokohama Works

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An optical waveguide substrate having an optical waveguide, an input optical fiber which is connected to an input portion of the optical waveguide substrate and allows light to enter a core portion of the optical waveguide, and an output portion of the optical waveguide substrate. In an optical module mounting structure including an output optical fiber that transmits light emitted from a core portion of an optical waveguide connected, the optical waveguide substrate, the input optical fiber, and the output optical fiber are housed in a housing. At the same time, a filler is enclosed and interposed between the optical waveguide substrate, the input optical fiber and the output optical fiber, and the housing, and the surface of the housing is covered with a surface protective body. The optical module mounting structure. 2. The surface protecting body is respectively wrapped around the protruding portions of the input optical fiber and the output optical fiber that project through the penetrating portion of the housing. Optical module mounting structure. 3. The mounting structure for an optical module according to claim 1, wherein the filling body is made of a silicone resin. 4. The optical module mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the surface protector has a Shore hardness of less than 50. 5. The adhesive strength between the input optical fiber or the output optical fiber and the penetrating portion of the housing is 50 kg / cm.
^3. The optical module mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the optical module is adhered with the adhesive of 2. 6. The optical module mounting structure according to claim 5, wherein the adhesive is at least one of an epoxy adhesive and an acrylate adhesive.