JPH09186393A - Semiconductor laser module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a semiconductor laser module where a laser can be mounted high in mounting workability. SOLUTION: A semiconductor laser module is equipped with a semiconductor laser 2 disposed in a package 6, and a laser beam 2a emitted from the semiconductor laser 2 is outputted out of the package 6. In this case, a first carrier 3 mounted with the semiconductor laser 2 and a mounting surface where the first carrier 3 is fixed by soldering are provided, and a chamfered part 33 and a U-shaped groove 43 which serve as relieves for making excessive solder flow in a prescribed direction when the first carrier is soldered are provided to the mounting surface and/or the surface of the first carrier 3 bonded to the mounting surface.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser module.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a semiconductor laser module, there is known a semiconductor laser module in which a semiconductor laser D is installed inside a package A through a chip carrier B and an L-type carrier C as shown in FIG. In this semiconductor laser module E, an L-shaped carrier C composed of a vertical portion C1 and a horizontal portion C2 is arranged inside a box-shaped package A, and is fixed to the inner floor surface of the package A via a Peltier element F for cooling. ing. Further, a collimator lens G is attached to the vertical portion C1 of the L-shaped carrier C, a monitoring photodiode H is attached to the horizontal portion C2 at a predetermined distance from the collimator lens G, and the collimator of the L-shaped carrier C is attached. Between the lens G and the photodiode H, a chip carrier B on which a semiconductor laser D is mounted is arranged via a submount I. This chip carrier B
Are fixed to the L-shaped carrier C by soldering.
According to this semiconductor laser module E, when a current is injected into the semiconductor laser D, the laser light J is emitted from the semiconductor laser D, is condensed by the collimator lens G, and can be outputted from the package A. .

[0003]

However, in the conventional semiconductor laser module E, when the chip carrier B is soldered to the L type carrier C, the chip carrier B and the L type carrier C are removed from between the chip carrier B and the L type carrier C. There is a problem in that the solder material K flows out, and the output of the laser light J is caused by the outflow of the solder material K. That is,
In the semiconductor laser module E, the arrangement position of the semiconductor laser D is very important because it determines the emitting direction of the laser light J, and the arrangement work needs to be performed accurately. Therefore, the chip carrier B is replaced by the L-shaped carrier C.
Chip carrier B is soldered to L as much as possible
It is desirable that the positioning is carried out by closely adhering to the die carrier C, but due to the adhesion, the chip carrier B and the L-shaped carrier C are attached.
Since the solder material K is strongly pressed between them, the solder material K flows out from between the chip carrier B and the L-shaped carrier C. When the solder material K flows out to the position of the semiconductor laser D, the emission of the laser light J is hindered, the output of the laser light J is reduced, and the electrodes of the semiconductor laser D are short-circuited to cause the laser light J to be emitted. Output becomes impossible.

On the other hand, in order to prevent the solder material K from flowing out,
It is conceivable to adjust the amount of the solder material K used for soldering the chip carrier B. However, chip carrier B
Is a few millimeters, it is difficult to adjust the amount of the solder material K used, and a dedicated device is required to make such adjustment.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor laser module having excellent workability in mounting a semiconductor laser.

[0006]

That is, according to the present invention, a semiconductor having a first carrier on which a semiconductor laser chip is mounted and an installation surface for fixing the first carrier by soldering is provided in a single package. In the laser module, one or both of the installation surface and the surface of the first carrier is provided with a relief portion for allowing excess solder material to flow out in a predetermined direction.

According to this invention, when the first carrier is soldered to the installation surface, excess solder material flows out through the escape portion in a predetermined direction. Therefore, the extra solder material does not flow out to the semiconductor laser side and affect the output of the laser light.

Further, according to the present invention, the relief portion of the above-mentioned installation surface is
It is characterized in that it is provided along a boundary portion between a horizontal portion and a vertical portion which are fitted to the bottom surface and the side surface of the first carrier, respectively. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the escape portion of the first carrier is provided along a boundary portion between the bottom surface and the side surface.

According to these inventions, when the above-mentioned first carrier is abutted on the horizontal surface of the installation surface and perpendicular to the surface to be soldered, the relief portion is provided along the corner portion where the solder material easily accumulates. Therefore, the excess solder material is surely flowed out in the desired direction. Therefore, excess solder material does not flow out to the semiconductor laser side.

Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the above-mentioned installation surface is provided on the surface of the second carrier fixed in the package.

According to this invention, since the installation surface on which the relief portion is provided is separate from the package, the relief portion can be easily formed.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
Also, the dimensional ratios in the drawings do not always match those described.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a semiconductor laser module 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor laser module 1
The laser diode 2 which is a semiconductor laser is built in and outputs a laser beam 2 a emitted from the laser diode 2 through an optical fiber 81. The laser diode 2 that emits the laser light 2 a is arranged in a box-shaped package 3. For example, laser diode 2
Is installed on the inner floor surface 31 of the package 6 via the submount 21 serving as a heat sink, the chip carrier 3 serving as the first carrier, the L-shaped carrier 4 serving as the second carrier, and the Peltier element 5 serving as the cooling means. ing. The Peltier element 5 is a cooling member that absorbs heat by thermoelectric cooling, and absorbs ambient heat when supplied with a predetermined current to exert a cooling effect. It is fixed to 31.

As shown in FIG. 1, the L-shaped carrier 4 is a member for mounting the chip carrier 3, the collimating lens 61, and the photodiode 62, and has a horizontal portion 41 and a vertical portion 42 which are substantially orthogonal to each other. Cage, vertical part 4
2 is positioned on the optical fiber 81 side and fixed onto the Peltier element 5. An emission hole 42a for the laser beam 2a is formed in the vertical portion 42 in a direction penetrating the vertical portion 42, and the collimator lens 6 is provided on the extension of the emission hole 42a in the opening direction.
1 is attached. The laser beam 2a penetrating the emission hole 42a is focused by the collimator lens 61 toward the optical fiber 81. On the other hand, in the horizontal portion 41 of the L-shaped carrier 4, a photodiode 62 is arranged at a distance from the vertical portion 42, and by measuring a light reception signal of the photodiode 62, the laser light 2a of the laser diode 2 is detected. The output status can be detected.

Further, as shown in FIG.
The chip carrier 3 is arranged on the horizontal portion 41 between the vertical portion 42 and the photodiode 62 in FIG. That is, the inner surfaces of the horizontal portion 41 and the vertical portion 42 of the L-shaped carrier 4 are installation surfaces for soldering the chip carrier 3, and the side surface 32 of the chip carrier 3 is the vertical portion 42.
The chip carrier 3 is soldered onto the L-shaped carrier 4 with the bottom surface 31 of the chip carrier 3 in contact with the surface of the horizontal portion 41. The chip carrier 3 functions as a spacer for disposing the laser diode 2 at a predetermined position and also as a heat sink for diffusing heat generated by the laser diode 2, and has thermal conductivity and precision processing. It is formed of a material having excellent properties, and for example, a metal material is adopted.

Here, the structure of the L-type carrier 4 and the chip carrier 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the escape portion of the solder material 7 is provided at the inner boundary between the horizontal portion 41 and the vertical portion 42 of the L-type carrier 4. Is provided, and a chamfered portion 33, which is a relief portion of the solder material 7, is provided at a corner between the side surface 32 and the bottom surface 31 of the chip carrier 3, so that the chip carrier 3 is placed on the L-shaped carrier 4. Excessive solder material 7 is discharged along the chamfered portion 33 and the concave groove 43 when soldering is performed. The concave groove 43 is a groove having a concave cross section and is formed along the inner boundary portion between the horizontal portion 41 and the vertical portion 42. The groove width, depth and sectional shape of the concave groove 43 are
It may be appropriately set in accordance with the dimensions of the chip carrier 3 and the material of the solder material 7 to be used so that the excess solder material 7 can be discharged. Further, the chamfered portion 33 is formed by scraping off the corners of the side surface 32 and the bottom surface 31 of the chip carrier 3.
As in the case of No. 3, it may be appropriately set depending on the dimensions of the chip carrier 3 and the material of the solder material 7 used so that the excess solder material 7 can be discharged. The relief portion of the chip carrier 3 is not limited to the one obtained by cutting off the corner portion of the chip carrier 3 linearly like the chamfered portion 33 described above, and is provided along the corner portion of the chip carrier 3. It may be a groove having a concave cross section.

The sub-mount 2 is mounted on the chip carrier 3.
1 is fixed, and the laser diode 2 is directly mounted on the submount 21. Like the chip carrier 3, the submount 21 functions as a spacer for disposing the laser diode 2 at a predetermined position and as a heat sink for diffusing heat generated by the laser diode 2. , Formed of a material having excellent thermal conductivity and precision workability. In addition, in this submount 21, the laser diode 2 is L
The mold carrier 4 is arranged so as to be located on the extension of the injection hole 42a in the opening direction.

The laser diode 2 has an active region for generating and amplifying light, and opposite end faces sandwiching the active region serve as reflecting faces having a high light reflectance to form a resonator. Light is generated by injecting a current into the active region, the light is reflected by the resonator to be amplified, and the laser light 2a is emitted from one end surface. As the laser diode 2, for example, an InGaAsP / InP double heterostructure in which an active region made of InGaAsP is disposed between cladding layers made of InP is adopted.

On the other hand, a hermetic glass 82 is attached to the side wall of the package 6, and the laser light 2a emitted from the laser diode 2 and passing through the emission hole 42a and the collimating lens 61 can be emitted to the outside of the package 6 through the hermetic glass 82. It is like this. Further, an optical fiber 81 is arranged outside the package 6, and the laser light 2 a emitted from the hermetic glass 82 passes through the isolator 83 and the second lens 84 and the ferrule 8.
5 is output through the optical fiber 81.

Next, the manufacturing process of the semiconductor laser module 1 will be described.

In FIG. 1, first, the chip carrier 3 is fixed onto the L-shaped carrier 4. At this time, the laser diode 2 is previously mounted on the chip carrier 3 via the submount 21. The chip carrier 3 is fixed by soldering. The step of soldering will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the solder material 7 which is heated and fluidized is supplied onto the horizontal portion 41 of the L-shaped carrier 4. The supply position may be a boundary portion between the horizontal portion 41 and the vertical portion 42. Then, the chip carrier 3 is pressed onto the L-shaped carrier 4 to which the solder material 7 has been supplied. That is, the bottom surface 31 of the chip carrier 3 is attached to the horizontal portion 41 of the L-shaped carrier 4.
And the side surface 32 of the chip carrier 3 comes into contact with the vertical portion 42 so that the chip carrier 3 is arranged at the inner corner portions of the horizontal portion 41 and the vertical portion 42.
To move.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the solder material 7 on the horizontal portion 41 of the L-shaped carrier 4 moves to the moving chip carrier 3
It is sandwiched between the bottom surface 31 and the bottom surface 31, and spreads along the horizontal portion 41. When the solder material 7 that has spread to the vertical portion 42 side reaches the vertical portion 42, it spreads upward along the vertical portion 42. At that time, the horizontal portion 41 and the vertical portion 4
Since a space is formed at the boundary between the chip carrier 3 and the concave groove 43 of the L-shaped carrier 4 and the chamfered portion 33 of the chip carrier 3, excess solder material 7 is discharged through the space when fixing the chip carrier 3. The Rukoto. Therefore, the solder material 7 is prevented from moving along the vertical portion 42 and does not reach the position where the laser diode 2 is arranged. Then, the chip carrier 3 is brought into close contact with the inner corner portions of the horizontal portion 41 and the vertical portion 42 of the L-shaped carrier 4, and the chip carrier 3 is fixed at an accurate position by curing the solder material 7.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the chip carrier 3
After the collimator lens 61 and the photodiode 62 are attached to the L-shaped carrier 4 in which is fixed, the L-shaped carrier 4 is attached onto the Peltier element 5 in the package 1.
Further, after the L-shaped carrier 4 is attached to the package 6 or before the attachment, a hermetic glass 82 serving as an emission window of the laser light 2a is attached to the package 6. Then, the isolator 83, the second lens 84, and the optical fiber 81 are attached to the position of the hermetic glass 82 in alignment with the optical axis of the laser light 2a, and the manufacturing of the semiconductor laser module 1 is completed.

According to such a semiconductor laser module 1, when soldering the chip carrier 3 to the L-shaped carrier 4, the excess solder material 7 is discharged in a predetermined direction through the groove 43 and the chamfered portion 33. Therefore, it is possible to prevent excess solder material 7 from flowing to the laser diode 2 side. For this reason,
The solder material 7 is the electrode portion of the laser diode 2 or the laser light 2
The output of the laser beam 2a does not become unstable or cannot be output due to the flow to the emission path of a, and the operation reliability is improved. Further, it is not necessary to finely adjust the usage amount of the solder material 7 used for fixing the chip carrier 3, the chip carrier 3 can be reliably fixed, and the workability of mounting the chip carrier 3 is excellent. Further, since the concave groove 43 and the chamfered portion 33 are formed in the corner portions of the L-shaped carrier 4 and the chip carrier 3, the excess solder material 7 is discharged efficiently, and the solder material 7 can be discharged reliably. Further, since the installation surface of the chip carrier 3 is formed on the L-shaped carrier 4 which is separate from the package 6, it is easy to form the concave groove 43 to be provided in the package 6.

Next, various other embodiments of the semiconductor laser module 1 will be described.

In the semiconductor laser module 1 described above, the concave groove 43 of the L-shaped carrier 4 may be provided at a position other than the position of the boundary between the horizontal portion 41 and the vertical portion 42. For example, the recessed groove 43 may be provided at an intermediate position apart from the inner corner of the horizontal portion 41 or the vertical portion 42. Also,
The chamfered portion 33 of the chip carrier 3 includes a bottom surface 31 and a side surface 3.
It may be provided at a position other than the corner with 2. At that time, the groove may have a concave cross section. Even with such a semiconductor laser module, it is possible to control the excess solder material 7 from freely flowing. Therefore, similarly to the above, it is possible to improve the operational reliability of the laser output and the workability of mounting the chip carrier 3.

In the semiconductor laser module 1 described above, the formation of either the concave groove 43 of the L-shaped carrier 4 or the chamfered portion 33 of the chip carrier 3 may be omitted. That is, by providing only one of the concave groove 43 of the L-shaped carrier 4 and the chamfered portion 33 of the chip carrier 3, a discharge path for the extra solder material 7 when soldering the chip carrier 3 may be formed. . Even in such a case, as described above, the operational reliability of the laser output,
The workability of attaching the chip carrier 3 can be improved.

In the above-mentioned semiconductor laser module 1, the chip carrier 3 may be provided on a surface other than the L-shaped carrier 4. At that time, chip carrier 3
The installation surface of is not a right-angled surface composed of a horizontal portion and a vertical portion, but may be a simple flat surface. For example, the installation surface of the chip carrier 3 may be formed on the inner floor surface 31 of the package 3, or may be formed on the surface of the other members arranged in the package 3. In this case, if the chamfered portion 33 is formed on the chip carrier 3 or the recessed groove 43 is formed on the installation surface thereof, the operational reliability in laser output and the workability of mounting the chip carrier 3 are improved as described above. It is possible.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. That is, by providing the escape portion on either or both of the surface of the first carrier or the installation surface of the first carrier,
When soldering the first carrier to the installation surface, the excess solder material is discharged along the escape portion, so that the excess solder material does not flow out to the semiconductor laser side and affect the laser light output. Absent. Therefore, the oscillation failure of the semiconductor laser can be prevented, and desired laser light can be surely output. Also, when soldering the first carrier to the installation surface,
Soldering is possible without finely adjusting the amount of solder material used.

Further, when the first carrier is soldered to the installation surface composed of the horizontal portion and the vertical portion, the relief portion is provided along the inner boundary portion between the horizontal portion and the vertical portion, or the first portion thereof is provided. By providing the relief portion along the boundary between the bottom surface and the side surface of the carrier, when the first carrier is soldered to the installation surface, excess solder material is collected in the relief portion to ensure the desired direction. Can be discharged to.

Further, since the installation surface of the first carrier is provided on the surface of the second carrier fixed in the package, the installation surface on which the escape portion is provided is separate from the package, so that the escape portion can be formed. It will be easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a semiconductor laser module.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a relief portion in the semiconductor laser module.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a manufacturing process in a semiconductor laser module.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a conventional semiconductor laser module.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Semiconductor laser module, 2 ... Laser diode (semiconductor laser) 3 ... Chip carrier (first carrier), 4 ... L-type carrier (second carrier) 6 ... Package, 7 ... Solder material

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A semiconductor laser module comprising a first carrier on which a semiconductor laser chip is mounted and an installation surface for fixing the first carrier by soldering in a single package, wherein the installation surface or A semiconductor laser module, characterized in that either or both of the surfaces of the first carrier are provided with escape portions for allowing excess solder material to flow out in a predetermined direction. 2. The escape portion of the installation surface is provided along a boundary portion between a horizontal portion and a vertical portion, which are fitted to the bottom surface and the side surface of the first carrier, respectively. The semiconductor laser module described in 1. 3. The semiconductor laser module according to claim 2, wherein the escape portion of the first carrier is provided along a boundary portion between the bottom surface and the side surface. 4. The semiconductor laser module according to claim 1, wherein the installation surface is provided on a surface of a second carrier fixed in the package.