JPH0943454A - Optical module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the positional adjustment of optical parts without necessitating a holder base for fixing a holder by installing elastically deformable parts on a stem in order to adjust the height of the optical parts. SOLUTION: A sheet-like member 12 is fixed to each weld position 13 on both sides of a lens barrel 11 by laser welding. Next, the lens barrel 11 is finely moved in horizontal and vertical directions while measuring the parallelism of laser light emitted from a semiconductor laser element by a ball lens 14, then, the position of the ball lens 14 is adjusted. At this time, as for the sheet- like member 12, the part projecting downwards from the base part of the lens barrel 11 is elastically deformed to be open in the case the lens barrel 11 is depressed in the vertical direction, so that the height of the lens barrel 11 is adjusted while fixing the barrel 11 in the horizontal direction. A laser welding head is operated in an optical axis 15 direction with respect to the stem 101 in a state where the positional adjustment of the ball lens 14 is executed, the weld place 16 to which the stem 101 is attached of the sheet-like member 12 is welded by laser, then, the lens barrel 11 is fixed on the stem 101.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical module in which an optical element and an optical component for coupling light emitted from the optical element to, for example, an optical fiber are incorporated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In optical communication, an optical module for optically coupling an optical element such as a light source, a receiver, an optical amplifier, and an optical fiber as an information transmission medium is used. In such an optical module, it is important that the optical element and the optical fiber are efficiently coupled to each other and that the optical element is formed so as not to change with time.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing an example of a conventional optical module, and FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view showing a holding portion of a ball lens in this optical module. 10 and 11, the ball lens 104 is held by the ball lens holder 102.
2 is a holder receiver 103 attached to the stem 101
Is held in. A semiconductor laser 105, a thermistor 111, and a photodetector 106 are further fixed to the stem 101. Further, 107 is an optical axis, 110 is a through hole for passing the laser light collimated by the ball lens 104, 109 is an optical fiber, and 108 is a lens for coupling the laser light to the optical fiber 109.

In the above optical module, the ball lens 104 is aligned and fixed on the optical axis 107 as follows. First, the semiconductor laser element 105 is fixed to the stem 101, and an external electrode (not shown) and the semiconductor laser element 105 are electrically connected. Next, the semiconductor laser element 105 is oscillated and the parallelism of the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser element 105 by the ball lens 104 is measured, while the ball lens holder 102 and the holder receiver 10 are being measured.
The position of the ball lens 104 is adjusted by finely moving 3 in the x-axis and y-axis directions integrally with a manipulator (not shown).
Then, with the position adjustment being performed, the holder receiver 103 is laser-welded to the stem 101 at the welding portion 112 of FIG.

Next, after the ball lens holder 102 is finely moved in the z direction with respect to the holder receiver 103 using a manipulator to adjust the height of the ball lens 104, laser welding is performed at the welded portion 113 of FIG. The ball lens holder 102 is fixed to the holder receiver 103.

[0006]

However, in the above conventional optical module, when the holder receiver 103 is welded, the lower portion is simultaneously welded from both side surfaces in the x-axis direction in FIG. If it does not exist in a completely symmetrical position, heat shock causes bias and x
There was a problem that it was misaligned in one of the axial directions or rotated.

Further, the jig for handling the ball lens holder 102 becomes complicated. Further, since the holder receiver 103 for holding the ball lens holder 102 is required, the number of parts is increased and welding must be performed twice from different directions, which makes it difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost.

[0008]

According to the present invention, an elastically deformable portion is provided between a portion of a holder that holds an optical component and a portion that is attached to a stem so that the height of the optical component with respect to the stem can be adjusted. Since it is provided, the holder receiver for fixing the holder is not required, and the handling when assembling the optical module by adjusting the position of the optical component is simplified.

[0009]

1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of a holder used in an optical module of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 14 is a ball lens which is an optical component, 11 is a lens barrel for holding the ball lens 11, 12 is an L-shaped plate member formed of an elastic body, and 15 is a ray axis of the ball lens. The plate-like member 12 is fixed by welding at the welding points 13 on both sides of the lens barrel 11. The plate-shaped member 12 protrudes longer than the bottom portion of the lens barrel 11 and is bent outward at a portion attached to the stem.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing an embodiment of the optical module of the present invention using the holder of FIG. Also, FIG.
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the holder of FIG. 1 attached to a stem 101. 2 and 3, the same members as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The method of assembling the optical module will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

First, the plate-shaped member 12 is fixed by laser welding at the welding points 13 on both sides of the lens barrel 11.
On the other hand, the semiconductor laser device 105, which is an optical device, is connected to the stem 1
The semiconductor laser device 1 is fixed to 01 and has an external electrode (not shown) and the semiconductor laser device 1.
05 is electrically connected. Next, the semiconductor laser device 1
05 is oscillated and the parallelism of the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser element 105 by the ball lens 14 is measured, and the lens barrel 11 is finely moved in the x, y, and z axis directions by a manipulator (not shown), Adjust the position.
At this time, when the lens barrel 11 is pushed down in the z-axis direction, the plate-shaped member 12 is elastically deformed and opened as shown in FIG. The height (z axis) can be adjusted while fixing the y axis direction.

Next, with the position of the ball lens adjusted as described above, the laser welding head 18 disposed in the z-axis direction with respect to the stem is scanned in the direction of the optical axis 15 (x-axis direction). Then, the welded portion 16 of the plate-shaped member 12 shown in FIG. 3 which is attached to the stem is laser-welded to fix the lens barrel 11 to the stem 12.

According to the above embodiment, since the plate member is fixed to the lens barrel in advance before being fixed to the stem,
Displacement and rotation due to heat shock can be prevented, and the laser welding to the stem at the time of assembly can be performed only once, so that the alignment time can be shortened.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the holder used in the optical module of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a side view showing an embodiment of an optical module using the holder of FIG. 6, and FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing the holder of FIG. 4 attached to the stem 101. 4 to 6,
The same members as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the lens barrel 11 is held by an elastic plate member 22 which is bent in a U shape with the lens barrel 11 sandwiched therebetween. Here, the elastic plate member 22 is laser-welded and fixed only at the welded portion 23 on the upper portion of the lens barrel 11. Both ends of the plate-like member 23 project longer than the bottom portion of the lens barrel 11, and are bent further outward at a portion attached to the stem 101.

In this embodiment, compared with the first embodiment, laser welding can be performed from above, so that the lens barrel 11 can be fixed more easily, and the elastic plate member 22 is fixed only on the upper portion of the lens barrel 11. Therefore, the elastic plate member 22
It has a feature that the tip of is opened more easily.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a third embodiment of a holder used in the optical module of the present invention. Figure 7
1, the same members as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the elastic plate-like members 32 attached to both side portions of the lens barrel 11 project longer than the bottom portion of the lens barrel 11, and the projecting portions have a circular cross-sectional shape. First in that it is formed to form a part
Different from the embodiment of. The elastic plate member 32 has a welded portion 33.
Laser welded to the lens barrel 11 at
At, laser welding is performed on a stem (not shown).

This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the height (z-axis direction) of the lens barrel 11 is adjusted.
It is possible to improve the slippage of the stem mounting portion and reduce the load on the welding portion 33. In addition, since the plate-shaped member 32 itself has a spring configuration, it has a feature that it can easily return to its original position even if it is pushed too much when adjusting the height.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of a holder used in the optical module of the present invention. FIG.
1, the same members as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the lens barrel 11 is fixed to the upper portion of an elastic plate member 42 bent in a U-shape. Elastic plate member 42
Is further bent outward at the portion attached to the stem, and is fixed to the stem (not shown) at the welded portion 46 by laser welding.

In this embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the lens barrel 11 is fixed to the upper part of the elastic plate member 42, so that the lens barrel 11 can be processed to be finely moved by a manipulator. It has the feature.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing the holder of the fifth embodiment used in the optical module of the present invention, which is attached to the stem 101. In this embodiment,
It differs from the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6 in that a groove 81 is provided in the stem 101. 9, the same members as those in FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, the distance between the semiconductor laser element (not shown) and the ball lens 14 can be determined in advance according to the ball lens employed, so that the groove 81 is formed when the stem 101 is manufactured. Can be kept. By providing the groove 81 in this way, it becomes possible to suppress rotation about the optical axis 15 when fixing the plate member 22 fixed to the ball lens holder 11 to the stem 101.

In the above embodiment, an example in which a ball lens is used as an optical component has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to the case where a rod lens, an aspherical lens or the like is used. It is possible. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a system for coupling with two lenses as shown in FIG. 10 but also for coupling with an optical fiber to one lens held by a lens barrel. As the elastic plate member, it is desirable to use Kovar or stainless steel, but if it can be attached to the lens barrel,
It may be made of any material.

[0026]

As described above, the optical module of the present invention is elastically deformed between the portion of the holder holding the optical component and the portion attached to the stem so that the height of the optical component with respect to the stem can be adjusted. Since the possible parts are provided, the position of the optical component can be adjusted to facilitate the handling when assembling the optical module.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of a holder used in an optical module of the present invention.

2 is a side view showing an embodiment of the optical module of the present invention using the holder of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the holder of FIG. 1 attached to a stem.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of a holder used in the optical module of the present invention.

5 is a side view showing an embodiment of an optical module using the holder of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing the holder of FIG. 4 attached to a stem.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a third embodiment of a holder used in the optical module of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of a holder used in the optical module of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing the holder of the fifth embodiment used in the optical module of the present invention, which is attached to the stem.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing an example of a conventional optical module.

11 is a schematic perspective view showing a holding portion of a ball lens in the optical module of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Ball Lens Holder 12 Elastic Plate Member 13 Welding Part 14 Ball Lens 15 Ray Axis 18 Laser Welding Head 101 Stem 105 Semiconductor Laser Element

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An optical module comprising a stem holding an optical element, an optical component for guiding light emitted from the optical element, and a holder attached to the stem, wherein the optical component of the holder is held. An optical module, characterized in that an elastically deformable portion is provided between the portion and the portion attached to the stem so that the height of the optical component with respect to the stem can be adjusted. 2. A lens barrel for holding an optical component, the holder being attached to both side portions of the lens barrel, projecting longer than a bottom portion of the lens barrel, and being bent outward at a portion attached to the stem. The optical module according to claim 1, comprising a pair of L-shaped elastic plate members. 3. The holder is composed of a lens barrel holding an optical component and an elastic plate member bent in a U shape with the lens barrel interposed therebetween, and the elastic plate member is provided only above the lens barrel. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the optical module is fixed to a lens barrel, and both ends of the lens barrel protrude below the bottom of the lens barrel and are bent further outward at a portion attached to the stem. 4. The lens barrel holding the optical component, the holder being attached to both sides of the lens barrel, and projecting longer than the bottom of the lens barrel, and the projecting portion having a circular cross-sectional shape. The optical module according to claim 1, comprising a pair of elastic plate-shaped members forming a part. 5. The holder comprises a lens barrel for holding an optical component, and an elastic plate member fixed to the upper portion of the lens barrel and bent in a U shape, wherein the elastic plate member is a stem. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the optical module is further bent outward at a portion to be attached. 6. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein a groove is provided in a portion of the stem to which the holder is attached.