JPH0990151A - Manufacture of v-groove optical connector base and manufacture of optical connector provided with the base - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of a V-groove optical connector base, by which manufacturing time and manufacturing cost are reduced, and to provide a manufacturing method of an optical connector provided with the base. SOLUTION: A die 6 having a V-formed projecting part 105 where at least one side corresponds to the V-groove part of the V-groove optical connector base is provided. A glass material 30 is arranged between a pair of dies 6 and 13 which are oppositely arranged. A pair of the dies and the glass material are heated and the projecting part 105 of the die 6 is transferred to at least one face of the glass material 30 so as to form the V-groove part 101. The glass material is segmented into a desired size, and the V-groove optical connector base is formed. The optical fiber which is to be connected is fixed to the V-groove part of the V-groove optical connector base so as to form the optical connector. The two optical connectors are oppositely arranged and the optical fibers are aligned and welded. Thus, the optical connector is manufactured.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a V-groove optical connector board having a V-shaped groove portion for positioning and holding the optical fibers in order to connect end faces of the optical fibers facing each other, and the board. And a method for manufacturing an optical connector having the above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in optical communication in which voice and image signals are transmitted as optical signals, the communicable area is being expanded. For the development of such optical communication, a connector for connecting optical fibers as a transmission medium for transmitting an optical signal to each other is indispensable. Normally, this connector is equipped with
An optical connector having a V-shaped groove is used. This V
The optical fibers are positioned by utilizing the grooves, and the optical fibers cut so that the end faces thereof are mirror-finished are connected by fusing or the like.

Conventionally, a substrate having a V groove portion of an optical connector is manufactured by the following manufacturing process. Figure 6
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a method for manufacturing a V-groove optical connector board by machining using a slicer. (A) First, a quartz or silicon substrate 50 on which a V-groove portion of a V-groove optical connector base is formed is prepared and attached to a surface plate of a processing machine. Then, the front end of the substrate is chamfered 50A. (B) Next, the setup change of the substrate 50 is performed, and the substrate 50
And the chamfered surface 50B is attached to the surface plate of the processing machine. Then, this substrate is cut in a predetermined direction by a slicer to be divided into a plurality of parts 51. (C) Next, a plurality of V groove portions 52 are formed in the substrate 50, that is, the part 51 by milling. (D) Next, the setup of the substrate 50 is changed, and the substrate 50 is rotated by 90 ° in the plane where the substrate 50 is attached.
Subsequently, the substrate 50 is cut along a direction orthogonal to the direction cut in the step (b), and the substrate 50 is subdivided 53 into a desired size. Subsequently, the substrate 53 having the subdivided V groove portion 52 is removed and washed.

In this way, the V-groove optical connector board is manufactured.

Further, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 7, a method of manufacturing a V-groove optical connector substrate by anisotropic etching has also been proposed. (A) First, a single crystal silicon substrate 50 in which the V-groove portion of the V-groove optical connector substrate is formed is prepared. The silicon substrate 50 is cut out along the (100) crystal plane.
Then, a silicon oxide film 60 is formed on the silicon substrate 50.
And a photoresist 70 is applied on the silicon oxide film 60. (B) Next, a photomask 80 is placed on this photoresist 70, and the photoresist 70 is exposed by irradiating it with ultraviolet rays or the like. Subsequently, the photoresist 70 is developed to remove the exposed photoresist portion. (C) Next, the exposed portion of the silicon oxide film 60 after the photoresist 70 is removed is etched to expose the (100) surface of the silicon substrate 50, and then the photoresist 70 is peeled off. (D) Next, the exposed silicon substrate is anisotropically etched. At this time, due to the chemical properties of silicon, (10
Since the (111) plane is less likely to be etched than the (0) plane,
1) The surface is exposed and the V-shaped groove 52 is formed on the silicon substrate 50.
Is formed.

This substrate is subdivided into desired sizes and washed to manufacture a V-groove optical connector substrate.

Conventionally, after the V-groove optical connector board is manufactured by such a method, an optical fiber is placed in the V-groove portion, and a fiber holder is placed on the optical fiber, and ultraviolet ray or YAG (yttri) is applied.
Um aluminium garnet) An optical connector is created by irradiating a laser and fixing it.

However, the manufacturing method by machining as shown in FIG. 6 requires many manufacturing steps, which increases the manufacturing time and the manufacturing cost.

On the other hand, in the manufacturing method by anisotropic etching as shown in FIG. 7, since it is difficult to form V-grooves by anisotropic etching with other materials, the substrate material is limited to a single crystal silicon wafer. . There is also a problem that the manufacturing cost is high and it is difficult to form a highly accurate V groove.

[0010]

In today's information-oriented society, it is required that a large amount of information be mutually communicated at high speed, and for that purpose, optical communication is indispensable. Also, Fi
As typified by words such as ber To The Home (FTTH), optical communication networks are about to reach homes.

However, the optical connector which is indispensable for optical communication is a very high precision component, and the dimensional tolerance of the V groove is within ± 0.5 μm for both the single pitch and the progressive pitch, and the optical transmission loss is 0.1 dB or less. , The coefficient of thermal expansion is the same value as the optical fiber,
Strict performance is required. In order to achieve such strict performance, high precision machining is required, and
The number of manufacturing steps is increased, the manufacturing cost is increased, and there is a possibility that the development of an optical communication network will be seriously hindered.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object thereof is to shorten the manufacturing process, reduce the manufacturing time, and reduce the manufacturing cost. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing the same and a method for manufacturing an optical connector provided with this base.

[0013]

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above-mentioned problems, and in order to connect end faces of optical fibers facing each other, a V-shaped groove for positioning and holding the optical fibers is provided. In the method of manufacturing a V-groove optical connector base having, at least one is a mold having a V-shaped convex portion corresponding to the V-groove portion of the V-groove optical connector base, and a glass material between a pair of molds arranged facing each other. A second step of heating the pair of mold and the glass material, and a third step of forming a V groove by transferring the convex portion of the mold to at least one surface of the glass material. And a method of manufacturing a V-groove optical connector board including the step of.

Further, according to the present invention, in the method of manufacturing an optical connector provided with a V-groove optical connector base for positioning and holding the optical fibers in order to connect the end faces of the optical fibers facing each other, at least one of them is provided. A mold having a V-shaped convex portion corresponding to the V-groove portion of the V-groove optical connector base, the first step of arranging a glass material between a pair of opposed molds, the pair of molds, and A second step of heating the glass material, a third step of transferring the convex portion of the mold to at least one surface of the glass material to form a V groove portion, and cutting the glass material into a desired size , V
A fourth step of forming a grooved optical connector board, a fifth step of fixing an optical fiber to be connected to a V groove portion of the V grooved optical connector board to form an optical connector, and two optical connectors facing each other. A sixth step of arranging and axially aligning the optical fibers and then performing fusion splicing is provided.

According to the method of manufacturing the V-groove optical connector board and the method of manufacturing the optical connector provided with the board of the present invention,
The V-groove optical connector board has a glass material having a V-groove portion formed between a pair of molds having a V-shaped convex portion corresponding to the V-groove portion, and the pair of molds and the glass material are heated, The shape of the convex portion of (1) is transferred to the glass material to form the V groove portion in the glass material. Therefore, once a mold having a projection having the same shape as the desired V groove portion of the V groove optical connector base is prepared, a large number of V groove optical connector bases can be formed easily. That is, the complicated machining and etching processes that have been conventionally performed are not necessary, the manufacturing process is shortened, and the manufacturing time and the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced. Also, productivity is improved. Furthermore, since an optical connector is manufactured using this V-groove optical connector board, an inexpensive optical connector can be provided.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a V-groove optical connector board manufactured in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1A, two V-groove optical connector boards 100 and 110 are provided.
Are formed in a rectangular shape, and one or a plurality of, for example, two V-shaped groove portions 101 and 111 are formed on one surface thereof and extend in parallel with each other. Subsequently, the optical fibers 102 and 103 are arranged in the respective V-groove portions, and a fiber retainer (not shown) is attached to form the V-groove optical connector.

Subsequently, the formed two optical connectors are
The two optical fibers 103, 102 incorporated therein are arranged so as to face each other so that the optical axes thereof are aligned with each other, and then bonded.

As a result, the two optical fibers 102, 1
The tip ends of 03 can be held in a state of being aligned with each other.

As shown in FIG. 1B, each V groove portion 10
The size of 1 is determined according to the outer diameters of the optical fibers 102 and 103 to be connected. That is, as will be described later, in order to fix the optical fibers 102 and 103 with a fiber retainer, the size of the V groove portion is determined so that a part of the optical fiber projects from the V groove portion 101. For example, when the outer diameter of the optical fiber is 0.125 mm, the V groove portion 101 has a corner angle of 60 ° and a depth of 0.17 mm, and the protruding height of the optical fiber protruding from the V groove portion is 0.0175 mm.
It is.

Further, in order to minimize the optical transmission loss when the two optical fibers 102 and 103 are aligned with each other, the V groove must be formed with high accuracy. When the transmission loss is 0.1 dB / km or less, the accuracy is 0.06 from the center of the fiber to the fiber presser.
25 ± 0.0005mm, V pitch pitch distance is 0.2
It must be formed within a range of 5 ± 0.0005 mm.

Next, an apparatus for manufacturing the V-groove optical connector board 100 will be described. FIG. 2 schematically shows an example of an optical element molding apparatus used to achieve the method for manufacturing a V-groove optical connector board of the present invention.
The optical element molding apparatus includes a frame 1, and a fixed shaft 2 extends downward from an upper portion of the frame 1. An upper mold assembly 4 is attached to the lower end of the fixed shaft 2 via a ceramic heat insulating cylinder 3 by a bolt or the like (not shown). The upper die assembly 4 includes a die plate 5 made of metal, an upper die 6 made of ceramic or cemented carbide, and a fixed die for attaching the upper die 6 to the die plate 5 and forming a part of the die. Have 7. Upper mold 6
Corresponding to the desired V groove shape of the optical connector board,
A V-shaped convex portion is formed. FIG. 4 is an enlarged photograph in which the upper mold 6 used in this embodiment is enlarged 4.8 times. Fifty V-shaped convex portions are formed on the upper mold 6.

On the other hand, at the lower part of the frame 1, there is provided a drive device 8 including an electric motor, for example, a screw jack for converting the rotational motion of the servomotor 8a into a linear motion thrust. The drive device 8 includes a load detector 8b.
A moving shaft 9 is attached via. In this way, the moving shaft 9 attached to the drive device 8 faces the fixed shaft 2 and extends upward, and is movable in the vertical direction. Further, this moving axis can be controlled in terms of moving speed, position, and torque (pressing force) by a program input to the control device 28. In this embodiment,
Although the drive device 8 that uses an electric motor such as the servo motor 8a is controlled by the control device, a hydraulic mechanism that uses a hydraulic pump may be used as a drive source for the moving shaft 9.

A heat insulating cylinder 10 similar to the heat insulating cylinder 3 is attached to the upper end of the moving shaft 9. A lower mold assembly 11 is attached to the moving shaft 9 via the heat insulating cylinder 10. Like the upper mold assembly 4, the lower mold assembly 11 includes a die plate 12, a lower mold 13, and a moving die 14. In this embodiment, the lower mold 13
Uses a flat mold on both sides, but lower mold 13 and upper mold 6
You may use the type | mold which has a V-shaped convex part like this.

A bracket 15 which is vertically moved by a driving device (not shown) is movably engaged with the fixed shaft 2. A transparent quartz tube 16 that surrounds the upper and lower mold assemblies 4 and 11 forming a pair is attached to the bracket 15. The lower end of the transparent quartz tube 16 is airtightly contacted with the intermediate plate 1a through which the moving shaft 9 penetrates to form a molding chamber 17 around the upper and lower mold assemblies 4 and 11 which is shielded from the atmosphere. It has become. An outer cylinder 18 is attached to the bracket 15, and a lamp unit 19 as a heating mechanism is attached to the inner surface of the outer cylinder 18. The lamp unit 19 attached to the inner surface of the outer cylinder 18 is arranged on the infrared lamp 20, the rear of the infrared lamp 20, a reflection mirror 21 for reflecting infrared rays to the quartz tube side, and the outer surface of the reflection mirror 21. , A water cooling pipe 22 for cooling the reflection mirror 21
It is composed of Also, this lamp unit 19
Heats the upper and lower mold assemblies 4, 11 and the glass material 30 as a workpiece arranged between the upper and lower molds 6, 13 at the press temperature set by the control device 28. This temperature is detected by a temperature detecting thermocouple 27 provided at the lower end of the lower mold assembly 11.

Although infrared lamp heating is used as the heating mechanism in this embodiment, other means such as high frequency induction heating may be used.

Fixed shaft 2, movable shaft 9, and bracket 15
The gas supply passage 2 for making the inside of the molding chamber 17 an inert gas atmosphere and for cooling the upper and lower mold assemblies 4, 11
3, 24, 25 are provided, and the inert gas can be supplied to the molding chamber 17 at a predetermined flow rate via a flow rate control meter (not shown). The inert gas supplied to the molding chamber 17 is exhausted from the exhaust port 26.

Next, a method of manufacturing the substrate having the V groove portion of the V groove optical connector in this embodiment will be described. A press molding method for the V-groove optical connector board will be described with reference to FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), a glass material 30 having flat V on both sides to form an optical connector base and having both sides flat, for example, Pyrex glass (Cornig Code 7740).
(Manufactured by Cornig; refractive index 1.4705, coefficient of thermal expansion 32.5 × 10 ^-7 /
℃) is prepared. The thickness of the prepared glass material 30 is, for example, 1.5 mm.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the glass material 30 prepared in the step (a) is placed on the lower mold 13 of the optical element molding apparatus shown in FIG. 6 and 13
Place between. The upper die 6 has a V-shaped convex portion 105 corresponding to a V-shaped groove portion having a desired shape. Then, the upper and lower molds 6 and 13 and the glass material 30 are heated by the infrared lamp unit 19 whose heating temperature is controlled by the controller 28. At this time, the heating temperature for heating the glass material 30 is higher than the transition point of the glass material 30, that is,
It is a temperature at which pressure deformation is possible. After heating the glass material 30 to such a temperature, the driving device 8 is driven to move the moving shaft 9
To rise. As the moving shaft 9 rises, the lower die 13 on which the glass material 30 is placed is moved to the lower die assembly 11
Rises with. In this way, the glass material 30 is pressed against the upper mold 6 and press-molded. By this press forming, the V-shaped convex portion 105 formed on the surface of the upper die 6
Is transferred to the glass material 30 to form the V groove portion 101 of the V groove optical connector substrate. At this time, the pressing force for pressing the glass material 30 is detected by the load detector 8b attached to the moving shaft 9, and the control device 28 drives the drive device 8 with an appropriate torque based on this detection information. . In this embodiment, as the molding conditions at the time of press molding, the heating temperature of the glass material is 670 ° C., and the pressing force is 500 Kgf.

Then, the glass material is cooled to obtain a molded V-groove optical connector substrate.

The heating temperature at the time of press molding is higher than the glass transition point of the glass material and is a temperature at which it can be deformed under pressure. Final pressing at temperature is desirable. In addition, after such final pressing, the molded product may shrink slightly during cooling, so in consideration of this shrinkage amount, the convex portion of the upper die should not be processed into the same shape as the desired V groove portion. It is desirable to process the convex portion into a shape in which the amount of heat shrinkage is corrected in advance.

FIG. 3C shows a cross section of the molded product press-molded in the step (b). The convex portion 105 of the upper mold 6 is transferred to the glass material 30 after press molding, and the V groove portion 101 of the V groove optical connector base is formed. The thickness of the glass material 30 after this press molding is about 1 mm.

In this embodiment, the glass material 30 having a thickness of 1.5 mm is press-formed to 1 mm, so that, for example, 50 V groove portions are transferred to the glass material 30 by one press-forming.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged photograph of a molded product obtained by this press molding, magnified 4.8 times. Comparing the enlarged photograph of this molded product with the enlarged photograph of the upper mold 6 shown in FIG. 4, the transferability of the V groove formed in the molded product is good, and a highly accurate molded product of the desired shape is obtained. Was given.

Next, the glass material having the V groove formed by this press molding is cut into a desired size with a slicer using diamond and washed to obtain a finished V groove optical connector substrate.

After that, the optical fiber to be connected is placed in the V-groove portion of the V-groove optical connector board and fixed to fix it.
The fiber retainer is placed on the optical fiber on the V-groove portion and irradiated with ultraviolet rays (UV) or YAG laser to fuse them. Further, by covering the V-groove optical connector board, the optical fiber connecting portion, and the entire fiber retainer with a Kovar case, the optical connector is completed.

Next, the transmission loss of the V-groove optical connector manufactured in this embodiment was measured. This transmission loss depends on the refractive index of the glass material, the amount of absorption in the near-infrared region, the surface roughness of the V-groove part, etc., but an example of the measured loss is 0.1 dB / km or less at a wavelength of 1.3 μm. Met. This value plays a sufficient role as an optical connector.

Such a processing method has an advantage that a plurality of V-groove optical connector substrates can be efficiently manufactured in a short time with a small number of manufacturing steps. Therefore, the productivity is improved as compared with the conventional method, and the cost can be significantly reduced.

The V-groove optical connector board of the present invention is
The upper mold may be manufactured using a mold having a flat surface, and the lower mold may be manufactured using a mold having a V-shaped convex portion. That is, when a glass material is placed on the convex portion of the lower mold and the glass material is heated to a deformable state by an arbitrary heating device, the V groove portion can be formed in the glass material by its own weight. Further, by heating the glass material and placing the upper mold on the glass material, the V groove portion can be formed in the glass material by the weight of the upper mold. Further, the glass material may be pressed by its own weight such as a weight placed on the upper mold to form the V groove in the glass material. That is, a glass material is placed on a lower mold having a V-shaped convex portion, and the glass material is heated by at least one of the weight of the glass material, the weight of the upper mold, and the weight of the weight. The material may be pressed to form V-grooves in the glass material.

The heating device in this case is not limited to the one in which the glass material and the mold are fixedly arranged in a heating unit such as an infrared lamp or high frequency induction heating, and the heating zone to the cooling zone are continuously connected. It is also possible to use a continuous furnace in which the glass material is moved together with the mold from the heating zone to the cooling zone. The molded product obtained by using such an apparatus also has a result sufficiently satisfying the performance as the V-groove optical connector substrate. By manufacturing a V-groove optical connector board using such an apparatus, the productivity is further improved, and it is possible to mass-produce the V-groove optical connector board at a low cost.

In this embodiment, the example of the glass material is Pyrex glass, but
The material is not limited to this embodiment as long as it can be used as a V-groove optical connector board.

[0043]

As described above, according to the method of manufacturing the V-groove optical connector board of the present invention and the method of manufacturing the optical connector provided with this board, the complicated machining and etching steps which have been conventionally performed can be performed. It can be eliminated or eliminated, the manufacturing time of the V-groove optical connector substrate can be shortened, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, once a mold corresponding to the shape of the V-groove portion of the V-groove optical connector board is manufactured, even a V-groove optical connector board having a complicated shape can be easily and accurately manufactured, which is stable and inexpensive. It is possible to produce a large number of V-groove optical connector boards. Furthermore, an inexpensive optical connector can be provided by using this V-groove optical connector board.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a V manufactured in an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure which shows a groove | channel optical connector board | substrate, (a) of FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a V groove | channel optical connector board | substrate, (b) is the enlarged view which expanded a part of V groove part.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an optical element molding apparatus used in the method of manufacturing a V-groove optical connector base according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a method for manufacturing a V-groove optical connector base according to the present invention, and FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c) are diagrams for schematically explaining each step.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged photomicrograph of the upper mold used in this embodiment.

5 is a V formed by the upper mold shown in FIG. 4;
It is a microscope picture which expanded the groove optical connector substrate.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional method for manufacturing a V-groove optical connector substrate, and FIGS. 6A to 6D are diagrams for schematically explaining each step.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional method for manufacturing a V-groove optical connector substrate, and FIGS. 7A to 7D are diagrams for schematically explaining each step.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Frame 2 ... Fixed stand 4 ... Upper mold assembly 5 ... Die plate 6 ... Upper mold 7 ... Fixed die 8 ... Driving device 8a ... Servo motor 8b ... Load detector 9 ... Moving shaft 11 ... Lower mold assembly 12 ... Die plate 13 ... Lower mold 14 ... Moving die 15 ... Bracket 16 ... Transparent quartz tube 17 ... Molding chamber 9 ... Lamp unit 20 ... Infrared lamp 23 ... Gas supply path 24 ... Gas supply path 25 ... Gas supply path 27 ... Temperature detection Thermocouple 28 ... Control device

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a V-groove optical connector board having a V-groove portion for positioning and holding the optical fibers in order to connect end faces of the optical fibers facing each other, at least one of which is the V-groove optical connector board. A mold having a V-shaped convex portion corresponding to the V groove portion, a first step of arranging a glass material between a pair of molds opposed to each other, and a second step of heating the pair of molds and the glass material. And a third step of transferring the convex portion of the mold to at least one surface of the glass material to form a V-groove portion, the method for producing a V-groove optical connector substrate. 2. The manufacturing of a V-groove optical connector board according to claim 1, wherein in the third step, the V-groove portion is formed by press-molding the glass material between the pair of molds. Method. 3. The press molding has a heating device for either infrared lamp heating or high-frequency induction heating, and a drive source for either an electric motor or a hydraulic mechanism, and the press temperature and the position of the press shaft. 3. The method for manufacturing a V-groove optical connector board according to claim 2, which is carried out by an optical element molding device including a control device for arbitrarily controlling a pressing force and a pressing speed. 4. In the third step, the glass material placed between the pair of molds and heated by a heating device is used for the weight of the glass material, the weight of the mold placed on the glass material, and The method for manufacturing a V-groove optical connector substrate according to claim 1, wherein the V-groove portion is formed by applying pressure by at least one of the weights of the weights placed on the mold. 5. The heating device is a continuous furnace in which a heating zone and a cooling zone are continuously arranged, and a glass material is configured to move from the heating zone to the cooling zone together with a pair of molds. 5. The method of manufacturing a V-groove optical connector board according to claim 4, wherein. 6. The V-shaped convex portion of the mold is formed in a shape that corrects the amount of heat shrinkage of the glass material, and the V groove is formed using this mold. 6. The method for manufacturing a V-groove optical connector board according to any one of 1 to 5. 7. A method of manufacturing an optical connector comprising a V-groove optical connector base for positioning and holding the optical fibers so as to connect end faces of the optical fibers facing each other, at least one of which is the V-groove optical connector base. A mold having a V-shaped convex portion corresponding to the V-shaped groove, and a first step of arranging a glass material between a pair of molds arranged to face each other; and a step of heating the pair of molds and the glass material. Step 2, a third step of transferring the convex portion of the mold to at least one surface of the glass material to form a V groove portion, cutting the glass material into a desired size, and forming a V groove optical connector substrate. Forming the optical connector by fixing the optical fiber to be connected to the V-groove portion of the V-groove optical connector board, and placing the two optical connectors in opposition to each other. Fiber After the combined sixth step and method for manufacturing an optical connector which is characterized by comprising the fusion splicing.