JPH10135547A - Optical amplifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To form an optical amplifier with excellent thermal resistance by emitting pump light on a portion comprising a resin product including base resin having a specific glass transition temperature and coloring matter, for optical wave guidance, so as to excite this portion, and propagating signal light to the portion to and amplifying the signal light. SOLUTION: Thermal resistant resin such as polyimide, having a glass transition temperature of 180 deg.C or higher, more preferably 220 deg.C or higher, is employed as the base resin. Similar to the base resin, thermal resistant material such as nitroaniline is employed as the coloring matter. These materials are combined, and applied on a quartz wafer 6 and set, to form a portion for light waveguidance, as a thin film slab-type light waveguide path 5, on one substrate 6. Semiconductor laser such as GaAlAs is employed to emit signal light 1 and pump light 2. The pump light is emitted to excite the portion, then the signal light is propagated to the portion, and the signal light is amplified. Thus, the optical amplifier with excellent thermal resistance can be formed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to optical components such as optical communication, optical signal processing, and optical computers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of optical communication and the like, as a device for directly amplifying signal light, a rare earth element such as erbium or neodymium is added to a glass-based material as disclosed in JP-A-3-260633. There is a method of forming an optical fiber and pumping it with a high-power pump light laser.
Since such optical amplification can amplify an optical signal without converting the optical signal into electricity, there is an advantage that there is no noise in conversion from light to electricity and electricity to light, and that the configuration of the device is simplified. is there.

[0003] The optical amplifier disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-260633 is usually operated at a high temperature of 500 ° C. or higher in order to add a rare earth element such as erbium or neodymium to a high melting point material such as quartz or fluoride glass. Requires a heat treatment, which makes the manufacturing apparatus and process expensive. In addition, it is easy to produce a rare-earth-doped fiber by itself, and it can be used as a fiber amplifier for a silica-based glass fiber, but it can be formed on the same substrate on which a light-emitting element, a passive element, and a modulator are formed. There is a problem that it is difficult. On the other hand, recently, a fiber type optical amplifier in which a non-linear optical material is added based on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or the like has been reported, but the PMMA-based material usually has a glass transition temperature of 10%.
At about 0 ° C, there is a problem in reliability, such as low heat resistance, which limits the environmental conditions when the device is formed. In addition, when the device is formed on a substrate, it is manufactured by soldering or packaging. In the process, deformation and the like are likely to occur, and there is a problem in the reliability as an apparatus.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide an optical amplifier which is easy to manufacture and has high heat resistance and stable optical amplification performance. The second aspect of the present invention provides an optical amplifier which is excellent in transparency, mixing with a dye, and the like in addition to the effects of the first aspect of the present invention. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first or second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical amplifier which is easier to manufacture and can form an electric circuit or the like on the same substrate.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a pump light is incident on an optical waveguide portion made of a resin composition containing a base resin and a dye having a glass transition temperature of 180 ° C. or higher, and this portion is excited. The present invention also relates to an optical amplifier characterized in that the signal light is amplified by transmitting the signal light to this portion. Further, the present invention relates to the optical amplifier, wherein the resin having a glass transition temperature of 180 ° C. or higher is a polyimide resin. In addition, the present invention relates to the optical amplifier, wherein the portion that performs optical waveguide is a thin film.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The base resin of the present invention has a glass transition temperature of 180 ° C. or higher in order to sufficiently withstand a severe environment. Further, in order to have a thermal margin during the manufacturing process, the glass transition point temperature is preferably 200 ° C. or higher, and more preferably 220 ° C. or higher. As the base resin having a glass transition temperature of 180 ° C. or higher in the present invention, for example, polyimide, polyamideimide, polyetherimide, polysulfone,
Examples include polysiloxane and silicone. transparency,
Polyimide resins such as polyimide, polyamide imide, and polyether imide are more preferable in terms of good mixing with a dye.

[0007] These polyimides are widely produced from polyimide-based precursors. The polyimide precursor is, for example, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N,
It can be obtained by reacting a tetracarboxylic dianhydride with a diamine in a polar solvent such as N-dimethylacetamide, γ-butyrolactone, dimethylsulfoxide and the like. The reaction between the tetracarboxylic dianhydride and the diamine is preferably carried out in approximately equimolar amounts,
The reaction temperature is usually from 0 to 40 ° C, and the reaction time is usually from 30 minutes to 50 hours.

There are no particular restrictions on the types of tetracarboxylic dianhydride and diamine used, but from the viewpoint of improving transparency, at least one of the tetracarboxylic dianhydride and the diamine contains a fluorine-containing compound. Preferably, it is used.

Examples of the fluorine-containing tetracarboxylic dianhydride include (trifluoromethyl) pyromellitic dianhydride, di (trifluoromethyl) pyromellitic dianhydride, and di (heptafluoropropyl) pyromellitic Acid dianhydride, pentafluoroethyl pyromellitic dianhydride, bis {3,5-di (trifluoromethyl) phenoxy} pyromellitic dianhydride, 2,2-bis (3,4
-Dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane dianhydride, 5,5'-bis (trifluoromethyl) -3,
3 ', 4,4'-tetracarboxybiphenyl dianhydride, 2,2'-5,5'-tetrakis (trifluoromethyl) -3,3', 4,4'-tetracarboxybiphenyl dianhydride, , 5'-bis (trifluoromethyl)
-3,3 ', 4,4'-tetracarboxydiphenyl ether dianhydride, 5,5'-bis (trifluoromethyl) -3,3', 4,4'-tetracarboxybenzophenone dianhydride, bis {( Trifluoromethyl) dicarboxyphenoxy {benzene dianhydride, bis {(trifluoromethyl) dicarboxyphenoxy} (trifluoromethyl) benzene dianhydride, bis (dicarboxyphenoxy) (trifluoromethyl) benzene dianhydride, Bis (dicarboxyphenoxy) bis (trifluoromethyl) benzene dianhydride, bis (dicarboxyphenoxy) tetrakis (trifluoromethyl) benzene dianhydride, 2,2-bis {(4- (3,4-dicarboxy) Phenoxy) phenyl @ hexafluoropropane dianhydride,
Bis {(trifluoromethyl) dicarboxyphenoxy} biphenyl dianhydride, bis {(trifluoromethyl) dicarboxyphenoxy} bis (trifluoromethyl) biphenyl dianhydride, bis {(trifluoromethyl) dicarboxyphenoxy} diphenyl ether Dianhydride, bis (dicarboxyphenoxy) bis (trifluoromethyl) biphenyl dianhydride and the like.

As the diamine containing fluorine, for example,
4- (1H, 1H, 11H-eicosafluoroundecanooxy) -1,3-diaminobenzene, 4- (1H, 1
H-perfluoro-1-butanoxy) -1,3-diaminobenzene, 4- (1H, 1H-perfluoro-1-heptanoxy) -1,3-diaminobenzene, 4- (1
H, 1H-perfluoro-1-octanoxy) -1,3
-Diaminobenzene, 4-pentafluorophenoxy-
1,3-diaminobenzene, 4- (2,3,5,6-tetrafluorophenoxy) -1,3-diaminobenzene, 4- (4-fluorophenoxy) -1,3-diaminobenzene, 4- (1H , 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluoro-1-hexanoxy) -1,3-diaminobenzene, 4- (1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluoro-1)
-Dodecanoxy) -1,3-diaminobenzene, (2,
5) -Diaminobenzotrifluoride, bis (trifluoromethyl) phenylenediamine, diaminotetra (trifluoromethyl) benzene, diamino (pentafluoroethyl) benzene, 2,5-diamino (perfluorohexyl) benzene, 2,5- Diamino (perfluorobutyl) benzene, 2,2'-bis (trifluoromethyl) -4,4'-diaminobiphenyl, 3,3'-
Bis (trifluoromethyl) -4,4'-diaminobiphenyl, octafluorobenzidine, 4,4'-diaminodiphenyl ether, 2,2-bis (p-aminophenyl) hexafluoropropane, 1,3-bis (anilino) Hexafluoropropane, 1,4-bis (anilino) octafluorobutane, 1,5-bis (anilino)
Decafluoropentane, 1,7-bis (anilino) tetradecafluoroheptane, 2,2'-bis (trifluoromethyl) -4,4'-diaminodiphenyl ether,
3,3'-bis (trifluoromethyl) -4,4'-diaminodiphenyl ether, 3,3 ', 5,5'-tetrakis (trifluoromethyl) -4,4'-diaminodiphenyl ether, 3,3'- Bis (trifluoromethyl) -4,4'-diaminobenzophenone, 4,4'-
Diamino-p-terphenyl, 1,4-bis (p-aminophenyl) benzene, p-bis (4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy) benzene, bis (aminophenoxy) bis (trifluoromethyl) benzene, Bis (aminophenoxy) tetrakis (trifluoromethyl) benzene, 2,2-bis {4- (4-aminophenoxy) phenyl} hexafluoropropane, 2,2-bis {4- (3-aminophenoxy) phenyl} hexa Fluoropropane, 2,2-bis {4- (2-aminophenoxy) phenyl} hexafluoropropane, 2,2-
Bis {4- (4-aminophenoxy) -3,5-dimethylphenyl} hexafluoropropane, 2,2-bis {4- (4-aminophenoxy) -3,5-ditrifluoromethylphenyl} hexafluoropropane, 4,
4'-bis (4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy) biphenyl, 4,4'-bis (4-amino-3
-Trifluoromethylphenoxy) biphenyl, 4,
4'-bis (4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy) diphenylsulfone, 4,4'-bis (3-amino-5-trifluoromethylphenoxy) diphenylsulfone, 2,2-bis {4- (4 -Amino-3-trifluoromethylphenoxy) phenyl} hexafluoropropane, bis {(trifluoromethyl) aminophenoxy} biphenyl, bis [{(trifluoromethyl) aminophenoxy} phenyl] hexafluoropropane,
Bis {2-[(aminophenoxy) phenyl] hexafluoroisopropyl} benzene and the like.

The tetracarboxylic dianhydride containing no fluorine includes, for example, p-terphenyl-3,4,4
3 ", 4" -tetracarboxylic dianhydride, pyromellitic dianhydride, 3,3 ', 4,4'-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride, 3,3', 4,4'-biphenyltetra Carboxylic dianhydride, 3,3 ', 4,4'-biphenylethertetracarboxylic dianhydride, 1,2,2
5,6-naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride, 2,
3,6,7-naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride,
2,3,5,6-pyridinetetracarboxylic dianhydride,
1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride, 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride, 4,4'-sulfonyldiphthalic dianhydride, 3,
3 ', 4,4'-tetraphenylsilanetetracarboxylic dianhydride, meta-terphenyl-3,3 ", 4,4"
-Tetracarboxylic dianhydride, 3,3 ', 4,4'-diphenylethertetracarboxylic dianhydride, 1,3-
Bis (3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) -1,1,3
3-tetramethyldisiloxane dianhydride, 1- (2,3
-Dicarboxyphenyl) -3- (3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) -1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane dianhydride. When a polyamideimide resin is obtained, usually trimellitic anhydride chloride or the like is used.

Examples of the diamine containing no fluorine include 4,4'-diaminodiphenyl ether and 4,4 '
-Diaminodiphenylmethane, 4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone, 4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfide, benzine, methanephenylenediamine, paraphenylenediamine, 2,2-bis- (4-aminophenoxyphenyl) propane, 1,5 -Naphthalenediamine,
2,6-naphthalenediamine, bis- (4-aminophenoxyphenyl) sulfone, bis- (4-aminophenoxyphenyl) sulfide, bis- (4-aminophenoxyphenyl) biphenyl, 1,4-bis- (4-amino Phenoxy) benzene, 1,3-bis- (4-aminophenoxy) benzene, 3,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether, 3,3′-dimethyl-4,4′-diaminobiphenyl, 3,3′-dimethoxy-4, 4'-diaminobiphenyl, 4,4'-diaminodiphenyl ether-
3-sulfonamide, 3,4'-diaminodiphenylether-4-sulfonamide, 3,4'-diaminodiphenylether-3'-sulfonamide, 3,3'-diaminodiphenylether-4-sulfonamide, 4,
4'-diaminodiphenylmethane-3-sulfonamide, 3,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane-4-sulfonamide, 3,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane-3 '
-Sulfonamide, 3,3'-diaminodiphenylmethane-4-sulfonamide, 4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone-3-sulfonamide, 3,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone-4-sulfonamide, 3,4'-
Diaminodiphenylsulfone-3'-sulfonamide,
3,3'-diaminodiphenylsulfone-4-sulfonamide, 4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfide-
3-sulfonamide, 3,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfide-4-sulfonamide, 3,3'-diaminodiphenylsulfide-4-sulfonamide, 3,
4'-diaminodiphenylsulfide-3'-sulfonamide, 1,4-diaminobenzene-2-sulfonamide, 4,4'-diaminodiphenylether-3-carbonamide, 3,4'-diaminodiphenylether-4-carbonamide 3,4'-diaminodiphenyl ether-3'-carbonamide, 3,3'-diaminodiphenyl ether-4-carbonamide, 4,4'-
Diaminodiphenylmethane-3-carbonamide, 3,
4'-diaminodiphenylmethane-4-carbonamide, 3,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane-3'-carbonamide, 3,3'-diaminodiphenylmethane-4
-Carbonamide, 4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone-3-carbonamide, 3,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone-4-carbonamide, 3,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone-3'-carbonamide, 3,
3'-diaminodiphenylsulfone-4'-carbonamide, 4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfide-3
-Carbonamide, 3,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfide-4-carbonamide, 3,3'-diaminodiphenylsulfide-4-carbonamide, 3,4 '
-Diaminodiphenylsulfide-3'-sulfonamide, 1,4-diaminobenzene-2-carbonamide and the like.

The above-mentioned tetracarboxylic dianhydride and diamine are used alone or in combination of two or more.

As the dye in the present invention, it is preferable to use a heat-resistant dye as in the case of the base resin, but it is sufficient that the dye has a heat resistance that does not decompose during the process of manufacturing the optical amplifier. Further, in order to prevent diffusion of the nonlinear optical material, a material chemically bonded to a base resin can be used. The dye in the present invention is not particularly limited, and for example, a rhodamine-based dye used in a dye laser can be used. Among these dyes, those that can be classified as nonlinear optical materials can also be preferably used. Specifically, for example, nitroaniline, phthalocyanine, rhodamine, fluorescein, disperse red, disperse orange, perylene scarlet,
Examples include organic materials such as roffin, and inorganic materials such as mercadmium orange red. The concentration of the dye with respect to the base resin is preferably 0.01 to 40% by weight.

In the optical amplifier of the present invention, the portion for conducting the optical waveguide preferably has a fiber shape, a thin film shape or the like, and more preferably a thin film shape. In addition, the light emitting element, the light receiving element, the modulation element, the electric circuit, and the like can be formed on the same substrate. Is preferably formed as an optical waveguide. The thin-film optical waveguide is usually called a slab optical waveguide. Further, the portion that performs optical waveguide may be a ridge-type optical waveguide, a trench-type optical waveguide, or the like. Substrates used for these include, for example, quartz wafers, silicon wafers, gallium arsenide wafers, glass plates, resin plates, and the like.

The signal light and the pump light in the present invention are not particularly limited, and include a gas laser such as helium neon,
A solid-state laser such as Nd: YAG, a semiconductor laser such as GaAlAs, or the like can be used. The wavelength may be anywhere from about 500 nm in the visible region to around 1600 nm in the near-infrared region. It can be used in the range up to several watts. The signal light and the pump light in the present invention can be determined based on the absorption spectrum and emission spectrum of the dye used. The gain of the optical amplifier of the present invention varies depending on the effective amplification length of the amplifier, the intensity of the pump light, and the like, but is preferably 3 to 50 dB.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to examples.

【Example】

Example 1 In a 0.5-liter flat bottom flask, 90 g of N, N-dimethylacetamide and 2,2-bis (3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropanoic dianhydride.
61 g and 2,39'-bis [4- (4-aminophenoxy) phenyl] hexafluoropropane 5.39 g were dissolved and stirred at room temperature for 10 hours to obtain a polyimide precursor. The polyimide precursor was spin-coated on a 5-inch quartz wafer (1 mm thick) and dried in a curing oven at 100 ° C. for 30 minutes and 200 ° C. for 2 hours, and then the glass transition temperature of the cured polyimide film Measured 25
It was 0 ° C.

To this polyimide precursor, 0.5 g of Rhodamine B was added and stirred at room temperature for 1 hour to obtain a varnish.
The varnish was spin-coated on a 5-inch quartz wafer, dried and cured in a curing furnace at 100 ° C. for 30 minutes and at 200 ° C. for 2 hours to form a slab optical waveguide. This slab type optical waveguide was measured by the prism coupling method shown in FIG. 1 (measured at a temperature of 20 ° C.). FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a method for measuring optical amplification (prism coupling method) of a slab-type optical waveguide. In FIG. Is a slab type optical waveguide and 6 is a quartz wafer.

Specifically, a helium-neon laser (wavelength: 633 nm) having an output of 5 mW as signal light and an argon laser (wavelength: 515 nm) having an output of 200 mW as pump light are incident, and the light is emitted when guided by 6 cm. Was taken out and the power was measured. The output power of the emitted light having a wavelength of 633 nm was 1 mW when there was no pump light, but was 3 mW when the pump light was incident, and it was confirmed that the signal light was amplified. Also, this slab type optical waveguide is
After heating at 20 ° C. for 300 hours, the same measurement as above was carried out, but there was no change in the emitted light, and it was confirmed that the heat resistance was excellent.

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the optical amplifier has a high reliability such as easy manufacturing process, heat resistance and stable optical amplification performance. The optical amplifier according to the second aspect has the effects of the invention according to the first aspect, and is further excellent in transparency, mixing with a dye, and the like. The optical amplifier according to the third aspect has the effects of the invention according to the first or second aspect, is easier to manufacture, and can form an electric circuit or the like on the same substrate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a method for measuring optical amplification of a slab-type optical waveguide (prism coupling method).

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Signal light 2 Pump light 3 Emission light 4 Prism 5 Slab type optical waveguide 6 Quartz wafer

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pump light is made incident on a portion where optical waveguide is made of a resin composition containing a base resin and a dye having a glass transition temperature of 180 ° C. or higher, and this portion is put into an excited state, and a signal light is made on this portion. An optical amplifier characterized by amplifying this signal light by propagating light. 2. The optical amplifier according to claim 1, wherein the resin having a glass transition temperature of 180 ° C. or higher is a polyimide resin. 3. The optical amplifier according to claim 1, wherein the portion that performs optical waveguide is a thin film.