JPH10239535A - Optical wiring parts, and manufacturing thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide optical wiring parts high in mass production, thin, free in shape and improved in optical characteristic, by arranging a plurality of optical fibers in a plane shape conforming to wiring shape, and connecting these optical fibers through a binder to form the optical wiring parts for connecting optical input and output parts of a plurality of optical parts. SOLUTION: As optical wiring parts for connecting optical input and output parts of a plurality of optical parts arranged on a printed circuit board or the like, a plurality of optical fibers 1, 4, 7 are arranged in plane shape in conformity to wiring shape, and these optical fibers are connected through a binder 6. In case of using coated optical fibers 7 of 0.25mm in diameter and vinyl group resin as the binder 6, for instance, resilient optical wiring parts with a thickness of about 0.4mm can be realized. At this time, even though the optical fibers are of bent wiring shape, the optical fibers are fastened to each other to maintain the shape, and wiring shape can be restrained from getting out of shape by partially using a relatively hard binder for the bent parts or the like of the optical fibers.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical wiring component for connecting optical input / output units of a plurality of optical components arranged on a printed board or the like, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 10 shows a conventional technique (RA, Nord).
in et al., “Advanced Optical Interconnection Technolog
y in Switching Equipment ”, Journal of Lightwave T
hechnology, vol.13, No.6, p.990, 1995). In the conventional example, like drawing a figure with a plotter, optical fibers are placed on a sheet having adhesiveness in a desired wiring shape one by one, and after the placement is completed, another sheet is bonded from above. . A connector is attached to this to provide an interface with the input / output unit of the optical component. Through these steps, an optical wiring component is completed.

[0003]

However, in the conventional example, 1
Because of the installation of each fiber, the wiring of a plurality of optical fibers takes a very long time and the mass productivity is poor. In addition, since the optical fiber is laminated using two sheets, there is a limit in reducing the thickness of the optical wiring component.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a mass-productive, thin, and flexible connection terminal for connecting to other parts, and to provide optical characteristics. And to provide a method for manufacturing the same.

[0005]

Therefore, as a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical wiring component for connecting optical input / output portions of a plurality of optical components, wherein the plurality of optical fibers are formed in a wiring shape. There is provided an optical wiring component which is arranged in a planar manner and in which these optical fibers are connected to each other via a bonding agent.

Next, as a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical wiring component for connecting optical input / output portions of a plurality of optical components, wherein one or more optical fibers and an outer diameter of the optical fiber are provided. An elastic member having substantially the same thickness as that of the optical fiber is arranged in a plane in accordance with the wiring shape, and an optical wiring component in which the optical fiber and the elastic member are connected to each other via a binder is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the above-described wiring configuration of the optical wiring component, a point between two points not on the same straight line of the optical wiring component is constituted by a combination of an arc and a straight line. Alternatively, an optical wiring component according to the second aspect is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the optical fibers of the above-mentioned input / output section are not connected to each other by about 1 cm, and the coating is removed by about several mm, so that the tip end surface of the optical fiber is removed. An optical wiring component according to the first or second aspect, which is processed to have a smooth surface.

Further, as a fifth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of optical fibers, or at least one optical fiber and an elastic member having a thickness substantially equal to the outer diameter of the optical fiber are mounted on a mold having a wiring shape. And apply the binder on this mold,
Alternatively, there is provided a method for manufacturing an optical wiring component, comprising a step of removing a mold after spraying and curing of a binder.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, mainly on the following examples.

[0011]

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention. First,
The first embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a plurality of optical fibers are formed in a wiring shape as optical wiring components for connecting optical input / output units of a plurality of optical components arranged on a printed board or the like. The optical fibers are arranged in a planar manner together, and these optical fibers are connected to each other via a bonding agent.

As shown in FIG. 1B, which is a sectional view taken along the line AA 'in FIG. 1A, an optical fiber with a coating is used here. For example, if a coated optical fiber having a diameter of 0.25 mm and a vinyl resin are used as a binder, an optical wiring component having a thickness of about 0.4 mm and elasticity can be realized. At this time, since there are a plurality of optical fibers, FIG.
Even in the case of a wiring shape having a bend as shown in (a), the optical fibers can be connected to each other to maintain the shape. When the thickness is about 0.4 mm, a narrow space, for example, a space remaining above an optical component mounted on a printed board is sufficient to be used as a wiring space. However, as shown in FIG. When crossing fibers, a thinner one can be realized by using bare optical fibers. It should be noted that the coated optical fiber is more advantageous when comparing the degree to which attention is paid to handling in consideration of breakage during manufacturing.

When a relatively hard binder, for example, an acrylic resin is partially used as a binder in a portion where the optical fiber is bent, deformation of the wiring shape due to the elastic restoring force of the optical fiber is suppressed. can do. Further, a sheet may be attached as an auxiliary.

According to the structure of the first embodiment, since only the binder is used, an optical wiring component as thin as the outer diameter of the optical fiber can be realized.

Next, a second embodiment will be described. This is because, as a similar optical wiring component, one or more optical fibers and an elastic member having substantially the same thickness as this are arranged in a plane according to the wiring shape, and these optical fibers and the elastic members are joined together. Are linked by an agent.

In the portion 101 of FIG. 1A, the number of optical fibers required for optical wiring is one as shown by 4 in the figure. However, since one fiber cannot support each other, the outside diameter is almost the same as that of the optical fiber. By using an elastic member having a diameter, for example, the optical fiber 3 itself or the rod-shaped plastic 5 as a reinforcing member, a resilient wiring shape can be formed using a vinyl-based binder.

According to the structure of the second aspect, even if the number of optical fibers is small, the elastic member can be used as a reinforcing member,
An optical wiring component similar to the first embodiment can be realized.

Next, a third embodiment will be described. This relates to the wiring shape of the optical wiring component.

The portion 102 in FIG. 1A is bent so that the entirety of the arrayed optical fibers is shifted over the length L in the axial direction and by the length H in the direction perpendicular thereto. It is the wiring shape provided. In the present invention, the center line of the wiring portion is formed of only two arcs having a radius R and an angle θ as shown in FIG. Here, R = H (L ² / H
² +1) / 4, θ = cos ⁻¹ ((1−H ² / L ² ) /
(1 + H ² / L ² )). When the number of optical fibers in the optical wiring section is one, the arc is set on the arc, and when the number is plural, the center line is set on the arc. If wiring is performed by relying on the elasticity of the optical fiber instead of this, the shape shown in FIG. 4 is approximated by the formula of the cube of x, where x is the horizontal axis and y is the vertical axis. In this case, the radius of curvature of the curve is not constant in the axial direction of the fiber, but becomes extremely small at the end of the wiring portion as shown in FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the bending loss becomes large as compared with the case where wiring is performed by using an arc.

On the other hand, according to the shape of the present invention, since the radius of curvature is constant and the optical fiber can be continuously wired with the maximum value, the bending loss can be suppressed as much as possible. The bending at the portions 101 and 103 in FIG. 1A has a similar shape. The above is the case of L> H, but when L <H, as shown in FIG.
2. The wiring may be performed by adding a straight line to the arc of θ = 90 °.
In the case where the optical fibers are orthogonal between two points, 10 in FIG.
As in the case of the portion 4, wiring may be performed with an arc of θ = 90 °, and by combining with the shape of the third embodiment, an arbitrary wiring shape can be handled.

Therefore, according to the wiring shape of the third aspect, an arbitrary optical wiring shape can be formed in which bending loss is suppressed to a small value. By generalizing this wiring shape as a basic shape, wiring design can be efficiently performed.

Next, a portion relating to the fourth embodiment will be described. This relates to the structure of the input / output unit of the optical wiring component.

In the portion 105 of FIG. 1A, the optical fibers are about 10 mm and are not bonded to each other, and the coating is removed from the tip of 2 mm, and a process for smoothing the tip, for example, a cleavage plane Has been chamfered. Chamfering removes burrs at the circumferential portion generated when the optical fiber is cleaved, and creates a flat core portion. In this state, connection with another optical fiber or optical waveguide can be made by the method shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8A, the optical fiber is supported by the support member 10 so that the optical fiber tip slightly protrudes at about 10 mm from the tip, and the bare fiber portion of the optical fiber tip enters. A member 13 having a through hole having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the optical fiber is prepared. Another optical fiber, which is an interface part of the optical component mounted on the printed board, is passed through the through hole from the other port of 13. At the time of connection, when the ends of both optical fibers abut, the optical fibers on the optical wiring component side individually bend as shown in FIG. 8B, and the buckling forces generated at that time bring the optical fiber end surfaces into close contact. Thus, a connection having excellent optical characteristics with low connection loss and reflection is realized.

In order to connect the wiring component and the optical waveguide, as shown in FIG. 8C, 13 is placed on the end face of the optical waveguide in accordance with the position of the core 15 of the optical waveguide, and the optical waveguide is inserted into the through hole. The tip of the optical fiber of the wiring component is inserted, and the tip face and the end face of the optical waveguide are brought into close contact. These connection methods generally realize a connection with an insertion loss of 0.5 dB or less and a return loss of 50 dB or more.

That is, according to the structure of the fourth embodiment,
When connecting to another optical fiber, a method in which the tip of the optical fiber is brought into close contact using the deflection of the optical fiber is applicable, and an optical wiring component having both mass productivity and good optical characteristics can be realized.

Next, a fifth embodiment will be described. This relates to a method for manufacturing an optical wiring component of the present invention, and FIG. 9 shows an embodiment thereof.

First, as a first step, as shown in FIG. 9A, an optical fiber is installed in a flat mold groove having a groove corresponding to the wiring shape. Next, as a second step, FIG.
As shown in (b), after pressing down 17 at both ends of the groove,
The binder is applied or sprayed. Then, as a third step, as shown in FIG. 9C, after the binder is cured, the optical fiber is removed from the mold. The optical wiring component is manufactured through the above steps. In addition, it is also possible to make the surface of the mold sticky and omit the optical fiber pressing. Alternatively, the adhesive sheet may be formed in a wiring shape instead of the groove, the optical fiber may be installed as a mold, and the optical fiber may be removed after coupling.

According to the present embodiment, the mold can be used any number of times, a large number of wires having the same shape can be manufactured, and the application and spraying of the binder are simple operations. Since multiple optical fibers can be installed at one time, they are very suitable for mass production.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide an optical fiber wiring component that has high mass productivity, is thin, has a flexible shape, has connection terminals with other components, and has excellent optical characteristics.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a structural view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing wirings where optical fibers intersect.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a wiring shape when wiring is performed by using an arc of an optical fiber when L> H.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a wiring shape in the case where the elasticity of an optical fiber is left.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a difference in a radius of curvature between a wiring shape formed by an arc and a wiring shape formed by elasticity of an optical fiber.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a wiring shape in the case where L <H and wiring is performed by an arc of an optical fiber.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a difference in bending loss between a wiring shape formed by an arc and a wiring shape formed by elasticity of an optical fiber.

FIGS. 8A to 8C are explanatory diagrams relating to an interface section of an optical wiring component.

FIGS. 9A to 9C are explanatory diagrams of the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram relating to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 7, 12 Bare optical fiber 2 Optical fiber non-coupling part 3 Reinforcement optical fiber 4 Optical fiber 5 Reinforcement plastic 6 Binder 8 Coating 9 Adhesive 10 Support member 11 Optical fiber coating part 13 Member with through hole 14 Light Fiber buckling part 15 Core 16 Optical waveguide 17 Optical fiber holder 101 A part for taking out a small number of optical fibers of an optical wiring part 102 A plurality of optical fibers of an optical wiring part, and a part using an optical fiber and an elastic member 103 Optical fiber parts Portion for extracting a plurality of optical fibers 104 Portion bent at right angle of optical wiring component 105 Optical input / output unit of optical wiring component

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shigeyuki Mitachi 3-19-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Claims (5)

[Claims] An optical wiring component for connecting optical input / output portions of a plurality of optical components, wherein a plurality of optical fibers are arranged in a plane according to a wiring shape, and these optical fibers are connected to each other by a binder. An optical wiring component, wherein the optical wiring component is connected via a wire. 2. An optical wiring component for connecting optical input / output units of a plurality of optical components, comprising: one or more optical fibers;
An elastic member having substantially the same thickness as the outer diameter of the optical fiber is arranged in a plane according to the wiring shape, and the optical fiber and the elastic member are connected to each other via a bonding agent. Optical wiring components. 3. The wiring shape of the optical wiring component, wherein a point between two points not on the same straight line of the optical wiring component is constituted by a combination of an arc and a straight line.
Or the optical wiring component according to 2. 4. The optical fiber of the input / output section is about 1 cm, is not connected to each other, and the coating is removed by about several mm, and the optical fiber tip surface is processed into a smooth surface. The optical wiring component according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 5. A method of manufacturing an optical wiring component for connecting optical input / output portions of a plurality of optical components, comprising a plurality of optical fibers, or one or more optical fibers and an outer diameter of the optical fibers substantially equal to each other. An elastic member having the same thickness is arranged on a mold having a wiring shape, and a binder is applied on the mold, or
A method for manufacturing an optical wiring component, which comprises removing a mold after spraying and curing of a binder.