JPH11183750A - Manufacture of optical waveguide module for optical device, and optical device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of an optical waveguide module and an optical device capable of accurately aligning the optical axis of an optical device by simple operation and reducing manufacturing cost. SOLUTION: An optical device 1 is molded from an optical waveguide module 19 provided with a V groove substrate 2, an waveguide device 3, etc. Optical fibers 4, 5 are arranged on prescribed positions of the substrate 2. Aligning optical fibers 4a, 5a are arranged on both the right and left end parts of the substrate 2. The substrate 2 consists of a substrate material 8 forming positioning V grooves 6 and recessed parts 10 on its 1st reference face 7. The device 3 consists of a substrate 12 forming optical waveguides 13 provided with cores 15 and clads. When the reference faces 7, 14 are superposed to each other in a state inserting the waveguides 13 into the recessed parts 10 and the optical axes of the fibers 4a, 5a are aligned with that of aligning straight waveguides 13a, the optical axes of all optical fibers 4, 5 and optical waveguides 13 are aligned with each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical waveguide module for an optical device used for connecting optical fibers for signal light transmission used in, for example, optical communication and the like, and a method for manufacturing an optical device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An optical fiber or an optical waveguide used for optical communication or the like includes a core and a clad, and a signal light is transmitted inside the core. In addition, various connection structures have conventionally been considered for connecting a plurality of optical fibers to each other in a branch waveguide or the like.

For example, in the conventional connection structure shown in FIG. 10, a single-mode optical fiber 42 is connected to a waveguide device 41 having the above-described core and clad formed on a substrate.
V-groove substrates 44 and 45 are used to connect the optical fiber 43 with a plurality of single mode optical fibers 43.

In this case, after aligning the optical fibers 42, 43 in the V-grooves formed in the V-groove substrates 44, 45, the optical fibers 42, 4 are formed using an adhesive and a cover plate 46.
The input side fiber array 47 and the output side fiber array 48 are manufactured by fixing 3 to the V-groove substrates 44 and 45.

Then, the connection end faces of the waveguide device 41 and the fiber arrays 47 and 48 are optically polished. Thereafter, the connection end faces of the waveguide device 41 and the fiber arrays 47 and 48 are butted against each other using a jig for adjusting the optical axis, and the intensity of the emitted light is increased using a photodetector or the like while passing the light through the waveguide device 41. By measuring the height, the optical axes of the fiber arrays 47 and 48 with respect to the waveguide device 41 are adjusted. After the optical axis adjustment, the waveguide device 41 and the fiber arrays 47 and 48 are fixed to each other by an adhesive or the like.

[0006]

In general, when connecting the core of an optical waveguide and an optical fiber, it is known that the coupling loss will increase unless the deviation of the optical axis of each other is less than an allowable value. I have. In the case illustrated in FIG. 10, the waveguide device 41 and the fiber arrays 47 and 48 are
The optical axis is moved while being slightly moved in directions along arrows X, Y, and Z orthogonal to each other in the drawing and around the arrows X, Y, and Z (directions along the arrows Θx, Θy, and 図 示 z in the drawing). Adjustments needed to be made.

In this case, since the above-described alignment work for adjusting the optical axis is performed one by one using a relatively expensive alignment machine, the adjustment work tends to be prolonged and the productivity tends to decrease. At the same time, careful attention and a high degree of skill are required for the worker, and the unit price of the product tends to increase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical waveguide for an optical device in which the optical axes of an optical fiber and an optical waveguide can be accurately adjusted by a relatively simple operation and the cost of the optical device can be reduced. An object of the present invention is to provide a module and a method for manufacturing an optical device.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical waveguide module for an optical device, comprising: an input side optical fiber, an output side optical fiber, and a centering member at predetermined positions. And a flat first reference surface along the optical fiber and a concave portion.
A connecting member, and a second reference surface having an optical waveguide and an alignment linear waveguide disposed at predetermined positions and having a second reference surface overlapping the first reference surface in a state where the optical waveguide is inserted into the concave portion. 2 connection member, wherein each of the optical fibers and the optical waveguide overlaps a reference surface of the first connection member and a reference surface of the second connection member, and When the optical axis of the core linear waveguide is aligned, the optical axis of the optical fiber and the optical axis of the optical waveguide are positioned on a plane along the reference plane.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optical waveguide module for an optical device according to the first aspect, the first connecting member forms the concave portion and a V-groove for positioning an optical fiber. The first reference surface comprises a surface of the substrate material, the second connection member comprises a substrate on which an optical waveguide having a core and a clad is formed, and the second reference surface comprises: Consists of the surface of the substrate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical waveguide module for an optical device according to the second aspect, wherein the first connecting member is provided with a first connecting member and a first connecting member. A relief groove for the fixing adhesive with the second connection member is formed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the optical device manufacturing method, wherein the input side optical fiber, the output side optical fiber, and the alignment optical fiber are arranged at predetermined positions, and the first reference is flat along the optical fiber. A light guide comprising: a first connection member having a surface and a concave portion; and a second connection member having an optical waveguide and a linear alignment waveguide disposed at predetermined positions and having a flat second reference surface. In the method for manufacturing an optical device formed from a waveguide module, the first reference surface and the second reference surface are overlapped with each other and the alignment optical fiber and the alignment are aligned with the optical waveguide inserted into the concave portion. The optical waveguide module in which the first connection member and the second connection member are fixed to each other in a state where the optical axes of the optical waveguide and the linear waveguide are aligned with each other is cut for each of the optical waveguides, and individual optical devices are cut. It is characterized by obtaining.

In the optical waveguide module for an optical device according to the present invention, the first reference surface of the first connection member and the second reference surface of the second connection member are overlapped with each other, whereby the first The optical axes of the optical fibers disposed on the connecting member, the optical waveguide disposed on the second connecting member, and the alignment linear waveguide are located on the same plane along the reference plane.

Then, the optical fiber for alignment and the linear waveguide for alignment are slightly moved along the reference plane, in a direction crossing the optical fiber, and around an axis in the thickness direction of the reference plane. By adjusting the optical axes of the two optical fibers, the optical axes of all the remaining optical fibers and optical waveguides can be aligned with each other.

In the optical waveguide module for an optical device according to the present invention, the first reference surface is a surface of a substrate material forming a first connection member, and the second reference surface is a second connection member. This is the surface of the substrate to be formed. Therefore, when the first reference surface and the second reference surface are overlapped with each other, the relative position in the thickness direction between the first connection member and the second connection member is reliably determined.

Further, since the first connection member and the second connection member are formed as separate members from each other and can be manufactured in separate processes, the light guide can be compared with those integrated on one substrate material. The influence of distortion during the heat treatment at the time of forming the wave path is suppressed.

In the optical waveguide module for an optical device according to the third aspect, a relief groove for an adhesive used for fixing the connection members to each other is formed in the substrate material constituting the first connection member. Variations in the amount of adhesive applied have little effect on the relative positions of the reference surfaces.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing an optical device, all the remaining optical fibers and the optical waveguide of the optical waveguide module are aligned by aligning the optical axes of the optical fiber for alignment and the linear waveguide for alignment. Alignment work is performed simultaneously. In this case, in a state where the first reference surface of the first connection member and the second reference surface of the second connection member are superimposed on each other,
It is only necessary to move the first connection member and the second connection member minutely only in the direction along the reference plane and around the axis in the thickness direction of the reference plane.

Then, the optical waveguide module obtained as described above is cut into individual optical waveguides, and the like.
An optical device including a pair of input / output optical fibers and an optical waveguide can be obtained.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. For example, in optical communication, the optical device 1 is used to connect optical fibers for transmitting signal light to each other. The optical device 1 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, a V-groove substrate 2 as a first connection member,
It is molded from an optical waveguide module 19 having a waveguide device 3 and the like as a second connection member.

In the illustrated example, the optical device 1 includes one optical fiber 4, two other optical fibers 5, and one optical waveguide 13, which will be described later. It is a type of branch coupler.

The V-groove substrate 2 has an optical fiber 4 located at one end of the V-groove substrate 2 and an optical fiber 5 located at the other end of the V-groove substrate 2. These optical fibers 4 and 5 are arranged so that their optical axes are located on the same plane.

It is to be noted that one optical fiber 4 is provided in parallel with each other, and the other optical fiber 5 is also provided in parallel with each other. 1 and 2, only the optical fibers 4 and 5 located at the left and right ends of the V-groove substrate 2 are shown by solid lines, and the others are shown by two-dot chain lines. In the illustrated example, one optical fiber 4 constitutes an input side optical fiber, and the other optical fiber 5 constitutes an output side optical fiber.

Of the plurality of optical fibers 4 and 5, a pair of optical fibers 4a and 5a located at both ends of the substrate 2 are optical fibers for alignment, and are arranged so that their optical axes are aligned with each other. .

These alignment optical fibers 4a, 5a are:
In the illustrated example, the V-groove substrate 2 is provided at the left and right ends, but it is sufficient that the V-groove substrate 2 is provided at at least one of the left and right ends.

Each of the optical fibers 4 and 5 has a core having a high refractive index through which signal light passes, and a clad having a low refractive index covering the outer periphery of the core. As shown in FIG. 3, the V-groove substrate 2 has V-grooves 6 for positioning the optical fibers 4 and 5 described above in a number corresponding to the optical fibers 4 and 5. V groove 6
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, is provided on one surface of the V-groove substrate 2 which forms the first reference surface 7 such as the upper surface, for example.

The opening of the V-groove 6 is gradually narrowed as the distance from the first reference surface 7 of the V-groove substrate 2 increases.
The cross section is formed in a V-shape. The first reference plane 7
Is formed on one surface such as an upper surface of a substrate material 8 constituting the V-groove substrate 2 and is formed flat along the optical fibers 4 and 5.

The V-groove substrate 2 has the optical fibers 4 and 5 mounted on the respective V-grooves 6 and the optical fibers 4 and 5 protruding upward.
5 is pressed against the V-groove 6 by a lower surface 9a of a cover plate 9 (only a part of which is shown). This cover plate 9 is, as shown in FIG.
A leg 9b is provided integrally with the V-groove substrate 2 so as to straddle the optical fibers 4 and 5.

The V-groove substrate 2 has a V-groove 6 on which the optical fiber 4 is mounted and a concave portion 10 for communicating the V-groove 6 on which the optical fiber 5 is mounted. The recess 10 is provided on the first reference surface 7.

In the illustrated example, a V groove 6 for one optical fiber 5, a V groove 6 for two optical fibers 5,
One V-shaped groove 6 and one concave portion 10 communicating with each other form a set. One set of the V-shaped groove 6 and the concave portion 10 are formed on the first reference surface 7 in parallel with each other. ing.

Further, the V-groove substrate 2 is provided with the above-described set of V-grooves.
An escape groove 11 for the adhesive is formed between the groove 6 and the recess 10. The relief groove 11 has a V-shaped cross section similarly to the V-groove 6, and is formed on the first reference surface 7 substantially parallel to the V-groove 6 from the concave portion 10 to both ends of the substrate 2. I have.

The V-groove substrate 2 is integrated with a substrate material 8 made of, for example, a Si wafer, quartz, glass, or the like by a known processing technique such as etching, glass molding, or the like, by etching the V-groove 6, the recess 10 and the relief groove 11 described above. To be obtained.

For this reason, the positional deviation between the V-groove 6, the concave portion 10 and the relief groove 11, and the positional deviation between the V-groove 6, the concave portion 10 and the relief groove 11 and the first reference surface 7, etc. Is kept small enough to not be a problem.

When the substrate material 8 is composed of a Si wafer, the V-groove 6 and the recess 1 are formed by etching using a potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution or the like.
Zero and relief grooves 11 can be formed. In this case, the positional relationship among the V-groove 6, the concave portion 10, and the relief groove 11 described above is determined by the accuracy of the photomask, so that high accuracy is maintained.

The waveguide device 3 is formed on the second
The optical waveguide 1 is located at a predetermined position on one surface of the
3 is formed. In FIG. 1, the second reference surface 14 is located on the lower surface side of the substrate 12 of the waveguide device 3.
The second reference surface 14 is formed flat along the optical waveguide 13, and the second reference surface 14 is superimposed on the first reference surface 7 with the optical waveguide 13 inserted in the concave portion 10. ing.

The optical waveguide 13 of the waveguide device 3 is shown in FIG.
As shown, for example, a core 15 having a high refractive index formed on the second reference surface 14 and the core 15
And a low-refractive-index cladding 16 covering the same. The core 15 and the clad 16 are formed on the second reference surface 14 by a manufacturing process described later.

The optical waveguide 13 projects from the second reference plane 14 in the thickness direction of the reference plane 14. The optical waveguide 13 is configured to enter the recess 10 from the thickness direction of the reference surfaces 7 and 14 when the reference surfaces 7 and 14 overlap with each other. The optical waveguide 13 has the optical axis of the core 15 and the optical axes of the optical fibers 4 and 5 arranged on the V-groove 6,
They are located on the same plane along the reference surfaces 7 and 14.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the reference surfaces 7 and 14 overlap each other as described above, the waveguide device 3 adjusts the alignment optical fiber 4 of the V-groove substrate 2.
Alignment linear waveguides 13a corresponding to a and 5a are provided at both left and right ends thereof. The core 15a of the alignment waveguide 13a has an optical axis whose alignment optical fibers 4a, 5a
Are provided along the optical axis. The waveguide device 3
The optical waveguides 13 are provided in a number corresponding to the number of pairs of the V-grooves 6 and the concave portions 10 formed in the V-groove substrate 2.

In a state where the optical waveguide 13 enters the concave portion 10 and the reference planes 7 and 14 overlap with each other, the V-groove substrate 2 and the waveguide device 3 move in the direction indicated by the arrow X (in the reference planes 7 and 14). (The direction intersecting the optical fibers 4 and 5) and the axis Y in the thickness direction of the reference planes 7 and 14 (direction indicated by the arrow Θy in the drawing). ing. In the illustrated example, the arrow X indicates a direction orthogonal to the optical fibers 4 and 5.

The optical waveguide 13 has a waveguide structure in which the core 15 can be optically coupled to the optical fibers 4 and 5 disposed on a pair of V-grooves 6 formed in the V-groove substrate 2. ing. When the reference surfaces 7 and 14 overlap with each other and enter the concave portion 10, V is set along the arrows X and Δy.
By adjusting the positional relationship between the groove substrate 2 and the waveguide device 3, the optical waveguide 13 is a two-branch type light that branches into a Y-shape when the optical axes of the optical fibers 4 and 5 substantially coincide with each other. The device 1 is configured, and signal light can be transmitted between the optical fiber 4 and the optical fiber 5.

As described above, the V-groove substrate 2 has a plurality of sets of V-grooves 6 and concave portions 10 and the waveguide device 3 has the same number of optical waveguides 13 as the number of sets of V-grooves 6 and concave portions 10. , A plurality of optical devices 1 can be obtained at a time from one V-groove substrate 2 and one waveguide device 3.

Hereinafter, an example of a manufacturing process of the waveguide device 3 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, in a step S1 shown in FIG. 7, a first mask is formed on a portion of the substrate 12 made of Si wafer or quartz or the like where the second reference surface 14 is to be formed by a film forming method as shown in FIG. The layer 20 is formed. The first mask layer 20 has good adhesion to the substrate 12 and is used for removing the clad 16 in step S7 described below.
For example, it is preferably formed of aluminum, chromium, gold, or the like which does not corrode.

In step S2, as shown in FIG. 8B, the surfaces of the substrate 12 and the first mask layer 20 are
The core 15 having a high refractive index containing SiO ₂ as a main component is formed by a film forming method such as the CVD method or the PVD method described above.

In step S3, after a thin film made of WSi (tungsten silicide) or the like is formed by a sputtering method or the like, a predetermined waveguide pattern is formed as shown in FIG. Of the second mask layer 21 is formed.

In step S4, as shown in FIG. 8D, a waveguide core 15 having a predetermined pattern is formed by performing dry etching (reactive ion etching or the like) or the like. Thereafter, in step S5, as shown in FIG. 8E, the core 1 is formed by a CVD method or a PVD method.
A cladding 16 having a low refractive index containing SiO ₂ as a main component is formed so as to cover 5.

Next, in step S6, the cladding 1
After forming a thin film on 6, as shown in FIG.
Third mask layer 2 having a predetermined shape corresponding to the above-mentioned protrusion 13
Form 2

In step S7, the clad 16 formed on the first mask layer 20 is removed by dry etching or the like. At this time, the etching does not proceed beyond the surface of the substrate 12 as the reference surface 14 because of the presence of the first mask layer 20. That is, just etch becomes possible.
Then, the second reference plane 14 is obtained. Thereafter, in a step S8, the third mask layer 22 is removed as shown in FIG. 8G to obtain an optical waveguide (convex portion) 13.

Note that, depending on the etchant and the etching gas used for dissolving the first mask layer 20 in the step S7, the material of the first mask layer 20, and the like, as shown in the step S6, the third The optical waveguide (convex portion) 13 and the second reference plane 14 having a predetermined pattern can be obtained without forming the mask layer 22 of FIG. According to this method, step S6 can be omitted.

Since the cores 15 of the plurality of optical devices 1 are integrally drawn on the same mask by such a manufacturing process of the waveguide device 3, misalignment between the cores 15 between the plurality of optical devices 1 is caused. Are so small that they do not matter. Further, since the core 15 is formed directly on the substrate 12, the second reference surface 14 composed of the surface of the substrate 12 and the core 1
5 is also regulated with high precision.

For example, the core 15 has a sectional shape of 8 μm.
When forming a square of m × 8 μm, the distance between the optical axis of the core 15 and the second reference plane 14 is 4 μm. At this time, the deviation between the optical axis of the core 15 and the optical axes of the optical fibers 4 and 5 can be made ± 0.5 μm or less by the above-described film forming method or the like. Therefore, the coupling loss between the optical fibers 4 and 5 and the core 15 of the optical waveguide 13 can be sufficiently reduced by the above-described manufacturing process.

In the step S5, when the clad 16 is formed by the above-mentioned FHD method, the surface of the clad 16 becomes substantially flat as shown in FIG. The FHD method cannot avoid a step of heating to a high temperature such as one hundred and several hundred degrees. Therefore, there is no suitable material for the first mask layer 20.

Therefore, the cladding 1 is obtained by the FHD method.
When 6 is formed, the second reference surface 14 a becomes the surface of the clad 16. When the surface of the clad 16 is polished or the like, it is difficult to keep the film thickness of the clad 16 within a desired range of ± 0.5 μm.

When the clad 16 is formed by the FHD method, a plurality of V-groove substrates 2 having different sizes of the V-grooves 6 are prepared in advance, so that the surface of the clad 16 is not polished. As described later, the optical axes of the optical fibers 4 and 5 and the core 15 of the optical waveguide 13 can be aligned with each other.

Next, the V-groove substrate 2 formed as described above
A process of obtaining the optical device 1 from the optical device 1 and the waveguide device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step ST1 shown in FIG. 9, the V-grooves 6 and 6 located at both right and left ends of the V-groove substrate 2 in FIG.
5a is arranged, and these optical fibers 4a, 5a are pressed against the V-groove 6 side by the cover plate 9 and attached.

Then, in step ST2, the V-groove substrate 2 and the waveguide device 3 are overlapped with each other on the first reference surface 7 and the second reference surface 14, and the recess 1 is formed.
The optical waveguide 13 is put in 0. Before the first reference surface 7 and the second reference surface 14 of the V-groove substrate 2 and the waveguide device 3 are overlapped with each other, the first reference surface 7 and the second reference surface 14 At least one of them is coated with a UV adhesive which cures when irradiated with ultraviolet rays or the like.

In step ST3, the alignment optical fiber 4
The intensity of outgoing light is measured by using a photodetector or the like on the other alignment optical fiber 5a side while passing light through one of the alignment optical fibers 4a among the optical fibers a and 5a. By measuring the intensity of the emitted light, the optical axis of the core 15a of the alignment straight waveguide 13a with respect to the optical axes of the optical fibers 4a and 5a is adjusted.

At this time, the reference surfaces 7 and 14 are formed flat respectively, and when the reference surfaces 7 and 14 are overlapped with each other, the optical axes of the core 15a and the optical fibers 4a and 5a are aligned with the reference surfaces. Are located on the same plane along the surfaces 7 and 14, and when the V-groove substrate 2 and the waveguide device 3 are molded, the first reference surface 7, the V-groove 6, and the second reference surface 1
Since the positional relationship between the core 4 and the core 15 hardly changes, the V-groove substrate 2 and the waveguide device 3 need only be slightly moved along the arrows X and Δy shown in FIGS. The optical axes of all the optical fibers 4 and 5 and the core 15 can be made substantially coincident.

After adjusting the optical axis using the above-described optical fibers 4a and 5a for alignment and the linear waveguide 13a for alignment, in step ST4, the reference surfaces 7 and 14 are overlapped with each other. The V-groove substrate 2 and the waveguide device 3 are irradiated with ultraviolet rays or the like, the UV adhesive is cured, and the V-groove substrate 3 and the waveguide device 3 are bonded to each other as shown in FIG. An optical waveguide module 19 is obtained.

When extra adhesive is generated in the bonding between the reference surfaces 7 and 14 described above, the escape groove 11 is used.
The excess adhesive flows into the device. Therefore, there is no shift in the positional relationship between the V-groove substrate 2 and the waveguide device 3 along the thickness direction of the reference surfaces 7 and 14 (the direction of arrow Y in FIG. 1).

Thereafter, in step ST5, the optical waveguide module 19 shown in FIG. 2 is cut by a dicing device for each individual optical waveguide 13 along the one-dot chain line P in the drawing to obtain individual optical devices 1. .

According to the above-described configuration, the first reference surface 7 is the surface of the substrate material 8 forming the V-groove substrate 2 and the second reference surface 14 is the surface of the substrate 12 of the waveguide device 3. Therefore, when the first reference plane 7 and the second reference plane 14 are overlapped with each other, the relative position in the thickness direction between the V-groove substrate 2 and the waveguide device 3 is reliably determined. In addition, the optical axes of the optical fibers 4 and 5 and the optical axis of the core 15 of the optical waveguide 13 are located on the same plane along the reference surfaces 7 and 14.

Further, since the V-groove 6 and the concave portion 10 and the relief groove 11 are integrally formed on the V-groove substrate 2 by etching the substrate material 8 or the like, the V-groove 6, the concave portion 10 and the relief groove 11 are formed integrally. Displacement between the grooves 11;
The positional deviation between the V-groove 6, the concave portion 10, and the relief groove 11, and the first reference surface 7 can be kept small enough to cause no problem.

In the waveguide device 3, since the cores 15 constituting the plurality of optical devices 1 are integrally formed on the same mask on the substrate 12, the dimensional deviation between the cores 15 between the connectors does not matter. As small as core 15
Are formed directly on the substrate 12, the geometrical positional relationship between the second reference surface 14 formed of the surface of the substrate 12 and the core 15 is also regulated with high precision.

Therefore, the optical axes of the optical fibers 4 and 5 and the core 15 of the optical waveguide 13 can be surely aligned with each other, and the time required for aligning the optical axes with each other can be shortened. The work itself can be easily performed.

Further, the optical fibers 4a, 5
By adjusting only the optical axis of the optical waveguide 13a and the core 15a of the alignment straight waveguide 13a, the optical axes of all the optical fibers 4 and 5 of the optical waveguide module 19 and the optical waveguide 13 are aligned. It is also possible to adjust the optical axes of the plurality of optical devices 1 by the core work, and it is possible to obtain the optical device 1 excellent in mass productivity and low in cost.

It should be noted that the present invention is directed to an optical device 1 which forms a Y-branch type two-branch type branch coupler shown in the embodiment.
Wavelength Divider (Wavelength Div.)
ision Multiplexer), Wavelength independent coupler (Wavelength
-Insensitive Coupler), Semiconductor Diode (Laser Di
ode) can also be applied to optical devices.

[0067]

According to the optical waveguide module for an optical device of the present invention, since the positional relationship in the thickness direction between the first connecting member and the second connecting member is determined, the optical axes of the optical fiber and the optical waveguide are mutually determined. When performing the centering operation, the relative positions of the centering optical fiber and the centering linear waveguide are set in a first direction (a direction intersecting the optical fiber and along the reference plane) and a second direction. The optical axes of all the optical fibers and the optical waveguides can be aligned only by moving the optical fiber (around the axis in the thickness direction of the reference surface).

Therefore, the optical axes of the optical fiber and the optical waveguide can be surely aligned, and the time required for the above-described alignment work can be reduced, and the alignment work itself can be easily performed.

According to the optical waveguide module for an optical device of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the positional relationship in the thickness direction between the first connecting member and the second connecting member is securely determined. The optical axes of the optical fiber and the optical waveguide can be more accurately aligned. Furthermore, since the influence of distortion during the heat treatment at the time of forming the optical waveguide is suppressed, the optical axes of the optical fiber and the optical waveguide can be more accurately aligned.

Further, by forming the concave portion and the V-groove by etching or the like, it is possible to obtain the first connecting member which is high in accuracy and excellent in mass productivity and low in cost.

In the optical waveguide module for an optical device according to the third aspect, in addition to the effects of the second aspect, the influence of the variation in the amount of the adhesive applied to fix the connecting members to each other can be suppressed, so that the optical axis can be more accurately adjusted. Can be adjusted to

According to the method of manufacturing an optical device according to the fourth aspect, the alignment of the alignment optical fiber and the alignment linear waveguide of the optical waveguide module is performed only in two directions. In addition, the optical axes of the individual input / output optical fibers of the plurality of optical devices and the optical waveguide can be simultaneously adjusted. Therefore, the optical axes of a large number of optical devices can be aligned at the same time by a relatively simple operation, and mass production is excellent, which can contribute to cost reduction of the optical devices.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an optical waveguide module for an optical device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an assembled state of the optical waveguide module for an optical device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a V-groove substrate of the optical waveguide module shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line iv-iv in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line vv in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line vv in FIG. 2 showing a modification of the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a manufacturing process of the waveguide device shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a step of manufacturing the waveguide device shown in FIG. 1 in the order of steps;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a manufacturing process of an optical device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing a conventional optical fiber connection structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical device 2 ... V-groove board (1st connection member) 3 ... Waveguide device (2nd connection member) 4, 5 ... Optical fiber 4a, 5a ... Alignment optical fiber 6 ... V-groove 7 ... 1 reference plane 8 ... substrate material 10 ... concavity 11 ... relief groove 12 ... V groove 13 ... optical waveguide 13a ... alignment linear waveguide 14 ... second reference plane 19 ... optical device module for optical device

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A first connection member having an input optical fiber, an output optical fiber, and an optical fiber for alignment arranged at predetermined positions and having a flat first reference surface and a recess along the optical fiber. The optical waveguide and the alignment linear waveguide are arranged at predetermined positions, and the first optical waveguide is inserted into the concave portion.
A second connection member having a second reference surface overlapping the reference surface of the first and second optical fibers, wherein each of the optical fibers and the optical waveguide is provided with a reference surface of the first connection member and a reference surface of the second connection member. When the optical axes of the optical fiber for alignment and the linear waveguide for alignment are aligned with each other and the optical axis of the optical fiber and the optical axis of the optical waveguide are aligned on a plane along the reference plane. An optical waveguide module for an optical device, wherein the optical waveguide module is located. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first connecting member is made of a substrate material having the concave portion and the V-groove for positioning the optical fiber, and the first reference surface is made of a surface of the substrate material. 2. The optical waveguide module for an optical device according to claim 1, wherein the connection member comprises a substrate on which an optical waveguide having a core and a clad is formed, and wherein the second reference surface comprises a surface of the substrate. 3. A relief groove for an adhesive for fixing a first connection member and a second connection member is formed in a substrate material forming the first connection member. 2
3. The optical waveguide module for an optical device according to claim 1. 4. A first connecting member in which an input side optical fiber, an output side optical fiber, and an optical fiber for alignment are arranged at predetermined positions and have a flat first reference surface and a recess along the optical fiber. A second connecting member having an optical waveguide and a centering linear waveguide disposed at predetermined positions and having a flat second reference surface. The first reference plane and the second reference plane are overlapped with each other with the optical waveguide inserted into the recess, and the optical axes of the alignment optical fiber and the alignment linear waveguide are aligned with each other. An optical waveguide module in which the first connection member and the second connection member are fixed to each other in a state of being cut, and each optical waveguide is cut to obtain an individual optical device. .