JPS6022326Y2 - optical coupler - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an optical coupler, and particularly relates to an improvement of an optical coupler comprising an optical fiber and a photoelectric conversion element.

This type of optical coupler requires a good coupling rate between the optical fiber and the photoelectric conversion element, an airtight structure, and easy axis alignment, since the quality of airtightness greatly affects the life of the photoelectric conversion element. It is required that the heating effect is large and that the heating effect is large.

To improve the coupling rate, for example, you can process the tip of the optical fiber into a spherical shape or use a lens etc. to increase the coupling rate.Also, to create an airtight structure, use a ring weld to create an airtight structure. good.

However, in either case, the problem is how to fix the shaft so that it does not shift.

In particular, the ring weld makes alignment in the Z-axis direction difficult.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional optical coupler, in which an optical fiber 1 is fixed to a sleeve 2, the sleeve 2 is fixed to a holder 3, and the holder 3 is placed on a stem 5 to which a photoelectric conversion element 4 is attached. It has a fixed structure with a ring weld.

When performing ring welding, adjust the gap d□ between the tip of the optical fiber 1 and the photoelectric conversion element 4 in advance,
It is necessary to fix the sleeve 2 to the holder 3 to which the optical fiber 1 of an appropriate length is fixed.

At this time, if the optical fiber 1 is even slightly too long, the tip of the optical fiber 1 may hit the photoelectric conversion element 4, destroying the photoelectric conversion element 4 or damaging the optical fiber 1, resulting in a reduction in the coupling rate. It will drop.

On the other hand, if the optical fiber 1 is even slightly short, the coupling efficiency will be poor even if element damage is avoided.

Therefore, it has been extremely difficult to align the shafts in the past.

Furthermore, since the photoelectric conversion element 4 is operated by passing a current through it, it generates heat, and this heat deteriorates the photoelectric conversion element 4 and impairs its characteristics.

Therefore, in order to radiate this heat to the outside, it was necessary to have a structure with a heat sink.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional technology, and to provide an optical coupler that can be easily aligned to increase the coupling efficiency between the optical fiber and the photoelectric conversion element, and can also improve the heat dissipation effect. It is about providing.

A feature of the present invention is that a holder for fixing an optical fiber is provided with a wavy portion, and the end of this wavy portion and a stem to which a photoelectric conversion element is attached are integrally connected.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 6.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the optical coupler of the present invention, and the same parts as in FIG.

In FIG. 2, the holder that fixes the optical fiber 1 via the sleeve 2 is connected to a holder 6 with a corrugated portion (bellows), and the tip of the corrugated portion 6a of the waist holder 6 is connected to a photoelectric conversion element 4.
It has a structure in which it is fixed on the stem 5 to which it is attached.

At this time, the length of the optical fiber 1 is set to be short enough to prevent the tip of the optical fiber 1 from coming into contact with the photoelectric conversion element 4 when the holder 6 and stem 5 are fixed. length.

That is, when the optimum gap between the optical fiber 1 and the photoelectric conversion element 4 is dl, the distance between the optical fiber 1 and the photoelectric conversion element 4 is
The gap between the two ends should be such that di<<d2.

Next, the tip of the corrugated part 6a of the holder 6 is polished to a mirror finish, and the axis of the holder 6 and the stem 5 are aligned in the X-Y direction, and when the connection is best, the holder 6 and the stem are connected by ring welding or soldering. 5 and fix it so that it is completely airtight.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the optical coupler configured in this way, since the wavy portion 6a of the holder 6 freely moves in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, the distal end of the optical fiber 1 can be easily moved, especially in the Z-axis direction. The gap d between the photoelectric conversion element 4 and the photoelectric conversion element 4 can be arbitrarily selected, and it can be easily adjusted to the position where the coupling is the best.

Further, it is possible to correct some X-Y axis and angular deviations.

Furthermore, since the corrugated portion 6a of the holder 6 acts to radiate the heat of the photoelectric conversion element 4 to the outside, sufficient heat radiation can be achieved even without providing a particular heat sink.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the optical fiber 1 is directly bonded and fixed to the holder 6 with the corrugated portion using epoxy resin or solder.

Other details are the same as in FIG. 2.

Even with such a structure, the effect is the same as that shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.
The principle structure is the same as that shown in FIG. 2, but in FIG. The optical fiber 1 and the photoelectric conversion element 4 are adjusted and fixed so that the coupling between them is the best.

With such a structure, adjustment can be made even easier.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a modification of the present invention.

In Fig. 6, two photoelectric conversion elements 4 are attached to the stem 5, one of which is actually operated, and the other one is kept as a spare and used in case of failure. It's Nishide.

In this case, since the holder 6 has the corrugated portion 6a, the coupling between the spare photoelectric conversion element 4 and the optical fiber 1 can be easily adjusted.

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily align the axes to increase the coupling efficiency between the optical fiber and the photoelectric conversion element, and to improve the heat dissipation effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional optical coupler, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the optical coupler of the present invention, and Fig. 3 explains the function of the optical coupler of Fig. 2. Explanatory diagrams for Figures 4 and 5
The figure is a longitudinal sectional view showing another embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a modification of the invention. 1... Optical fiber, 2... Sleeve,
4...Photoelectric conversion element, 5...Stem,
6... Holder, 6a... Wavy part, 7
...Connector, 8...Adjustment fixing screw.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. In an optical coupler comprising an optical fiber and a photoelectric conversion element, a holder for fixing the optical fiber is provided with a wavy part, and the end of the wavy part and the photoelectric conversion element are attached. An optical coupler characterized in that the optical coupler is integrally coupled with a stem. 2. The optical coupler according to claim 1, wherein the holder is built into a connector having means for adjusting the position of the stem by compressing the corrugated portion.