JPS6194009A - Device for treating end face of optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To decrease the variance in the accuracy of a treating state and to prevent the generation of a defective product by detecting the end face state during the end face treating stage of an optical fiber. CONSTITUTION:This device consists of an end face treating jig 1, a retainer fitting 2, a connector 3, a photodetecting part 4 and a detecting part 5. The jig 1 is provided with a transparent heater part 7 which melts the end face of the optical fiber 6 and a light emitting part 8 which irradiates light on the end face of the fiber 6. The retainer fitting 2 is mounted to the end part of the optical fiber 6 required to be executed end face treatment. The counter 3 is mounted to the other end face of the fiber 6 and is connected to the part 4. The time when the detected output attains a certain value or above is determined preliminarily as a specular surface and the heater part 7 is made to generate heat to melt the end face of the fiber 6. The conduction of electricity to the heater part 7 is stopped when the detected output of the part 5 attains the predetermined value or above. The end face of the optical fiber is finished to the specular surface in such a manner. The stage for checking the optical fiber subjected to the end face treatment is thus eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an optical fiber end face processing device using a plastic fiber.

[Background technology]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, optical transmission technology using glass fibers has made remarkable progress in optical communication systems and the like. In addition to the above-mentioned glass fibers, plastic fibers are also available as optical fibers that serve as light transmission media, but their practical use has lagged behind that of glass fibers. Other components for optical communication systems that use plastic fiber as a transmission medium include:
Optical connectors, optical branchers, optical demultiplexers/combiners, optical switches, optical modules (optical-electrical/electrical-optical converters), etc. are required for connection.

When connecting plastic fibers, it is necessary to treat the end faces of the plastic fibers. Conventionally, the end faces of the plastic fibers were polished with a file and then subjected to puff polishing before being connected.
It is difficult to process the end face uniformly and there are many variations, resulting in large optical signal losses.

Furthermore, in the connection of plastic fibers, a method of heat-sealing the end surfaces of the plastic fibers together is often used, but the conventional heater for heat-sealing is large, making it inconvenient to carry.

In these methods, in order to connect a wired plastic fiber to another plastic fiber, the end face of the wired plastic fiber must be left extra long, or the wired plastic fiber must be removed and polished or It required a lot of work as it had to be connected by heat fusing.

Therefore, the inventors have developed an optical fiber end face processing jig that is convenient to carry and can easily and quickly mirror finish the end face of an optical fiber. This optical fiber end face treatment jig is
It is equipped with a glass substrate that is crimped onto the end face of an optical fiber and a heater section that heats the glass substrate.With the optical fiber inserted through the holding fitting, the end face of the optical fiber is crimped onto the glass substrate, and the heater section heats the glass substrate. By heating the
By melting the end face of the optical fiber, it is possible to obtain a mirror-finished end face of the optical fiber.

By the way, in the end face treatment process, the judgment as to whether a mirror finish has been achieved by the end face treatment has relied on experience and intuition. As a result, there are variations in the accuracy of the end face treatment, and
This was the cause of defective products. In addition, after end face treatment,
It was also complicated to check the end face of the optical fiber.

[Purpose of the invention]

In view of the above points, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber end face processing device that reduces variations in precision in the end face processing state and prevents the occurrence of defective products.

[Disclosure of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a transparent heater section that is applied to one end of an optical fiber and melts this end surface;
A light emitting section that irradiates light onto the end face of the optical fiber through this heater section, a light receiving section that is attached to the other end of the optical fiber and that receives the light that has passed through the optical fiber and converts it into electrical output, and a light receiving section. The gist of the invention is an optical fiber end face processing device each equipped with a detection section for detecting the electrical output of the optical fiber. An embodiment of this will be explained in detail below based on the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, this device consists of an end face processing jig (hereinafter abbreviated as jig) l, a presser metal fitting 2. Connector 3. Light receiving section 4. It consists of a detection section 5. The jig 1 includes a transparent heater part 7 that melts the end face of the optical fiber halo, and a light emitting part 8 that irradiates the end face of the optical fiber 6 with light through the heater part 7. The presser metal fitting 2 is attached to the end of the optical fiber 6 on the side where the end surface is processed, and is brought into contact with the jig 1. A connector 3 is attached to the other end of the optical fiber and connected to a light receiving section 4. The presser metal fitting 2 and the connector 3 serve as auxiliary tools for eliminating misalignment between the optical fiber 6, the jig 1, and the light receiving section 4. The light receiving section 4 receives light that enters the optical fiber 6 from the light emitting section 3 of the jig 1 and passes through the inside thereof, and converts it into electrical output. This electrical output is detected by a detection section 5.

To explain the jig 1 in more detail, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
0. It consists of a power supply section 11. A glass substrate 12 is held in the heater section 7 by a frame 9. This glass substrate 1
2 is provided with an electrode 13.13;
A transparent heater 14 is bonded to the core of the glass substrate 12 so as to partially overlap the heater 13. These electrodes 13.13
and to protect the heater 14, on these surfaces,
Contact part 15 for electrically connecting with power supply part 11
．． A transparent protective film 16 is formed except for 15.

The entire surface of the protective film 16 is a mirror surface. The electrode 13.13 is electrically connected to the power supply part 11,
When a current is supplied from the power supply section 11, the heater 14 generates heat.

A light emitting unit 8 is disposed on the back surface of the glass substrate 12 and is held in close contact with the glass substrate.A current is supplied from the power supply unit to the light emitting unit 8, which converts electrical energy into light energy and emits light. The light is transmitted to the glass substrate 12 and the heater section 7.
The end face of the optical fiber 6 can be irradiated through the light.

The light emitted from the light emitting section 8 passes through the glass substrate 12 and the heater section 7, and is irradiated onto the end surface of the optical fiber 6. Thereafter, the light propagates through the optical fiber halo, passes through the connector 3, and enters the light receiving section 4. The light receiving section 4 converts the light into an electrical output corresponding to the intensity of the light, and the detecting section 5 detects this output.

If the end surface of the optical fiber halo is not a mirror surface, the detection output is small because the optical loss at the end surface is large, but the detection output increases as the end surface approaches the mirror surface.

Utilizing this, the time when the detection output exceeds a certain value is determined as a mirror surface, the heater section 7 is made to generate heat, and the optical fiber 6 is
melts the end face of the heater part 7, and stops energizing the heater part 7 when the detection output of the detection part 5 exceeds a predetermined value.
The end face of the optical fiber is designed to have a mirror finish.

The glass substrate of the jig according to this invention has a softening point of 700.
High temperature strength above ℃, good specularity, and
It is desirable to have high transparency and allow light from visible light to near infrared light to pass through easily. For example, Hoya NA4 manufactured by Hoya Glass Co., Ltd.
Since the softening point of plastic, such as 0, is around 00°C, the heater can heat the part where the end face of the optical fiber is crimped to about 140°C, and
It is stable against heat up to about 300℃, and has excellent adhesion to glass, transparency, and smoothness.
A material with a low refractive index is desirable.

For example, indium tin oxide (Indium T
Abbreviated as in0xide and rTo. ) etc. are mentioned as preferred heater materials. The electrode has high stability over time (
, has low sheet resistance value and low contact resistance value, and
It is desirable to have high corrosion resistance and adhesion to glass, and a low refractive index. For example, chromium and the like are preferred electrode materials. The protective film is made of an insulating material,
It is desirable to have high strength, corrosion resistance, high transparency, and low refractive index. For example, silicon dioxide or aluminum oxide may be cited as preferred protective film materials. Necessary mechanisms such as a temperature compensation mechanism, a three-hour control mechanism, a display mechanism, and a current control mechanism may be incorporated into the circuit portion of the jig. In consideration of portability, it is desirable to use a rechargeable battery in the power supply part of the jig.

The light emitting part of the optical fiber end face treatment device according to the present invention includes:
It is desirable that the device be compact, emit light with low power consumption and low voltage, be able to emit visible light with a wavelength of 660 to 680 nm, and be highly reliable. For example, a light emitting diode (LED) is an example.

Next, an embodiment of the optical fiber end face processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

A glass substrate (thickness 0.8 mm, diameter 29 cranes, product name: Hoya NA40, manufactured by Hoya Glass Co., Ltd.) was ultrasonically cleaned with a cleaning solution (product name: Semico Clean, Furuuchi Chemical Co., Ltd. M), and then
A chromium electrode with a thickness of 2.5 μm was fabricated by sputtering.

Next, using a vacuum evaporation method, ITO was bonded to a thickness of 2 to 3 μm and a sheet resistance of approximately 1 Ω/hole to make a heater, and then the heater was made as shown in Figures 2 and 3. Next, to protect the electrodes and heater, an aluminum oxide film was formed using a vacuum evaporation method except for the contact areas.

Place a light emitting diode (FH511 manufactured by Stanley Electric Co., Ltd.) in close contact with the glass substrate surface opposite to the electrode and heater.
is installed, and the current value from the power supply part to the light emitting diode is set to 2.
It was kept constant at 0 mA. Plastic fiber manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon (S-Riki Extra, EH4001, length 20m)
), attach a holding bracket to the end of the fiber that will be treated and a connector to the opposite side, connect the connector to the light receiving section consisting of a photodiode, and measure the output from the photodiode using a power meter (Ando Electric Co., Ltd.). Company-made OP
M-100).

The presser metal fitting and the jig are brought into contact with each other, and the light emitting diode is used to irradiate the end face of the optical fiber with light, while the heater generates heat to melt the end face of the optical fiber. If the power meter value is 115 dbm or more, the end face is Finished processing. As a result, the end surfaces were always mirror-finished with high precision.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the optical fiber end face processing device according to the present invention detects the end face state during the end face processing process, it is possible to reduce variations in accuracy of the end face processing state and prevent the occurrence of defective products. It is possible to omit the process of checking the optical fiber whose end face has been treated.Also, when an optical fiber whose end face has already been mirror-finished is attached to this device, the light emitting part is activated without generating heat from the heater part, and the detection is performed. In this way, it is possible to check for defects in the heater section and whether or not it needs to be replaced after long-term use.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the optical fiber end-face processing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the same jig L, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the end-treated surface. 4... Light receiving section 5... Detecting section 6... Optical fiber 7... Heater section 8... Light emitting section 12... Glass substrate 13... Electrode 14... Heater 16...
・Protective film agent Patent attorney Takehiko Matsumoto (Fig. 2, Fig. 3) Igekoho Seisho (spontaneous) April 27, 1985 Patent Application No. 216998 2, Title of invention: Optical fiber end face Processing device 3, relationship with the case of the person making the amendment Patent applicant Location 1048 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Name (583) Matsushita Electric Works Co., Ltd. Representative Sadao Fujii 4, no agent 6 Description and drawing 7 subject to amendment, content of amendment (]) 13” on page 5, line 17 of the specification has been replaced with “13”.
8,” he corrected. (2) Insert the following words next to "Narunaru." on page 6, line 16 of the specification. -Note- By pressing the end face of the optical fiber 6 onto the surface of the protective film 16 and heating the protective film 16 with the heater 14, the end face of the optical fiber halo is melted to obtain a mirror-finished end face of the optical fiber 6. It is now possible to do so. (3) In the specification, page 8, line 14 to line 15 of the same page, the phrase "high adhesion and low refractive index" is corrected to "high adhesiveness." (4) In the attached drawings, Figure 3 is corrected as shown in the attached sheet.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A transparent heater section that is applied to one end of the optical fiber and melts the end surface; a light emitting section that irradiates the end surface of the optical fiber through this heater section; a light emitting section that is attached to the other end of the optical fiber and that melts the end surface of the optical fiber; An optical fiber end face processing device that includes a light receiving section that receives transmitted light and converts it into electrical output, and a detection section that detects the electrical output of the light receiving section. (2) The heater part consists of an indium tin oxide film formed on the surface of a transparent glass substrate, electrodes provided on both sides of this indium tin oxide film, and a transparent protective film covering the indium tin oxide film and the electrodes. An optical fiber end face processing device according to claim 1.