JPS62211604A - Optical fiber array - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily manufacture a high quality array which is not influenced by a variation of an environmental temperature, by piercing a hole in plural parts of a V-groove which has been formed on a base, and sticking an optical fiber which has been arrayed in the V-groove, by solder to a metallic plate which has been provided on the reverse side. CONSTITUTION:A hole 52 being larger than a diameter of a metallized optical fiber 7 is pierced in plural parts of a V-groove 51 which has been pierced in a base 5 consisting of silicon, etc., and also, a metallic plate 6 of cobalt, etc., to which gold plating has been performed is welded to the reverse side which has been metallized. Subsequently, the optical fiber 7 is arrayed in the V-groove 51, solder 8 is placed on a part corresponding to the hole 52 which has been pierced in the V-groove 51, the solder 8 is melted by a YAG laser beam, etc., from the direction as indicated with an arrow, and by sticking the optical fiber 7 and the metallic plate 6, an optical fiber array is obtained. Also, as for a material of the metallic plate 6, not only cobalt but also other material is available, so long as it is approximate to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the base 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Summary] An optical fiber array in which a plurality of V-grooves are formed in a base and metalized optical fibers are arranged in the V-grooves, the optical fibers being arranged at a plurality of locations in the V-grooves. A hole slightly larger than the diameter is formed, and solder or the like is poured through this hole to connect it to the gold plate provided on the back side of the base.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to an optical fiber array in which optical fibers are arranged on a base having grooves formed therein, and particularly relates to an optical fiber array that is bonded with solder.

In recent years, due to the advancement of optical fibers, they have come to be widely used in optical communication equipment, etc., and are especially used in optical switches that can connect multiple numbers of 1 to N at the same time, making it easy to manufacture precision optical fibers. The appearance of arrays is strongly desired.

(Prior Art) FIG. 2 is a side sectional view illustrating a conventional optical fiber array.

In the figure, a plurality of V-grooves 11 (two in the drawing) are bored in a base 1 made of silicone, etc., and an adhesive 3 such as an epoxy-based adhesive is filled into the V-grooves 11, and then It has a structure in which the optical fiber 3 is placed and fixed by pressing it with a presser plate 4 in the direction of the arrow.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In the above-mentioned conventional optical fiber array, since the optical fibers are fixed to the V-groove of the base with adhesive, there is a problem that the alignment accuracy changes due to changes in environmental temperature and changes over time, reducing reliability. There was a point.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention solves the above problems and provides an optical fiber array with improved reliability.

That is, holes slightly larger than the diameter of the metalized optical fiber are bored in multiple locations of the V-grooves of a base on which a plurality of V-grooves are formed, and a metal plate is placed on the back surface of the base on which Vi is formed. and arranging the optical fibers in a V-groove,
This problem can be solved by bonding the metal plate with solder.

[Effect]

The above-mentioned optical fiber array is made by drilling holes in multiple locations in a V-groove formed on a base, welding a metal plate to the back of the base, and bonding metalized optical fibers to this metal plate with solder. The alignment accuracy of optical fibers can be maintained regardless of changes in environmental temperature or changes over time.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.
) is a plan view of the main part, (b) is a side view of the main part, and (C) is a side sectional view of the main part after adhesive fixation.

In the figure, a plurality of (two in the drawing) V grooves 51 are bored in a base 5 made of silicon or the like, and holes 52 with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the metalized optical fiber 7 are formed in multiple locations of the V grooves 51. At the same time, the back surface of the base 5 on which the V-groove 51 is formed is metalized, and a metal plate 6 made of gold-plated cobalt or the like is welded to the metalized surface. Then, the metalized optical fibers 7 are arranged in the groove 51 of the base 5, and the solder 8 is placed on the corresponding part of the hole 52 formed in the V-groove 51 of the optical fiber 7. This solder 8 is melted with a YAG laser or the like in the direction of the arrow, and welded to the metalized optical fiber 7 and the back surface of the base 5.
It has a structure in which a metal plate 6 is bonded to a metal plate 6 using solder 8.

Although the metal plate 6 is made of cobalt in this embodiment, it is not limited to cobalt, and may be made of other metal materials having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of the silicon base.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the fixed optical fiber is not affected by changes in environmental temperature or changes over time, so it is extremely effective in improving reliability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.
) is a plan view of the main part, (b) is a side view of the main part, (C) is a side sectional view of the main part after adhesive fixation, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view illustrating a conventional optical fiber array. In the figure, 1.5 is a base, 2 is an optical fiber, 3 is an adhesive, 4 is a holding plate, 6 is a metal plate, 7 is a metallized optical fiber, 8 is solder, 11.51 is a V-groove, 52 indicate holes, respectively. (C) Unexploded ream Ichifumi σJ @1WJ OtJ/)烹77ヂ8°7bI@2 diagram

Claims (1)

[Claims] A base (5) having a plurality of V-grooves (51) is formed with optical fibers (7) metalized at a plurality of locations of the V-grooves (51).
) and drilling a hole (52) slightly larger than the diameter of the hole (52).
A metal plate (6) is provided on the back surface of the base (5) on which the V-groove (51) is formed, the optical fibers (7) are arranged in the V-groove (51), and the metal plate (6) is soldered. (8) An optical fiber array characterized in that it is bonded with.