JPS6338908A - Hybrid optical multiplexer/demultiplexer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the man-hour of optical axis adjustment and assembling by using a substrate provided with plural V grooves and using a cylindrical sleeve to fix an optical semiconductor element and a lens, which should be combined with this element, in each V groove and assembling a hybrid optical multiplexer/demultiplexer. CONSTITUTION:A collimator 5 is arranged in the axial direction of a first groove 14a and is fixed in this groove 14a provided on a substrate 13, and a first interference film 9 and a second interference film 10 are fixed to attaching faces set in end parts of a second V groove 14b and a third V groove 14c respectively. Meanwhile, a light emitting element 6 and a lens 7 are inserted into a sleeve 15 and are so adjusted that the axis of the sleeve 15 coincides with the optical axis of the light emitting element 6, and the light emitting element 6 and the lens 7 are fixed, and a light receiving element 6 and the lens 7 are fixed, and a light receiving element 11 and a lens 12 are inserted into a sleeve 16 and are fixed after being so adjusted that the axis of the sleeve 16 and the optical axis of the light receiving element 11 coincide with each other. The sleeve 15 is arranged in the axial direction of the second V groove 14b and is fixed in this groove 14b, and the sleeve 16 is arranged in the axial direction of the third V groove 14c and is fixed in this groove 14c.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a hybrid optical multiplexer/demultiplexer used in optical communication devices, etc., and particularly to optical devices such as collimators, optical semiconductor elements, lenses, and interference films. This invention relates to a hybrid optical multiplexer/demultiplexer constructed by integrating parts.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a conventional hybrid optical multiplexer/demultiplexer of this type, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view thereof.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a hollow board, and one side of this board 1 is provided with a first mounting part 2a, and the other side is provided with a second mounting part 2a located on the same level as the first mounting part 2a. A mounting portion 2b is provided, and a third mounting portion 2C that is diagonally oriented with respect to the second mounting portion 2b is provided at a predetermined position.

3 is an optical fiber, 4 is a focusing lens, and 5 is a collimator that transmits and receives optical signals to and from the outside.
is constructed by integrating the end of the optical fiber 3 and the focusing Rondo lens 4, and the first
It is inserted and fixed into the mounting part 2a of the.

6 is a light emitting element that emits an optical signal having a wavelength of λ1, 1 is a lens that optically couples this light emitting element 6 and the collimator 5, and after adjusting the optical axis with respect to the collimator 5, The substrate 1 is coated with an adhesive 8 made of molecular resin.
It is fixed to the second attachment part 2b of.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a first interference film (filter) that allows only light of wavelength λ1 to pass through and reflects light of other wavelengths, and this first interference film 9 is located at one end of the second mounting portion 2b. It is fixed to a mounting surface, and this mounting surface is formed in advance at an angle with respect to the second mounting portion 2b.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a second interference film (filter) that allows only light of wavelength λ2 to pass through and reflects light of other wavelengths.This second interference film 10 is attached to the mounting surface on which the first interference film 9 is attached. They are fixed to a mounting surface provided at one end of the third mounting portion 2C so as to be parallel to each other.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a light-receiving element that receives light with a wavelength of λ2, and 12 a lens that optically couples the light-receiving element 11 and the collimator 5. After the optical axis of both is adjusted with respect to the collimator 5, the same as described above is used. It is fixed to the third mounting portion 2c of the substrate 1 with an adhesive 8 made of polymer resin.

In this configuration, optical-electrical signal conversion is performed as follows.

First, an electrical signal input to the light emitting element 6 is photoelectrically converted by the light emitting element 6 and is emitted as an optical signal having a wavelength λ1 of n1. This optical signal is turned into a parallel beam by the lens 7, passes through the first interference film 9 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 4 enters the optical fiber 3 and is transmitted to the outside through the optical fiber 3.

On the other hand, when an optical signal with a wavelength of λ2 is transmitted from the outside through the optical fiber 3, the optical signal is transmitted to the collimator 5.
The convergent rod lens 4 converts the light into a collimated beam. Then, as shown by the dotted line, this parallel beam light travels straight through the space inside the substrate 1, is reflected by the first interference film 9, and after traveling straight through the space inside the substrate 1 again, passes through the second interference film. 10, is focused by a lens 12, is received by a light receiving element 11, is converted into a stain signal, and is output.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, the conventional hybrid optical multiplexer/demultiplexer described above includes a collimator, an optical semiconductor element, a light emitting element, a light receiving element,
Adjustments are made on the board to align the optical axes of the lenses with each other, and since the adjustments depend on the mutual positions of each of the above components, a large amount of man-hours are required for adjustment and assembly, which hinders mass production. In addition to chipping, since each of the above-mentioned parts is fixed by adhesion using a polymer resin, there is a problem that it is easily affected by temperature changes and external forces after assembly.

The present invention was made to solve these problems, and it is a hybrid type that can reduce the number of optical axis adjustment and assembly steps, has excellent single-product productivity, and is less susceptible to temperature changes and external forces after assembly. The purpose is to realize an optical multiplexer/demultiplexer.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention uses a substrate in which a plurality of V grooves are formed in place of a conventional substrate, and also fixes an optical semiconductor element and a lens to be combined with this optical semiconductor element in each V groove. It is designed to be assembled using a cylindrical sleeve.

[Effect]

In the present invention having the above-described configuration, a collimator is arranged and fixed in a V-groove of a substrate, and an interference film is attached to a predetermined mounting surface. Then, the optical semiconductor element and the lens are inserted into the cylindrical sleeve, and after adjusting so that the optical axis of the optical semiconductor element and the central axis of the sleeve coincide, the optical semiconductor element and the lens are fixed to the sleeve, By arranging and fixing this sleeve in another V-groove of the substrate, it is possible to assemble the optical semiconductor element so that the optical axis of the collimator and the optical axis of the optical semiconductor element coincide with each other.

Therefore, since it can be assembled without adjusting the optical axis on the board as in the conventional case, it is possible to reduce the optical axis adjustment and assembly man-hours during assembly, and also to Since the lens and lens can be prepared in advance by sleeping, mass production is also excellent.
Moreover, since assembly can be performed without using adhesives using polymeric resin as in the past, it is possible to realize a hybrid optical multiplexer/demultiplexer that is less susceptible to temperature changes and external forces after assembly.

〔Example〕

Examples will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a hybrid type optical multiplexer/demultiplexer according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a left side view thereof, and Fig. 3 is a right side view thereof. 5 is a focusing rod lens, 5 is a frimeter, 6 is a light emitting element, 1 is a lens, 9 is a first interference film, 10 is a second interference film, 11 is a light receiving element, 12 is a lens, and these are the fourth It is the same as that in FIG.

13 is a hollow substrate used in this example, and this substrate 13
A first V-groove 14a is formed on one side (right side), and a 20th V-groove 14b whose center line coincides with the first V-groove 14a is formed on the other side (left (#)). Furthermore, a third V-groove 14c is formed at a predetermined position so that the center lines thereof intersect with each other with respect to the second V-groove 14b.

Incidentally, these V grooves 14a to 14c are connected to the collimator 51, the light emitting element 6. The lens 7, the light receiving element 11, and the lens 12 are finished with high precision so that the optical axes of these optical components coincide when they are attached.

Reference numerals 15 and 16 denote cylindrical metal sleeves, and each sleeve 15116 is machined with high precision so that the outer peripheral surface and the central axis are exactly parallel to each other, and the light emitting element 6 and the lens 7, It has an inner diameter that is approximately the same as the outer diameter of each of the light receiving element 11 and the lens 12, so that these can be inserted and fixed.

Next, assembling the above-mentioned parts will be explained as an operation of this embodiment.

First, a collimator 5 configured by integrating one end of the optical fiber 3 and a focusing Rondo lens 4 and adjusting the outer circumferential axis of the optical fiber 3 so that the collimated optical axis coincides with the collimator 5 is attached to the collimator 5 provided on the substrate 13. The first interference film 9 and the second interference film 10 are arranged and fixed in the V-groove 14a along the axial direction thereof, and the first interference film 9 and the second interference film 10 are placed at the ends of the second V-groove 14b and the third V-groove 14c. Fix each to the set mounting surface. Here, both mounting surfaces are formed parallel to each other, and therefore, the first interference film 9 and the second interference film 10 are fixed so as to face each other obliquely.

On the other hand, the light emitting element 6 and the lens 1 are inserted into the sleeve 15, and after adjusting so that the central axis of the sleeve 15 and the optical axis of the light emitted from the light emitting element 6 coincide, the light emitting element 6 is inserted into the sleeve 15. 6 and lens 7 are fixed, and the light receiving element 11 and lens 12 are inserted into the sleeve 16, and adjusted so that the center axis of this sleeve 16 and the optical axis of the parallel beam light received by the light receiving element 11 coincide. After that,
A light receiving element 11 and a lens 12 are fixed in a sleeve 15.

Then, the sleeve 15 to which the light emitting element 6 and lens 7 are fixed is arranged and fixed in the second V groove 14b provided in the substrate 13 along its axial direction, and the light receiving element 11 and lens 12 are further fixed. The sleeve 16 thus prepared is arranged and fixed in the third V-groove 14c similarly provided on the substrate 13 along its axial direction.

In addition, these collimators 5. Sleeve 15.16 from 1st to
As a method of fixing them respectively in the third V grooves 14a to 14c, there is a method of pressing the collimator 5, the sleeve 15 j 1 Bfa plate 1 plate side 3 side by side or all at once using a holding member (not shown) or the like. However, other methods of fixing are also possible.

By assembling as described above, the optical axis of the collimator 5 and the optical axis of the light emitting element 6 can be made to match, and the optical axis of the collimator 5 and the optical axis of the light receiving element 11 can be made to match. It is possible to perform optical-to-electrical signal conversion in the same way as before.

That is, the electrical signal input to the light emitting element 6 is photoelectrically converted by the light emitting element 6 and is emitted as an optical signal of wavelength λ1. This optical signal is converted into a parallel beam by the lens 7, passes through the first interference film 9 as shown by the solid line in FIG. The light enters the optical fiber 3 via the Rondo lens 4 and is transmitted to the outside of the optical fiber 3.

On the other hand, when an optical signal with a wavelength of λ2 is transmitted from the outside through the optical fiber 3, the optical signal is transmitted to the collimator 5.
The convergent rod lens 4 converts the light into a collimated beam. Then, as shown by the dotted line, this parallel beam light travels straight through the space inside the substrate 1, is reflected by the first interference film 9, and after traveling straight through the space inside the substrate 1 again, passes through the second interference film 10. The light passes through the lens 12, is focused by the lens 12, is received by the light receiving element 11, is converted into a stain signal, and is output.

Although one embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the mounting positions # of the light emitting element 6 and the light receiving element 11 may be reversed.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a case was explained in which two types of optical semiconductor elements, one light emitting element 6 and one light receiving element 11, were used and integrated with the collimator 5, etc., but when multiple light emitting elements 6 and It is also possible to combine the light-receiving element 11 with a plurality of collimators 5, etc. to form a single piece, and furthermore, it is possible to use only the light-emitting element 6 or the light-receiving element 11 as an optical semiconductor element and combine it with the collimator 5, etc. to form a single piece. It is also optional.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention adjusts in advance so that the central axis of the cylindrical sleeve and the optical axis of the optical semiconductor element coincide with each other, fixes the optical semiconductor element together with the lens in the sleeve, and By providing a plurality of V-grooves in the V-grooves and arranging and fixing the collimator and the sleeve in these V-grooves, the optical axes of the collimator and the optical semiconductor element can be aligned and they can be assembled together. , there is no need to adjust the optical axis during assembly as in the past, greatly reducing adjustment and man-hours during assembly, and the optical semiconductor element and lens can be integrated in advance using a sleeve. Therefore, the effect of being excellent in mass productivity can be obtained.

In addition, because the collimator and optical semiconductor elements are fixed using grooves without using conventional polymer resin adhesives, the structure is mechanically stable, and temperature changes after assembly are avoided. It also has the effect of becoming less susceptible to external forces.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a hybrid optical multiplexer/demultiplexer according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a left side view thereof, Fig. 3 is a right side view thereof, and Fig. 4 is a front view showing a conventional example. , FIG. 5 is a sectional view thereof. 3: Optical fiber 4: Focusing rod lens 5: Collimator 6: Light emitting element 1: Lens 9: First interference film 10
: Second interference film 11: Light receiving element 12: Lens 13
: Substrate 14a to 14c: V groove TS, TE Nisleeve patent issued, applicant: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd., patent attorney, Takashi Kanakura.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A collimator that transmits and receives optical signals to and from the outside, a plurality of optical semiconductor elements, a lens that optically couples the collimator and the optical semiconductor elements, and a lens that corresponds to each optical semiconductor element. A hybrid optical multiplexer/demultiplexer comprising an interference film that transmits and reflects light of a specific wavelength, and in which these are placed and fixed on a substrate and integrated, the substrate is provided with a plurality of V-grooves, and the The optical semiconductor element and the lens combined therewith are fixed in the sleeve so that their optical axes coincide with the central axis of the cylindrical sleeve, and the sleeve and the collimator are respectively placed in the V-groove provided on the substrate. A hybrid optical multiplexer/demultiplexer characterized by being fixed.