TWI629524B - Method for micro-optics alignment and assembly using needle pin and temporary attachment - Google Patents

Abstract

This specification describes techniques for micro-optical calibration and assembly. By attaching the pins to the optical components to be assembled, the optical components can be placed and calibrated in a confined space. After the calibrated optical component is permanently bonded to the substrate or another component, the pin is detached from the optical component. This technique allows the user to place, calibrate and attach a small optical component to a predefined location.

Description

Micro-optical calibration and assembly method for using pin and temporary attachment

The invention generally relates to the field of optical communications. In particular, the present invention relates to calibrating optical components in a confined space.

The calibration process is an important step in the process chain of assembling micro-optical components. It has a direct impact on the device performance, necessary assembly time and manufacturing cost of the micro-optical system. For this reason, only adjusting the calibration process for the specific requirements of each assembly task can save costs and achieve optimal optical system performance.

Traditionally, optical components have been clamped by hand or by a table extension arm through tweezers or vacuum tweezers. As optical components become smaller and smaller, the use of conventional gripping tools becomes more challenging. Some optical components are as small as a millimeter (e.g., 2.5 x 2.5 mm) or even a millimeter, while the tip of the forceps or the mouth of the vacuum tweezing tends to be larger than the cross section of the optical component.

Moreover, many optical surfaces are not suitable for touching to avoid possible damage or scratches, and thus the clamping area of the optical element is further limited. Therefore, there is a need for new methods of clamping optical components. In addition, the new gripping tool should not block the optical path and should not damage or scratch the optical surface.

The purpose of this section is to summarize some aspects of the invention and to briefly describe certain preferred embodiments. It may be simplified or omitted in this section and in the abstract and in the title to avoid obscuring the purpose of this section, the abstract, and the title. These simplifications or omissions do not limit the scope of the invention.

In general, the present invention relates to techniques for micro-optical calibration and assembly. By attaching the pins to the optical components to be assembled, the optical components can be placed and calibrated in a confined space. After the calibrated optical element is permanently bonded to the substrate or another component, the pin is detached from the optical element. This technique allows the user to place and calibrate a small optical component at a desired location.

According to another aspect of the invention, the pin is a pin on a mechanical extension arm on a manually or automatically actuated multi-dimensional translation stage.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, in order to perform optical alignment at 6 degrees of freedom, the optical component is temporarily mounted to the pin by an adhesive, and by connecting the pin and the 3D translation stage of the extension arm, the optical component is The position on the XYZ coordinate space is controllable and adjustable. The angular calibration of the optical element is performed by a rotary table and a goniometer.

According to one embodiment, the invention is a method for micro-optical calibration and assembly, and the method comprises the steps of: determining that a tip of the pin can be attached to a position of the optical element; attaching the tip of the pin to The position; using the pin to move the optical element close to a predefined position to permanently accommodate the optical element; using the pin to align the optical element relative to the other element; permanently bonding the optical element to the pre-preg with a type of adhesive Defining the position; and detaching the pin from the optical component.

According to another embodiment, the invention is a method for micro-optical calibration and assembly, and the method comprises the steps of determining that individual tips of at least two pins can be attached to at least two locations of an optical component, respectively Attaching at least two pins to at least two positions of the optical element; moving the optical element close to a predefined position by clamping the at least two pins to permanently accommodate the optical element such that The movement of the optical element is limited; the optical element is calibrated relative to the other element using the at least two needles; the optical element is permanently bonded to the predefined location with a type of adhesive; and the at least The two pins are detached from the optical element.

One of the objects, features, and advantages of the present invention is to provide a technique for micro-optical calibration and assembly.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description of the appended claims.

The detailed description of the present invention is presented primarily in terms of procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, or other symbolic representations that are directly or indirectly similar to the operation of an optical device or system that can be used in an optical network. Such descriptions and representations are generally used by those of ordinary skill in the art to <RTIgt;

References to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" are used to mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase "a" or "an" or "an"

Referring now to the drawings, like reference numerals in the drawings It is assumed that the optical element 102 will be placed on a substrate (not shown in Figure 1). The optical element 102 can be a mirror, a filter, a file or a lens, and the like, and has at least one side attachable to the handle 104. The handle 104 is referred to as a pin 104 due to the physical size. According to one embodiment, the optical element 102 is attached to the pin 104 by a type of adhesive, wherein the pin 104 can be removed from the optical element 102 under certain circumstances, such as heat or pressure.

In operation, the tip of the pin 104 can be temporarily bonded to the optical element 102 by temporarily passing through the glue, epoxy or solder 110 (which can be removed after the optical element 102 is calibrated and secured to the substrate or another component). Top surface 106.

Once the pin 104 and optical element 102 are temporarily bonded together, the user can hold the pin 104 and move the optical element 102 onto the substrate, and then by shifting and circling X along the XYZ axis, The Y or Z axis is angularly rotated. The upper pin 104 is moved to perform the calibration process. In one embodiment, the calibrator-based pin has a pin 104 on a mechanical extension arm 120 on a manually or automatically actuated multi-dimensional translation stage (not shown).

In order to perform an optical calibration of 6 degrees of freedom, the optical element 102 is temporarily mounted to the pin 104 by the adhesive 110 and its position in the XYZ coordinate space can be achieved by connecting the pin 104 to the 3D translation stage of the extension arm. Control and adjustment. The angular calibration of the optical element 102 is performed by a rotary table and a goniometer. After positioning the optical element 102 in place, the optical element 102 is permanently bonded to the substrate by glue or solder. The pin 104 is then removed under predefined conditions such as heat, special light or pressure.

Due to the limited space available and it is desirable not to block one or more optical surfaces of the optical element 102 with the pins 104, only certain surfaces of the optical elements 102 may be used for clamping purposes when performing the calibration. 2 illustrates an embodiment in which the pin 104 is joined to the side of the side surface 108 of the optical element 102.

According to one embodiment, the pin 104 is curved (also referred to herein as a bend) and may have a plurality of turns to conform to the calibrated and fixed geometry. FIG. 3 shows the optical element 102 held by the curved pin 104. FIG. 4 shows another embodiment in which two of the pins 104 are used. The two pin solutions provide for the rotation of the optical element by a portion of the actuator (not shown) along a particular axis.

After the optical alignment of the optical element 102 is calibrated and permanently bonded to the substrate, the pin 104 is detached from the optical element 102 under predefined conditions, such as a thermal or pressure method. In general, the bond between the pin and the optical element is relatively weak. Therefore, the temporary bonding force between the pin 102 and the optical element 102 is much weaker than the permanent bonding force between the optical element and the substrate or other components, so that the pin 104 is not damaged and optically during detachment and after detachment. Element 102 is also not moved. FIG. 5 shows optical element 502 permanently bonded to substrate 504 with glue or solder 112 and pin 506 detached from optical element 502.

Figure 6 shows a process or flow diagram 600 for mounting an optical component. Process 600 can be better understood in conjunction with previous illustrations.

At 602, a substrate is assumed, with each optical component on the substrate, and after proper alignment, the optical components are bonded to the substrate. According to one embodiment, the components are small and placed in turn on the substrate. Initially, placing a portion of the component on the substrate is relatively easy because the space on the substrate is relatively large compared to the component size. When the space is relatively large, a pin is selected and the optical element is attached to the pin, in which case the pin is straight. As more components are placed on the substrate, when the space is relatively small, the curved pin is selected. In either case, it is prudent to determine the exact position at which the pin can be attached to the optical element. When the pin is attached to the optical element, the pin should not block or affect the calibration process (usually in confined space) when the optical element is placed for calibration with another component. According to one embodiment, the curved pin is bent to some extent to allow the user to move the element to its desired position and facilitate its alignment within the confined space.

Regardless of which pin (straight or curved) is used in 604, the user or machine used places the optic near its intended point (such as near the substrate or another component) and performs calibration, essentially the optics Calibrate with one or more other components. In general, when calibrating an optical component, a beam of light is injected or used such that the beam strikes an element and is filtered, refracted or reflected. The filtered, refracted or reflected beam can be measured using one or more instruments.

At 606, the calibrated optical component is permanently bonded to the substrate or another component with a type of adhesive such as an epoxy or solder. Once the component is permanently bonded to the substrate or another component, at 608, the pin is removed. Depending on the material used to attach the optical element to the pin, processing begins by detaching the pin from the bonded optical element without affecting the bonding of the optical element to the substrate or another element.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the specific embodiments, the description is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Variations in the preferred embodiments of the invention may be made by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims

100‧‧‧Configuration
102‧‧‧Optical components
104‧‧‧ Pin
106‧‧‧ top surface
108‧‧‧ side surface
110‧‧‧Binder
120‧‧‧Mechanical extension arm
502‧‧‧Optical components
504‧‧‧Substrate
506‧‧‧ Pin
600‧‧‧ Process
602‧‧ steps
604‧‧‧Steps
606‧‧‧Steps
608‧‧‧Steps

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following description, the appended claims.

1 illustrates an arrangement in which a pin is temporarily bonded to a top surface of an optical element in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

2 is a view showing a configuration in which a pin is temporarily bonded to a side surface of an optical element according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

3 illustrates a configuration in which a bent or curved pin is temporarily bonded to an optical element in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

4 illustrates a configuration in which two pins are temporarily bonded to an optical element in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, such that an optical member can be rotated along a particular axis by an actuator (not shown);

5 illustrates the pin being detached from the optical element after the optical component is permanently bonded to the substrate, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 6 shows a process or flow diagram for mounting an optical component using a pin.

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Claims (17)

A method for aligning an optical component relative to a substrate or another component, the method comprising the steps of: determining an attachment location in an area on a surface of the optical component; a tip of a pin Attached to the attachment location in the region on the surface of the optical component; using the pin to move and align the optical component relative to the substrate or the other component; the optical component being bonded with an adhesive Bonding to the substrate or the other component; and after the optical component is bonded to the substrate or the other component, the pin is detached from the attachment location on the optical component. The method of claim 1, wherein the attachment location on the optical component is on a surface of the optical component that does not strike a beam of light to be processed by the optical component. The method of claim 1 wherein the pin is for moving and calibrating the optical element in six degrees of freedom. The method of claim 1 wherein the pin is a pin or a loop pin. The method of claim 1, wherein the pin is controlled and adjusted by a multi-dimensional translation stage connecting the pin and an extension arm. whole. The method of claim 1, wherein the angular alignment of the optical element relative to the substrate or the other component is performed by a rotating stage and a goniometer. The method of claim 1 wherein the pin is detached from the attachment location without damaging the optical component. The method of claim 7 wherein the pin is detached from the attachment location using light, pressure or heat. The method of claim 1 wherein the attachment location is on a top surface of the optical component. The method of claim 1, wherein the attachment location is on a side surface of the optical component. The method of claim 1, wherein the optical component is a mirror, a filter, a cymbal or a lens. A method for aligning an optical component relative to a substrate or another component, the method comprising the steps of: determining at least two attachment locations, the attachment locations being on individual surfaces of the optical component; Individual tips of the pins are attached to the attachment locations on the optical component; using the pins, the optical component is moved and calibrated relative to the substrate or the other component; Bonding the optical component to the substrate or the other component with a bonding agent; and after the optical component is bonded to the substrate or the other component, the at least two pins are self-contained on the optical component Wait for the attachment location to detach. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least two pins are straight or curved. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the at least two pins is a pin on a mechanical extension arm on a multi-dimensional translation stage that is manually or automatically actuated. The method of claim 12, wherein the angular calibration of the optical element relative to the substrate or the other component is performed by a rotating stage and a goniometer. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least two pins are detached from the attachment location on the optical element without damaging the optical element. The method of claim 16 wherein each of the at least two pins is detached from the optical element using light, pressure or heat.