JP2003255198A - Connection device for optical transmission and reception module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connection device for an optical transmission and reception module which is made low-cost by making an equipment housing small-sized and decreasing the number of components. <P>SOLUTION: When a module-side ferrule D and an equipment-side ferrule E of the optical transmission and reception module are connected, the module- side ferrule D and equipment-side ferrule E are fitted and fixed in an array sleeve F while optically coupled with each other by making their end surfaces abut against each other and the array sleeve F is inserted into a ferrule engagement part provided to a receptacle C, and the receptacle C is installed on the side of the equipment housing B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
A communication device that connects a telephone station from home with a single optical fiber using a media converter, especially a connection device for optical transmission / reception modules such as optical splitters and optical demultiplexers designed to reduce costs and prevent characteristic deterioration. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, for example, a communication system has become widespread in which an optical fiber is wired between a telephone station and a general household to enable bidirectional high speed communication. In such a communication system, in order to enable bidirectional communication with a single optical fiber, signals with different wavelengths are multiplexed and sent out to the optical fiber, and an optical transceiver module installed in a station or a home Each wavelength is converted into an electrical signal, and the optical transceiver module is equipped with a filter that traverses the optical fiber.This filter reflects or refracts one of the signals with different wavelengths and the other signal. Signals having different wavelengths are separated by transmitting the signals.

In the prior art, as shown in FIG.
The optical transmission / reception module a is configured to have a module side ferrule b, and one end side of the module side ferrule b is attached to a pigtail d with a connecting optical fiber cord c interposed, and even within the pigtail d. The side ferrule e and the device side ferrule f were connected, and the pigtail d was attached to the device housing g using a screw or the like.

[0004]

In the prior art configured as described above, since the pigtail d is used,
The device-side ferrule f and the module-side ferrule are connected by interposing the connecting optical fiber cord c and the pigtail-side ferrule e, and a space for disposing the connecting optical fiber cord c in the device housing g is required. As the structure becomes larger, as the ferrule, in addition to the module side ferrule b, the pigtail side ferrule e
Also, since the device has the ferrule f on the device side, the number of parts must be increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to reduce the size of the equipment casing and the number of parts,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a connecting device for an optical transceiver module that is cost-effective.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a module-side ferrule which constitutes an optical transceiver module, and a module-side ferrule and a device-side ferrule, the end faces of which are abutted to each other to form an optical fiber. The present invention is characterized by comprising an alignment sleeve which is fixed in a coupled state, and a ferrule fitting portion which is provided in a receptacle installed on the device housing side for inserting the alignment frame.

According to the present invention, the ferrule on the optical transmission / reception module side and the ferrule on the device side are directly optically coupled to each other by using the aligning slave, and the aligning sleeve is mounted on the ferrule fitting portion provided on the receptacle installed on the device case side. As a result, the conventional optical fiber cord that connects the ferrule on the optical transceiver module side and the ferrule on the device side can be abolished, and along with this, the extra length means of the optical fiber cord can also be abolished. The number of parts can be reduced by eliminating the conventional ferrule on the pigtail side and eliminating the optical fiber cord, which accounts for most of the cost together with the ferrule on the optical transceiver module side and the ferrule on the device side. And also contribute to cost reduction. It will be.

Further, according to the present invention, as a module-side ferrule which constitutes an optical transmitter-receiver module, a pair of ferrule joints in which a part or the whole of the optical fiber peripheral surface is exposed from the end to optically couple the embedded optical fiber. Wood and
It is composed of a guide sleeve for positioning with a ferrule joining material inserted therein, and the guide sleeve forms the optical fiber by connecting the end faces of the optical fiber with each other through an optical filter and demultiplexing the light. It is possible.

Therefore, in the optical transmitter and receiver module according to the present invention, the optical filter is not buried, and the optical fiber is interposed in the abutting surface of the optical fiber to eliminate the gap between the optical fiber and the optical filter or the half mirror. Therefore, it is possible to prevent deterioration of light characteristics, and
Since it is arranged between the end faces of the optical fiber without burying the optical filter or the like, a ferrule for burying the optical filter or the like is not required, and the cost can be reduced, and the present invention fixes the optical filter or the like with the optical filter. Also, because the optical fiber is fixed with a guide sleeve, no adapter is required,
Therefore, the module can be downsized.

In the optical transceiver module according to the present invention, the end portion of each ferrule joining material is cut off to form a step at each ferrule joining material end, and the flat surface of the step portion is removed from the peripheral surface of the optical fiber. It is conceivable to expose part or all. Therefore, it becomes possible to provide a light receiving element or the like on the step portion. And by providing the light receiving element and the like on the step,
The light receiving element or the like can be placed very close to the optical filter or the half mirror, and the optical signal transmitted from the optical fiber can be propagated from the optical filter or the half mirror to the light receiving element or the like and reacted without diverging as much as possible. Therefore, it is possible to improve the optical transmission efficiency and support a wide range of frequencies (for example, 1 GHz for 80 μwave to 2 GHz for 40 μwave).
Supports up to 0 GHz).

Further, the present invention may be characterized in that the guide sleeve is cut out to form a window portion, and the window portion is located above the optical coupling portion of the optical fiber.

Therefore, according to the present invention, since the guide sleeve is provided with the window portion and the light receiving element is additionally provided, it is possible to take out a specific signal among signals having different wavelengths propagating in the optical fiber.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is conceivable that each of the module-side ferrule and the guide sleeve has a circular cross-sectional shape, so that the both can be easily assembled.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the cross-sectional shape of each of the module-side ferrule and the guide sleeve can be polygonal.

Therefore, in the present invention, since the cross-sectional shape of the ferrule joining member and the guide sleeve is polygonal,
Rotation of the ferrule joining material with respect to the guide sleeve is prevented, and therefore, the end faces of the step portions do not shift in the circumferential direction at the time of butting, so that the operation of interposing the optical filter between the ferrule joining materials is facilitated.

Furthermore, the ferrule joining material according to the present invention comprises a ferrule joining material for single-sided joining having one end formed in a step and a ferrule joining material for double-sided joining having both ends formed in a step. While arranging the joining ferrule joining materials in series and arranging them in the central part, arranging the single-side joining ferrule materials at both ends of the double-side joining ferrule joining material,
A configuration in which optical fibers are optically coupled by inserting adjacent ferrule materials for joining into a guide sleeve is conceivable.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the ferrule joining materials can be arranged in series through the guide sleeve, so that the module can be simplified, further downsized and the cost can be reduced. Since the ferrule joining material can be arranged in series via the fiber, the degree of freedom in setting the span between the ferrule joining materials increases.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is conceivable to expose a part or the whole of the peripheral surface of the optical fiber embedded in the ferrule, and therefore the parts management is easy.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is conceivable to form a substantially flat surface which is not perpendicular to the axial direction at the module-side ferrule end portion, so that the module-side ferrule end portion can be easily butted.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A connection device for an optical transmission / reception module adopting an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a connection structure of an optical transceiver module adopting an embodiment according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the optical transceiver module A is
The module-side ferrule D and the device-side ferrule E are connected by using the receptacle C mounted in the device housing B.

That is, the receptacle C has a body portion C1.
And a connector portion C2, the main body portion C1 is formed in a tubular shape, and the enlarged diameter flange portion C3 is attached to the device housing B by a screw C4.

The connector C2 is provided with a pair of locking legs C5 and C6 extending on both sides thereof, and one locking leg C5 is engaged with an inner hole C7 of the main body C1. The other locking leg C6 engages with the mounting metal fitting A2 fitted to the ferrule A1 of the optical transceiver module A to attach the optical transceiver module A to the device housing B.

The connector portion C2 is formed with a cylindrical ferrule fitting portion C8 so as to be surrounded by the locking legs C5 so as to be separated therefrom. The ferrule fitting portion C8 includes the module side ferrule D and the device side. The ferrule E is fitted with the alignment sleeve F interposed. As a result, the alignment sleeve F moves the module-side ferrule D and the device-side ferrule E,
By abutting the end faces with each other, they are fixed in an optically coupled state.

Next, the structure of the optical transceiver module used in the above embodiment will be described.

In FIG. 2, the module side ferrule D of the optical transceiver module A has a pair of ferrule joining materials 1 and 1 to be optically coupled. The ferrule joining materials 1 and 1 are formed by notching the upper half of one end of a column-shaped ferrule (not shown) in which the optical fiber 4 is embedded to form the stepped portion 2. The optical fiber 4 is slightly exposed from the flat surface 3.

Further, the end surfaces of the respective step portions 2 and 2 and the optical fiber 4 are inclined to form inclined surfaces 5 and 5. The inclination direction is one diagonally upward and the other diagonally downward,
Make sure that no gap is created between the two inclined surfaces when they are butted.

The inclination angle θ is preferably about 60 ° so as to match the inclination angle of the optical filter described later.

FIG. 3 shows a positioning guide sleeve 6 into which the ferrule joining materials 1 and 1 are inserted. This guide sleeve is formed in a tubular shape having an upward C-shaped cross section corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the ferrule joining materials 1 and 1. It is preferable that the guide sleeve 6 has a window portion 7 formed by notching the central upper portion in an upward U-shape.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the ferrule joining materials 1 and 1 are inserted into the guide sleeve 6. That is, from one end surface of the guide sleeve 6 to the ferrule joining material 1 on one side
And the other ferrule joining material 1 is inserted from the other end surface of the guide sleeve 6 with the step portions 2 and 2 facing each other.

At this time, an optical filter 8 is interposed between the inclined surfaces 5 and 5 of the ferrule-bonding materials 1 and 1, and the ferrule-bonding materials 1 and 1 are butted against each other in this state, whereby the optical filter 8 Both end surfaces of the optical fibers 4 and 4 are joined via the.

The optical filter 8 is typically a polarization filter having a characteristic of selectively absorbing a component of a transmitted electromagnetic wave to produce plane polarized light, a neutral density filter having a characteristic of reducing the amount of light, a wavelength division filter described later, or the like. Is.

After the two ferrule bonding materials 1 and 1 are butted, the butted surfaces are adhered with an ultraviolet-melting adhesive. The abutting surface is located substantially in the center of the guide sleeve 6, and the window portion 7 is located above the abutting surface.

When the window portion 7 is formed in the guide sleeve 6, the light receiving element 9 is attached to the window portion 7. That is, the window portion 7 is for installing the light receiving element 9, and when the light receiving element 9 is provided in this way, a wavelength division filter is used as the optical filter 8.

Since the wavelength division filter has a characteristic of reflecting or diffracting and separating a specific signal among signals having different wavelengths propagating in the optical fiber, the light receiving element 9 receives the separated optical signal. It becomes possible to construct a optical demultiplexer by demultiplexing a specific signal.

If a half mirror is used as the optical filter 8, it has a characteristic of reflecting or diffracting and separating about half of the signals having the same wavelength propagating in the optical fiber, and thus the separated optical signal is separated. By causing the light receiving element 9 to receive light, a specific signal can be branched to form an optical branching device.

The light emitting element 1 capable of transmitting a signal to the optical fiber 4 is provided at one of the other ends of the ferrule bonding materials 1 and 1.
Although 0 is mounted, a light receiving element can be provided instead of the light emitting element.

5 and 6 show modified examples of the ferrule joining material and the guide sleeve. In FIG. 2, the ferrule joining material is formed by cutting out a cylindrical ferrule, but in FIG. The ferrule bonding material 20 is formed by notching the square columnar ferrule.
The other configuration is the same as that of FIG.

Further, in FIG. 3, the guide sleeve has a cross section C.
Although it is formed in a character shape, in FIG. 6, the guide sleeve 21 is formed by making the cross-sectional shape upward in a U shape. The other configuration is the same as that of FIG.

FIG. 7 shows the ferrule bonding material 20 shown in FIG.
Is inserted in the guide sleeve 21 shown in FIG. 6, and other configurations are the same as those in FIG.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show modifications of the ferrule joining material, the guide sleeve and the like. In FIG.
The ferrule joining material is formed by cutting out a cylindrical ferrule, but in FIG. 8, the ferrule joining material 30 is formed by cutting out a trapezoidal ferrule.
The other configuration is the same as that of FIG.

Further, in FIG. 3, the guide sleeve has a cross section C.
Although formed in a character shape, in FIG. 9, the guide sleeve 31 is formed in a tubular shape having a trapezoidal cross section. The other configuration is the same as that of FIG.

FIG. 10 shows the ferrule bonding material 3 shown in FIG.
0 is shown inserted into the guide sleeve 31 shown in FIG. 9, and the other structure is the same as that shown in FIG.

When the ferrule joining material and the guide sleeve are formed into a square shape or a trapezoidal shape as in the above two modified examples, the ferrule joining material 2 is attached to the guide sleeves 21 and 31.
It is possible to prevent the 0 and 30 from rotating, so that the inclined surfaces 5 and 5 do not shift in the circumferential direction at the time of butting, and the positioning is ensured. Therefore, the operation of interposing the optical filter 8 between the ferrule bonding materials can be performed. It will be easier. From this point of view, as described above, similar effects can be obtained as long as the shape is not limited to a quadrangle or a trapezoid but a polygon.

FIG. 11 shows an example in which a plurality of ferrule joining materials 1 are arranged in series. A double-sided joining ferrule joining material 1a in which both ends of the ferrule are formed in a stepped portion is arranged in series and is arranged in the central portion. The ferrule joining material 1b for single-sided joining, in which one end of the ferrule is formed in a stepped portion, is placed at both ends of the ferrule joining material 1a for double-sided joining, and adjacent ferrule joining materials for joining are inserted into the guide sleeve 6. Thus, the optical fibers 8 are optically coupled by abutting the end faces of the optical fibers via the optical filter 8.

FIG. 12 shows a pair of single-sided ferrule-bonding materials 1 formed by cutting out one end of a ferrule to form a step.
By inserting b and 1b into the guide sleeve 6, the end faces of the optical fibers 4 are butted against each other via the optical filter 8 to form a unit 40, and these units are arranged in series.
The optical fibers 4 of adjacent units are optically coupled to each other. In this way, it can be used in a WDM system that multiplex-transmits three or more wavelengths such as four wavelengths and eight wavelengths.

Although the ferrule joining material and the guide plate shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are used in FIGS. 11 and 12, the present invention is not limited to this, and FIGS. 5, 6, and 8 are used.
The one shown in FIG. 9 may be used.

The above-described FIG. 4, FIG. 7, and FIG. 10 to FIG.
It is also possible to mount each module shown in 2 on a printed circuit board.

13 to 17 show a method of manufacturing the module shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.

First, in the first step, as shown in FIG. 13, the covering material 4a is peeled off from the optical fiber 4. In the second step, as shown in FIG. 14, the ferrule 4b is fitted into the blown out optical fiber portion by peeling off the coating material.

In the third step, as shown in FIG. 15, a step is formed at the end of the ferrule. As a cutting blade used at that time, a saw with a diamond blade is used. There are wide blades and narrow blades. The wide blades are used for rough cutting, and the narrow blades are used for polishing for accuracy.

First, the upper end of the ferrule 4b is cut in the radial direction with a wide blade, and then the blade is moved in the axial direction to cut out the end of the ferrule to roughly form the step portion 2. When making the cutout,
The optical fiber 4 is slightly exposed from the flat surface 3 of the step.

At this time, even if the clad of the optical fiber is scraped to some extent, there is no problem unless the blade reaches the core. Then, precision is obtained by polishing the stepped portion with a narrow blade.

In the fourth step, as shown in FIG. 16, the end surface of the step is cut obliquely downward to form an inclined surface, and then the inclined surface is polished to form the ferrule bonding material 1.

In the fifth step, as shown in FIG. 17, the ferrule joining material 1 is inserted into the positioning guide sleeve 6 and the end faces of the optical fibers are laminated and mounted on one end face with a plurality of thin film filters 8a. Butt through the optical filter 8 thus formed.

[0057]

According to the present invention, the ferrule on the optical transmission / reception module side and the ferrule on the device side are directly optically coupled to each other by using the aligning slave, and the aligning sleeve is mounted on the ferrule fitting portion provided on the receptacle installed on the device case side. As a result, the optical fiber cord connecting the ferrule on the optical transceiver module side and the ferrule on the device side can be eliminated, and along with this, the excess length means of the optical fiber cord can also be eliminated, contributing to downsizing of the overall device structure. (It is possible to reduce the size to about 1/10 of the conventional one.) Moreover, by abolishing the conventional pigtail side ferrule, at the same time, by abolishing the optical fiber cord which occupies most of the cost with the optical transceiver module side ferrule and the equipment side ferrule, It is possible to contribute to cost reduction due to the reduction in the number of parts.

In the optical transmitter-receiver module according to the present invention, the optical filter is not embedded, but the optical filter is interposed in the abutting surface of the optical fiber to eliminate the gap between the optical fiber and the optical filter. Therefore, irregular reflection is prevented. Therefore, deterioration of optical characteristics can be prevented.

Further, since the optical filter is arranged between the end faces of the optical fiber without burying it, a ferrule for burying the optical filter is not required and the cost can be reduced.

Further, in the optical transmission / reception module according to the present invention, the end of the ferrule fitted in the coating material-removed portion of the optical fiber is cut out to form a step, and the end face of the step is cut off obliquely. The ferrule joining material is inserted into the guide sleeve, and the end faces of the optical fibers are butted against each other via the optical filter to manufacture the optical transceiver module, which shortens the manufacturing process and thus reduces the manufacturing cost. Become.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a connection structure of an optical transceiver module according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ferrule joining material of the optical transceiver module in FIG.

[Fig. 3] Similarly, a sectional view of the guide sleeve.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a state in which a ferrule joining material is inserted into a guide sleeve.

FIG. 5 is also a view showing a modified example of the ferrule bonding material.
Sectional view equivalent to

FIG. 6 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a modification of the guide sleeve.

7 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4, showing a state in which the ferrule joining member of FIG. 5 is inserted into the guide sleeve of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing another modification of the ferrule joining material.

9 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing another modification of the guide sleeve.

10 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4, showing a state in which the ferrule joining member of FIG. 8 is inserted into the guide sleeve of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the optical transceiver module according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is also a sectional view showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of an optical fiber showing a first step of a method for manufacturing an optical transceiver module using a ferrule according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing an optical fiber in a ferrule-fitted state showing the second step in the same manner.

FIG. 15 (1) is a sectional view showing a step forming state showing the third step, and FIG.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing a slope forming state showing a fourth step in the same manner.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view showing a state where the ferrule joining material is inserted into the guide sleeve in the same manner.

FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram in which a connection structure of a conventional optical transceiver module is partially sectioned and drawn.

[Explanation of symbols]

A Optical transceiver module B device housing C receptacle C8 ferrule mating part D module side ferrule E Equipment side ferrule F alignment sleeve 1, 20, 30 Ferrule joining material 2 steps Flat part of 3 steps 4 optical fiber 6, 21, 31 Guide sleeve 7 windows 8 optical filters 8a thin film filter 9 Light receiving element 10 Light emitting element

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Nobuyuki Akiya             3-1, Tsunashima-Higashi 4-chome, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa             Matsushita Communication Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Ninmaro Togo             3-1, Tsunashima-Higashi 4-chome, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa             Matsushita Communication Industry Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2H037 AA01 BA02 BA11 BA31 CA10                       CA37 DA04 DA06 DA15 DA17                 2H043 AE04 AE07 AE23

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A module-side ferrule that constitutes an optical transceiver module, an alignment sleeve that fixes the module-side ferrule and the device-side ferrule in an optically coupled state by abutting their end faces, and the alignment frame. An optical transmission / reception module connection device, comprising: a ferrule fitting portion provided on a receptacle to be inserted and attached to a device housing side. 2. The module-side ferrule constituting the optical transceiver module comprises a pair of ferrule joining materials in which a part or all of an optical fiber peripheral surface is exposed from an end portion for optically coupling an embedded optical fiber. And a guide sleeve for positioning in which the ferrule joining material is inserted, and the guide sleeve allows optical coupling of the optical fibers by abutting the end faces of the optical fibers through an optical filter and demultiplexing the light. The optical transmitter / receiver module connection device according to claim 1, wherein the optical transmitter / receiver module connection device is formed. 3. The module-side ferrule constituting the optical transceiver module comprises a pair of ferrule joining materials in which a part or all of an optical fiber peripheral surface is exposed from an end portion for optically coupling an embedded optical fiber. And a guide sleeve for positioning in which the ferrule joining material is inserted, and the guide sleeve optically couples the optical fibers by abutting the end faces of the optical fibers via a half mirror and demultiplexing the light. The optical transmitter / receiver module connection device according to claim 1, wherein the optical transmitter / receiver module connection device is formed. 4. An end portion of each ferrule joining material is cut off to form a step portion at each ferrule joining material end portion, and a part or all of an optical fiber peripheral surface is exposed from a flat surface of the step portion. The connection device of the optical transceiver module according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that. 5. The light according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the guide sleeve is cut out to form a window portion, and the window portion is located above the optical coupling portion of the optical fiber. Connection device for transceiver module. 6. An optical signal demultiplexed by the optical filter,
Alternatively, the light transmitting / receiving module connection device according to claim 5, wherein a light receiving element capable of receiving an optical signal optically branched by the half mirror is attached to the window portion. 7. The connecting device for an optical transceiver module according to claim 2, wherein a light emitting element or a light receiving element is mounted on the other end of the module side ferrule. 8. The connecting device for an optical transceiver module according to claim 2, wherein each of the module-side ferrule and the guide sleeve has a circular cross-sectional shape. 9. The optical transceiver module connection device according to claim 2, wherein each of the module-side ferrule and the guide sleeve has a polygonal cross-sectional shape. 10. The ferrule joining material includes a ferrule joining material for single-sided joining, one end of which is formed into a step, and a ferrule joining material for double-sided joining, where both ends are formed into a step,
The ferrule joining materials for double-sided joining are arranged in series and arranged in the central part, the ferrule materials for single-sided joining are placed at both ends of the ferrule joining material for double-sided joining, and the adjacent ferrule materials for joining are inserted into the guide sleeves. Therefore, the optical fiber is optically coupled to each other.
5. The optical transceiver module connection device according to any one of 1. 11. A unit formed by inserting a pair of single-sided joining ferrule joining materials each having a stepped end into a guide sleeve is arranged in series, and adjacent units are connected in series through an optical fiber. The optical transmitter / receiver module connection device according to any one of claims 2 to 9, characterized in that. 12. The optical transceiver module connection device according to claim 1, wherein the guide sleeve is mounted on a printed circuit board.