JPH05288963A - Waveguide device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the mechanical strength and rigidity of the connection part between an optical waveguide element and an optical fiber connector. CONSTITUTION:An optical waveguide is formed on the top surface of an optical waveguide substrate 1 and upper substrates are fixed on both end surfaces of the optical waveguide substrate 1 where the optical waveguide is formed to constitute the optical waveguide element 15. A stage plate 7 is adhered and fixed on the reverse surface side of the optical waveguide substrate 1, and both end sides of the stage plate 7 are projected outward from the light input/ output end surfaces of the optical waveguide element 15 to form connector holding parts 8. Optical fiber connectors 3 are adhered and connected to the light input/output ends of the optical waveguide element 15 and in this state, the optical fiber connectors 3 and connector holding parts 8 are adhered and fixed with UV resin, etc.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waveguide device which performs optical demultiplexing / multiplexing and optical branching / coupling in optical communication and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 shows a conventional general waveguide device. In FIG. 1, an optical waveguide for performing optical demultiplexing / multiplexing, optical branching coupling, etc. is formed on an optical waveguide substrate 1 made of Si or the like, and an upper substrate 2 is provided at both input and output ends of the optical waveguide substrate 1. It is applied and integrally bonded and fixed to form the optical waveguide device 9.

On the other hand, the optical fiber connector 3 is composed of a ferrule 4 to which a tape-shaped multi-core optical fiber core wire 5 is connected and fixed. The optical fiber connector 3 is provided in a fiber housing V groove or a fiber housing hole formed inside the ferrule 4. Each optical fiber (naked optical fiber) of the core optical fiber 5 is housed and fixed by an adhesive or the like, and the connecting end face 6 of the ferrule 4 is
Is polished together with the end face of the optical fiber, and the connection end face 6 is exposed at the insertion end face of each optical fiber of the multi-core optical fiber core wire 5. The connection end face 6 of the ferrule 4 is brought into contact with the light input / output end face of the optical waveguide element 9 so that the end face of the optical fiber on the side of the optical fiber connector 3 and the end face of the optical waveguide are aligned with each other. Connector 3
The connection end face 6 and the end face of the optical waveguide element 9 are integrally fixed by using an adhesive or the like, and the waveguide device is assembled.

[0004]

However, since the conventional waveguide device is a system in which the optical waveguide element 9 and the optical fiber connector 3 are bonded and fixed only on the connection end face 6 side, the strength and rigidity of the connection portion are not improved. It is insufficient, for example, after the optical waveguide element 9 and the optical fiber connector 3 are bonded and fixed,
If a force is applied to the connection part while measuring the connection loss and packaging the part of the waveguide device, the optical fiber and the optical waveguide will be misaligned due to the deformation of the connection part. There is a problem that the loss is increased and the connection part is broken in some cases.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to apply a force even to a connecting portion between an optical waveguide element and an optical fiber connector.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a waveguide device that does not increase axial displacement loss or break.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows. That is, the present invention is a waveguide device in which an optical fiber connector is connected to both ends of an optical waveguide element formed by forming an optical waveguide on an optical waveguide substrate. Is characterized in that a connector holding portion fixed to the optical waveguide element is arranged so as to project toward the optical fiber connector side, and the optical fiber connector connected to the optical waveguide element is fixed to the connector holding portion. Has been done.

[0007]

In the present invention having the above-described structure, the optical fiber connector is fixed to the connector holding portion integrated with the optical waveguide element in a state where the optical fiber connector is connected to both ends of the optical input / output of the optical waveguide element. As a result, the strength and rigidity of the connecting portion between the optical waveguide device and the optical fiber connector are increased, so that even if a force is applied to the connecting portion, there is no problem of an increase in axial displacement loss and breakage.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments described below, the same parts as those in the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicate description thereof will be omitted. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the waveguide device according to the present invention. In these figures, the flame deposition method and the R
A quartz waveguide is formed with a width of 5 mm and a length of 20 mm by using a technique such as IBE (Reactive Ion Beam Etching), and 8 × 8 μm waveguides are provided on both input and output sides of the optical waveguide substrate 1. The rectangular cores 14 on the end faces are exposed at regular pitch arrangement intervals. In this embodiment, the optical waveguide has a refractive index difference of 0.3% between the core and the clad, and the upper surface for height adjustment is formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the optical waveguide substrate 1 on which the optical waveguide is formed. The substrate 2 is fixed. The upper substrate 2 is made of crystallized glass whose coefficient of thermal expansion matches Si, which is the material of the optical waveguide substrate 1, and the crystallized glass can be used with a UV adhesive (ultraviolet curable adhesive). It has a transmittance of 20% or more in the wavelength range of 350 nm to 450 nm. The upper substrate 2 of this crystallized glass has a thickness of 1 mm, a width of 4.5 mm and a length of 5 mm.
The dimensions are set to and the optical waveguide element 15 is formed by being bonded onto the optical waveguide substrate 1 using a UV adhesive.
The end surfaces of the optical waveguide substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 on the connection side where they are overlapped are polished to be the same flat surface.

The ferrule 4 of the optical fiber connector 3 is made of the same material as that of the upper substrate 2, and the multi-core optical fiber core wire is formed in the V groove or hole formed inside the fiber as in the conventional example. Each optical fiber 5 is housed and fixed, and the housing front end of each optical fiber is arranged on the connection end face of the optical fiber connector 3 (the connection end face of the ferrule 4) 6 at the same pitch as the core end face 14 of the optical waveguide. Is exposed at. The ferrule 4 has a thickness of 2 mm in which the optical waveguide substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 are overlapped with each other, and the thickness of the connection end face 6 and the thickness of the optical waveguide element 15 on the connection end face side are matched. In this embodiment, the optical fiber is arranged at a height of 1 mm from the lower surface of the connecting end face 6 of the ferrule 4, and similarly, the core end surface 14 of the optical waveguide is arranged at a height of 1 mm from the lower surface of the optical waveguide substrate 1. Thus, when the connection end face 6 on the optical fiber connector 3 side and the connection end face of the optical waveguide element 15 are aligned and aligned, the optical fiber of the optical fiber connector 3 and the core end face 14 of the optical waveguide are aligned. There is.

A characteristic of this embodiment is that a stage plate 7 made of the same material as the upper substrate 2 is integrally bonded and fixed to the lower surface side of the optical waveguide substrate 1 by using UV resin.
The length of this stage plate 7 is made longer than that of the optical waveguide element 15, and the optical fiber connector 3
It is provided so as to project to the side, and this projecting portion functions as the connector holding portion 8. Then, on the optical input / output end side of the optical waveguide element 15, the connection end face 6 of the optical fiber connector 3 is attached to the optical waveguide element 15
After being aligned with the connection end face of the above and being adhesively fixed with UV resin, the connector holding portion 8 and the optical fiber connector 3 are U-shaped.
It is integrally bonded and fixed using V resin. In this embodiment, the stage plate 7 has a thickness of 1 mm, and both ends are 0.1 mm as a space for axial alignment of the optical fiber connector 3.
The thickness of the connector holding portion 8 is made thin so that the gap 16 is open, and the connector holding portion 8 is dimensioned to project from the connection end face of the optical waveguide element 15 toward the optical fiber connector 3 side.

In this embodiment, the optical waveguide device 15 and the stage plate 7 are integrally fixed, and the optical fiber connector 3 and the connector are bonded to each other while the connection end faces of the optical waveguide device 15 and the optical fiber connector 3 are adhesively fixed to each other. Since the holding portion 8 is integrally bonded and fixed, the mechanical strength and rigidity of the connecting and fixing portion between the optical waveguide element 15 and the optical fiber connector 3 are significantly enhanced, and the optical fiber connector 3 and the optical waveguide element 15 When the connection loss is measured and the waveguide device is packaged with the optical fiber connected, the optical fiber of the optical fiber connector 3 and the core end surface 14 of the optical waveguide 14 even if force is applied to the connecting portion. It is possible to provide a waveguide device which is highly reliable in handling because the transmission loss does not increase and the connection portion is not broken due to the axis shift.

In this embodiment, the optical waveguide substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 have the same coefficient of thermal expansion.
Since the material of the ferrule 4 of the optical fiber connector 3 and the material of the stage plate 7 are made of the same material, it is possible to obtain the effect that the adverse effect of thermal stress on the temperature change can be prevented.

The present inventor has conducted a characteristic test of the waveguide device configured as described above and found that the adhesive connection between the optical waveguide element 15 and the optical fiber connector 3 can be performed with a low loss of 0.1 dB or less. I was able to confirm.
Further, various works such as packaging were performed using the waveguide device of the present example, but there was no possibility that the connecting portion was subjected to force and was broken. Further, the waveguide device of the present example, the temperature was varied in the range of -10 ℃ ~ 60 ℃, the connection loss was measured for each temperature, ± 0.2
It was within the dB range, and it was possible to obtain very good environment resistance characteristics.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various embodiments can be adopted. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the thickness of the connector holding portions on both ends of the stage plate 7 is reduced by 0.1 mm in order to secure the axial alignment space (gap 16) of the optical fiber connector 3, but unlike this, As shown in FIG. 3A, the 0.1 mm gap 16 may be formed by adhering a 0.1 mm thick plate 10 to the upper side of the stage plate 7. By providing the plate 10 in this manner, it is possible to omit the cutting work for thinning both end surfaces of the stage plate 7. In addition, as shown in FIG.
The ferrule 4 of the optical fiber connector 3 may be made thinner by 0.1 mm on the upper surface side and the lower surface side to form the gap 16. Also in this case, the manual clearance for cutting the stage plate 7 to form the clearance 16 can be omitted.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), a concave portion 11 is provided on the surface side of the connector holding portion 8 so as to allow excess adhesive to escape when the optical waveguide element 15 and the optical fiber connector 3 are bonded. You may do it.

Further, in the above embodiment, the connector holding portion 8
4 is provided on the bottom side of the optical waveguide element 15. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper stage plate 12 is adhered and fixed to the upper substrate 2 side by UV resin or the like, and the tip side of the upper stage plate 12 is attached to the optical waveguide element 15. Alternatively, the optical fiber connector 3 may be projected from 15 to the outside (on the side of the optical fiber connector 3) to form the connector holding portion 8, and the optical fiber connector 3 may be bonded and fixed by UV resin using the upper and lower connector holding portions 8. In this way, by fixing the optical fiber connector 3 with the connector holding portions 8 on the upper and lower sides, the mechanical strength and rigidity of the connecting portion can be further enhanced. The present inventor has conducted characteristic tests similar to those of the above-mentioned embodiment on the type shown in FIG. 4, and has confirmed that the same effect as that of the above-mentioned embodiment can be obtained.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the stage plate 13
Is fixed to one side surface or both side surfaces (both side surfaces in the figure) of the optical waveguide element by adhesive bonding, and similarly the tip side of the stage plate 13 is outside from the end surface of the optical waveguide element 15 (optical fiber connector 3
Alternatively, the optical fiber connector 3 may be bonded and fixed with UV resin or the like by using the protruding portion as the connector holding portion 8.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, when the optical fiber connector 3 and the optical waveguide element 15 are connected between the stage plate 7 and the optical fiber connector 3, the interval which functions as an axial alignment space is 0.1 mm. , This interval is 0.1
Dimensions other than mm may be used and can be omitted when not needed.

Further, although the optical waveguide is constituted by the quartz waveguide in the above-mentioned embodiment, the optical waveguide is not necessarily limited to this, and may be a waveguide having other constitution such as a semiconductor.

Further, the materials of the optical waveguide substrate 1, the upper substrate 2 and the ferrule 4 are not limited to those in the above embodiment, and various other materials can be used. Also in this case, it is preferable that these members 1, 2 and 4 have substantially the same coefficient of thermal expansion in consideration of adverse effects such as thermal stress. Further, as the adhesive, one other than the UV adhesive can be used.

[0021]

According to the present invention, the optical fiber connector connected to the optical waveguide element is fixed to the connector holding portion to reinforce the connecting portion between the optical waveguide element and the optical fiber connector to enhance mechanical strength and rigidity. Since it is configured as described above, when handling the waveguide device of the present invention,
Even if a force is applied to the connection part when packaging this waveguide device, the connection part between the optical waveguide element and the optical fiber connector is deformed and the axis deviation loss increases or the connection part breaks. Will never be done,
It is possible to provide a highly reliable waveguide device in terms of handling.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory view showing an embodiment of a waveguide device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a connecting portion between an optical waveguide device and an optical fiber connector in the same example.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing other various embodiments of the waveguide device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing still another embodiment of the waveguide device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing still another embodiment of the waveguide device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional general waveguide device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Optical Waveguide Substrate 2 Upper Substrate 3 Optical Fiber Connector 4 Ferrule 5 Multicore Optical Fiber Core 6 Connection End Face 7 Stage Plate 8 Connector Holding Section 15 Optical Waveguide Element

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A waveguide device in which an optical fiber connector is connected to both ends of optical input / output of an optical waveguide element having an optical waveguide formed on an optical waveguide substrate. A connector holding portion fixed to the optical waveguide element is arranged so as to project toward the optical fiber connector side, and the optical fiber connector connected to the optical waveguide element is fixed to the connector holding portion. Waveguide device.