JP3201179B2 - Optical circuit component and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical circuit component and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to providing a deformed portion in a clad portion formed by injection molding to absorb shrinkage and polish the end surfaces of the core portion and the clad portion. The present invention relates to an optical circuit component with improved workability and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an optical communication device or the like using an optical fiber, there is an optical circuit component for coupling or branching an optical signal transmitted via the optical fiber. This optical circuit component
Injecting a clad formed to have a branch hollow by injection molding a transparent polymer resin and a polymer resin with a higher refractive index than the polymer resin forming the clad into the branch hollow. And a core formed by the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 4-9806 and 4-1.
No. 8505.

In such an optical circuit component, a step may be formed on an end face connected to an optical fiber due to shrinkage of a clad or expansion of a core. Such a step causes a connection loss in the optical signal, so that the end face is polished to reduce the connection loss.

FIG. 9 shows a polishing apparatus for polishing an optical circuit component. An arm 24 is supported through a column 23 attached to a fixed base 22, and an arm 2 is supported by the column 23.
4 has a stopper 25 that regulates the height of the polishing table 4 and a polishing table 18 that rotates on the fixed table 22.
Drive shaft 18 which penetrates through and is connected to a drive source (not shown)
It is rotationally driven through A. A guide jig 15 for fixing the optical circuit component 1 is attached to a tip of the arm 24. The guide jig 15 is formed of a metal such as steel having excellent mechanical strength and dimensional stability, and is fixed with bolts 16 and nuts 17 as shown in FIG. The circuit component 1 comes into contact with the polishing table 18 with a load corresponding to the weight 26 mounted on the arm 24.

In the polishing of the optical circuit component by the above-mentioned polishing apparatus, first, the nut 17 of the guide jig 15 is loosened and the optical circuit component 1 is mounted, and then the weight 2 having a predetermined weight is attached to the arm 24.
Put 6 on.

Next, the polishing table 18 is rotated, and the arm 24 is gently lowered in the direction of the arrow so that the optical circuit component 1 is rotated.
Is brought into contact with the polishing table 18 and polished with a constant pressing force until the end surface becomes flat while checking the polishing state. In this polishing operation, first, the end surface is roughly cut by a polishing table having a rough surface, and then finished by a polishing table having a fine surface roughness. The above operation is performed for each end face.

[0007]

However, according to a conventional optical circuit component, for example, in the case of an optical circuit component having two branches, polishing is required for the end faces where the core is exposed. Has to be performed for each optical circuit component, and there is a problem that the operation is complicated. Also, when molding an optical circuit component comprising a core and a clad with a mold, shrinkage occurs at, for example, a point 3 mm or more away from the mold or a contact surface with the mold component of the molded product, and the molded product is shrunk. Voids (small hollows) may occur inside,
A dent called sink marks occurs on the surface. This degrades the characteristics of the optical circuit component.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical circuit component capable of easily polishing an end face and a method for manufacturing the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical circuit component free from voids and sink marks and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention is order to allow easy polishing work of the end face, the cladding portion has a profiled portion for being formed by injection molding on a portion that does not interfere with the core portion contraction absorbing An optical circuit component is provided, and a clad having a hollow portion is formed of a transparent synthetic resin material having a first refractive index, and a transparent synthetic resin material having a second refractive index larger than the first refractive index is used as a core. An optical circuit component is formed by injecting it into the hollow portion of the clad as a through hole, a deformed portion such as a dent is formed in a predetermined region of the clad of the optical circuit component, and a plurality of optical circuit components are formed through the deformed portion. Provided is a method for manufacturing an optical circuit component that forms a plurality of optical circuit components by connecting the components to form a connector and polishing an end surface of the connector.

[0011]

According to the optical circuit component of the present invention, the deformed portion provided on the clad absorbs voids and sink marks generated in the clad, and the jig is fixed to the deformed portion provided on the clad, thereby enabling the orientation of the plurality of optical circuit components. In addition, the arrangement of the end faces can be kept constant, and when polishing a plurality of optical circuit components, variation in the polished state of the end faces can be prevented.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an optical circuit component according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Portions having the same configuration and function as those of the prior art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

FIG. 1 shows an optical circuit component 1 according to the present invention, in which a clad 2 formed by injection-molding poly-4-methylbenten-1 and a polystyrene or polymethyl methacrylate in the clad 2 are injection-molded. And a plurality of through-holes 4 formed in the clad 2 for contraction absorption. The through hole 4 is provided at a predetermined length (about 3 mm) from each end face of the clad 2 and is provided so as not to interfere with the core 3.

FIG. 2 shows a mold 5 for forming the optical circuit component 1 of the present invention, which is obtained by an injection molding machine (not shown).
A resin filling portion 6 filled with methylbenten-1, and a slide pin 7 inserted into the resin filling portion 6 from outside the mold 5
And 8, and a plurality of pins 9 arranged in the resin filling portion 6. The slide pins 7 and 8 are combined so as to form a V-shape in the resin filling portion 6, and the combined slide pins 7 and 8 is inserted into an opening 10 provided in the mold 5. The inside diameter D of the opening 10 is formed with a diameter corresponding to the outside diameter of the optical fiber to be connected.

In order to form an optical circuit component using the mold 5, after arranging the slide pins 7, 8 and a plurality of pins 9, the injection molding machine (not shown) is used to form poly-4-methylbenthene. 1 is filled in the resin filling portion 6, and after filling the resin, the slide pins 7, 8 and the plurality of pins 9 are pulled out, and the clad 2 is removed from the mold 5.

FIG. 3 shows the clad 2 cut from the mold 5. The clad 2 has a V-shaped branch passage hollow portion 11 formed by slide pins 7 and 8, and a branch passage hollow portion. A plurality of through-holes 4 penetrate the cladding 2 perpendicularly to the opening direction of 11. The through holes 4 absorb the shrinkage of the resin generated during the curing process of the clad 2, and
Sinks on the surface of the surface and voids inside are suppressed. An end face near the through hole 4 has a gate cut mark 13 generated when the mold is cut out from the mold 5.

Next, a resin material having a higher refractive index than that of poly-4-methylbenthene-1 is filled in the branch hollow portion 11 of the clad 2 from an injection molding machine (not shown). Here, polystyrene is filled to form the core 3 as shown in FIG.

When the branching hollow portion 11 is filled with a synthetic resin, a protruding portion 14 in which the synthetic resin protrudes from each end face of the clad 2 is generated. The protruding portion 14 and the gate cut mark 13 are removed by polishing.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the optical circuit component 1 of the present invention is mounted on a polishing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1
7 is fixed to the guide jig 15 by tightening. The other configuration is the same as that of FIG. 9 and will not be described.

At this time, the through hole 4 of the optical circuit component 1 is
By penetrating through the bolt 16 as shown in (B), a plurality can be arranged in an overlapping manner in the thickness direction. In this state, the polishing table 18 is rotated, and the guide jig 15 to which the optical circuit component 1 is fixed is lowered in the direction shown by the arrow, and the polishing table 18 is rotated.
The end face is polished by contacting the surface.

After polishing one end face, when polishing the other end face, loosen the nut 17 and rotate the plurality of optical circuit components 1 penetrated by the bolt 16 by the same amount, and then grind the end face to be polished next. It is arranged so as to be parallel to the surface of the table 18. Thus, by penetrating the bolt 16 into the through hole 4 of the optical circuit component 1, the end faces of the plurality of optical circuit components 1 can be polished simultaneously.

[0022] From Figure 7 toward 8 is shows a modification of the optical circuit component 1 of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows a reference example, in which the cladding 2 has protrusions 19 on both side surfaces, and the protrusion 1
By overlapping a plurality of optical circuit components 1 in the thickness direction so that 9 is linearized, the end faces of the plurality of optical circuit components 1 can be simultaneously polished. In this case, the plurality of optical circuit components 1 may be overlapped in the thickness direction by fixing the protrusions 19 linearly with a jig or the like (not shown), or the protrusions 19 may be fixed directly by a guide jig.

FIG. 7 shows a depression 20 on both sides of the cladding 2.
The end faces of the plurality of optical circuit components 1 can be simultaneously polished by inserting a jig (not shown) into the depressed portion 20 to make the plurality of optical circuit components 1 linear in the thickness direction. The depression 20 absorbs the contraction of the resin generated in the process of curing the clad 2 as in the case of providing the through-hole, and suppresses the occurrence of sink marks generated on the surface of the clad 2 and voids generated inside.

FIG. 8A has a square projection 21 on the upper surface of the cladding 2 and further has a lower surface of the cladding 2 corresponding to the projection 21 as shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C. Depressed part 20
Is provided. Therefore, when the plurality of optical circuit components 1 are overlapped in the thickness direction, the projections 21 are fitted into the depressions 20 so that the end faces of the plurality of optical circuit components 1 can be polished simultaneously.

In the present invention, the material of the clad 2 is poly-
Although 4-methylbenthene-1 was used, a fluorine-based resin can be used as another material. In addition, core 3
Can be used instead of polystyrene.

As described above, the through hole or the depressed portion is provided in the clad 2, so that the occurrence of sink marks and voids is suppressed, and the optical circuit component 1 is fixed by using the same. The polishing operation of the parts can be easily performed in mass production and with high precision.

[0027]

As described above, according to the optical circuit component and the method of manufacturing the same of the present invention, the deformed portion for contraction absorption is formed in the clad portion which does not interfere with the branch path of the core portion.
The generation of sink marks and voids can be suppressed, and the end surface can be easily polished.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing one embodiment of an optical circuit component of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a mold 5 for forming the optical circuit component of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a clad 2 formed by a mold 5;

FIG. 4 Clad 2 filled with polystyrene as a core
FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state where the optical circuit component of the present invention is attached to a polishing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a reference example .

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a modification of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a modified example of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a polishing apparatus for polishing an optical circuit component.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a conventional optical circuit component is fixed to a polishing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical circuit component 2 Cladding 3 Core 4 Through hole 5 Die 6 Resin filling part 7.8 Slide pin 9, Pin 10 Opening 11 Branch part hollow part 13 Gate cut mark 14 Protruding part 15 Guide jig 16 Bolt 17 Nut Reference Signs List 18 Turntable 18A Drive shaft 19 Projection 20 Depression 21 Projection 22 Fixation stand 23 Support post 24 Arm 25 Stopper 26 Weight

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-232347 (JP, A) JP-A-57-186711 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 6/28-6/287 G02B 6/12-6/14

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A core part made of a transparent synthetic resin material forming a branch for branching or coupling an optical signal, and a clad part made of a transparent synthetic resin material formed around the core part. in the optical circuit components formed by injection molding with the cladding part injection molding on a portion that does not interfere with the core portion
An optical circuit component having a deformed portion for absorbing shrinkage formed by a shape. 2. The deformed portion may be a through hole or a dent.
Optical circuit components of a claim preceding claim. 3. A transparent synthetic resin material having a first refractive index, a clad having a hollow portion is formed, and a transparent synthetic resin material having a second refractive index larger than the first refractive index is used as a core. Forming an optical circuit component by injecting into the hollow portion of the clad; a through-hole in a predetermined region of the clad of the optical circuit component;
Forming a deformed portion such as a dent, connecting the plurality of optical circuit components via the deformed portion to form a connector, and polishing an end surface of the connector to complete the plurality of optical circuit components A method for producing an optical circuit component.