JPS583209B2 - Optical↓-Electrical conversion element and optical fiber alignment method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for aligning an optical-to-electric conversion element and an optical fiber without using a fine adjustment mechanism.

Conventionally, as a method for aligning a photoelectric conversion element and an optical fiber, for example, as shown in FIG.
A method is adopted in which the support 3 on which the element 1 is fixed is brought into contact with the header 4 on which the element 1 is mounted, and a fine adjustment mechanism is used to align them so that the maximum output can be obtained.

However, this method has the disadvantage that the alignment work requires skill.

Furthermore, when this method is applied to the simultaneous connection of a plurality of light emitting diodes and multi-core optical fibers, there is a drawback that time is required for alignment and component cost increases.

In order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention is characterized in that a guide pin installed parallel to the optical fiber is fitted into a positioning recess installed in the support of the Koichi electric conversion element, and its purpose is to adjust fine movement. The objective is to align the opto-electric conversion element and the optical fiber with high precision in a batch process without using any mechanism.

FIG. 2a is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a light emitting diode, 2 is an optical fiber, 5 is a silicon base material, 6 is an etching mask, 7 is a guide pin, 8 is a recess for positioning, and 9 is the adhesive layer.

First, a method for manufacturing the silicon base material 5 with positioning recesses on which light emitting diodes are mounted will be described.

Thermal oxidation or C.I. V. D. An etching mask 6 of SiO2 film or Si2N3 film is formed using (Chemical Vapor Depth Idition) or the like.

Next, guide pin 7 (for example, Erinba with a diameter of 250 μm)
After removing the etching mask of the part where the 2nd part fits, etching is performed to form a recessed part of the desired shape using KOH (30% aqueous solution) heated to 115°C as an anisotropic etching solution for silicon. As shown in Figure 2a, two alignment recesses 8 are formed.

This plan view is shown in FIG. 2b. Note that the shape of the recess 8 is the same as that of the second
As shown in Figure c, the (111) plane 81 of the silicon base material 5
11 is tapered, even if there is a positional shift when inserting the guide pin 7, the guide pin 7 moves in the direction of the arrow and stops at the center of the recess 8.

In this way, since the precision of the fit between the guide pin 7 and the recess 8 is loosened, and the guide pin 7 is located at the center of the recess 8, the optical fiber 2 and the light emitting diode (element) 1 can be opposed to each other with high precision. It is possible.

Next, the adhesive layer 9 is made of Au-Si, Au-Sn, or Au.
Using an alloy brazing material such as -Ge, the light emitting diode 1 is adhesively fixed at a desired position on a straight line connecting the two positioning recesses 8.

Next, a method for manufacturing the optical fiber support (for example, silicon base material) 10 with guide pins will be explained with reference to FIG.

Using the single-crystal silicon base material 5 on which the etching mask described above was formed and, for example, a similar silicon base material 10, the etching mask in the portion where the optical fiber 2 and the guide pin 7 are to be embedded is removed, and in the same manner as described above. V-groove 11 is formed by anisotropic etching of silicon.

As shown in FIG. 3, the guide pin 7 and the optical fiber 2 are bonded and fixed between the two silicon substrates 10 in which V-grooves have been formed by etching with an epoxy adhesive 12. As shown in FIG.

At this time, Vaseline 13 is applied around the guide pin 7 to prevent the adhesive from entering, and even after the adhesive has solidified, the guide pin 7 can be inserted and removed with an appropriate frictional force. be able to do so.

Next, the optical fiber 2 and the guide pin 7 are cut and polished in a direction perpendicular to their axes, so that the guide pin 7 protrudes from the end surface of the silicon substrate 10 by a desired length.

Finally, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2a, by fitting the guide pin 7 into the alignment recess 8, the plurality of light emitting diodes and the plurality of optical fibers are aligned with high precision.

Next, FIG. 4 shows another embodiment.

In this embodiment, instead of forming a recess for positioning in the silicon base material 5, a chip 14 having a recess for positioning formed therein is mounted at a desired position on the silicon base material 5 at the same time as the light emitting diode. This is what I did.

In this embodiment, anisotropic etching of a silicon single crystal is used as a manufacturing method, but the alignment method of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

In addition, although the above explanation describes the alignment of the light emitting diode and the optical fiber, other optical-to-electrical conversion elements,
For example, it goes without saying that the alignment method of the present invention can also be applied to light receiving elements and optical fibers.

As explained above, the method of aligning the optical-to-electrical transducer and the optical fiber of the present invention uses alignment recesses and guide pins to process multiple optical fibers at once without using a fine adjustment mechanism. This has the advantage that the fiber and the plurality of opto-electric conversion elements can be aligned with high precision, and assembly costs can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional method of aligning a light emitting diode and an optical fiber, and FIG. 2a is a diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2b is a plan view of Fig. 2a, Fig. 2C is a side cross-sectional view of the alignment recess, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the manufacturing method of the optical fiber support with guide pins, and Fig. 4 is the book. It is another Example figure of invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Light emitting diode, 2... Optical fiber, 3... Support body, 4... Header, 5... Silicon base material, 6... Etching mask, 7... Guide pin, 8... Recessed part for alignment, 9 ... Adhesive layer, 8 ... [100] plane of silicon base material,
8... (111) plane of silicon base material, 10... Optical fiber support, 11... V groove, 12... Epoxy adhesive, 1
3... Vaseline, 14... Grooved tip for positioning.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an optical fiber support having one or more optical fibers and two or more guide pins placed parallel to the optical fibers at a predetermined distance from the optical fibers, the end surface of the optical fibers is connected to the optical fibers. The end surface of the guide pin is flush with the end surface of the fiber support, and the end surface of the guide pin is made to protrude from the end surface of the optical fiber support by a predetermined length, and the light emitting surface or light receiving surface of the opto-electronic conversion element corresponding to the optical fiber. A silicon base material provided with two or more alignment recesses placed at a predetermined distance from the center of the optical fiber support and patterned using exposure technology and shaped by anisotropic etching is used as the optical fiber support. Face to face,
By fitting the tip of the guide pin into the alignment recess, the center of the light-emitting surface or light-receiving surface of the optical-to-electrical conversion element is aligned with the optical axis of the optical fiber, and the light-emitting surface of the optical-to-electrical conversion element is aligned. Alternatively, a method for aligning a photoelectric conversion element and an optical fiber, characterized by providing a predetermined distance between the light receiving surface and the end face of the optical fiber.