JPH0533764B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser device with an optical fiber, in which an optical fiber is fixed to an optical fiber support portion with a metal fusion material.

(Conventional technology) Conventional semiconductor laser device with optical fiber (hereinafter referred to as
Sometimes called a laser module. ), in order to improve the coupling efficiency between the semiconductor laser and the optical fiber, a method is known in which a lens system is added to the tip of the optical fiber and then optically coupled to the semiconductor laser element. Among these coupling methods, a spherical fiber method using an optical fiber whose tip is processed into a lens is common.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A semiconductor laser device with an optical fiber using a conventional spherical fiber method will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional optical fiber-equipped semiconductor laser device. 11 is an optical fiber support part, 13 is a heat sink, 15 is a semiconductor laser element, 17 is an optical fiber whose tip is processed into a lens, 19 is a metal fusion material, 21 is a holder, 2
3 is a groove for heat insulation.

First, while operating (emitting light) the semiconductor laser element 15, a coupling position between the semiconductor laser element 15 and the optical fiber 17 is set so that the coupling efficiency between the semiconductor laser element 15 and the optical fiber 17 is maximized. Next, the optical fiber 17 is held at this bonding position by the holder 21, and then fixed by the molten metal welding material 19.

This spherical fiber method has a simple device structure and is reliable because it allows the optical fiber to be fixed near the semiconductor laser element while checking the coupling position to maximize the coupling efficiency between the optical fiber and the semiconductor laser. It is possible to realize an excellent laser module.

An example of a method for manufacturing a laser module using this fiber optic method is the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-26909. According to this publication, the optical fiber 17 is bonded to the semiconductor laser element 15 using a metal fusion material instead of fixing with a resin such as epoxy resin, which is relatively easy to work with but has a high bonding efficiency due to aging. That is what it is. During this bonding, in order to complete the fusion (coupling) between the optical fiber 17 and the metal fusion material 19, ultrasonic vibrations are used to bond the optical fiber 17 plated with metal such as gold to the metal fusion bond. A method of activating the interface with material 19 has been proposed.

In addition to the above-mentioned publications, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 61-36709, the expansion and contraction that occur when the metal fusion material 19 melts and solidifies causes the optical fiber 17 and the semiconductor laser element 15 to To deal with the disadvantage of misalignment of the positional relationship, it has been proposed to minimize the misalignment of the two coupling elements by arbitrarily setting the shape and material of the optical fiber support 11, and furthermore, it has been proposed that the misalignment of the two coupling elements be minimized. In order to avoid a decrease in coupling efficiency due to rapid cooling after melting, it has been proposed to provide a heat insulating groove 23 in the optical fiber support portion 11.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional method of coupling the semiconductor laser element and the optical fiber described above, the positional relationship between the semiconductor laser element and the optical fiber is not constant, and it is difficult to improve the coupling efficiency. The problem was that it was insufficient.

An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor laser device with an optical fiber that has high coupling efficiency between a semiconductor laser element and an optical fiber and has a high manufacturing yield.

(Means for solving the problem) In order to achieve this objective, according to the present invention,
In a semiconductor laser device with an optical fiber, which includes a semiconductor laser element and an optical fiber fixed by a metal fusion material and optically coupled to the semiconductor laser element, the optical fiber mounting part is an optical fiber mounting part, and the above-mentioned optical fiber is It is characterized by having protruding walls on both sides for supporting the pellets of metal welding material and for regulating the area of the metal welding material after welding. Hereinafter, the protruding wall described here will be expressed as a groove for storing metal fusion material.

Further, the fixing of the optical fiber using the above-mentioned metal fusion material is achieved by melting the pellets placed in the pellet mounting grooves provided in the above-mentioned protruding wall using a non-contact heat source. It is said that

(Function) According to the configuration of the present invention, the metal fusion material can be placed directly on the optical fiber support part using the pellet mounting groove provided in the optical fiber support part. In addition, the metal fusion material storage groove provided in the optical fiber support allows the shape of the metal fusion material after solidification and the positional deviation during fusion between the optical fiber and the semiconductor laser element to be kept constant between manufacturing lots. It can be done.

(Example) Hereinafter, a semiconductor laser device with an optical fiber according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of an optical fiber support part used in the laser module of the present invention. 11 is an optical fiber support part, 13 is a heat sink, 15 is a semiconductor laser element, 23a and 23b
25 is a groove for heat insulation, 25 is an optical fiber mounting portion, 27 is an element mounting portion 29 is a groove for mounting pellets (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as mounting groove 29), and 31 is a groove for storing metal fusion material (hereinafter , may also be simply referred to as the storage groove 31.) 33 is a protruding wall forming the storage groove 31, and 35 is an electrode portion.

Optical fiber support 11 shown in this figure
is shown as the state immediately before the optical fiber fusion process. Therefore, the semiconductor laser element 15 and the heat sink 13 are mounted on the element mounting part 27, and a heat insulation groove 23a is provided between the element mounting part 27 and the optical fiber mounting part 25. Further, as can be understood from the figure, the optical fiber mounting portion 25 is provided with a metal material storage groove 31, and the side wall 33 forming the metal material storage groove 31 is provided with a pellet loading groove 29. ing.
Further, as described above, the electrode portion 35 is provided on the device mounting portion 27 in order to operate the semiconductor laser device 15 when the optical fiber is fused.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, an embodiment of the method for manufacturing a semiconductor laser device with an optical fiber according to the present invention will be described. 37 is a pellet made of metal fusion material, 39 is a YAG laser beam used for fusion, and 41 is a pellet made of metal fusion material.
This is a lens system for focusing the YAG laser beam on the target part (pellet 37 used for fusion). In this figure, components having the same functions as those in FIG. 4 and FIG. 1 described above are designated with the same reference numerals. Furthermore, the electrode portion 35 shown in FIG. 1 is omitted.

First, the semiconductor laser element 15 and the optical fiber 17
Positioning is performed on the fiber support 11 so that the coupling efficiency with the fiber is maximized. Subsequently, the optical fiber 17 supported by the holder 21 is held at a position where the coupling efficiency is maximized, or at a position with an appropriate offset taken into consideration. At this time, the optical fiber 17 is plated with gold in order to achieve sufficient fusion with the metal fusion material.

Next, a pellet 37 formed from a metal fusion material with a certain shape and volume is mounted in the mounting groove 29, and the lens system 41 is adjusted so that the pellet 37 is melted. Laser light 39 is irradiated.

In this embodiment, the heat source used for melting the pellet 37 was explained as a YAG laser, but the means that involves contact such as a soldering iron is the optical fiber 17.
Since stress may be applied to the welding material and the optimum bonding position may be shifted, it is preferable to perform the welding using a non-contact heat source such as the above-mentioned YAG laser or infrared rays and high frequency waves.

Hereinafter, a semiconductor laser device with an optical fiber manufactured by the optical fiber fusing process described with reference to FIG. 2 will be described.

3A to 3C are a top view, a side view, and a sectional view, respectively, of the optical fiber-equipped semiconductor laser device according to the embodiment of the present invention described above. In addition, in this figure, each component having the same function as in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 35 is omitted as in FIG. 2.

As can be understood from this figure, the optical fiber 1
The storage groove 31 provided in parallel with the axis of the metal welding material 19 allows highly reproducible fusing using the metal fusing material 19 in a certain shape and in a certain amount.

The embodiments described above are merely preferred examples to facilitate understanding of this invention, and are not limited to the above-mentioned arrangement relationships and shapes, etc., and changes in design may be made within the scope of the purpose of this invention. It is clear that variations can be made.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the metal fusion material can be directly mounted on the optical fiber support part by the above-mentioned pellet mounting groove. The pellets can be used for fusing optical fibers without loss.

Furthermore, the shape and amount of the metal fusion material after solidification can be made constant by the metal fusion material storage groove provided in the optical fiber support portion. Therefore, it is possible to understand the positional deviation after fusion between the optical fiber and the semiconductor laser element as a certain tendency, so the alignment accuracy can be improved by appropriately setting the offset during product manufacturing. can be improved.

With these configurations, it is possible to improve the manufacturing yield and provide a highly reliable semiconductor laser device with an optical fiber.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical fiber support section for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for explaining an embodiment of the manufacturing process of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. A to C are explanatory views for explaining embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional semiconductor laser device with an optical fiber. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Optical fiber support part, 13... Heat sink, 15... Semiconductor laser element, 17... Optical fiber, 19... Metal fusion material, 21... Holder, 23, 23a, 23b... Heat insulation groove, 25...
...Optical fiber mounting section, 27... Element mounting section, 29
... Groove for loading pellets, 31 ... Groove for storing metal fusion material, 33 ... Protruding wall, 35 ... Electrode part, 37
...Pellet, 39...YAG laser beam, 41...
...Lens system.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A semiconductor laser device with an optical fiber comprising a semiconductor laser element and an optical fiber fixed by a metal fusion material and optically coupled to the element, comprising: an optical fiber mounting part; A semiconductor laser device with an optical fiber, comprising projecting walls on both sides of the optical fiber for supporting pellets of metal welding material and for regulating the area of the metal welding material after welding. 2. The optical fiber-attached semiconductor according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber is fixed by the metal fusion material by melting the pellet with a non-contact heat source. laser equipment.