CN1186650C - Method for making optical fiber beam bunching array - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for making an optical fiber beam bunching array, which comprises the following steps: 1), manufacturing an optical fiber inserted base plate which forms a rectangle and has a rectangular square hole in the middle, and a plurality of optical fiber positioning slots used for fixing optical fibers are arranged on the upper side of the optical fiber inserting base plate; 2), manufacturing a cover plate of which the shape is the same as that of the optical fiber inserting base plate; 3), orderly putting the optical fibers in the optical fiber positioning slots on the optical fiber inserting base plate and covering the cover plate for fixation; 4), selecting two base sheets having the same shape with the rectangular square holes on the optical fiber inserting base plate, and inserting the base sheets into the rectangular square holes on the optical fiber inserting base plate and the cover plate. 5), sticking and fixing the two base sheets with the optical fibers by using glue; 6), inserting the optical fibers into the base plate and the cover plate for separating and removing the base plate and the cover plate so as to form the optical fiber beam bunching array.

Description

Fabrication method of fiber optic bundle line array

technical field

The invention belongs to the technical field of optoelectronics, and relates to an optical element and a manufacturing process thereof, in particular to a manufacturing method of an optical fiber bundle line array.

Background technique

In medical treatment, pumping, material processing and processing, etc., greater fiber-coupled output power of semiconductor lasers is required, and an effective way to increase the fiber-coupled output power of semiconductor lasers is to use a one-dimensional fiber bundle line array to realize high-power semiconductor lasers. Fiber-coupled output of laser bar array. In addition, due to the sharp increase of broadband and high-speed communication services, it is necessary to arrange multiple optical fibers into an array of optical fiber bundles as input and output interfaces. Therefore, as an optical component, the fiber bundle line array is used more and more widely.

Currently, two methods are commonly used to fabricate one-dimensional fiber bundle line arrays. The first method is to use a series of semiconductor processes such as plate making, photolithography, and corrosion to etch a V-shaped, trapezoidal, or U-shaped groove with a certain pattern on a silicon substrate with a specific crystal orientation, and remove the coating layer. The exposed cladding optical fiber is arranged in a V-shaped or U-shaped groove, and then a substrate is placed flat on the surface, and then cured with glue, see the paper "A Fiber-Optic-Cable Connector", C.M.Miller, Bell syst.Tech.J .1975 Vol.54, No.9, 1547-1555. The second method is to use a laser beam or a plasma beam to drill an array of circular holes with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the fiber cladding on a substrate of a certain thickness, and insert the bare cladding fibers with the coating removed into the holes one by one. Glue positioning with UV ultraviolet glue or epoxy resin, see the paper "Fabrication of fiberbundle arrays for free-space photoric switching system", Jose M.sasian, Robert A.novotry, Martin G.Beckman, Sonya L.walker, Mickacl J.Wojcik , stepfen J. Hinterlong, Optical Engineering 1994, vol.33, No.9, 2979-2985. There are two disadvantages in applying these two methods to manufacture optical fiber bundle line arrays: first, the substrate of each optical fiber bundle array needs to have optical fiber positioning grooves or optical fiber positioning holes, so the cost is high and the process is complicated; the second , What is glued and fixed in the groove or hole is the bare cladding optical fiber with the coating removed, so the tensile strength and mechanical strength of the optical fiber bundle line array are very small, and the optical fiber is extremely easy to break during operation and use. In addition, due to the thickness of the substrate in the second method, the angular error of the obtained optical fiber array is relatively large.

Contents of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an optical fiber bundle line array, which has the advantages of high manufacturing precision and low cost, and also has a one-dimensional optical fiber bundle line array with good tensile strength and mechanical strength.

A method for manufacturing an optical fiber bundle line array of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

1) Make an optical fiber embedding substrate, which is rectangular and has a rectangular square hole in the middle. There are several optical fiber positioning grooves for fixing optical fibers on the optical fiber embedding substrate. The optical fiber positioning grooves are wide at one end and narrow at the other end , can hold the thick end and the thin end of the optical fiber respectively, the thick end is the part with the coating layer, and the thin end is the bare fiber part without the coating layer;

2) making a cover plate, which has the same shape as the optical fiber embedded substrate;

3) Put the optical fiber into the optical fiber positioning groove on the substrate described in step 1 in sequence, cover the cover plate described in step 2 and fix it;

4) Take two substrates with the same shape as the rectangular square holes on the optical fiber embedded substrate, so that the substrates are embedded in the rectangular square holes on the optical fiber embedded substrate and the cover plate;

5) Bond and fix the two substrates and the optical fiber with glue;

6) Separately remove the optical fiber embedded substrate and the cover plate to form an optical fiber bundle line array.

Wherein said glue is used to bond and fix the two substrates and the optical fiber. The glue is epoxy resin glue or UV ultraviolet glue. After the glue is cured, the substrate and the optical fiber bundle are bonded into one body.

Wherein said substrate, cover plate and substrate are silicon wafers, ceramic wafers or other materials with certain hardness.

The optical fiber positioning groove on the substrate is V-shaped, U-shaped, trapezoidal or other shapes capable of fixing the optical fiber.

The number and period of the optical fiber positioning grooves on the substrate are determined by the optical fiber bundle line array to be formed.

Wherein the cover plate is provided with an optical fiber positioning groove corresponding to the base plate or is a plane.

Wherein the substrate holes on the base plate and the cover plate are square, circular or other shapes.

Among them, the substrate is bonded close to the optical fiber bundle line array. Two substrates are used to bond the optical fiber bundle up and down in two directions, or one substrate is used to bond the optical fiber bundle. The substrate and the optical fiber bundle are bonded into one, and the optical fiber bundle No deformation occurs during and after bonding.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is the structural diagram of substrate and cover plate of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the structure of the substrate and cover plate of the present invention for fixing optical fibers;

Fig. 3 is a production process flow chart of the present invention.

Detailed ways

Please refer to Fig. 3, and refer to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 in combination, a method for manufacturing an optical fiber bundle line array of the present invention is characterized in that: it includes the following steps:

1) Make an optical fiber embedding substrate 1, the optical fiber embedding substrate 1 is rectangular and has a rectangular square hole 3 in the middle. The optical fiber positioning groove 4 for fixing the optical fiber, the optical fiber positioning groove 4 is wide at one end and narrow at the other end, and can accommodate the thick end and the thin end of the optical fiber 5 respectively (the thick end is the part with the coating layer, and the thin end is the part with the coating layer removed. the bare fiber part);

2) Make a cover plate 2, the cover plate 2 has the same shape as the optical fiber embedded substrate 1, also has a rectangular square hole 3 in the middle, the rectangular square hole 3 can also be circular or other shapes, on the cover plate 2 There is an optical fiber positioning groove corresponding to the substrate 1 for fixing the optical fiber or it is a plane;

3) Put the optical fiber 5 into the optical fiber positioning groove 4 on the substrate 1 described in step 1 in sequence (the optical fiber positioning groove in this embodiment is V-shaped), cover the cover plate 2 described in step 2 and fix it ;

4) Take two substrates 6 having the same shape as the rectangular square holes 3 on the optical fiber embedding substrate 1, so that the substrates 6 are embedded in the rectangular square holes 3 on the optical fiber embedding substrate 1 and the cover plate 2;

5) Bonding and fixing the two substrates 6 and the optical fiber 5 with glue, the glue is epoxy resin glue or UV ultraviolet glue, after the glue is cured, the substrate 6 and the optical fiber bundle are bonded into one;

6) Separate and remove the optical fiber embedding substrate 1 and the cover plate 2 to form an optical fiber bundle line array 7 .

The base plate 1, cover plate 2 and base plate 6 are silicon wafers, ceramic plates or other materials with a certain hardness; the optical fiber positioning groove 4 on the base plate 1 is V-shaped, U-shaped, trapezoidal or other to fix the optical fiber The shape; the number and period of the optical fiber positioning grooves on the substrate 1 are determined by the optical fiber bundle line array to be formed.

Wherein the substrate holes on the substrate 1 and the cover plate 2 are square, circular or other shapes.

Wherein the substrate 6 is bonded close to the optical fiber bundle line array, can use two substrates 6 to bond the optical fiber bundle up and down in two directions, or can use a piece of substrate 6 to stick close to the optical fiber bundle, and the substrate 6 is bonded to the optical fiber bundle. Combined into one piece, the fiber optic bundle does not deform during and after bonding.

In the above-mentioned process of manufacturing the optical fiber bundle line array, the outer dimensions of the substrate and the cover plate used as the template are the same, and the size of the substrate hole is also the same. The substrate hole can be square, circular or other shapes, and the optical fiber bundle The accuracy of the line array is closely related to the accuracy of the substrate and cover, especially the accuracy of the optical fiber positioning groove. According to the requirements of the arrangement of the fiber bundle line array, the fiber positioning grooves on the substrate can have different periods; the front and rear apertures of the fiber positioning grooves used to fix the same optical fiber on the substrate are different, and the front ends are used to fix and remove the coating layer. The bare fiber, the rear end is used to fix the coated fiber. In order to ensure the accuracy of the optical fiber positioning groove, the corresponding V-shaped groove is usually etched on the silicon wafer with the <100> crystal orientation, and the period of the V-shaped groove and the The size of the front end and the rear end of the V-shaped groove. The optical fiber positioning groove is a V-shaped groove or a U-shaped or trapezoidal shape or other shapes that can fix the optical fiber; in addition, the two contact surfaces of the substrate and the cover are strictly polished.

Figure 2(a) is a perspective view of the base plate and cover plate for fixing optical fiber operation, (b) (c) and (d) are plan views of base plate and cover plate for fixing optical fiber operation, which are top view, front view and side view, respectively view. The base plate and the cover plate cooperate to fix the optical fiber in the fiber positioning groove, and the base plate and the cover plate are relatively fixed.

Fig. 3 shows the manufacturing process of the optical fiber line array. Figure 3(a) shows that after the optical fiber is fixed in the fiber positioning groove by the base plate and the cover plate, two substrates are put into the substrate holes of the base plate and the cover plate from two directions to clamp and bond the optical fiber; Figure 3( b) shows that the relatively fixed substrate and cover plate are removed; Fig. 3(c) shows the formed optical fiber line array. In the process of manufacturing optical fiber line arrays in this patent, the accuracy requirements for the substrate are very low. As long as the optical fibers are bonded and fixed with the substrate, the accuracy of the optical fiber line array is as described in the illustration in Figure 1, mainly Determined by the accuracy of the base plate and cover plate. Therefore, this process method is suitable for large-scale industrial production, and its cost is low and the process is simple.

The present invention is an optical fiber line array and its manufacturing process, which has obvious advantages compared with the previous processes for forming the optical fiber line array. The manufacturing process is simple and the cost is low. The optical fiber line array is composed of a substrate and an optical fiber. In the usual process of forming an optical fiber line array, each fiber bundle line array needs to have an optical fiber positioning groove or an optical fiber positioning hole on the substrate. , so the cost is high, and the process is complicated. The present invention has very low requirements on the precision of the substrate forming the optical fiber line array, and does not need to have fiber fixing grooves or fiber fixing holes on it, thus greatly reducing the cost and simplifying the process. In the process of usually forming an optical fiber line array, the bare cladding optical fiber with the coating layer removed is glued and fixed in the groove or the hole, so the tensile strength and mechanical strength of the optical fiber bundle line array are very small. It is very easy to break the optical fiber in use; the apertures of the front end and the rear end of the fiber positioning groove used to fix the same optical fiber on the substrate in the present invention are different, the front end is used to fix the bare fiber with the cladding removed, and the rear end is used to fix the clad fiber The optical fiber greatly increases the tensile strength and mechanical strength of the optical fiber line array. The base plate and the cover plate used as the template can be reused, which further reduces the cost and simplifies the process. The optical fiber line array and its manufacturing process of the present invention are suitable for manufacturing one-dimensional optical fiber line array, and can be used in optoelectronics, optical communication, information processing and optical fiber coupling technology.

Claims (8)

1. the method for making of a fibre bundle linear array is characterized in that: comprising following steps:

1) makes an optical fiber and embed substrate, it is that rectangle and centre are a rectangle square hole that this optical fiber embeds substrate, on embedding substrate, optical fiber has the fiber orientation groove that several are used for fixing optical fiber, this fiber orientation groove is that an end is wide, one end is narrow, can distinguish the butt end and the thin end of optical fibre, butt end is the part of band coat, and thin end is for removing the naked fine part of coat;

2) make a cover plate, this cover plate is identical with the shape that optical fiber embeds substrate;

3) optical fiber is put in regular turn the described optical fiber of step 1 and embedded fiber orientation groove on the substrate, cover the described cover plate of step 2 and fixing;

4) get two and embed the identical substrate of rectangle square hole shape on the substrate, make substrate be embedded in optical fiber and embed in the rectangle square hole on substrate and the cover plate with optical fiber;

5) with glue two substrates and optical fiber are adhesively fixed;

6) optical fiber is embedded substrate and separate with cover plate and remove, form the fibre bundle linear array.

2. the method for making of fibre bundle linear array according to claim 1 is characterized in that: wherein saidly with glue two substrates and optical fiber are adhesively fixed, this glue is epoxide-resin glue or UV ultraviolet glue, and after the adhesive curing, substrate and fibre bundle are bonding to become one.

3. the method for making of fibre bundle linear array according to claim 1 is characterized in that: wherein said substrate, cover plate and substrate are silicon chips, and potsherd or other have the material of certain degree of hardness.

4. the method for making of fibre bundle linear array according to claim 1 is characterized in that: the fiber orientation groove on the wherein said substrate be V-arrangement, U-shaped, trapezoidal or other can be with the optical fiber fixed shape.

5. the method for making of fibre bundle linear array according to claim 1 is characterized in that: the number of optical fiber locating slot and cycle are by the fibre bundle linear array decision that will constitute on the wherein said substrate.

6. the method for making of fibre bundle linear array according to claim 7 is characterized in that: have with the corresponding fiber orientation groove of substrate on its cover plate or be a plane.

7. the method for making of fibre bundle linear array according to claim 1 is characterized in that: wherein the substrate hole on substrate and the cover plate is square, circular or other shape.

8. the method for making of fibre bundle linear array according to claim 1, it is characterized in that: it is bonding that wherein substrate is pressed close to the fibre bundle linear array, with two substrates bonding fibre bundle about both direction, or it is bonding to press close to fibre bundle with a slice substrate, substrate and fibre bundle are bonding to become one, and fibre bundle does not deform in adhesion process and after bonding.

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