JP2004310066A - Optical element assembly and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An optical component to be optically coupled to a small optical element having a light entrance / exit surface dimension (length, width, or diameter) of about 10 μm or less can be easily and accurately positioned. .
[Solution]
A V-groove 12 is formed on a single-crystal silicon platform 11 by crystal anisotropic wet etching, and a convex portion of an optical element chip 21 is fitted and attached to an intermediate portion of the V-groove 12. A large number of truncated quadrangular pyramids are formed vertically and horizontally on the single-crystal silicon wafer by anisotropic wet etching, and a filter element made of a photonic crystal is formed as an optical element on the protruding surface of each of these projections. Thereafter, the wafer is divided for each optical element, and the optical element chips 21 are formed. When the optical fibers 31 and 32 are respectively arranged in the V-grooves 12 on both sides of the chip 21, the cores of these optical fibers and the light input / output surface of the optical element are located on a straight line.

Description

  The present invention is used, for example, in the field of optical communication and the like, and an optical element assembly and a method for manufacturing the same that enable highly accurate alignment between a micro optical element such as a photonic crystal optical element and an optical component such as an optical fiber. About.

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of optical communication, an artificial crystal material (photonic crystal) whose refractive index changes at a period of about the wavelength of light has attracted attention. By using photonic crystals, advanced optical control function elements, such as low-loss sharp-bending optical waveguides, low-threshold lasers, and wavelength-division multiplexing elements, which were impossible in the past, can be realized with a size of 100 μm or less on each side. It is expected to be possible. With the rapid development of microfabrication technology, trial production of ultra-small optical devices using a three-dimensional photonic crystal or a two-dimensional photonic crystal operating in an optical communication wavelength band has been reported.
A typical example of an optical device using a two-dimensional photonic crystal is a slab-type photonic crystal optical waveguide. The slab type photonic crystal has a structure in which two-dimensional periodic holes are arranged in a thin film-like high-refractive index material, and two-dimensional periodic holes are formed in a high-refractive index material in a low-refractive index material. Are typical, and a photonic band gap occurs when both satisfy a specific periodic condition. When a portion having no arrangement of holes or columns, that is, a crystal defect is introduced into the periodic structure, a light waveguide in which light propagates only in that portion is formed. Therefore, it is considered promising as a method for realizing a low-loss micro optical waveguide.

However, the size (thickness) of the light input / output surface of such a slab type photonic crystal optical waveguide is about 1 μm or less, which is smaller than the core diameter of the optical fiber (about 4 to 10 μm in a single mode). It is difficult to perform high-precision alignment with an optical fiber, and it is difficult to input light with high efficiency. In addition, in the case of a photonic crystal optical waveguide in which periodic holes are arranged in a high-refractive-index material, since light is incident on the high-refractive-index material from the air, the reflectance at the incident surface is high, and coupling loss is reduced. large.
As described above, an optical element using a photonic crystal has a great advantage in that it is ultra-small. However, signal transmission optical fibers and microlenses are indispensable for actually using a photonic crystal as an optical element. At present, almost no studies have been made on a simple and effective coupling method with an optical component such as the above or a method for reducing the coupling loss.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a method using a V-groove structure formed in a single crystal silicon substrate has been widely used as a method for optically coupling an optical element and an optical component such as an optical fiber with high precision. In single-crystal silicon, V-grooves can be easily formed by so-called single-crystal silicon anisotropic etching utilizing anisotropy of etching characteristics depending on the crystal orientation. In a simple example, one end of the optical fiber is fixed to the V-groove of the single-crystal silicon substrate, and the semiconductor is placed on a portion where the V-groove is not formed on the side opposite to the side where the optical fiber is led out from the single-crystal silicon substrate. A method of aligning an optical fiber and an optical element by directly fixing an optical element such as a laser is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

Also, for example, there is a method disclosed in Patent Document 2.
This method is briefly described. The main surface of the single crystal silicon wafer is a crystal plane (100) or (110), and the same size square is formed by photolithography and subsequent anisotropic etching using the crystal orientation of the single crystal silicon using an etching technique. A large number of recesses are arrayed vertically and horizontally, and the inner surface shape of each square recess is the same as the outer shape of the inverted truncated pyramid, and the wafer is cut vertically and horizontally so that the center of each square recess is cut off. By dicing, many optical element carriers 1 shown in FIG. 1 are produced. 1, a cross-shaped protrusion 2 is formed on the bottom surface of the optical element carrier 1 in FIG. 1 based on the formation of the rectangular recess by the anisotropic etching, and each side surface of the cross-shaped protrusion 2 has high precision by the anisotropic etching. In other words, the cross-shaped projection 2 becomes narrower as it approaches the protruding end surface (the main surface of the wafer). The optical semiconductor element 3 is mounted on one side surface (thickness portion of the wafer) of the optical element carrier 1.

  A cross-shaped V-groove 5 on the single-crystal silicon platform 4 and a fiber V-groove 6 smaller than this groove on the extension of one of the grooves are similarly formed by single-crystal silicon anisotropic etching. A rectangular groove 7 communicating with the cross-shaped V groove 5 and the fiber V groove 6 is formed at a right angle. In addition, this platform is also formed simultaneously using a single crystal silicon wafer by a similar method. The cross-shaped protrusion 2 of the carrier 1 is fitted and attached to the cross-shaped V groove 5 of the platform 4, and the optical fiber 8 is positioned and attached to the fiber V-groove 6. The cruciform projection 2 and the cruciform V-groove 5 have high dimensional accuracy, and it is possible to arrange the carrier 1 on the platform 4 with extremely high precision by using the mechanical accuracy. Therefore, the optical semiconductor element 3 attached to the carrier 1 is favorably optically coupled with the core of the optical fiber 8 arranged in the V-groove 6.

However, the method of Patent Document 1 visually flips the optical element to the V-groove substrate, and the method of Patent Document 2 visually flips the optical element to the carrier by using a marker formed in advance on the side to be attached. It is fixed by a method such as chip bonding. For this reason, the positioning accuracy depends on the bonding accuracy at this time, and is worse than the fitting accuracy of the V-groove or the uneven structure (projections / grooves) formed by anisotropic etching.
On the other hand, as a method for avoiding this problem, an optical waveguide in which a V-groove is formed in a part of a single crystal silicon substrate and one end of the V-groove faces directly on a portion of the substrate where the V-groove is not formed. For example, Patent Document 3 discloses that a film can be formed to perform alignment with fine processing accuracy.

It is difficult to mount a small optical element such as a photonic crystal element by the methods disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, and even if it can be mounted, the positioning accuracy depends on the bonding accuracy as described above. There is. On the other hand, when a minute optical element such as a photonic crystal element is directly formed in a V-groove substrate by the method disclosed in Patent Document 3, the ratio of the minute optical element portion to the entire V-groove substrate becomes very small, and the cost increases. Become. In other words, this method does not allow the use of a technique in which a large number of micro-optical elements are collectively manufactured on a substrate, then individually cut out and divided and used, so that cost reduction cannot be achieved by batch mass production. The advantage of a small element cannot be used.
JP-A-9-281360 (issued October 31, 1997) JP-A-2002-14258 (issued on January 18, 2002) JP-A-8-313756 (published November 29, 1996)

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to easily and accurately align an optical component to be optically coupled to a small optical element having a light entrance / exit surface dimension (length, width, or diameter) of about 10 μm or less. It is another object of the present invention to provide an optical element assembly and a method of manufacturing the optical element assembly, which enable mass production of the minute optical element.

  In the optical element assembly according to the present invention, the optical element chip is mounted on the element mounting portion of the platform, and a convex portion or a concave portion is formed on one surface of the chip main body of the optical element chip. An optical element is formed, and the optical element chip is mounted on the platform by fitting the convex or concave portion of the optical element chip with the element mounting section. With this mounting, the optical element chip mounting surface of the platform (hereinafter, mounting surface) The optical component is positioned and mounted on the mounting surface of the platform, and a component recess for optically coupling the optical element and the optical component is formed.

  According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, on one surface of the wafer, a large number of projections or depressions having a predetermined height or depth with respect to the surface are formed by lithography technology and subsequent etching technology to form a large number of rows and columns. Optical elements are respectively formed on the protruding end surfaces of the respective convex portions or the bottom surfaces of the concave portions, and thereafter, the wafer is divided for each optical element into a number of optical element chips, and the mounting surface on which optical components of the platform are to be mounted is mounted. , An element mounting portion, and a component concave portion to which the optical component is positioned and mounted are formed by a lithography technique and a subsequent etching technology, respectively, and the optical element chip is formed between the convex portion or the concave portion and the element mounting portion. Attach to the platform by fitting.

  Since the optical element assembly of the present invention has the above-described configuration, the optical element is positioned on the mounting surface of the platform, and the component recess is configured to position the optical component with respect to the mounting surface. When the component is mounted, the optical component is automatically positioned with respect to the mounting surface, and optical coupling between the optical component and the optical element is performed with high accuracy. In other words, since the optical element is formed on the protruding end surface or the bottom surface of the concave portion of the optical element chip, a large number of convex portions or concave portions are formed at once on the wafer, and the light is formed on the protruding end surface or the bottom surface of the concave portion of the convex portion. The elements can be manufactured at once and then divided into individual optical elements to form optical element chips. The same size and shape can be manufactured with high precision at low cost. By mounting the optical component, a component positioned on the mounting surface with high precision can be obtained. Therefore, when the optical component is mounted in the component recess, the optical coupling between the optical component and the optical element is performed well. In addition, the optical element can be manufactured at low cost.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. First, an embodiment using an optical element chip having a convex portion will be described.
Example 1
The first embodiment is an example in which a wavelength filter composed of a photonic crystal is used as an optical element. As shown in FIG. 2, the optical element chip 21 is positioned on the one surface of the platform 11, that is, the element mounting portion 12a formed on the mounting surface 11a, and is mounted on the platform 11 with respect to the mounting surface 11a. The optical element chip 21 is fixed to the platform 11 by, for example, bonding. In this example, a V groove 12 is formed from one end to the other end on the mounting surface 11a of the platform 11, and an intermediate portion of the V groove 12 is an element mounting portion. 12a. On both sides of the element mounting portion 12a of the V groove 12, component recesses 12b and 12c are provided, respectively. In this example, one end of each of optical fibers 31 and 32 is inserted into the component recesses 12b and 12c as an optical component, and the mounting surface 11a is formed. And is attached to the platform 11. The fixing of the optical fibers 31 and 32 to the platform 11 is performed by, for example, bonding, but the mounting of the optical fibers 31 and 32 may be performed by a user using the optical element assembly.

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 3, the optical element chip 21 has a projection 23 integrally formed on one surface of a rectangular plate-shaped chip main body 22, and an optical element 24 formed on a protruding end face of the projection 23. In this example, a wavelength filter is formed of a photonic crystal as the optical element 24. That is, the holes 25 are two-dimensionally and periodically arranged in the layer of the high refractive index material, and there is a portion where one row of the holes 25 is not formed but one hole having a different size is formed instead. This portion constitutes a wavelength-selective optical waveguide 26 for selectively transmitting light of a specific wavelength. Further, in this example, the side surface of the convex portion 23 has a truncated quadrangular pyramid outer shape, that is, the end of the convex portion 23 on the chip body 22 side and the protruding end are similar squares, and the four side surfaces are inclined surfaces. I have.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the projection 23 of the optical element chip 21 is inserted and fitted into the element mounting portion 12a of the platform 11, and the optical element 24 is positioned with respect to the mounting surface 11a. 11 is attached. 4 and 5, the thickness of the platform 11 below the V-shaped groove 12 is reduced. The same applies to the following corresponding figures.
And both walls 12a ₁ and 12a _{angle 2} forms a V groove of the element mounting portion 12a, equal to the angle formed by the pair of side surfaces 23a and 23b of opposed protrusions 23, thus protruding portion inserted into the element attaching portion 12a 23 to each other as shown in the wall 12a ₁ and 12a ₂ and the side surfaces 23a and 23b Togazu 5 in a state in which intervals of the wall 12a ₁ and 12a ₂ matches the spacing of the edges of the optical device 24 side surface 23a and 23b The convex portions 23 are brought into surface contact with each other and fitted to the element mounting portion 12a. The depth D1 of the optical element 24 in the fitted state from the mounting surface 11a, that is, the position of the optical element 24 with respect to the mounting surface 11a in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 11a is determined. The center line between the side surfaces 23a and 23b of the optical element 24, extending perpendicular to the direction of the V-groove 12 in a plane parallel to the position and the mounting surface 11a in the middle of the wall surface 12a ₁ and 12a ₂ of the element mounting portion 12a The position of the optical element 24 in the direction is determined.

Further, the optical element 24 is parallel to the mounting surface 11a. That is, the positioning of the optical element 24 with respect to the mounting surface 11a is automatically performed by fitting the convex portion 23 to the element mounting portion 12a.
When the optical fibers 31 and 32 are inserted into the component recesses 12b and 12c, the cores 31a and 32a of the optical fibers 31 and 32 are located in the middle between both wall surfaces of the V grooves of the component recesses 12b and 12c, Further, the depth (distance) D2 from the mounting surface 11a is also determined. That is, when the optical fibers 31 and 32 are inserted and attached to the component concave portions 12b and 12c, respectively, the optical fibers 31 and 32 are automatically positioned with respect to the mounting surface 11a.

  That is, since the optical fibers 31 and 32 are commercially available and their diameters are known in advance, the mounting surfaces 11a of the cores 31a and 32a when the optical fibers 31 and 32 are attached to the component recesses 12b and 12c. The distance W1 between the two wall surfaces of the V-grooves of the component concave portions 12b and 12c at a distance (depth) D2 from the device and the distance W2 between the side edges of the side surfaces 23a and 23b of the convex portion 23 on the optical element 24 side match. As described above, the inclinations of the side surfaces 23a and 23b are matched with the inclination of the wall surface of the V-groove 12, and the core 31a, the optical element 24, and the core 32a are located on the same straight line, and the optical element 24 and the optical fiber Optical coupling with 31 and 32 is automatically and successfully performed.

According to this embodiment, when the convex part 23 of the optical element chip 21 is fitted to the element mounting part 12a of the platform 11 by fitting, the positions of the optical element 24 in the vertical direction and one parallel direction with respect to the mounting surface 11a are determined, Also, when the optical element 24 is parallel to the mounting surface 11a and is attached to the optical fibers 31 and 32 in the component recesses 13b and 13c, the optical fibers 31 and 32 move to the respective positions in the vertical direction and one parallel direction with respect to the mounting surface 11a. As a result, the optical fibers 31 and 32 and the optical element 24 are optically coupled with high precision.
In this configuration, light propagated from the optical fiber 31 is incident on the photonic crystal optical element 24, and only a light component having a wavelength determined by the configuration of the optical element 24 is transmitted through the optical element 24 and is incident on the optical fiber 32 and propagated. You.
A description will be given of an embodiment of a manufacturing method of the production method in Example aforementioned optical element assembly of Example 1 below.

  As shown in FIG. 6-1A, for example, a resist layer 41 is formed on the crystal plane (100) of the single crystal silicon wafer 20, and the resist layer 41 is patterned by ultraviolet or electron beam lithography to form the resist layer 41. develop. At this time, patterning for forming the convex portions 23 and patterning for the photonic crystal element, in this example, the holes 25 and the wavelength-selective optical waveguide 26 are simultaneously performed. That is, as shown in FIG. 6-1B, a large number of arranged rectangular resists 41a are left, and in these rectangular resists 41a, a large number of holes 25 shown in FIG. 3 and one hole having a different size are formed. Is done. In FIG. 6-1B, these holes are simply shown as dots without distinction for convenience.

A protective film is formed on the wafer 20 including these rectangular resists 41a, and the protective film is patterned by photolithography to form a protective film 61 on each rectangular resist 41a as shown in FIG. 6-1C.
Next, the wafer 20 is etched with a KOH solution using the protective film 61 and the square resist 41a as a mask. Due to the crystal orientation anisotropy of the single crystal silicon, vertical and horizontal lattice grooves 62 are formed as shown in FIG. 6-1D, and a large number of truncated quadrangular pyramid-shaped protrusions 23 surrounded by the grooves 62 are arranged vertically and horizontally. After removing the protective film 61, a resist is applied on the wafer 20 and patterned by photolithography to form a resist portion 63 for protecting the vertical and horizontal lattice grooves 62, as shown in FIG. The rectangular resist 41a on which the pattern of the photonic crystal is formed on the protruding end surface (top surface) of 23 is exposed.

  The photonic crystal optical element 24 is formed on the top surface of the projection 23 by dry etching such as inductively coupled plasma etching using the square resist 41a as a mask. Thereafter, the rectangular resist 41a and the protective resist portion are removed, and as shown in FIG. 6-2F, a structure in which the photonic crystal optical element (wavelength selective waveguide element) 24 is directly formed on the top surface of the convex part 23 is obtained. Complete. The relative alignment between the exposure mask and the wafer when patterning the protective film 61 and the protective resist portion 63 is performed, for example, by using a marker positioned at the same time when the convex portion 23 and the photonic crystal optical element are patterned. Do it.

The processing of the photonic crystal is not limited to the above-described lithography, and a method such as femtosecond laser processing can be used. In this case, for example, a marker positioned at the same time as the convex portion 23 is formed using a photolithography mask for manufacturing the convex portion 23, and then the marker portion is etched to form a through-hole in the wafer. By monitoring the light intensity of the femtosecond laser transmitted through the through hole, the position of the laser beam with respect to the wafer 20 is known, and positioning laser processing is performed.
The wafer 20 having the photonic crystal optical element 24 formed on the top surface of each projection 23 is diced to obtain a large number of optical element chips 21 as shown in FIG.

For example, a plurality of V-grooves 12 are formed in parallel on a single-crystal silicon wafer by utilizing its crystal orientation anisotropic etching, and then the wafer is diced to form a plurality of platforms 11 shown in FIG. Make pieces.
As shown in this manufacturing method, the depth D2 from the mounting surface 11a where the cores 31a and 32a of the optical fibers 31 and 32 are located is determined with high precision by the width of the resist mask when the V groove 12 is formed. it can. Also, the distance W1 between the two wall surfaces of the V-groove 12 at the depth D2 is determined, and the width of the resist mask that determines the formation of the side surfaces 23a and 23b at the time of forming the convex portion 23 is set to the side surface 23a And the interval W2 between the respective ends on the side of the .23b and 23b, this accuracy can be determined to be high. The angle formed by both wall surfaces of the V-groove 12 and the angle formed by the side surfaces 23a and 23b are the same.

  The criterion for determining the insertion position of the optical element 24 with respect to the element mounting portion 12a, that is, the position with respect to the mounting surface 11a, for determining the distance W2 between the edges of the side surfaces 23a and 23b, and for the formation of the optical element 24 with respect to the optical element chip 21 As described with reference to FIGS. 6-1 and 6-2, the position, in this example, particularly, the criterion for determining the position of the light input / output surface of the wavelength-selective optical waveguide 26 of the optical element 24 is also determined. Since the optical element chip 21 is attached to the platform 11 at the same reference point of the mask used for photolithography at the time of fabrication, the optical element 24 is positioned with high precision with respect to the platform 11. Also, the position and shape of the element mounting portion 12a and the component concave portions 12b and 12c with respect to the mounting surface 11a on the platform 11 are based on the same mask at the time of formation using the photolithography. Become something. Accordingly, the input / output surface of the optical element 24, in this example, the wavelength-selective optical waveguide 26, the core 31a of the optical fiber 31, and the core 32a of the optical fiber 32 are accurately aligned on a straight line. The cores 31a and 32a are very well optically coupled.

  When anisotropic wet etching of a single crystal silicon wafer is used as described above, a side surface shape that is flat at the atomic layer level and has high dimensional accuracy can be obtained. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the alignment for optically coupling the light entrance / exit surface of the optical element 24 and each of the cores 31a and 32a of the optical fibers 31 and 32 can be performed with high accuracy of about 1 μm or less. In addition, high-precision positioning can be performed even on a slab-type photonic crystal optical waveguide in which the size (thickness) of the light input / output surface is about 1 μm or less. In addition, the optical element chips 21 can be mass-produced in a lump, and can be mounted on the platform 11 very easily by fitting.

As shown in FIG. 3, when a two-dimensional photonic crystal optical element having holes 25 arranged in a high refractive index material layer is used as the optical element 24, air having a low refractive index and optical element 24 having a high refractive index are used. Since light enters and exits during the period, a large reflection loss may occur. Therefore, it is preferable to form an anti-reflection film on the light entrance / exit surface of the photonic crystal optical element 24. In FIG. 3, antireflection films 29a and 29b are formed on the side surfaces of the projection 23 perpendicular to the wavelength-selective optical waveguide 26. The anti-reflection films 29a and 29b are formed, for example, after the projections 23 are formed during the optical device chip manufacturing process described with reference to FIGS. 6-1 and 6-2, and before the wafer 20 is divided. 23 may be formed simultaneously.
Example 2
In the second embodiment, the width of the V-groove of the element mounting portion 12a is made narrower than the concave portions 12b and 12c for components, and the protruding length of the convex portion 23 is shortened. This makes it possible to increase the number of manufactured optical element chips 21 from 2). FIG. 7 shows an example of the platform 11 according to the second embodiment. The respective center lines of the element mounting portion 12a and the component concave portions 12b and 12c, each of which is formed by a V groove, are located on the same straight line when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 11a. The groove width W3 is smaller than each groove width W4 of the component concave portions 12b and 12c. When these V-grooves are formed by wet etching utilizing the crystal orientation anisotropy of single-crystal silicon, both ends of the element mounting portion 12a travel obliquely in the depth direction to the component concave portions 12b and 12c. The optical fibers 31 and 32 cannot be brought closer to the optical element 24 because they are in the way. In this example, narrow grooves 13a and 13b are formed by a cutter at right angles to the respective V-grooves at respective boundary positions between the element mounting portion 12a and the component concave portions 12b and 12c, and each of the component concave portions 12b and 12c of the element mounting portion 12a is formed. The surface is perpendicular to the mounting surface 11a.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views of the second embodiment corresponding to FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively. As can be seen from FIG. 9, the distance D1 from the optical element 24 to the mounting surface 11a is equal to the distance D2 from the cores 31a and 32a of the optical fibers to the mounting surface 11a. The distance W2 between the edges of the side surfaces 23a and 23b at which the depth is positioned is determined by the narrow V-groove of the element mounting portion 12a, and the insertion depth D1 of the convex portion 23 is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the distance W2 is It becomes narrower than in the case of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, W2 is equal to the wall interval W1 of the V-groove at the positions of the cores 31a and 32a. Therefore, the size of the protruding end surface of the convex portion 23 can be made smaller than in the first embodiment.
Example 3
Embodiment 3 is an example in which a minute lens is used as an optical component. A cross section of the third embodiment corresponding to the cross section of FIG. 4 in the first embodiment is shown in FIG. 10, and an example of the platform 11 is shown in FIG. A rectangular component concave portion 14 is formed on the mounting surface 11a of the platform 11, and a component concave portion 14 and a V-groove 15 communicating with the component concave portion 14 at one side thereof at right angles thereto are formed. The portion 15a is provided. In this example, the V-groove 15 is formed so as to extend as a V-groove 15 b on the side opposite to the element mounting portion 15 a on the extension line, that is, both end surfaces of the V-groove 15 are opened outside the platform 11. These component recesses 14 and V-grooves 15 can be formed simultaneously by, for example, wet etching of crystal orientation anisotropic single crystal silicon.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the minute spherical lens 33 is disposed in the component concave portion 14, and is positioned by the component concave portion 14, and the position of the optical axis 34 of the spherical lens 33 with respect to the mounting surface 11a is determined. That is, in this example, four wall surfaces 14a to 14d of the component concave portion 14 and the spherical lens 33 are in contact with each other and are not inserted therefrom, and the distance D3 of the optical axis 34 to the mounting surface 11a, that is, the mounting surface 11a The optical axis 34 is positioned within a plane perpendicular to the mounting surface 11a and including the center line of the wall surfaces 14a and 14c. That is, the positioning of the spherical lens 33 with respect to the mounting surface 11a is automatically performed by the component concave portion 14. The spherical lens 33 is fixed to the platform 11 by, for example, adhesion.

  The optical element chip 21 has, for example, the same configuration as in the first embodiment. Therefore, when the convex portion 23 of the optical element chip 21 is inserted into and attached to the device mounting portion 15a of the V groove, the pair of opposed side surfaces (the side surfaces corresponding to the side surfaces 23a and 23b in the first embodiment) are both The insertion depth D1 is determined by the space between the pair of opposing side surfaces on the optical element 24 side (corresponding to the distance W2 in the embodiment), and the insertion depth D1 is determined in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Positioning with respect to the mounting surface 11a is performed. Therefore, the depth D1 of the optical element 24 is made equal to the depth D3 of the optical axis 34 by the same method as in the first embodiment, and the center between the wall surfaces 14a and 14c of the concave portion 14 is perpendicular to the mounting surface 11a. The plane including the axis and the plane including the bisector between both wall surfaces of the V-groove 15 are made to coincide with each other. This can be easily achieved for the platform 11 by forming the component concave portion 14 and the V-groove 15 by, for example, wet-etching the crystal orientation of single-crystal silicon.

  It is preferable that the focal point of the spherical lens 33 coincides with the light input / output surface of the optical element 24 on the spherical lens 33 side. The optical element 24 is located at a position separated by the focal length D4 of the spherical lens 33 from a plane that bisects the wall surface 14b and 14d of the component concave portion 14 between the spherical lens 33 and the optical element 24 in the arrangement direction. The surface bisecting the light so that the light incident / exit surface is located, for example, near the optical element mounting portion 15a on the mounting surface 11a such that the surface of the chip body 22 on the side of the convex portion 23 faces the mounting surface 11a. As shown in FIG. 11, the markers 16a and 16b are formed at the same distance from each other with the V groove 15 interposed therebetween in at least two places as shown in FIG. The markers 16a and 16b may be formed of a metal film by using the photolithography technique when the component recess 14 and the V-groove 15 are formed by using the photolithography technique. In order to attach the optical element chip 21 to the attachment portion 15a based on the markers 16a and 16b, the markers 16a and 16b and the projections 23 The protrusion 23 may be inserted into the element mounting portion 15a by aligning the two corners of the side surface. The optical element chip 21 and the platform 11 are fixed by, for example, bonding.

In this optical element assembly, the optical axis 34 of the spherical lens 33 coincides with the optical element 24 in parallel, and the focal point of the spherical lens 33 is located on the light entrance / exit surface on the lens side of the optical element 24. That is, the optical coupling between the spherical lens 33 and the optical element 24 is favorably performed. Light incident on the spherical lens 33 from the side opposite to the optical element 24 is focused by the spherical lens 33 and incident on the optical element 24. In this example, light in which only a specific wavelength component of the incident light acts as a wavelength filter. It passes through the element 24. It can be easily understood that the same operation and effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained in the third embodiment.
Example 4
The fourth embodiment is an example in which an element in which an optical waveguide is formed of a photonic crystal is used as the optical element 24. FIG. 12 is a plan view of a main part of the example. In FIG. 12, a state where the optical element chip 21 is turned down with its optical element 24 side as the paper surface side is indicated by a two-dot chain line. V-grooves 12 and 17 having the same size and shape are formed orthogonally on the mounting surface 11 a of the platform 11, and the intersection is an element mounting part 18, which is divided by the element mounting parts 18 of the V-grooves 12 and 17. One of them is the component recess 12b or 17a. That is, the component concave portions 12b and 17a are formed at right angles, and the corners are used as the element mounting portions 18.

The optical element chip 21 is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, except that the optical element 24 is formed of a photonic crystal and an optical waveguide 27 bent at a right angle is formed. The optical waveguide 27 has, for example, two-dimensional periodic holes arranged in a high refractive index material layer. However, there is a portion where no holes are formed at a right angle, and the portion where the holes are not formed is the optical waveguide 27. It becomes.
The positioning with respect to the mounting surface 11a including the optical element 24, particularly the optical waveguide 27, is the same as that in the first embodiment. That is, the fitting of the pair of opposing side surfaces of the convex portion 23 of the optical element chip 21 with the two wall surfaces of the extended V-groove of the component concave portion 12b of the element mounting portion 18 causes the depth direction (vertical direction) from the mounting surface 11a. Direction), and each position in a direction parallel to the mounting surface 11 a at right angles to the extension direction of the V-groove 12, and another pair of opposing side surfaces of the convex portion 23 of the optical element chip 21 and the component concave portion of the element mounting portion 18. The fitting of the extended V-groove 17a with both wall surfaces determines the depth from the mounting surface 11a and each position in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the V-groove 17 and in a direction parallel to the mounting surface 11a. In this case, the two depth positions from the mounting surface 11a have the same value. That is, the protruding end face of the convex portion 23 is square.

  One end of the optical fiber 31 is positioned and attached to the component recess 12b in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and one end of the optical fiber 32 is similarly positioned and attached to the component recess 17a. Therefore, the cross section perpendicular to the mounting surface 11a including the core 31a substantially matches the state in which the optical fiber 32 is removed from FIG. 4, and the cross section perpendicular to the mounting surface 11a including the core 32a is illustrated in FIG. 5 and the cross sections perpendicular to the core 31a and the mounting surface 11a at the bending angle of the optical waveguide 17 substantially correspond to FIG. However, an optical waveguide 27 is used instead of the wavelength-selective optical waveguide 26 in FIG.

With this configuration, the optical waveguide 27 of the optical element 24 and the core 31a of the optical fiber 31 are accurately aligned on a straight line, as described in the first embodiment. 27 and the core 32a of the optical fiber 32 are accurately aligned on a straight line, and the core 31a of the optical fiber 31 and the core 32a of the optical fiber 32 are optically coupled well through the optical waveguide 27 of the optical element 24. Become.
Example 5
The optical element 24 is not limited to the one using a photonic crystal, but an example in which a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) is used is shown in a fifth embodiment. A surface emitting laser is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Journal of Laser Science Vol. 29, No. 12, December 2001, pp. 773-778. Some light emitting surfaces of surface-emitting lasers have a diameter of about 3 μm, and it is desired that the positioning of the laser and the optical component be performed with considerably high accuracy.

  13 and 14 show the fifth embodiment. FIG. 13 shows a cross section taken along line 13-13 of FIG. 14 for only the platform 11 and the other sections are not cut. FIG. 14 is a left side view of FIG. Show. A V-groove 12 is formed on the mounting surface 11a of the platform 11 in the same manner as shown in FIG. 2, and a part of the V-groove 12 is used as an element mounting portion 12a. In FIG. 13, the left side is a component recess 12b. The outer shape of the optical element chip 21 is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, except that a surface emitting laser 28 is formed as an optical element 24 on the protruding end face of the convex portion 23. The optical element chip 21 is formed on a single-crystal GaAs wafer, for example, by photolithography and subsequent crystal orientation anisotropic wet etching by a method similar to that described with reference to FIGS. 6-1 and 6-2. The projections 23 are formed vertically and horizontally, and then a compound semiconductor laser is formed on the projecting end face of each projection 23 as a surface emitting laser 28 using patterning by photolithography, thin film formation by crystal growth, and etching. The optical element chips 21 are obtained by dividing the wafer for each surface emitting laser 28.

  The optical element chip 21 is mounted with its convex portion 23 positioned in the element mounting portion 12a by fitting with the V-groove. That is, similarly to the first embodiment, the laser 28 is automatically positioned with respect to the mounting surface 11a at a depth determined by the interval W1 between the side edges 23a and 23b of the protrusion 23 on the laser 28 side. Although not shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 11, the position of the optical element chip 21 on the mounting surface 11 a in the length direction of the V-groove 12 is determined by the markers 16 a and 16 b ( (See FIG. 11).

  One end of the optical fiber 31 is positioned in the component concave portion 12b by the V-groove and attached in the same manner as in the first embodiment. The mirror 35 is positioned in the V-groove 12 on the side opposite to the component concave portion 12b of the optical element 24 and attached to the platform 11. The mirror 35 is formed by cutting one end of a cylinder made of, for example, metal, ceramics, glass, or the like having sufficient diameter accuracy diagonally, and forming a metal film on the cut surface to form a mirror surface 35a. The mirror surface 35 a faces the light emitting surface of the surface emitting laser 28 as the optical element 24 and the core 31 a of the optical fiber 31. The positional relationship is such that light emitted from the surface emitting laser 28 enters the mirror surface 35a, is reflected by the mirror surface 35a, and enters the core 31a.

  That is, the depth of the mirror 35 from the mounting surface 11a is determined by the V-shaped groove 12 due to its cylindrical shape. At this time, any part of the mirror surface 35a is positioned at the depth D2 of the core 31a of the optical fiber 31. The thickness of the mirror 35 is selected in such a manner. Further, the mirror 35 is visually positioned so that the mirror surface 35a corresponds to the surface emitting laser 28, the surface emitting laser 28 emits light, and the intensity of the light emitted from the optical fiber 31 is monitored. The mirror 35 is rotated about its axis so that the distance between the mirror 35 and the optical fiber 31 is finely adjusted. The position adjustment of the mirror 35 can be performed relatively easily.

  That is, in this embodiment, the surface emitting laser 28 is formed on the protruding end surface of the convex portion 23, and the protruding end surface and the convex portion 23 are determined by a mask at the time of etching, that is, formed based on the same reference point. On the other hand, the surface emitting laser 28 is positioned with high accuracy at the center of the protruding end face of the projection 23. Since the surface emitting laser 28 is positioned by the side surfaces 23a and 23b of the convex portion 23 and the surface wall surface of the V groove 12, the surface emitting laser 28 divides the V groove 12 into two equal parts, and has a precision in a plane perpendicular to the mounting surface 11a. Well located. Also, the core 31a of the optical fiber 31 is accurately located in this vertical plane. Therefore, the surface emitting laser 28 and the optical fiber 31 are optically coupled well.

Instead of the optical fiber in the first to fourth embodiments, a configuration in which the microlens and the optical element 24 are optically coupled to each other may be employed as in the fifth embodiment.
Example 6
In the sixth embodiment, an optical element chip having a concave portion formed on one surface of the chip body and an optical element formed on the bottom surface of the concave portion is used. That is, in the present invention, the optical element chip has a projection or a depression formed on one surface of the chip body, and an optical element is formed on the projection surface of the projection or the bottom of the depression. An embodiment using an optical element chip having an optical element formed on the bottom surface of a concave portion will be described below.

  15 and 16 show cross sections corresponding to FIGS. 4 and 5 of the sixth embodiment, respectively. A convex element mounting part 41 is formed on the mounting surface 11a of the platform 11, and the optical element chip 21 is mounted on the element mounting part 41 by fitting. That is, the concave portion 51 is formed on one surface of the chip body 22 of the optical element chip 21, and the optical element 24 is formed on the bottom surface of the concave portion 51. The concave portion 51 and the element mounting portion 41 are fitted and mounted on the platform 11, and the optical element 24 is automatically positioned with respect to the mounting surface 11a by the fitting. The optical element chip 21 is made of a material that transmits light used in the optical element assembly.

Component recesses 42 and 43 are formed on both sides of the element mounting portion 41 of the mounting surface 11a so as to extend in opposite directions, and respective ends of the optical fibers 31 and 32 as optical components are arranged in the component recesses 42 and 43. The cores 31a, 32a of the optical fibers 31, 32 are automatically positioned with respect to the mounting surface 11a by the component concave portions 42, 43.
FIG. 17 shows an example of the optical element chip 21 used in the sixth embodiment. On one surface of the chip body 22, a concave portion 51 is formed in which the shape of the inner wall surface is inverted from a truncated quadrangular pyramid, and on the bottom surface thereof, as an optical element 24, for example, an empty space is formed in a high refractive index material layer as shown in FIG. A photonic crystal optical device is formed in which holes 25 are periodically arranged two-dimensionally and a wavelength-selective optical waveguide 26 is formed therein. A large number of the optical element chips 21 can be manufactured collectively by the same method as that described with reference to FIGS. 6-1 and 6-2. However, in this case, as shown in FIG. 19, for example, a large number of concave portions 51 are formed on the single crystal silicon wafer 20 by using a mask having a rectangular opening by crystal orientation anisotropic etching. A photonic crystal optical device as the optical device 24 is formed on the bottom surface. The cross section of each recess 51 perpendicular to the wafer 20 has an inverted trapezoidal shape, that is, the recess 51 in FIG. 17 is formed. The wafer 20 is divided for each optical element 24 to obtain an optical element chip 21.

  FIG. 18 shows an example of the platform 11. A rectangular frame groove 44 having an inverted trapezoidal cross section is formed at the center of the mounting surface 11a, and a truncated quadrangular pyramid-shaped projection surrounded by the rectangular frame groove 44, that is, an element mounting portion 41 is formed. On the line that bisects the element mounting portion 41, V-grooves communicating with the rectangular frame grooves 44 are formed as component concave portions 42 and 43 on both sides of the element mounting portion 41. For example, the platform 11 is made of single crystal silicon, and the element mounting portion 41 and the concave portions 42 and 43 for components can be easily formed by anisotropic wet etching of single crystal silicon.

  As shown in FIG. 16, a space W6 between a pair of opposed side walls 41a and 51b of the concave portion 51 of the optical element chip 21 is equal to a space W6 between a pair of opposed side surfaces 41a and 41b of the element mounting portion 41. The side surfaces 41a and 41b and the wall surfaces 51a and 51b are in surface contact with each other, and the element mounting portion 41 and the concave portion 51 are fitted to each other. The height (distance) of the optical element 24 with respect to the mounting surface 11a at this time is H1. On the other hand, the optical fibers 31 and 32 are positioned and attached to the component concave portions 42 and 43 by the V-groove structure. The height (distance) of each of the cores 31a and 32a of the optical fibers 31 and 32 with respect to the mounting surface 11a at that time is defined as H2. The depths of the V-grooves 42 and 43 or the recesses are set so that the difference D3 between the depth D3 of the recess 51 and the depth D4 at which the distance between the wall surfaces 51a and 51b becomes W6 becomes H1, and H1 and H2 become equal. A depth D3 of 51 is set. Further, the center lines of the V grooves of the component concave portions 42 and 43 are positioned on the same straight line on the center line of the side surfaces 41a and 41b of the element mounting portion 41.

According to this configuration, light transmitted from one optical fiber 31 enters the optical element 24, particularly the wavelength-selective optical waveguide 26, and a specific wavelength component passes through the optical element 24 and enters the optical fiber 32. Incident.
Since the optical element 24 is formed on the bottom surface of the concave portion 51, the reference point of the formation position of the optical element 24 is the same as the position reference point at the time of forming the concave portion 51. Can be formed. When the optical element chip 21 is mounted on the element mounting portion 41 by fitting, the optical element chip 21 is automatically positioned with respect to the mounting surface 11a of the optical element 24, and this accuracy can be made very high as in the first embodiment. Similarly, when the optical fibers 31 and 32 are also mounted in the component concave portions 42 and 43, the optical fibers 31 and 32 are automatically positioned with high accuracy with respect to the mounting surface 11a of each of the cores 31a and 32a. Therefore, the optical element 24 and the optical fibers 31 and 32 are optically coupled well. It will be easily understood that the same operation and effect as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. As shown in FIG. 17, antireflection films 29a and 29b are preferably formed on the side surfaces of the optical element chip 21 facing the optical fibers 31 and 32, respectively.

The optical element 24 formed on the bottom surface of the concave portion 51 of the optical element chip 21 may be an optical waveguide element made of the photonic crystal shown in FIG. 12 or a laser using the photonic crystal, which will be described in the fifth embodiment. Alternatively, a surface emitting laser of a compound semiconductor may be used. According to the type of the optical element 24 to be used, the structure of the element mounting portion 41 of the platform 11 and the optical component, that is, the optical fiber or the microlens for mounting the optical fiber on the platform 11 as described in the above embodiments. The structure, arrangement and the like of the component concave portion will be changed.
The cross section perpendicular to the protruding surface of the projection 23 of the optical element chip 21 may be not a trapezoid but a square, that is, the projection 23 may be a square pole having a short axis. An example in which a wavelength-selective optical waveguide is used as the optical element 24 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 20 and 21 correspond to FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively. The difference from these is that the convex portion 23 of the optical element 24 is a short rectangular column, and accordingly, instead of the V groove, a rectangular groove 45 having a rectangular cross section is used, and the width W7 of the central portion is narrowed, and The mounting portion 45a is formed, and the portions having a width W8 wider than W7 on both sides thereof are formed as component concave portions 45b and 45c. The width W7 is the same as the distance W9 between the pair of opposing side surfaces 23a and 23b of the convex portion 23. The optical device chip 21 is mounted on the platform 11 by fitting the convex portion 23 and the element mounting portion 45a. The protrusion length H3 of the protrusion 23 is set based on the protrusion surface of the protrusion 23, and the chip body 22 is brought into contact with the mounting surface 11a of the platform 11.

  The optical fibers 31 and 32 are positioned and arranged in the component concave portions 45b and 45c, respectively. That is, each of the optical fibers 31 and 32 has its peripheral surface in line contact with each of the bottom surfaces of the component concave portions 45b and 45c and the corner of each rectangular groove on the mounting surface 11a side, and the position with respect to the mounting surface 11a is determined. . In this state, the distance H4 to the mounting surface 11a of each of the cores 31a and 32a of the optical fibers 31 and 32 is equal to the distance H3 to the mounting surface 11a of the optical element 24, and the cores 31a and 32a are the optical element 24, particularly And the light input / output surface of the conductive optical waveguide 26.

In this example, the formation of the projections 23 and the formation of the component recesses 45a, 45b, and 45c on the platform 11 at the time of batch production of a large number of optical element chips 21 from a wafer can be performed by, for example, dry etching.
The inner shape of the concave portion 51 of the optical element chip 21 may be a short rectangular column. An example in which a wavelength-selective optical waveguide is used as the optical element 24 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 22 and 23 correspond to FIGS. 16 and 18, respectively. The difference from the sixth embodiment is that the concave portion 51 of the optical element chip 21 is a quadrangular prism having a short inner surface shape, and accordingly, the convex portion of the element mounting portion 41 is a short rectangular column. It is in contact with the bottom surface of the groove 44. The component concave portions 42 and 43 have a rectangular cross section, that is, both wall surfaces of the groove are perpendicular to the mounting surface 11a, and the bottom surface is parallel to the mounting surface 11a. The four wall surfaces of the frame-shaped groove 44 are also perpendicular to the mounting surface 11a, and the bottom surface is parallel to the mounting surface 11a. The peripheral surfaces of the optical fibers 31 and 32 are in line contact with the bottom surfaces of the component concave portions 42 and 43 and the corners of the wall surfaces on the mounting surface 11a side, respectively.

  The depth H5 of the optical element 24 is set based on the surface on which the concave portion 51 is formed, and the chip body 22 contacts the bottom surface of the frame-shaped groove 44 to determine the position of the optical element 24 with respect to the mounting surface 11a. The depth H6 of the groove 44 is set based on the mounting surface 11a. The positions of the optical fibers 31 and 32 with respect to the mounting surface 11a are determined by the component concave portions 42 and 43, and the cores 31a and 32a of the optical fibers 31 and 32 serve as light input / output surfaces of the optical element 24, in particular, in this example, wavelength-selective light guides. The dimensions of each part are set so as to be opposite to the light input / output surface of the wave path, that is, these optical axes are located on the same straight line.

As for the above-described optical element chip 21 having the convex portion 23 or the concave portion 51, the optical element 24 may be another type such as an optical waveguide or a surface light emitting element. The optical component may be a minute lens or other components.
In the above description, the optical element chip 21 and the platform 11 are each made of single-crystal silicon. However, the material of the wafer and the platform may be GaAs, quartz, ceramics, glass, plastic, or the like. However, in order to provide a concave portion in the optical element chip 21, it is necessary to be transparent to light in a wavelength band used in the optical element assembly, such as an optical communication wavelength band. For these materials, the protrusions and recesses of the optical element chip, the element mounting portions of the platform, and the recesses for parts can be formed by dry etching. In particular, in the case of single crystal GaAs or quartz, anisotropic wet etching based on the crystal orientation is also possible. In the case of plastic, the platform can be made by molding. When the optical element chip and the platform are made of silicon or glass, they may be fused and fixed to each other. In the present invention, the optical element assembly may be either an optical element chip mounted on a platform or an optical element mounted on the platform. In the above description, the photolithography technology is used for producing the optical element chip and the platform, but ultraviolet lithography and electron beam lithography may be used.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional optical element assembly. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention including an optical element chip having a convex portion. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the optical element chip in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 4. A is a cross-sectional view of a part of a wafer on which a resist film is formed, B is a perspective view showing a part of an example of patterning the resist film on the wafer, and C is a wafer having a protective film 61 formed on a square resist 41a. Is a perspective view showing a part of a wafer on which a plurality of convex portions are formed. E is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part in which a groove protection resist part is formed by patterning on a wafer on which a convex part is formed, and F is a perspective view showing a part of the wafer in which an optical element is formed on each convex part. . The perspective view showing other examples of a platform. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the embodiment using the platform shown in FIG. 7 and a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 9; FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8. FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing an embodiment using a microlens as an optical component. The perspective view which shows the platform in FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an embodiment using an optical element of an optical waveguide. 14 shows an example using a surface emitting element as an optical element, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line 13-13 in FIG. FIG. 14 is a left side view of FIG. 13. 16 shows an embodiment using an optical element chip having a concave portion, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line 15-15 of FIG. FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along line 16-16 of FIG. 15. FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing the optical element chip of FIG. 15. FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a platform in the embodiment shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a part of a large number of the optical element chips shown in FIG. 17 formed on a wafer. FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken along line 20-20 of FIG. 21. FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken along line 21-21 of FIG. 20. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 16 using an optical element chip in which an optical element is formed in a concave portion. FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing an example of the platform in FIG. 22.

Claims (14)

An optical element assembly in which an optical component optically coupled to an optical element of the optical element chip is mounted on a platform on which the optical element chip is mounted,
In the optical element chip, a convex portion is formed on one surface of the chip body, and the optical element is formed on a protruding end surface of the convex portion,
On the mounting surface of the platform on which the optical component is to be mounted, a concave portion is formed as an element mounting portion,
The optical element chip is mounted with its convex portion and the element mounting portion fitted together, and the optical element is positioned with respect to the mounting surface,
An optical element assembly, wherein the optical component is positioned and attached to the mounting surface, and a component recess for optically coupling the optical component and the optical element is formed on the mounting surface of the platform. . The optical element assembly according to claim 1,
The positioning of the optical element with respect to the mounting surface is such that the optical element is parallel to the mounting surface at a predetermined depth from the mounting surface, and is a position in one direction parallel to the mounting surface. The optical element assembly is characterized in that the positioning with respect to the mounting surface is such that the optical axis of the optical component is parallel to the mounting surface at the predetermined depth and in a direction parallel to the mounting surface. The optical element assembly according to claim 1,
The positioning of the optical element with respect to the mounting surface is determined by a pair of opposing side surfaces of the convex portion and a pair of opposing wall surfaces of the element mounting portion being in surface contact with each other. Positions of the wall surfaces in the respective arrangement directions, and positioning of the optical component with respect to the mounting surface is such that opposing wall surfaces of the component concave portion, which are respectively parallel to the pair of opposing wall surfaces of the element mounting portion, come into contact with the optical component. An optical element assembly, wherein the position is determined in the arrangement direction of the opposed wall surfaces. The optical element assembly according to claim 3,
The element mounting portion is a part of a V-shaped groove formed on the mounting surface, and the distance between the pair of side surfaces of the pair of side surfaces of the convex portion on the optical element side with respect to the mounting surface of the optical element. The depth is determined, and the optical element is made parallel to the mounting surface. The component recess has opposing wall surfaces parallel to both wall surfaces of the V-groove, respectively. An optical element assembly wherein a depth of an optical axis of the optical component with respect to the mounting surface is determined. The optical element assembly according to claim 4,
An optical element assembly according to claim 1, wherein said element mounting portion and said component concave portion are mutually different portions of a common V groove. The optical element assembly according to claim 4,
The element mounting portion and the component concave portion are V grooves parallel to each other in a plane perpendicular to the mounting surface, and the width of the V groove of the element mounting portion is smaller than the width of the V groove of the component concave portion. An optical element assembly characterized by the above-mentioned. An optical element assembly in which an optical component optically coupled to an optical element of the optical element chip is mounted on a platform on which the optical element chip is mounted,
The optical element chip has a concave portion formed on one surface of the chip body, and the optical element is formed on the bottom surface of the concave portion,
On the mounting surface of the platform on which the optical component is to be mounted, a convex portion is formed as an element mounting portion,
The optical element chip, the concave portion and the convex portion for the element are fitted and mounted, the optical element is positioned with respect to the mounting surface,
An optical element assembly, wherein the optical component is positioned and attached to the mounting surface, and a component recess for optically coupling the optical component and the optical element is formed on the mounting surface of the platform. . The optical element assembly according to claim 7,
The positioning of the optical element with respect to the mounting surface is such that the optical element is positioned at a predetermined height from the mounting surface and parallel to the mounting surface, and is a position in one direction parallel to the mounting surface. The optical element assembly according to claim 1, wherein the positioning with respect to the mounting surface is such that the optical axis of the optical component is parallel to the mounting surface at the predetermined height and in a direction parallel to the mounting surface. The optical element assembly according to claim 3 or 8,
An optical element assembly, wherein a light input / output surface of the optical element and an optical axis of the optical component are on the same straight line. The optical element assembly according to claim 7,
Positioning of the optical element with respect to the mounting surface is determined by a pair of opposing wall surfaces of the concave portion and a pair of opposing side surfaces of the element mounting portion being in surface contact with each other. The positioning in the arrangement direction of the optical component with respect to the mounting surface is performed by contacting the opposing wall surfaces of the component concave portion, each of which is parallel to the pair of opposing side surfaces of the element mounting portion, with the optical component. An optical element assembly, wherein the position is determined in the arrangement direction of the opposed wall surfaces. The optical element assembly according to claim 10,
The element mounting portion is a truncated quadrangular pyramid surrounded by a rectangular frame-shaped V-shaped groove formed on the mounting surface, and the distance between the pair of side surfaces of the element mounting portion on the mounting surface side of the pair of side surfaces in contact with each other. The height of the optical element with respect to the mounting surface is determined, and the optical element is parallel to the mounting surface, and the component recesses are opposed wall surfaces parallel to the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the two side surfaces in contact with the surface. The height of the optical axis of the optical component with respect to the mounting surface is determined by the contact between the opposing wall surface and the optical component. The optical element assembly according to claim 11,
An optical element assembly according to claim 1, wherein said component recess is a V-shaped groove. A method for manufacturing an optical element assembly in which an optical component optically coupled to an optical element of the optical element chip is mounted on a platform on which the optical element chip is mounted,
A step of forming a large number of projections of a predetermined height on one surface of the wafer by lithography and etching techniques in a matrix in a vertical and horizontal manner,
A step of forming an optical element on a protruding end surface of each of the convex portions, at least a pair of opposing side surfaces thereof, in a predetermined positional relationship,
A step of dividing the wafer for each of the optical elements to obtain a number of optical element chips,
Forming a concave portion as an element mounting portion on the optical component mounting surface of the platform, and a component concave portion for positioning the optical component by lithography and etching with reference to the mounting surface;
Fitting one of the optical element chips with its convex portion to the element mounting portion, positioning the optical element with respect to the mounting surface, and mounting the optical element to the platform. Production method. A method for manufacturing an optical element assembly in which an optical component optically coupled to an optical element of the optical element chip is mounted on a platform on which the optical element chip is mounted,
A step of forming a large number of concave and convex portions of a predetermined height on one surface of the wafer by lithography and etching technology based on the surface,
A step of forming an optical element on a bottom surface of each of the concave portions and at least a pair of opposed wall surfaces in a predetermined positional relationship;
A step of dividing the wafer for each of the optical elements to obtain a number of optical element chips,
A step of forming a convex portion as an element mounting portion on the optical component mounting surface of the platform, and a component concave portion for positioning the optical component by lithography and etching with reference to the mounting surface;
A step of fitting one of the optical element chips into a concave portion of the element mounting portion, positioning the optical element with respect to the mounting surface, and mounting the optical element to the platform. Method.

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