Optical waveguides – With optical coupler – With alignment device
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-16
2004-09-14
Healy, Brian M. (Department: 2874)
Optical waveguides
With optical coupler
With alignment device
C385S049000, C385S136000, C385S137000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06792183
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for bonding one or more aligned optical components to substrates using wedges to minimize any possible alternations to the aligned optical components.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fiber optical networks are becoming increasingly popular for data transmission due to their high speed and high capacity capabilities. There are many optical parts/devices used in the fiber optical networks that require a precise alignment between two elements or among three or more elements. Examples in which such alignments are beneficial include aligning two or more optical elements to achieve best coupling among them.
A precise alignment between two or more optical elements requires a number of procedures, each of the procedures could be very labor intensive. Once the alignment is done, any alternation or disturbance to the alignment may result in the disqualification of a resultant product using the aligned optical elements. There thus has been a need for an economic and reliable solution to bonding two or more aligned optical parts to a substrate without affecting the alignment in the optical parts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention, generally speaking, discloses a method for bonding an optical part to a substrate and an optical apparatus using the method, wherein the optical part has been aligned with one or more of other optical parts. One of the advantages and benefits in the present invention is the secure bonding of positions of the optical part with respect to other aligned optical parts. According to one aspect of the present invention, one or more wedges are used to fill in gaps between aligned optical parts and a substrate. Using a bonding agent (e.g. adhesive or solder) to fill in the gaps may induce an alternation or disturbance to the position of the aligned optical parts when the bonding agent is shrank, resulting in a possible misalignment. Using an appropriate material, the wedges are respectively slid in between an aligned optical part and a substrate till respective contacts between the aligned optical part and the wedges are established, a small amount of a bonding agent is then only applied to the respect contacts as well as the contacts between the wedges and the substrate. As a result, the shrinkage that may be caused by the bonding agent to destabilize the aligned optical parts is minimized and the alignments among the optical parts are preserved and can sustain under very high environmental stresses.
One of the objects in the present invention is to provide a solution to bonding aligned optical parts with one or more substrates without disturbing the alignments.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon examining the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5574811 (1996-11-01), Bricheno et al.
patent: 6253011 (2001-06-01), Haake
patent: 6445858 (2002-09-01), Musk
patent: 2003/0142916 (2003-07-01), Kwon et al.
Liu Yuqiao
Shi Zhupei
Tsay Wei-Shin
Wang Li
Alliance Fiber Optic Products, Inc.
Chang C. P.
Healy Brian M.
Zheng Joe
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