Optical waveguides – Accessories – External retainer/clamp
Reexamination Certificate
2003-07-14
2004-11-02
Palmer, Phan T. H. (Department: 2874)
Optical waveguides
Accessories
External retainer/clamp
C385S136000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06813433
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical waveguide for propagating light in cores, to an optical waveguide device composed of an optical waveguide to which added are optical fiber guides for mounting optical fibers, optical components such as light emitting devices, light receiving devices, and the like, and functional portions such as optical device installing portions and optical modulation functions, and to a method of manufacturing the optical waveguide and the optical waveguide device, as well as to an optical communication apparatus using the optical waveguide device.
2. Description of the Background Art
Optical fiber cables used in optical communication employ an optical waveguide device at connecting portions and terminal ends so that the optical fiber cables can be connected to other optical fiber cables, light emitting devices, and light receiving devices. In recent years, as optical communications, which can transmit a large amount of data at a high speed, are increasingly used, it is desired to manufacture optical waveguide devices suitable for mass production at low cost.
There are optical transceivers as an example of an optical waveguide device for receiving an optical signal from an optical fiber and converting it into an electric signal and for converting an electric signal into an optical signal and transmitting the optical signal to an optical fiber. The optical transceiver is ordinarily composed of an optical waveguide substrate, on which an optical waveguide is formed, optical fibers connected to the cores of the optical waveguide, and a support substrate on which light emitting devices, light receiving devices, and the like are mounted. A filter insertion groove is formed midway of a core on the optical waveguide substrate so as to divide the core, and a filter, which has such characteristics that light having a particular wavelength range can be passed therein and light having other wavelength range is reflected thereby, is inserted into the filter insertion groove. A transmitting signal is separated from a received signal by the filter, and thereby, occurrence of crosstalk is prevented.
Conventionally, the optical waveguide devices are manufactured by individually manufacturing the optical waveguide substrates and the support substrates and bonding them to each other by a bonding agent one by one. Thus, a manufacturing process is complex and a long time and high cost are required to manufacture the optical waveguide devices. As a result, it is impossible to effectively manufacture the optical waveguide devices. Further, since the respective optical waveguide substrates and support substrates are minute components, it takes a long time and is expensive to assemble an optical waveguide device by aligning an optical waveguide substrate with a support substrate with a pinpoint accuracy.
Incidentally, productivity of the optical waveguide devices may be improved if they are manufactured in such a manner that a plurality of optical waveguide substrates and a plurality of support substrates are formed on wafers or mother substrates respectively at a predetermined interval, and after both the wafers or the mother substrates are joined to each other, the joined member is cut off to the respective optical waveguide devices. The production efficiency of the filter insertion grooves may be also improved by forming them at a time before the respective optical waveguide devices are cut off.
FIG. 1
shows a state in which a plurality of optical waveguide devices are formed. Optical waveguide devices
23
shown in
FIG. 1
are composed of a plurality of support substrates
25
, which are formed on a single mother substrate in a matrix, joined to a plurality of optical waveguide substrates
24
formed on another single mother substrate in the matrix. Although the optical waveguide substrates
24
are illustrated as if they are joined to the support substrates
25
in a discrete state, this is because unnecessary portions are not illustrated, and they are not cut off individually. Each optical waveguide substrate
24
has a core
26
that is cut off by a filter insertion groove
27
. The filter insertion groove
27
is formed in the vicinity of the coupling portion of the core
26
formed in a T-shape, and a filter
28
is inserted in the filter insertion groove
27
so as to divide the core
26
. The filter
28
separates a transmitting signal propagated in the core
26
from a received signal propagated therein.
The filter insertion groove
27
is formed in manner of making a cut by dicing. However, the dicing can only form grooves all over the mother substrate as shown in FIG.
1
and cannot form partial grooves only at portions where the filters
28
are inserted. Further, each filter insertion groove
27
is formed at a predetermined angle to the longitudinal direction of a core
26
. Thus, if the filter insertion grooves
27
at predetermined positions of the respective optical wave guide devices
23
are formed, dicing pitches may not be set constant or positions
29
other than the targets positions of the cores
26
of other optical waveguide devices
23
disposed side by side may be divided depending upon the size of the respective optical waveguide devices
23
and the length of the cores
26
. Accordingly, the respective optical waveguide devices
23
cannot be manufactured in the same shape.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an optical waveguide device, in which respective optical waveguide devices can be obtained in the same shape from a substrate or the like and filter insertion grooves formed thereto do not cross undesired portions of the cores of other optical waveguide devices.
Note that although the filter insertion grooves
27
are illustrated in a width smaller than that of the filters
28
in
FIG. 1
for the sake of convenience, actually, the width of the filter insertion grooves
27
are larger than that of the filters
28
, and the filters
28
are inserted therein. Further, it is observed as if the filter insertion grooves
27
are formed also on the support substrates
25
other than the optical waveguide substrates
24
, the portions of grooves
27
on the support substrates
25
show traces of a dicing blade. Since it is sufficient to form the filter insertion grooves
27
in a depth by which the cores
26
of the optical waveguide substrates
24
are completely divided, actually, the filter insertion grooves
27
are not formed up to the support substrates
25
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a method of manufacturing an optical waveguide device according to a first aspect of the invention, comprising the steps of forming a plurality of optical waveguides, each of which comprises cores each having at least one branch point and passing and propagating light and clads surrounding the cores, on a first substrate in matrix at predetermined intervals longitudinally and laterally, forming a plurality of functional portions on a second substrate in matrix at predetermined intervals longitudinally and laterally similarly to the optical waveguides, bonding the first substrate to the second substrate and integrating them such that the optical waveguides face the functional portions, forming grooves, into which filters for passing or reflecting light having passed through or propagated in the cores according to the wavelength thereof can be inserted, at least at positions where the light reflected by a filter inserted into a groove at a branch point is propagated to a core extending in a different direction from the branch point, and thereafter cutting off the first and second substrates having been integrated to respective chips to thereby manufacture the optical waveguide device, the method further comprises the step of determining the disposing distances of the respective optical waveguide devices disposed in matrix, the lengths of the cores, and the forming distance of the filter insertion grooves so that the following relationships are satisfied.
x&equ
Hayamizu Kazuyuki
Hosokawa Hayami
Komura Yoshiyuki
Mori Toshinari
Terakawa Yukari
Doan Jennifer
Omron Corporation
Palmer Phan T. H.
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