Optical combination of photoreceptor and optical fiber

Details Optical combination of photoreceptor and optical fiber Optical combination of photoreceptor and optical fiber

1997-05-30

2001-04-10

Healy, Brian (Department: 2874)

Optical waveguides

With optical coupler

Input/output coupler

C385S031000, C385S033000, C385S088000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06215925

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical combination of a photoreceptor and an optical fiber.
DESCPRITION OF THE RELATED ART
FIG. 1
shows a conventional optical combination of a photoreceptor and an optical fiber, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 5-273444. A photoreceptor
4
having a photoreceiving surface
5
is placed on a substrate
9
(X-Y plane) and an optical fiber
2
is arranged so that its axial direction (X direction) may be parallel with the photoreceiving surface
5
of the photoreceptor
4
. A triangular condenser lens
7
, with a right-angled triangular side cross section, having a reflecting surface
8
on its hypotenuse side is placed between one end surface of the optical fiber
2
and the photoreceiving surface
5
of the photoreceptor
4
. In such a construction, an outgoing light from the end surface of the core of the optical fiber
2
is condensed by the condenser lens
7
and the light is reflected in the Z direction at right angles by the reflecting surface
8
of the condenser lens
7
so as to focus the light onto the photoreceiving surface
5
of the photoreceptor
4
. As a result the photoreceptor
4
and the optical fiber are optically combined.
Other conventional optical combinations of this kind have been proposed, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open publication Nos. 2-64509 and 3-263006, such that the tip of the core of an optical fiber is polished to form a spherical or semispherical lens.
However, in the conventional optical combination shown in
FIG. 1
, in order to focus the outgoing light from the end surface of the core of the optical fiber
2
accurately on the photoreceiving surface
5
of the photoreceptor
4
, the optical fiber
2
must be exactly positioned in the X, Y and Z directions. Hence, for this positioning, the light is always outgoing from the end surface of the core of the optical fiber
2
so as to monitor a photoreceiving signal of the photoreceptor
4
and the optical fiber
2
must be exactly positioned in the X, Y and Z directions so that the power of the light may be maximum. Thus it takes much time for the positioning work and a production cost becomes high.
Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open publication Nos. 2-64509 and 3-263006, in the case that the tip of the core of the optical fiber is polished to form the spherical or semispherical lens, similarly, the polishing is carried out so that the center of the sphere may be positioned on the light axis and its surface may be complete round. Hence, the production cost is raised.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical combination of a photoreceptor and an optical fiber in view of the aforementioned problems of the prior art, which is capable of simplifying a positioning of a photoreceptor and an optical fiber and carrying out the optical combination with inexpensive parts without polishing a tip of a core of the optical fiber into a spherical or semispherical shape.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical combination of a photoreceptor and an optical fiber, comprising an optical fiber having a slant cut tip surface; a photoreceptor having a photoreceiving surface; and a spherical lens, the tip surface of the optical fiber and the photoreceiving surface of the photoreceptor being contacted to a surface of the spherical lens so that a light outgoing from the tip surface of the optical fiber into the spherical lens is totally reflected repeatedly within the spherical lens so as to be incident on the photoreceiving surface of the photoreceptor.
In the optical combination of a photoreceptor and an optical fiber, preferably an incident angle of the light incoming from the optical fiber into the spherical lens is determined so that the light totally reflected repeatedly within the spherical lens may be adapted to be incident on the photoreceiving surface of the photoreceptor before the light is returned to the contact surface between the optical fiber and the surface of the spherical lens.
Further, the incident angle of the light incoming from the optical fiber into the spherical lens can be determined so that a locus of the light repeating the total reflection within the spherical lens may not constitute a regular polygon.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5073003 (1991-12-01), Clark
patent: 5282088 (1994-01-01), Davidson
patent: 5403308 (1995-04-01), Wood et al.
patent: 5600741 (1997-02-01), Hauer et al.
patent: 5963694 (1999-10-01), Fujimura et al.
patent: 6115521 (2000-09-01), Tran et al.
patent: 2-64509 (1990-03-01), None
patent: 3-263006 (1991-11-01), None
patent: 5-273444 (1993-10-01), None

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