Optical module and production method therefor

Details Optical module and production method therefor Optical module and production method therefor

2001-03-28

2004-02-24

Font, Frank G. (Department: 2877)

Optical waveguides

With disengagable mechanical connector

Optical fiber to a nonfiber optical device connector

C385S052000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06695492

ABSTRACT:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical module in which an optical device (a surface-emitting laser or a surface-receiving photodiode) having a light-emitting face or a light-receiving face in parallel with a substrate surface is coupled to an optical fiber.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an optical transmitter module in which a laser and an optical fiber are coupled, light emitted from the laser is reflected by an end face of the optical fiber or the like and enters the laser, thereby producing external feedback noise. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-44831 discloses a method for reducing the external feedback noise in which the optical axis of light incident on the optical fiber and the optical axis of the optical fiber cross at a predetermined angle. For this reason, in a case in which the end face of the optical fiber is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the optical axis of light emitted from the laser and the optical axis of the optical fiber cross at a predetermined angle.
This publication discloses only a module as an embodiment in which an edge-emitting laser and an optical fiber are coupled. For this reason, the optical fiber is fixed, on the laser emission side, to the base to which the edge-emitting laser is fixed so that the laser-emitting face and the end face of the optical fiber are arranged at a predetermined angle. In general, in the module including the edge-emitting laser and the optical fiber coupled to each other, a groove is formed on the laser fixed side of the base and the optical fiber is fixed in the groove, thereby placing the laser-emitting face and the end face of the optical fiber so that they oppose each other.
[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
However, the above publication dose not disclose any concrete method for making the optical axes of the surface-emitting laser and the optical fiber cross at a predetermined angle in the module having the surface-emitting laser and the optical fiber coupled to each other.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical module in which an optical device (a surface-emitting laser or a surface-receiving photodiode) having a light-emitting face or a light-receiving face in parallel with a substrate surface is coupled to an optical fiber and in which the optical axes thereof cross at a predetermined angle, and to provide a method for producing the optical module at low cost.
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to overcome the above problems, the present invention provides an optical module including an optical device having a light-receiving face or a light-emitting face in parallel with a substrate surface, an optical fiber, and a supporting member for supporting the end of the optical fiber, wherein the supporting member has a through hole for passing the end of the optical fiber therethrough, a face of the supporting member at the optical fiber end and the extending direction of the through hole are orthogonal to each other, the light-receiving face or the light-emitting face of the optical device and the face of the supporting member at the optical fiber end are placed opposed to each other at a predetermined angle so as not to be parallel to each other, and the optical device and the supporting member are coupled by an angle-maintaining member for maintaining the angle and are placed so that the optical axes thereof cross at a predetermined angle.
It is preferable that the angle-maintaining member be formed of a projection, and more particularly, of a conductive projection. This projection can be formed by, for example, the following method based on wire bonding. First, a metal wire made of gold or the like is passed through a capillary of a wire bonding apparatus, and the leading end of the metal wire is melted by an electric torch or the like, thereby forming a metal ball. Next, the capillary is moved down toward a metal face where a projection is to be formed, and the metal ball is thermally bonded to the metal face by thermocompression bonding. The capillary is then pulled up, and the metal wire is cut at the root of the metal ball. A metal projection shaped like a rivet is thereby formed on the metal face. The projection may be formed by, for example, forming a layer made of a conductive material on the surface of a projection made of an insulating material. A concrete example of a method for obtaining such a projection includes the steps of jetting liquid synthetic resin into the form of a projection by an ink jet method or the like, curing the liquid synthetic resin, and forming a conductive layer by metallising the surface of the projection. In particular, since the ink jet method makes it possible to easily form projections of various sizes, the height of the projection can be adjusted easily.
It is preferable that the angle-maintaining member be made of a light-transmissive material and be formed of a block member having an inclined face corresponding to a preset angle between the light-receiving face or the light-emitting face of the optical device and the face of the supporting member at the optical fiber end. The light-transmissive material is, for example, polyimide resin, polymethyl metacrylate, or ultraviolet-curing resin.
The present invention also provides a production method for an optical module in which an optical device having a light-receiving face or a light-emitting face in parallel with a substrate surface and an optical fiber are coupled to each other, wherein a supporting member for supporting the end of the optical fiber has a through hole for passing the end of the optical fiber therethrough and a face at the optical fiber end which is orthogonal to the extending direction of the through hole, and wherein the optical axis of the optical device and the optical axis of the optical fiber cross at a predetermined angle by passing the end of the optical fiber through the through hole of the supporting member after the optical device and the supporting member are coupled by an angle-maintaining member so that the light-receiving face or the light-emitting face of the optical device and the face of the supporting member at the optical fiber end are placed opposed to each other at a predetermined angle so as not to be parallel to each other.
[Description of the Embodiments]
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1
is a cross-sectional view of an optical module according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This figure corresponds to cross-sectional views taken, respectively, along line a—a in FIG.
2
and line b—b in
FIG. 3
, which will be described later.
This optical module is an optical transmitter module primarily comprising a surface-emitting laser (optical device)
1
, an optical fiber
2
, a supporting member
3
for supporting the end of the optical fiber
2
, projections
41
,
42
,
43
, and
44
made of Au, a base
5
, and a semiconductor chip
8
. The end face of the optical fiber
2
is formed perpendicularly to the optical axis of the optical fiber
2
(center line of a core).
The supporting member
3
has, at the center of its rectangular parallelepiped shape, a through hole
31
of circular cross section, and both opened end faces of the supporting member
3
in the extending direction of the through hole
31
are orthogonal to the extending direction (center axis of the circular cross section). Accordingly, a face
32
of the supporting member
3
at the optical fiber end is orthogonal to the extending direction of the through hole
31
. The diameter of the through hole
31
is set to be slightly larger than that of the optical fiber
2
.
Therefore, the end of the optical fiber
2
is supported by the supporting member
3
by being passed through the through hole
31
of the supporting member
3
. In this state, the end face of the optical fiber
2
is in parallel with the face
32
of the supporting member
3
at the optical fiber end.
FIG.

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