Method of fabricating a photonics module comprising a spherical lens
First Claim
1. A method for making an optical device comprising the steps of:
- making in a first surface of a first member a first V-shaped groove having first and second side walls;
making in the first surface a second V-shaped groove which intersects the first groove and defines a first V-shaped edge in the first side wall of the first groove;
the first member being made of crystalline material and the first and second grooves being made by masking and anisotropic etching so as to have side walls defined by crystallographic planes;
seating a spherical lens in the first groove such that it bears against two points of the first V-shaped edge and against one point of the second side wall of the first V-shaped groove;
and permanently bonding the seated spherical lens to the first member, whereby the spherical lens is bonded at a location determined by the geometry of the first and second V-shaped grooves.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A laser (15) is mounted on a planar surface of a monocrystalline silicon mounting member (12). A spherical lens (20) is mounted in a monocrystalline silicon cover member (13) which, when abutted and registered to the mounting member (12), aligns the spherical lens with the laser so that the output light can be projected along a precise predetermined path. The spherical lens (20) is mounted in a first V-shaped groove (31) which is made in the cover member by masking and etching. A second V-shaped groove intersects the first groove and defines a V-shaped edge in one side of the first groove. The spherical lens is then seated in the first V-shaped groove such that it bears against two points of the V-shaped edge and against one side wall (35) of the first V-shaped groove. A second lens (19) is mounted in the cover member in the same manner as the first lens and directs laser light from a rear facet of the laser to a mirror 30 and hence to a photodetector (21) mounted in the cover member.
39 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for making an optical device comprising the steps of:
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making in a first surface of a first member a first V-shaped groove having first and second side walls; making in the first surface a second V-shaped groove which intersects the first groove and defines a first V-shaped edge in the first side wall of the first groove; the first member being made of crystalline material and the first and second grooves being made by masking and anisotropic etching so as to have side walls defined by crystallographic planes; seating a spherical lens in the first groove such that it bears against two points of the first V-shaped edge and against one point of the second side wall of the first V-shaped groove; and permanently bonding the seated spherical lens to the first member, whereby the spherical lens is bonded at a location determined by the geometry of the first and second V-shaped grooves. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for making an optical device comprising the steps of:
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mounting a lens on a first member such that the center of the lens is displaced a first predetermined distance from a first surface of the first member; mounting a semiconductor laser having a light-emitting junction on a second member such that the junction is displaced a second predetermined distance from a first surface of the second member; making at least one first bonding pad on the first surface of the first member and at least one second bonding pad on the first surface of the second member, the first surface of the first member, the first surface of the second member and the light-emitting junction of the laser all being parallel; texturing the first or second bonding pads, or both, the texturing having a feature size of between 0.1 and ten microns; and pressing together the first and second bonding pads with sufficient force to cause them to bond; the locations of the lens and laser and the first and second predetermined distances being such as to permit alignment of the laser junction with the center of the lens. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A method for making a photonics module comprising the steps of:
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mounting a semiconductor laser having a light-emitting junction on a mounting member such that the junction is displaced a predetermined distance from a first surface of the mounting member; mounting a spherical lens in a cover member such that the center of the lens is displaced a predetermined distance from a first surface of the cover member; the lens mounting step comprising the steps of making in the first surface of the cover member a first V-shaped groove having first and second side walls, making in the first surface of the cover member a second V-shaped groove which intersects the first groove and defines a first V-shaped edge in the first side wall of the first groove, seating a spherical lens in the first groove such that it bears against two points of the first V-shaped edge and against one point of the second side wall of the first V-shaped groove, and permanently bonding the seated spherical lens to the first member; making at least one first bonding pad on the first surface of the mounting member and at least one second bonding pad on the first surface of the cover member; texturing the first or second bonding pads, or both, the texturing having a feature size of between 0.1 and ten microns; and pressing together the first and second bonding pads with sufficient force to cause them to bond and to align the spherical lens with the junction of the laser. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A method for making a photonics module comprising the steps of:
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mounting a semiconductor laser having an emitting junction on a mounting member such that the emitting junction is displaced a predetermined distance from a first surface of the mounting member; making in a second surface of a monocrystalline cover member a first cavity comprising the steps of masking and anisotropically etching the second surface such as to form the cavity with sloping sidewalls; seating a spherical lens in the cavity such that it bears against opposite sidewalls thereof and has a center that is displaced a predetermined distance from the second surface of the cover member; the direction of light emission from the laser-emitting junction and the first surface of the mounting member and the second surface of the cover member are all parallel; and abutting the first surface of the mounting member against the second surface of the cover member such that the spherical lens is in predetermined registration with the emitting junction of the laser. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for making an optical device comprising the steps of:
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making in a first surface of a first member first, second, third, and fourth V-shaped grooves each having first and second side walls; the second V-shaped groove intersecting the first groove and defining a first V-shaped edge in the first side wall of the first groove; the fourth V-shaped groove intersecting the third groove and defining a second V-shaped edge in the first side wall of the third groove; the first member being made of crystalline material, and the first, second, third, and fourth grooves are made by masking and anisotropic etching; seating a first spherical lens in the first groove such that it bears against two points of the first V-shaped edge and against one point of the second wall of the first V-shaped groove; seating a second spherical lens in the third groove such that it bears against two points of the second V-shaped edge and against the second side wall of the third V-shaped groove; permanently bonding the first and second spherical lenses to the first member, whereby the first spherical lens is bonded at a location determined by the geometry of the first and second V-shaped grooves, and the second spherical lens is bonded at a location determined by the geometry of the third and fourth V-shaped grooves; mounting a laser on a second member so as to be in a predetermined relationship with a first surface of the second member; making a cavity in the first member for receiving the laser; defining in the second member a reflecting surface; mounting on the first member a photodetector adapted to receive light reflected from the reflecting surface; and abutting the first surface of the first member against the first surface of the second member to align the first and second lenses with the laser. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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Specification