Optical fiber array module using soldering and fabrication method thereof
First Claim
1. A method of manufacturing an optical fiber array module using soldering, comprising the steps of:
- forming holes into which optical fibers can be inserted, in one of either a silicon wafer substrate or a ceramic substrate at predetermined intervals;
forming a metal layer on walls of the holes and an entire surface of the substrate, to facilitate the walls of the holes and the entire surface of the substrate to be plated with a solder alloy material;
plating the walls of the holes and the entire surface of the substrate with the solder alloy material;
inserting metal-coated optical fibers into the holes plated with the solder alloy material;
positioning the optical fibers at the centers of the holes using the surface tension of the solder alloy material, by heating the resultant structure of the substrate and optical fibers;
fixing the optical fibers, inserted into the holes of the substrate, to the substrate by pouring an epoxy curable by heat or ultraviolet light thereon, to fabricate a fiber array module capable of being accurately attached to an optical waveguide device; and
polishing an end of the optical fiber module formed of optical fibers protruding through the holes, to provide optical luminance.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fiber array module using soldering, and a fabrication method thereof, in which the method includes the steps of: forming holes into which optical fibers can be inserted, in a silicon wafer substrate or a ceramic substrate at predetermined intervals, forming a metal layer on the walls of the holes and the entire surface of the substrate, to allow walls of the holes and an entire surface of the substrate to be plated with a solder alloy material; plating the walls of the holes and the entire surface of the substrate with the solder alloy material; inserting metal-coated optical fibers into the holes plated with the solder alloy material; positioning the optical fibers at the centers of the holes using the surface tension of the solder alloy material, by heating the resultant structure; fixing the optical fibers, inserted into the holes of the substrate, to the substrate by pouring epoxy curable by heat or ultraviolet light thereon, to fabricate a fiber array module capable of being accurately attached to an optical waveguide device, and polishing an end of the optical fiber module formed of optical fibers protruding through the holes, to provide optical luminance. Accordingly, the environmental characteristics and reliability of a device package are improved upon the connection of the optical fibers. Also, the fiber array module is simply manufactured, and the ends of loaded optical fibers are easily polished, thus fabricating an inexpensive connection module. Furthermore, the optical fibers are accurately arrayed by self-alignment using the surface tension of the solder material.
36 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of manufacturing an optical fiber array module using soldering, comprising the steps of:
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forming holes into which optical fibers can be inserted, in one of either a silicon wafer substrate or a ceramic substrate at predetermined intervals;
forming a metal layer on walls of the holes and an entire surface of the substrate, to facilitate the walls of the holes and the entire surface of the substrate to be plated with a solder alloy material;
plating the walls of the holes and the entire surface of the substrate with the solder alloy material;
inserting metal-coated optical fibers into the holes plated with the solder alloy material;
positioning the optical fibers at the centers of the holes using the surface tension of the solder alloy material, by heating the resultant structure of the substrate and optical fibers;
fixing the optical fibers, inserted into the holes of the substrate, to the substrate by pouring an epoxy curable by heat or ultraviolet light thereon, to fabricate a fiber array module capable of being accurately attached to an optical waveguide device; and
polishing an end of the optical fiber module formed of optical fibers protruding through the holes, to provide optical luminance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of manufacturing a fiber array module using soldering, comprising the steps of:
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forming holes into which arrayed optical fibers can be inserted, in a metal substrate at predetermined intervals;
processing walls of the holes in the metal substrate;
plating the walls of the holes and an entire surface of the substrate with the solder alloy material;
inserting metal-coated fibers into the holes plated with the solder alloy material;
positioning the optical fibers at the centers of the holes using the surface tension of the solder alloy material, by heating the resultant structure of the substrate and optical fibers;
fixing the optical fibers, inserted into the holes of the substrate, to the substrate by pouring an epoxy curable by heat or ultraviolet light thereon, to fabricate a fiber array module capable of being accurately attached to an optical waveguide device; and
polishing an end of the optical fiber module formed of optical fibers protruding through the holes, to provide optical luminance. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A fiber array module manufactured using soldering, comprising:
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a metal substrate having holes into which optical fibers can be inserted, walls of the holes and an entire surface of the metal substrate being plated with a metal material;
arrayed optical fibers inserted into the holes in the metal substrate and prepared by depositing metal layers on cladding layers or external glass layers exposed by removing all coatings from the optical fibers; and
a fixing unit for fixing the arrayed optical fibers to the metal substrate, after the arrayed optical fibers have been inserted into the holes in the metal substrate and aligned by heat. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. An optical fiber array module, comprising:
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a substrate having a hole of polygonal cross-section for receiving an optical fiber, said hole having walls;
a solder material plated on the surface of the substrate and the walls of said hole;
an optical fiber centered in said hole, said optical fiber comprising;
a cladding layer;
a metal coating surrounding the cladding layer, said metal coating contacting said solder material tangentially near the walls of the hole. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
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Original AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
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InventorsLee, Hyung-Jae, Rhee, Tae-Hyung, Yoo, Byong-Gwon, Jang, Woo-Hyuk
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Primary Examiner(s)NGUYEN, THONG Q
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Application NumberUS09/133,370Time in Patent Office901 DaysField of Search385/9, 385/12-13, 385/15, 385/26-29, 385/31-32, 385/39, 385/49, 385/50, 385/51-52, 385/88-94, 385/137, 427/163.2US Class Current385/137CPC Class CodesG02B 6/3833 Details of mounting fibres ...G02B 6/3834 Means for centering or alig...G02B 6/3855 characterised by the method...
