Optical thumbtack
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a substrate having a through-hole;
an optical or optoelectronic device positioned in at least partial optical alignment with the through-hole; and
an optical thumbtack inserted into the through-hole, wherein the optical thumbtack comprises a lens portion, a spacer portion, and a foot portion.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An optical or optoelectroronic component is mounted to a substrate, and an optical thumbtack is inserted into a through-hole of the substrate. The optical thumbtack is positioned to receive light from or send light to the optical or optoelectronic component and provide a conditioned, for example collimated or focused, beam. The optical thumbtack comprises a lens portion, a spacer portion, and a foot portion. Light may enter the thumbtack from either direction.
35 Citations
31 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a substrate having a through-hole;
an optical or optoelectronic device positioned in at least partial optical alignment with the through-hole; and
an optical thumbtack inserted into the through-hole, wherein the optical thumbtack comprises a lens portion, a spacer portion, and a foot portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
at least one anti-reflective coating on the optical thumbtack.
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13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical or optoelectronic device comprises a photodetector.
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14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical or optoelectronic device comprises a laser.
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15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical or optoelectronic device comprises a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL).
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16. A method of conditioning light on its path to or from an optical or optoelectronic device mounted to a substrate, the method comprising:
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inserting an optical thumbtack into a through-hole of the substrate, the optical thumbtack comprising a lens portion, a spacer portion, and a foot portion; and
pushing the optical thumbtack into the through-hole until the foot portion stops the optical thumbtack from being inserted further. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
securing the array of optical thumbtacks to the substrate.
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20. A method of conditioning light comprising:
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inserting an optical thumbtack into a through-hole of a substrate, the optical thumbtack comprising a lens portion, a spacer portion, and a foot portion; and
pushing the optical thumbtack into the through-hole until the foot portion stops the optical thumbtack from being inserted further; and
providing light into the optical thumbtack. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
bonding the optical thumbtack to the substrate.
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22. The method of claim 20, further comprising:
applying at least one anti-reflective coating to the optical thumbtack.
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23. A method of conditioning light comprising:
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inserting an array of optical thumbtacks into one or more through-holes of a substrate, the array of optical thumbtacks comprising lens portions, spacer portions or a common spacer portion, and a common foot portion; and
pushing the array of optical thumbtacks into the through-holes until the foot portion stops the array of optical thumbtacks from being inserted further; and
optically coupling the array of optical thumbtacks to one or more optical or optoelectronic devices. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
bonding the array of optical thumbtacks to the substrate.
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25. The method of claim 23, further comprising:
applying at least one anti-reflective coating to the array of optical thumbtacks.
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26. A method of coupling an optical or optoelectronic device in a system comprising:
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attaching a first optical or optoelectronic device to a first surface;
attaching a second optical or optoelectronic device to a second surface;
inserting one or more optical thumbtacks into one or more through-holes aligned to the first and/or second optical or optoelectronic device; and
optically coupling the one or more optical thumbtacks together via at least one waveguide or waveguide array. - View Dependent Claims (27)
providing light from the first optical or optoelectronic device, and receiving the light by the second optical or optoelectronic device.
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28. A system comprising:
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a substrate;
an optical thumbtack inserted into the substrate, the optical thumbtack having a lens portion, a spacer portion, and a foot portion;
an optical or optoelectronic component coupled to provide a light beam to the optical thumbtack causing the optical thumbtack to provide a conditioned beam;
a waveguide for optically coupling the conditioned beam to a receiving optical or optoelectronic component. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
a second optical thumbtack to condition the beam from the wave guide and send the beam to the receiving optical or optoelectronic component.
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30. The system of claim 29, wherein the second optical thumbtack has an anti-reflective coating.
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31. The system of claim 28, wherein the optical thumbtack has an anti-reflective coating.
Specification