JPH0242203B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an optical fiber end face processing device using a plastic fiber.

[Background technology]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, optical transmission technology using glass fibers has made remarkable progress in optical communication systems and the like. In addition to the above-mentioned glass fibers, plastic fibers are also available as optical fibers that serve as light transmission media, but their practical use has lagged behind that of glass fibers. Other components of optical communication systems that use plastic fiber as a transmission medium include optical connectors for connections, optical branchers, optical demultiplexers/multiplexers, optical switches, and optical modules (optical-electrical/electrical-optical converters). equipment) etc. are required.

When connecting plastic fibers, it is necessary to treat the end faces of the plastic fibers. Conventionally, the end faces of the plastic fibers were ground with a file and then buffed before being connected. It is difficult to process the end faces, and there are many variations, resulting in large optical signal losses.

In addition, when connecting plastic fiber,
A method of heat-sealing the end faces of plastic fibers together is also often used, but conventional heaters for heat-sealing are large, making them inconvenient to carry.

In these methods, in order to connect a wired plastic fiber to another plastic fiber, the end face of the wired plastic fiber must be left extra long, or the wired plastic fiber must be removed and polished or It required a lot of work as it had to be connected by heat fusing.

Therefore, the inventors have developed an optical fiber end face processing jig that is convenient to carry and can easily and quickly mirror finish the end face of an optical fiber. This optical fiber end face processing jig is equipped with a glass substrate that is crimped onto the end face of the optical fiber and a heater section that heats the glass substrate. By pressing the glass substrate onto the substrate and heating the glass substrate with the heater section,
By melting the end face of the optical fiber, it is possible to obtain a mirror-finished end face of the optical fiber.

By the way, in the end face treatment process, the judgment as to whether a mirror finish has been achieved by the end face treatment has relied on experience and intuition. As a result, variations occur in the accuracy of the end face treatment, which causes the production of defective products. Furthermore, after the end face treatment, it is necessary to check the end face of the optical fiber, which is complicated.

[Purpose of the invention]

In view of the above points, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber end face processing device that reduces variations in precision in the end face processing state and prevents the occurrence of defective products.

[Disclosure of the invention]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a transparent heater section that is applied to one end of an optical fiber and melts the end surface, a light emitting section that irradiates light to the end surface of the optical fiber through the heater section, and a transparent heater section that is applied to one end of the optical fiber to melt the end surface. The outline of the optical fiber end processing device is an optical fiber end face processing device that is attached to the end of the optical fiber and includes a light receiving section that receives light passing through the optical fiber and converts it into electrical output, and a detection section that detects the electrical output of the light receiving section. shall be. This will be explained in detail below based on the drawings showing one embodiment thereof.

As shown in FIG. 1, this device includes an end face processing jig (hereinafter abbreviated as jig) 1, a holding fixture 2, a connector 3, a light receiving section 4, and a detecting section 5. Jig 1
includes a transparent heater section 7 that melts the end surface of the optical fiber 6, and a light emitting section 8 that irradiates the end surface of the optical fiber 6 with light through the heater section 7. The presser metal fitting 2 is attached to the end of the optical fiber 6 on the side where the end surface is to be treated, and is brought into contact with the jig 1. A connector 3 is attached to the other end of the optical fiber and connected to a light receiving section 4. The presser metal fitting 2 and the connector 3 serve as auxiliary tools for eliminating misalignment between the optical fiber 6, the jig 1, and the light receiving section 4. The light receiving section 4 receives light that enters the optical fiber 6 from the light emitting section 8 of the jig 1 and passes through the inside thereof, and converts it into electrical output. This electrical output is detected by a detection section 5.

To explain the jig 1 in more detail, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, it has a heater section 7, a light emitting section 8,
It consists of a frame 9, a circuit section 10, and a power supply section 11. A glass substrate 12 is held in the heater section 7 by a frame 9. Electrodes 13, 13 are placed on this glass substrate 12.
is provided, and a transparent heater 14 is placed on the glass substrate 12 so as to partially overlap the electrodes 13, 13.
joined in the center. These electrodes 13, 13
In order to protect the heater 14 and the heater 14, a transparent protective film 16 is provided on these surfaces except for the contact parts 15, 15 for electrically connecting to the power supply part 11.
is formed. The entire surface of the protective film 16 is a mirror surface. The electrodes 13, 13 are electrically connected to the power supply section 11, and when a current is supplied from the power supply section 11, the heater 14 generates heat.

By pressing the end face of the optical fiber 6 onto the surface of the protective film 16 and heating the protective film 16 with the heater 14,
The end face of the optical fiber 6 is melted so that a mirror-finished end face of the optical fiber 6 can be obtained.

A light emitting unit 8 is disposed on the back surface of the glass substrate 12 and is held in close contact with the glass substrate.A current is supplied from the power supply unit to the light emitting unit 8, which converts electrical energy into light energy and emits light. Light can be irradiated onto the end face of the optical fiber 6 through the glass substrate 12 and the heater section 7.

The light emitted from the light emitting section 8 passes through the glass substrate 12 and the heater section 7, and is irradiated onto the end surface of the optical fiber 6. Thereafter, the light is transmitted through the optical fiber 6, passes through the connector 3, and enters the light receiving section 4. The light receiving section 4 converts the light into an electrical output corresponding to the intensity of the light, and the detecting section 5 detects this output.

If the end face of the optical fiber 6 is not a mirror surface, the detection output is small because the optical loss at the end face is large.
The detection output increases as the end surface approaches the mirror surface.
Utilizing this, the time when the detection output exceeds a certain value is defined as a mirror surface, and the heater section 7 is made to generate heat.
By melting the end face of the optical fiber 6 and stopping power supply to the heater unit 7 when the detection output of the detection unit 5 exceeds a predetermined value, the end face of the optical fiber can be mirror-finished. There is.

The glass substrate of the jig according to the present invention preferably has a softening point of 700°C or higher, high high-temperature strength, good specularity, high transparency, and good transmission of light from visible light to near infrared light. . For example, Hoya NA40 manufactured by Hoya Glass Co., Ltd. is an example.

Since the softening point of plastic is around 100℃,
The heater is the part where the end face of the optical fiber is crimped.
It can be heated to about 140℃ and 300℃
It is desirable that the material be stable against heat up to a temperature of about 100°C, have high adhesion to glass, high transparency and smoothness, and have a low refractive index. for example,
Indium Tin Oxide
Oxide. Abbreviated as ITO. ) etc. are mentioned as preferred heater materials. The electrode preferably has high stability over time, low sheet resistance and contact resistance, and high corrosion resistance and adhesion to glass. For example, chromium and the like are preferred electrode materials. The protective film is preferably made of an insulating material, has high strength, high corrosion resistance, high transparency, and has a low refractive index. For example, silicon dioxide or aluminum oxide may be cited as preferred protective film materials. Necessary mechanisms such as a temperature compensation mechanism, a time control mechanism, a display mechanism, and a current control mechanism may be incorporated into the circuit portion of the jig. In consideration of portability, it is desirable to use a rechargeable battery in the power supply part of the jig.

The light emitting section of the optical fiber end face treatment device according to the present invention is preferably compact, emits light with low power consumption and low voltage, can emit visible light with a wavelength of 660 to 680 nm, and has high reliability.
An example is a light emitting diode (LED).

Next, an embodiment of the optical fiber end face processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

Glass substrate (thickness 0.8mm, diameter 29mm, product name;
Hoya NA40, manufactured by Hoya Glass Co., Ltd.) with cleaning solution (product name;
After ultrasonic cleaning with Semico Clean (manufactured by Furuuchi Chemical Co., Ltd.), the chrome electrode was sputtered.
It was made with a thickness of 2.5 μm.

Next, ITO was deposited to a thickness of 2 to 3 μm using a vacuum evaporation method.
After bonding the heater so that the sheet resistance is approximately 1Ω/hole and the thickness of An aluminum oxide film was formed by vacuum evaporation.

Place a light emitting diode (manufactured by Stanley Electric Co., Ltd.) in close contact with the glass substrate surface opposite to the electrode and heater.
FH511) was installed, and the current value from the power supply part to the light emitting diode was kept constant at 20 mA. A plastic fiber manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon (Esca Extra, EH4001, length 20 m) is used. A holding bracket is attached to the end of the fiber to be treated, and a connector is attached to the opposite side, and a light receiving section consisting of a connector and a photodiode is installed. Connect the output from the photodiode to a power meter (manufactured by Ando Electric Co., Ltd.).
OPM-100). The holding fixture and the jig are brought into contact, and the light emitting diode illuminates the end face of the optical fiber while the heater generates heat to melt the end face of the optical fiber. If the value on the power meter is -15 dbm or more, the end face is melted. Finished processing. As a result, the end surfaces were always mirror-finished with high precision.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The optical fiber end face processing device according to the present invention includes:
Since the end face condition is detected during the end face treatment process, it is possible to reduce variations in the accuracy of the end face treatment status, prevent the occurrence of defective products, and eliminate the process of checking the end face treated optical fiber. can. Furthermore, an optical fiber whose end surface has already been mirror-finished is attached to this device, the light emitting section is made to emit light without the heater section generating heat, and the detection output is measured by the detection section. In this way, it is possible to check whether the heater section is defective or whether it needs to be replaced after long-term use.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an optical fiber end surface treatment device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the same jig, and FIG. FIG. 4... Light receiving section, 5... Detecting section, 6... Optical fiber, 7... Heater section, 8... Light emitting section, 12... Glass substrate, 13... Electrode, 14... Heater, 16
……Protective film.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A transparent heater section applied to one end of the optical fiber to melt this end surface, a light emitting section that irradiates light to the end surface of the optical fiber through the heater section, attached to the other end of the optical fiber, An optical fiber end face processing device that includes a light receiving section that receives light passing through the optical fiber and converts it into electrical output, and a detection section that detects the electrical output of the light receiving section. 2. The heater part is an indium tin oxide film formed on the surface of a transparent glass substrate, and electrodes provided on both sides of this indium tin oxide film,
The optical fiber end face treatment device according to claim 1, further comprising an indium tin oxide film and a transparent protective film covering the electrodes.