TWI856256B - An optical platform used for a micron-sized optical fiber alignment apparatus and a method of using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an optical platform used for a micron-sized optical fiber alignment apparatus and a method of using the same, shortens a connection time of two optical-fiber elements, and the invention is suitable for application on a variety of optical components that require optical fiber connection.

Description

An optical platform with a micrometer-sized optical fiber alignment device and its use method

The present invention provides an optical platform having a micron-sized optical fiber alignment device and a method of using the same, in particular, an optical fiber alignment device having a lens optical fiber and a fiber core structure.

Optical fiber can transmit optical signals from the light source to the desired location. In other words, the role of optical fiber in the optical fiber communication system is a transmission medium, which means that optical fiber has communication function and optical fiber is also a cylindrical dielectric waveguide.

The composition of optical fiber contains pure silicon dioxide (SiO2) and germanium dioxide (GeO2), mixed with a lower proportion of the mixture, which makes the optical fiber have an extremely high refractive index. In the optical fiber, it also contains a core with an extremely high refractive index, a cladding with a lower refractive index, and an outermost plastic jacket. Therefore, in the field of "ray-optics", optical fiber can be regarded as a fiber cladding in which light travels forward in a total reflection manner to transmit information and achieve the function of communication.

When the light source is coupled into the optical fiber, in addition to making the end face of the optical fiber smooth to prevent light scattering, the numerical aperture (NA) value and mode distribution of the optical fiber must also be coordinated to efficiently couple the light source into the optical fiber.

Usually in optical fiber communication systems, the attenuation of optical signal intensity mainly comes from three types of loss: coupling loss, end face coupling loss, and optical fiber connection loss. Among them, optical fiber connection loss accidents are the most common and occur more frequently.

The main reason for the connection loss of optical fibers is that the optical fibers in the communication system often need to be spliced, especially when they are extended or extended to the required position by splicing. At this time, a large amount of loss is often caused by improper connection of the two connected optical fibers. The source of loss may be uneven end faces, inaccurate alignment, or too large distance between the two end faces, or the two connected optical fibers are bent after being completely in contact, resulting in unimaginable huge losses. When loss occurs, the transmitted optical signal will be completely unable to be transmitted to the next optical fiber, causing the optical fiber to be unable to connect.

In order to avoid fiber optic connection loss, the industry needs to develop new fiber optic connection technology or devices. In addition, in recent years, the use of tiny lenses at the ends of optical fibers can connect different types of optical fibers, making lens optical fibers have longer working distances and better coupling efficiency. Therefore, lens optical fibers can also be used in new fiber optic connection technologies, which can better avoid fiber optic connection losses.

The present invention is an optical fiber alignment device, which mainly provides a simple-to-use docking accessory to complete the optical coupling operation between optical fiber components.

The present invention discloses a structure of an optical fiber alignment device, including a lens optical fiber and a fiber core. The lens optical fiber has a conical tip with a specific angle, and the fiber core has a specific width.

The present invention discloses a method for using an optical fiber alignment device, including providing an optical fiber alignment device, connecting the optical fiber alignment device to a silicon chip channel, and connecting the silicon chip channel to an optical fiber matrix.

The optical fiber alignment device of the present invention can shorten the connection time of two optical fiber components and form a low-loss and high-quality optical fiber assembly device, which is suitable for application in various optical components that require optical fiber connection.

The optical fiber alignment device of the present invention is mainly used to provide a simple-to-use docking accessory to complete the optical coupling operation between optical fiber components.

The optical fiber alignment device of the present invention can simply adjust and correct the accuracy of different optical fiber patterns, and can quickly and accurately improve the optical coupling rate.

This invention is aimed at different types of optical fibers. As long as the process technology is used, the manufactured tiny lens optical fibers can have different working distances and coupling efficiencies.

101: Lens fiber

102:Fiber core

201: Silicon chip channel

202: Fiber Optic Matrix

The aforementioned and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly presented in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the drawings, as follows: FIG1 shows the structure of an optical fiber alignment device of the present invention; FIG2 shows the use of an optical fiber alignment device of the present invention;

Please refer to the attached drawings and descriptions below to describe the implementation of the present invention. In the drawings, the same component symbols represent the same components, and the size or thickness of the components may be exaggerated for clarity.

As shown in FIG1 , the structure of an optical fiber alignment device of the present invention includes a lens optical fiber 101 and a fiber core 102. The lens optical fiber 101 has a conical tip, the angle of the tip is 30 degrees, and the width dimension of the tip is a, and the length dimension of the tip is b. In the embodiment illustrated in the present invention, a can be 125 microns, and b can be 233.253 microns, but the width dimension and length dimension of the tip are not limited to the examples of this embodiment. In the embodiment illustrated in the present invention, the width of the fiber core 102 is 6 micrometers (μm), but the width of the fiber core 102 is not limited to the embodiment illustrated in the present invention, and its width can be adjusted corresponding to different optical fiber models, and the fiber core 102 is located in the middle of the lens optical fiber 101.

As shown in FIG. 1, the structure of an optical fiber alignment device of the present invention, since the optical fiber model corresponding to the lens optical fiber 101 is Hi-1060, it is known that the width of the fiber core 102 is 6 microns, and the light source adopts a 1064 nanometer (nm) optical fiber laser. When the present invention is under a 1064 nanometer light source, the Hi-1060 optical fiber is a single mode transmission.

As shown in FIG. 2, a method of using an optical fiber alignment device of the present invention, the working distance of the lens optical fiber 101 is about 15 microns, and the silicon chip tunnel fiber core of the silicon chip tunnel 201 is a 3-micron square. Therefore, the input end focuses the 6-micron light source into a 3-micron light spot through the lens optical fiber 101, and couples most of the light energy to the silicon chip tunnel 201, and then transmits it to the fiber array 202. In other words, a method of using an optical fiber alignment device includes: providing an optical fiber alignment device, connecting the optical fiber alignment device to a silicon chip tunnel 201, and connecting the silicon chip tunnel 201 to a fiber array 202.

As shown in FIG. 2, the use of an optical fiber alignment device of the present invention is that the length and width of the silicon chip channel fiber core of the silicon chip channel 201 is c, and c is a square with a length and width of 3 microns. Through the lens fiber 101, the 6-micron light is focused into a 3-micron light spot through the input end of the silicon chip channel 201, thereby reducing the mode field diameter and coupling most of the light energy to the silicon chip channel 201. The waveguide on the silicon chip channel 201 is distributed in 1x4, that is, the silicon chip channel 201 has 4 output ends, and the output ends do not require any lens fiber.

As shown in FIG. 2, a method of using an optical fiber alignment device of the present invention is that when the silicon chip channel fiber core is coupled from the 3 micron silicon chip channel 201 to the 9 micron single-mode optical fiber, the silicon chip channel 201 can be output to the receiving end of the optical fiber matrix 202. In the embodiment illustrated in the present invention, the optical fiber matrix 202 is a V-shaped structure with a width of 125 microns, but the width is not limited to the embodiment illustrated in this embodiment. The present invention can be placed in a standard single-mode optical fiber, which is more stable in alignment adjustment and correction adjustment, thereby improving the efficiency of optical coupling.

Still as shown in FIG. 2, the present invention uses a fiber alignment device. Since the focal length of the lens fiber 101 is only at the micrometer level, the present invention can perform alignment and correction adjustments on a high-precision optical platform, and use an optical bracket to set up the lens fiber 101, and fine-tune the light with the selected optical fiber, adjust the working distance, and find the focal length of the lens fiber 101. And adjust it to the position of the best coupling efficiency, so that the lens fiber 101 and the waveguide mode field can match each other, thereby improving the coupling efficiency between the optical fiber and the waveguide.

As can be seen from the above, the optical fiber alignment device of the present invention can be applied to the connection of optical fibers, shortening the connection time of two optical fiber components, and forming a low-loss and high-quality optical fiber assembly device. It is suitable for application in various optical components that require optical fiber connection, such as silicon chip channels, or optical fiber matrices, or other high-power laser light sources, but is not limited thereto.

The optical fiber alignment device of the present invention is mainly used to provide a simple-to-use docking accessory to complete the optical coupling operation between optical fiber components. In addition, the present invention can simply adjust and calibrate its accuracy for different optical fiber patterns, and can quickly and accurately improve the optical coupling rate.

As mentioned above, in recent years, the optical path of optical fiber has a trend of miniaturization. Correspondingly, in the field of integrated optical fiber, the aforementioned lens optical fiber can be used in large quantities, especially by using process technology to manufacture tiny lens optical fiber, which is used at the end of the optical fiber. For different types of optical fibers, as long as the process technology is used, the manufactured tiny lens optical fiber can have different working distances and coupling efficiencies.

The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the patent application of the present invention; any other equivalent changes or modifications that do not deviate from the spirit disclosed by the present invention should be included in the scope of the patent application described below.

101: Lens fiber

102:Fiber core

Claims (2)

An optical platform with a micron-sized optical fiber alignment device includes: an optical fiber alignment device, including: a lens optical fiber, wherein the lens optical fiber has a conical tip, a width dimension of the conical tip is micron-sized; and a fiber core, the fiber core is located in a middle portion of the lens optical fiber, a width dimension of the fiber core is micron-sized; a silicon chip channel, the The length and width of a silicon chip channel fiber core of the silicon chip channel is a square of micron size; and an optical fiber matrix, the optical fiber matrix is a V-shaped structure, the width size is micron, wherein the optical fiber alignment device is connected to the silicon chip channel, and the silicon chip channel is connected to the optical fiber matrix, and the silicon chip channel fiber core is connected to a receiving end of the optical fiber matrix from the silicon chip channel. A method of using an optical platform with a micron-sized optical fiber alignment device as in claim 1, comprising: providing an optical fiber alignment device, the optical fiber alignment device having a lens optical fiber and a fiber core, wherein the lens optical fiber has a conical tip, a width dimension of the conical tip is micron-sized, and the width dimension of the fiber core is micron-sized; connecting the optical fiber alignment device to a silicon chip channel , the silicon chip channel fiber core is connected to the silicon chip channel; and the silicon chip channel is connected to an optical fiber matrix, the silicon chip channel fiber core is connected to a receiving end of the optical fiber matrix through the silicon chip channel, through the lens fiber, through an input end of the silicon chip channel, focusing micron-sized light to become a micron-sized light spot, thereby reducing a mode field diameter and coupling most of the light energy to the silicon chip channel.