EP0634679A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Coupling structure of optical fibers and optical waveguides
Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd
•
Filing: 1994-07-14
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2014-07-14
Abstract
Abstract There is disclosed a coupling structure of optical fibers and optical waveguides, comprising optical fibers (21); an optical fiber arranging connector (1) having a first and second members (11, 12), the optical fibers (21) being sandwiched by the first and second members to be fixed in the optical fiber arranging connector (1); a waveguide device (3) having a waveguide substrate (31), optical waveguides being formed on a surface of the waveguide device, ends of the waveguides and ends of said optical fiber arranging connector (1) being aligned with each other by abutting end faces thereof against each other; an adhesive (4) interposed and set between said end faces, the adhesive being a photo-setting adhesive, the first member (12) being made of a material preventing light having a wavelength capable of setting said adhesive from passing therethrough, and in at least part of a region where the end faces of the optical fiber arranging connector (1) and the waveguide device (3) oppose to each other, at least one of the optical fiber arranging connector (1) and the waveguide device (3) in the vicinity of the end face thereof being made of a light-transmitting material through which light having a wavelength capable of setting the adhesive (4) can pass.
Inventors
- 👤 Shinji C/O Yokohama Works Of Sumitomo Ishikawa
- 👤 Hiroshi C/O Yokohama Works Of Sumitomo Suganuma
- 👤 Dai C/O Yokohama Works Of Sumitomo Yui
- 👤 Shigeru C/O Yokohama Works Of Sumitomo Semura
- 👤 Masahide C/O Yokohama Works Of Sumitomo Saito
- 👤 Shigeru C/O Yokohama Works Of Sumitomo Hirai
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 22:47
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04B; H04B10/00; H04B10/25; G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/24; G02B6/26; G02B6/30; G02B6/42; G02B6/4201; G02B6/4204; G02B6/4212
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
189 words
A coupling structure of optical fibers and optical waveguides, comprising: optical fibers; an optical fiber arranging connector having a first and second members, said optical fibers being sandwiched by said first and second members to be fixed in said optical fiber arranging connector; a waveguide device having a waveguide substrate, optical waveguides being formed on a surface of said waveguide device, ends of said waveguides and ends of said optical fiber arranging connector being aligned with each other by abutting end faces thereof against each other; and an adhesive interposed and set between said end faces, said adhesive being a photo-setting adhesive, said first member being made of a material preventing light having a wavelength capable of setting said adhesive from passing therethrough, and in at least part of a region where said end faces of said optical fiber arranging connector and said waveguide device oppose to each other, at least one of said optical fiber arranging connector and said waveguide device in the vicinity of said end face thereof being made of a light-transmitting material through which light having a wavelength capable of setting said adhesive can pass.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
26 words
A coupling structure according to claim 1, wherein said light-transmitting material is a material having a thermal expansion coefficient of less than 1 x 10⁻⁵ [/K].
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
A coupling structure according to claim 2, wherein said light-transmitting material is glass containing SiO₂ as a major component.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
A coupling structure according to claim 3, wherein said light-transmitting material is glass having a thermal expansion coefficient coinciding with that of silicon within a range of ±20%.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
A coupling structure according to claim 2, wherein said light-transmitting material is a resin having a light absorption edge at a wavelength of not more than 450 nm.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
A coupling structure according to claim 1, wherein said adhesive is a photo-setting/thermosetting adhesive containing a thermosetting initiator in addition to a photo-setting initiator.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
42 words
A coupling structure according to claim 6, wherein said adhesive is coated to be interposed between said end face of said optical fiber arranging connector and said end face of said waveguide device, photo-set by light radiation, and thereafter thermoset by heat.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
64 words
A coupling structure according to claim 1, wherein said waveguide substrate has an end face opposing said end face of said optical fiber arranging connector through said adhesive, and at least part of said waveguide substrate in at least the vicinity of said end face thereof is made of said light-transmitting material that can transmit light having the wavelength capable of setting said adhesive.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
93 words
A coupling structure according to claim 1, wherein said waveguide device has said waveguide substrate and a waveguide covering member that covers a surface of said waveguide substrate on which said optical waveguides are formed, and said waveguide covering member has an end face opposing said end face of said fiber arranging connector through said adhesive, and at least part of said waveguide covering member in at least the vicinity of said end face thereof is made of said light-transmitting material that can transmit light having a wavelength capable of setting said adhesive.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
45 words
A coupling structure according to claim 9, wherein said light-transmitting material is constituted as part of said end face of said waveguide covering member opposing said end face of said optical fiber arranging connector to have a sectional area of not less than 1.0 mm².
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
29 words
A coupling structure according to claim 1, wherein said first member is a fiber arranging substrate having a surface on which arranging grooves for said optical fibers are formed.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
A coupling structure according to claim 11, wherein said fiber arranging substrate is made of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient of less than 1 x 10⁻⁵ [/K].
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
A coupling structure according to claim 12, wherein said fiber arranging substrate is made of silicon, and the arranging grooves are formed by mechanical processing or anisotropic etching.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
29 words
A coupling structure according to claim 12, wherein said fiber arranging substrate is made of a ceramic material, and the arranging grooves are formed during sintering said ceramic material.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
29 words
A coupling structure according to claim 12, wherein said fiber arranging substrate is made of a plastic material, and the arranging grooves are formed during molding said plastic material.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
18 words
A coupling structure according to claim 15, wherein said plastic material is a phenol resin containing a filler.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
88 words
A coupling structure according to claim 1, wherein said second member is a fiber fixing member, adhered to said fiber arranging substrate, for fixing said optical fibers in said arranging grooves, and said end face of said fiber fixing member opposes said end face of said waveguide device through said adhesive, and at least part of said fiber fixing member in at least the vicinity of said end face thereof is made of said light-transmitting material that can transmit light having a wavelength capable of setting said adhesive.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
21 words
A coupling structure according to claim 1, wherein said first and second members are integrally formed by molding a plastic material.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
56 words
A coupling structure according to claim 1, wherein one end face of said waveguide device opposes an end face of a first optical fiber arranging connector as an optical input portion, and the other end face of said waveguide device opposes an end face of a second optical fiber arranging connector as an optical output portion.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
JPS5657803A
Cited
US4639074A
Cited
JPH02253206A
Cited
JPH03179406A
Cited
JPH04212113A
Cited
EP0541820A1
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.