Method of manufacturing an article comprising an opto-electronic device

Claim 1

Method of making an article that comprises an opto-electronic device comprising a semiconductor body and means for making electrical contact to the semiconductor body, the semiconductor body having a surface comprising an essentially planar first region, associated with the first region being a z-direction that is normal to the first region and an x-y plane that is normal to the z-direction; the method comprising a) providing and electrically contacting the semiconductor body; b) providing a length of optical fiber, the fiber having a proximal end; c) adjusting the relative position of the semiconductor body and the optical fiber such that the proximal end of the optical fiber is spaced from, and facing, the first region, with at least the proximal end of the fiber being essentially parallel to the z-direction, and such that the proximal end of the optical fiber is spaced a specified distance Δz from the first region; and d) carrying out one or more steps towards completion of the article; CHARACTERIZED IN THAT step c) comprises i) providing a test radiation source and causing test radiation from said source to be transmitted, through an optical fiber transmission path that comprises said optical fiber and optical fiber splitter means, to the proximal end of the optical fiber and therefrom to said first region, with at least a portion of the test radiation being reflected from the device, being coupled into the proximal end of the optical fiber and returning to said splitter means, with at least part of the returning test radiation being transmitted from the splitter means to power-responsive means for providing an output that is substantially proportional to the test radiation power received by said power-responsive means; ii) providing means for comparing said output, or a quantity derived therefrom (collectively the "measurement value"), to a specified set-point value, causing said means to compare said measurement value and said set-point value and, if said comparison indicates the existence of a difference between said measurement value and said set-point value, iii) adjusting the distance of the proximal fiber end relative to the first region such as to reduce the difference between the measurement value and the set-point value.