KR20090119185A - Flat optical waveguide for triplexer and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a planar optical waveguide for a triplexer and a method of manufacturing the same, without coating or inserting a separate filter by coating a band-pass filter for selecting and transmitting only an optical signal of a specific wavelength on the cross section of the flat optical waveguide. A flat plate optical waveguide for transmitting light of a desired wavelength can be produced.

Description

Triplexer planar lightwave circuit and its manufacture method

The present invention is a flat panel type triplexer for the optical waveguide of 1310nm, 1490nm and 1550nm to select the optical signal of the wavelength of 1310nm, 1490nm and 1550nm on the cross section of the plate type optical waveguide to transmit only the optical signal of the desired wavelength without the filter attached separately. An optical waveguide and a method of manufacturing the same.

Nowadays bidirectional triplexers, which add additional wavelength channels to the two wavelengths of a conventional bidi-diplexer, that is, bidirectional multi-wavelength optical transceivers using a total of three wavelengths are used. do.

For example, when the bidirectional triplexer is used, the downlink digital signal from the telephone station to the home uses 1490 nm light wavelength, the uplink digital signal from the home station to the telephone station uses 1310 nm light wavelength, and the CATV down analog signal from the telephone station to the home uses 1550 nm light wavelength. . Furthermore, the use of the fourth wavelength of 1610 nm is additionally considered to expand the communication capacity.

As the number of wavelengths of light used increases, the number of optical parts used increases, resulting in an optical precision problem between the parts. For reference, the core of the optical fiber is 10 μm, and in order to insert light into the core, a process of relative alignment and fixing of the optical fiber and the transmission / reception optical module components with a precision of 1 μm or more is required.

In the case of the bidirectional triplex optical transceiver using a general optical method, at least 50 components are required to assemble one optical transceiver, and the process of assembling each component is costly and time-consuming. Occurs.

1A is a structural diagram of a bidirectional triplexer optical transceiver using a conventional general optical method. The bidirectional triplexer optical transceiver is a thiocan (TO-CAN; Transistor Outline CAN) 110 and 120 in which photons and a lens are assembled. 130, the mirrors 150 including the lenses 110a, 120a, 130a and 140, and the optical thin film filters.

The thiocan 130 has a lens 130a, a monitor optical receiver 130b and a semiconductor laser 130c preassembled, and the thiocans 110 and 120 are optical receivers 110b and 120b and lenses, respectively. 110a and 120a are assembled in advance, and lenses 110a, 120a, 130a and 140 for generating parallel light are attached to the optical fiber terminal 100 and the respective thiocandles 110, 120 and 130.

The operation principle of the bi-directional triplexer is that light of 1550 nm wavelength and 1490 nm wavelength coming from the optical fiber 100 passes through the mirrors 150 in free space, and is separated into respective optical wavelengths, and then optical receivers 110b and 120b. 1310nm wavelength of light transmitted from the optical transmitter is passed through the two mirrors 150 to the optical fiber 100.

Further, mirrors 150 including blocking optical thin film filters to reflect light other than the corresponding wavelengths are further disposed in front of the optical receiver having a wavelength of 1550 nm and a wavelength of 1490 nm.

However, when the bidirectional triplex optical transceiver is manufactured by the optical method, a problem of complicated optical alignment occurs.

In order to solve this problem, a method of using a flat panel optical circuit instead of using a plurality of individual components has been disclosed. The bidirectional triplex optical transceiver using the method minimizes optical alignment between components and provides an optical thin film filter, optical Each component such as a transmitter and an optical receiver was integrated and used.

Accordingly, since the optical waveguide makes optical connections between the components, the degree of freedom in optical alignment is greatly reduced, and the number of components is also reduced.

1B is a structural diagram of a bidirectional triplexer type optical transceiver using a conventional optical waveguide technique, and is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 10-142459.

Referring to FIG. 1B, when the light incident from the optical fiber 100 is input through the input port 180, the light enters the optical thin film filters 152 inserted into the groove 170 through the optical waveguide 190. Passes or reflects according to the wavelength to separate or synthesize the light wavelength.

The 1310 nm light wavelength transmitted from the optical transmitter 162 is reflected by the optical thin film filter 152 to be sent to the optical fiber 100, and the 1490 nm light wavelength from the 1490 nm and 1550 nm light wavelengths coming from the optical fiber 100 is two optical thin film filters. Passed through 152 and sent to the optical receiver 160, 1550nm light wavelength is reflected by the optical thin film filter 152 is sent to the optical fiber 100, and the optical receiver is attached to the end of the optical fiber 100 to be used.

The above method requires a thin optical thin film filter 152 having a thickness of 0.1 to 0.01 mm to be inserted into the groove 170, and forms a small groove 170 in the optical waveguide 190 substrate, and the groove 170 The process of inserting the optical thin film filter 152 to be performed.

The optical thin film filter 152 is generally made by coating the optical thin film filter 152 on a glass substrate and then separating the filter film from the glass substrate and cutting it to an appropriate size. This process requires a separate operation for each device, which is an improvement over general optical methods before using optical waveguide technology, but still has problems in mass production.

On the other hand, US Patent Publication No. US 20040052467, "WAVEGUIDE ASSEMBLED FOR TRANSVERSE OF OPTICAL POWER", but the optical module according to the method similar to Figure 1b is disclosed, but this method also has a problem in the practical application to the productivity due to difficulties in the process.

That is, when manufacturing a triplex type optical waveguide that passes three specific wavelengths, a groove is formed precisely and a filter is inserted to precisely cut a specific position of the flat waveguide, or a filter is precisely attached to the end face of the flat waveguide. Difficulties arise in the process that needs to be done, and such a complicated process creates a problem of difficulty in mass production. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved process capable of mass production, avoiding an alignment process for forming a groove or attaching a filter on a flat optical waveguide requiring precision.

The present invention improves the alignment process by coating three band-pass filters corresponding to the wavelength of 1310nm, 1490nm and 1550nm respectively at the end of the planar optical waveguide to solve the problems of the prior art, improve the alignment process, the triplexer plate An object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent waveguide and a manufacturing method thereof.

In order to achieve the above object, the planar optical waveguide for the triplexer of the present invention and a method for manufacturing the same are a flat panel optical waveguide coated with a band pass filter corresponding to the wavelength of 1310 nm, 1490 nm and 1550 nm, and a laser integrated with a photodiode for monitoring. By using a diode and two photodiodes to fabricate an optical waveguide without attaching or inserting a separate filter, the manufacturing process can be simplified by reducing the manufacturing cost.

The present invention relates to a planar optical waveguide for a triplexer, comprising a planar optical waveguide formed on an upper portion of a submount and including an optical waveguide having at least one or more branching points and separating wavelength bands. It comprises a diode connected to and transmitting and receiving an optical signal, the optical waveguide and the diode is coated on the end face of the flat-type optical waveguide contacting, and comprises a band-pass filter for transmitting only the optical signal of the wavelength selected from the optical signal desirable.

In the present invention, the bandpass filter preferably transmits an optical signal having a wavelength selected from 1310 nm, 1490 nm, and 1550 nm.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the diode used when the bandpass filter transmits an optical signal having a wavelength of 1310 nm is a laser diode integrated with a photodiode.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the diode used when the bandpass filter transmits optical signals having wavelengths of 1490 nm and 1550 nm is a photodiode.

In addition, the method for manufacturing a flat optical waveguide for a triplexer of the present invention is a flat optical waveguide for a triplexer including a flat optical waveguide including an optical waveguide and a diode, the optical waveguide having at least one branch point and It is preferable to coat a band-pass filter for transmitting an optical signal of a specific wavelength to the cross section of the flat optical waveguide that the diode contacts.

According to the present invention, the bandpass filter is directly coated on the end face of the plate-type optical waveguide without attaching or inserting a separate filter to manufacture the triplexer, which eliminates the need for a separate optical component and simplifies the manufacturing process. There is a saving effect.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In adding reference numerals to components of the following drawings, it is determined that the same components have the same reference numerals as much as possible even if displayed on different drawings, and it is determined that they may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention. Detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations will be omitted.

2 is a structural diagram showing a triplexer to which a flat panel optical waveguide coated with a bandpass filter according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is applied, and includes a sub-mount 200, a flat optical waveguide 210, an optical fiber 220, and an optical fiber. A planar optical waveguide system is formed by coating band pass filters 270a, 270b, and 270c on a planar optical waveguide including a waveguide 230 and diodes 240, 250, and 260.

Referring to FIG. 2, the 1310 nm wavelength band pass filter 270a coated on the flat optical waveguide 210 blocks light signals of 1490 nm and 1550 nm wavelengths traveling from the optical fiber 220, and the laser diode 240. The 1310nm optical signal generated from) passes through and proceeds to the optical fiber 220. In this case, the laser diode 240 may be integrated with the monitor photodiode.

In addition, the optical waveguide 230 is formed inside the flat optical waveguide 210, is composed of a core and a clad, and forms at least one or more branch points to form the optical fiber 220 or the diodes 240, 250, and 260. ) Can be transmitted by separating the optical signal transmitted and received.

In the present invention, although not limited, the wavelength of the optical signal is used as three wavelengths of 1310 nm, 1490 nm, and 1550 nm, and in the future, when a signal having a larger wavelength is used in the future, by coating a branching point, a diode, and a band-pass filter of the optical fiber accordingly. The present invention can be applied and developed.

The 1490 nm wavelength band transmission filter 270b blocks an optical signal having a wavelength of 1550 nm traveling from the optical fiber 220, and allows only an optical signal having a wavelength of 1490 nm to enter the photodiode 250.

The 1550 nm wavelength band transmission filter 270c blocks an optical signal having a wavelength of 1490 nm traveling from the optical fiber 220 and allows only an optical signal having a wavelength of 1550 nm to enter the photodiode 260.

According to the present invention, in order to manufacture the triplexer including the planar optical waveguide of FIG. 2, after forming an optical waveguide including a core and a clad with a structure capable of functioning as a triplexer, integrated with a photodiode for monitoring A band-pass filter for transmitting only a wavelength of 1310 nm is coated on the end face of the planar optical waveguide contacting the laser diode. Then, a band-pass filter transmitting only a wavelength of 1490 nm is coated on a cross section of the flat optical waveguide contacted by the photodiode detecting the wavelength signal of 1490 nm, and a cross section of the flat optical waveguide contacted by the photodiode detecting the wavelength signal of 1550 nm. The band-pass filter transmits only a wavelength of 1550 nm. In addition, by installing a laser diode and a photo diode in each of the band pass filters, a flat optical waveguide system for a triplexer can be manufactured.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram illustrating a triplexer including a 1310 nm wavelength and a plate-shaped optical waveguide coated with a filter transmitting a 1490 nm or 1550 nm wavelength according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the triplexer is a sub-mount. 200, a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) 210 coated with a band pass filter, an optical fiber 220, a waveguide 230, a laser diode 240, and Two photo-receiving photo diodes 250, 260.

Referring to FIG. 3, the type of triplexer configured by the type of band pass filter coated on the plate type optical waveguide 210 is changed, and the band pass filter 270a that transmits a 1310 nm wavelength and the wavelength that transmits a 1490 nm wavelength are different. In the case of the triplexer formed by coating the band pass filter 270b on the flat optical waveguide 210, the optical signals having wavelengths of 1490 nm and 1550 nm, which are transmitted from the optical fiber 220 by the 1310 nm band pass filter 270 a, It blocks and transmits only the 1310 nm optical signal generated by the laser diode 240 to the optical fiber 220.

In addition, only an optical signal having a wavelength of 1490 nm transmitted from the optical fiber 220 may be incident on the photodiode 250 by the 1490 nm wavelength band transmission filter 270b. In addition, an optical signal having a wavelength of 1550 nm traveling from the optical fiber 220 reflected by the 1490 nm wavelength band transmission filter 207b may be incident to the photodiode 260.

In the above case, when the 1550 nm wavelength band transmission filter 270c is coated on the end face of the flat optical waveguide instead of the 1490 nm wavelength band transmission filter 270b, the optical fiber 220 is formed by the 1550 nm wavelength band transmission filter 270c. Only an optical signal having a wavelength of 1550 nm may be incident to the photodiode 260.

In addition, an optical signal having a wavelength of 1490 nm traveling from the optical fiber 220 reflected by the 1550 nm wavelength band transmission filter 270c may be incident to the photodiode 250.

To manufacture the triplexer of FIG. 3, it is similar to the method of manufacturing the planar optical waveguide system for the triplexer of FIG. 2, and after coating a band-pass filter transmitting only a wavelength of 1310 nm to the cross-section of the planar optical waveguide The triplexer of FIG. 3 may be manufactured by coating a band-pass filter selected from a band-pass filter that transmits only a wavelength of 1490 nm or a band-pass filter that transmits only a wavelength of 1550 nm to a cross section of the flat optical waveguide.

According to the present invention, by manufacturing a triplexer by coating a band-pass filter that transmits only an optical signal of a specific wavelength to the cross section of the flat waveguide without a separate process, the production process is simplified and the package process cost is reduced, thereby increasing mass production. You can make it possible.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "having" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

Those skilled in the art can change or modify the described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention, and such changes or modifications are within the scope of the present invention. In addition, the materials of each component described herein can be readily selected and coped by a variety of materials known to those skilled in the art. In addition, those skilled in the art may omit some of the components described herein without adding to the performance or add the components to improve performance. In addition, those skilled in the art may change the order of the method steps described herein according to the process environment or equipment. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be determined not by the embodiments described, but by the claims and their equivalents.

1A is a schematic diagram of a bidirectional triplexer optical transceiver using a general optical method.

1B is a structural diagram of a bidirectional triplexer type optical transceiver using conventional optical waveguide technology.

2 is a structural diagram showing a triplexer to which a flat plate optical waveguide coated with a bandpass filter according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

3 is a structural diagram illustrating a triplexer including a flat plate type optical waveguide coated with a filter transmitting a 1310 nm wavelength and a 1490 nm or 1550 nm wavelength according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

             <Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100, 220: optical fiber 110, 120, 130: thiocan

110a, 120a, 130a, 140: lens 110b, 120b, 130b, 160: optical receiver

130c semiconductor laser 150 mirror with thin film filter

152 thin film filter 162 optical transmitter

170: groove 180: input port

190, 230: Optical waveguide 200: Sub mount

210: plate type optical waveguide

240: laser diode and monitor photodiode integrated

250, 260: photodiode 270a: 1310 nm wavelength transmission filter

270b: 1490nm wavelength transmission filter 270c: 1550nm wavelength transmission filter

Claims (6)

A planar optical waveguide formed on the sub-mount and including an optical waveguide having at least one or more branching points and separating wavelength bands; A diode connected to one end of the optical waveguide for transmitting and receiving an optical signal; And And a band pass filter coated on a cross section of the flat optical waveguide in which the optical waveguide and the diode contact each other, and transmitting only an optical signal having a wavelength selected from the optical signals. The planar optical waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the bandpass filter transmits an optical signal having a wavelength selected from 1310 nm, 1490 nm, and 1550 nm. The planar optical waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the diode used when the bandpass filter transmits an optical signal having a wavelength of 1310 nm is a laser diode integrated with a photodiode. The planar optical waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the diode used when the bandpass filter transmits an optical signal having wavelengths of 1490 nm and 1550 nm is a photodiode. In the planar optical waveguide manufacturing method for a triplexer comprising a flat plate optical waveguide including an optical waveguide and a diode, A planar optical waveguide manufacturing method for a triplexer, characterized by coating a band-pass filter for transmitting an optical signal having a specific wavelength on the end face of the optical waveguide having at least one branch point and the diode in contact with the flat waveguide. The method of claim 5, wherein the band pass filter transmits an optical signal having a specific wavelength selected from 1310 nm, 1490 nm, and 1550 nm.

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