WO2019031563A1

WO2019031563A1 - Method for manufacturing optical module

Info

Publication number: WO2019031563A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/029839
Authority: WO
Inventors: 剛大場; 誠二及川; 佐藤　修; 幹也山中
Original assignee: Ａｇｃ株式会社
Priority date: 2017-08-08
Filing date: 2018-08-08
Publication date: 2019-02-14

Abstract

This method for manufacturing an optical module has: a step for preparing an optically transparent substrate that comprises a protrusion on at least one surface, and an optically transparent spacer that comprises a recess; a step for mounting the substrate on the spacer from the one-surface side while the protrusion is accommodated in the recess; a step for laminating an optical member on the other surface of the substrate via an ultraviolet-ray-curable adhesive; and a step for radiating ultraviolet light from the outer side of the spacer, thereby curing the adhesive using the ultraviolet light that has passed through the spacer and the substrate and integrating the substrate and the optical member.

Description

Optical module manufacturing method

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an optical module.

The lens array used for the optical system of a liquid crystal projector etc. press-molds the softened glass using a mold in which the shape of the lens array is inscribed in a matrix, or sticks the lens on a flat glass substrate It is obtained by doing.

The lens array may be further integrated with other optical members when assembled into an optical instrument. At that time, it is necessary to take care not to damage a protrusion (lens) which is important as an optical component. For this reason, there has been proposed a method of protecting the projection by elastically deforming a flexible elastic member such as foamed polyurethane along the uneven shape of the wafer (see Patent Document 1).

JP, 2010-118584, A

Here, in the lens array, the lens, which is a projection, is the most important part as an optical element, and if there are scratches and dirt, it can not be treated as a product. When the method described in Patent Document 1 is applied to a lens array, although the above-described protrusions are protected, there is contact with other members, so a process of cleaning and inspection for removing foreign matter adhering to the surface And the impact on the manufacturing cost of the product is a concern.

The present invention has been made under such a background, and an object thereof is to provide a method of manufacturing an optical module which can be manufactured with high productivity while avoiding the generation of scratches and stains on a protrusion.

The method for manufacturing an optical module according to the present invention comprises the steps of preparing a translucent substrate having a convex portion on at least one surface, a translucent spacer having a concave portion, and the convex portion. Placing the substrate on the spacer from the one side while being accommodated in the recess, laminating an optical member on the other side of the substrate via an ultraviolet curing adhesive, and Irradiating the ultraviolet light from the outside of the spacer to cure the adhesive with the ultraviolet light transmitted through the spacer and the substrate, and integrating the substrate and the optical member.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method of manufacturing an optical module that can be manufactured with high productivity while avoiding the occurrence of scratches and dirt on the protrusions.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the step of preparing a substrate and a spacer in the method of manufacturing an optical module according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a step of placing the substrate of FIG. 1A on a spacer. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of laminating an optical member on the substrate of FIG. 1B. Sectional drawing which shows the process of unifying the board | substrate and optical member of FIG. 1C. Sectional drawing which shows the process of measuring the dimension of the optical module obtained through the integration process of FIG. 1D. Sectional drawing which shows the process of preparing a board | substrate and a spacer in the manufacturing method of the optical module concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a step of placing the substrate of FIG. 2A on a spacer. Sectional drawing which shows the process of laminating | stacking an optical member on the board | substrate of FIG. 2B. Sectional drawing which shows the process of unifying the board | substrate and optical member of FIG. 2C. In the manufacturing method of the optical module concerning the 3rd embodiment of the present invention, a sectional view showing the process of preparing the optical module and the optical unit which were obtained by integrating shown in FIG. 2D. Sectional drawing which shows the process of laminating | stacking the optical module and optical unit of FIG. 3A. Sectional drawing which shows the process of integrating the optical module and optical unit of FIG. 3B.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.
First Embodiment
A method of manufacturing the optical module of the present embodiment will be described based on FIGS. 1A to 1E. As shown in FIG. 1A, first, the method of manufacturing an optical module according to the present embodiment includes a preparing step, a mounting step, a laminating step, an integrating step, and a measuring step.

In the preparation step, as shown in FIG. 1A, a substrate (base material) 1 and a spacer 2 are prepared. The substrate 1 has translucency, and as shown in FIG. 1A, is provided with a plurality of convex portions 1c as a lens on one surface 1a. The other surface 1b of the substrate 1 is formed flat. The substrate 1 has an array structure in which a plurality of convex portions 1c are arranged in a lattice along the planar direction.

Between the convex portions 1 c on the substrate 1 is a thin portion 1 d where the thickness of the substrate 1 is the thinnest. The surface of the thin portion 1d is formed flat. As a material of the substrate 1, for example, a non-alkali glass such as alkali glass or borosilicate glass, a glass material such as quartz glass may be used, or a light-transmitting resin material or the like can be selected.

On the other hand, the spacer 2 is a light transmitting plate-like member, and as shown in FIG. 1A, is provided with a plurality of concave portions 2 a as through holes at positions corresponding to the convex portions 1 c of the substrate 1. The recesses 2 a of the spacer 2 are arranged at a pitch corresponding to the protrusions 1 c of the substrate 1. When the substrate 1 and the spacer 2 are superimposed, the convex portions 1 c of the substrate 1 are accommodated (inserted) in the concave portions 2 a of the spacer 2. Under the present circumstances, since each convex part 1c of the board | substrate 1 and the spacer 2 main body do not contact, it is avoidable that a convex part (lens which is a projection part) 1c has a flaw and dirt.

Here, the spacer 2 has translucency in which the transmittance of light with a wavelength of 365 nm is 80% or more, and can transmit ultraviolet light. Since the light quantity of the ultraviolet light which permeate | transmits the spacer 2 decreases that the transmittance | permeability of the light of wavelength 365 nm of the spacer 2 is less than 80%, since hardening of the ultraviolet curable adhesive 7 mentioned later takes time, it is unpreferable . The spacer 2 is made of quartz glass, borosilicate glass, or the like.
The spacer 2 preferably has a flatness of 10 μm or less as defined in JIS B 0021 (1998), or a parallelism of 10 μm or less as defined in JIS B 0021 (1998). Thereby, the optical module 8 in which warpage and distortion are suppressed can be obtained. If the flatness and parallelism of the spacer 2 are out of the above-mentioned range, the optical module 8 may be warped or the like, which is not preferable.

As shown in FIG. 1B, in the mounting step, first, the spacer 2 is set (mounted) on the stage (base) 3. The stage 3 may be made of a light transmitting material that transmits light (ultraviolet light), or the light is guided to allow light (ultraviolet light) to pass through the inside of the stage 3 main body. A light hole or the like may be perforated. Moreover, a mirror etc. may be arrange | positioned suitably on the path | route of a light guide hole. Further, in the mounting step, the substrate 1 is placed on the spacer 2 from the one surface 1 a side while the respective convex portions 1 c of the substrate 1 are accommodated (inserted) in the respective concave portions 2 a of the spacer 2. Do.

Further, in the mounting step, the inside of the recess 2 a of the spacer 2 may be depressurized through a depressurizing pump or the like during the execution of the step. As a result, the substrate 1 (thin portion 1 d of the substrate 1) is placed in close contact with the spacer 2 (the flatness and the parallelism are high) in which the flatness is enhanced. The inclination of the substrate 1 or the like is suppressed.

As shown in FIG. 1C, in the step of laminating, the optical member 5 is laminated on the other surface 1b of the substrate 1 via the ultraviolet curing adhesive 7. The optical member 5 is, for example, an optical member paired with the substrate 1. One array structure is configured by combining the substrate 1 as one optical member and the other optical member 5.

That is, the optical member 5 has translucency and has a structure symmetrical to the substrate 1. The optical member 5 is provided with the several convex part 5a as a lens in one surface. Further, the other surface of the optical member 5 is formed flat. The plurality of convex portions 5 a of the optical member 5 are arranged at positions corresponding to the convex portions 1 c of the substrate 1 (with a corresponding pitch).

As shown in FIG. 1C, the flat other surface of the optical member 5 and the flat other surface 1 b of the substrate 1 are laminated to each other through the adhesive 7. The plurality of convex portions 5 a of the optical member 5 and the plurality of convex portions 1 c of the substrate 1 are disposed at the same position when the substrate 1 is viewed from the plane direction. The convex portion 5 a of the optical member 5 and the convex portion 1 c of the substrate 1 constitute one convex lens. In order to avoid the position of such lens constituent parts (convex part 1c and convex part 5a), the above-mentioned adhesive 7 comprises the thin part of the substrate 1 and the thin part of the optical member 5 having the thinnest thickness. Intervene in between.

In FIG. 1C to FIG. 1E, in order to make it easy to grasp the contents in each step, the adhesive 7 (7a) is illustrated thick, and a relatively large gap is illustrated between the substrate 1 and the optical member 5. In practice, however, the substrate 1 and the optical member 5 are stacked in close contact with each other.

As shown in FIG. 1D, in the integration step, the ultraviolet light transmitted from the spacer 2 and the substrate 1 by irradiating ultraviolet light (ultraviolet light) from the outside (the stage 3 side) of the spacer 2 using the ultraviolet light source 9 The ultraviolet curing adhesive 7 is cured by light, and the substrate 1 and the optical member 5 are integrated via the cured adhesive 7a.

As shown in FIG. 1E, in the measurement step, the dimension S as the optical module 8 in a state in which the optical member 5 is laminated on the substrate 1 is measured. As the dimension S to be measured, the thickness (total thickness of the convex portion 1c and the convex portion 5a) of the convex lens portion (convex portion 1c and convex portion 5a) of the optical module 8, the curvature of the convex lens portion, the substrate 1 and the optical member 5 The total thickness of the thin-walled portion of

For example, for the optical module (wafer level lens array) 8 that has become non-defective after passing through the process of measurement, the thin portion 1 d of the substrate 1 and the thin portion of the optical member 5 are appropriately cut to form the substrate 1 and the optical member 5. By dividing the portion including the convex portion 1c and the convex portion 5a, a plurality of optical elements having convex lenses (convex portion 1c and convex portion 5a) can be obtained. This optical element is applied as, for example, a mirror, a prism, a filter or the like.

As described above, according to the method of manufacturing an optical module according to the present embodiment, the optical module 8 can be manufactured with high productivity while avoiding that the convex lens portion (convex portion 1c) which is the projection portion is scratched or stained. It becomes possible to manufacture. Moreover, according to this manufacturing method, since the ultraviolet curing adhesive is applied to, for example, bond the glass substrate 1 and the optical member 5 to each other, compared with the case of applying the thermosetting adhesive etc. It is possible to suppress the formation of a film of an impurity (such as iron) on the surface of the lens portion due to a thermal factor and the like, thereby making it possible to suppress the occurrence of surface reflection and the like on the lens portion.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described based on FIGS. 2A to 2D. In FIGS. 2A to 2D, the same components as the components in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A to 1E are given the same reference numerals, and the redundant description will be omitted.

In the method of manufacturing an optical module according to this embodiment, a substrate 21 and an optical member 25 are applied in place of the substrate 1 and the optical member 5 used as components in the first embodiment. That is, in the preparing step, as shown in FIG. 2A, the spacer 2 and the substrate (base material) 21 are prepared. The substrate 21 has translucency, and as shown in FIG. 2A, is provided with a plurality of convex portions 21c as lenses on one surface 21a. Further, a plurality of convex portions 21 e as lenses are provided on the other surface 21 b.

The plurality of convex portions 21c on the side of the surface 21a of the substrate 21 and the plurality of convex portions 21e on the side of the other surface 21b are respectively arranged at the same position when the substrate 21 is viewed from the plane direction. The

convex portions

21c and 21e at the same position constitute one convex lens. The substrate 21 has an array structure in which a plurality of

convex portions

21c and 21e are arranged in a lattice along the planar direction.

A space between the protrusions 21c (or the protrusions 21e) in the planar direction of the substrate 21 is a thin-walled portion 21d having the smallest plate thickness in the substrate 21. The surface of the thin portion 21d is formed flat. As the material of the substrate 21, those exemplified as the material of the substrate 1 are applied. As shown in FIG. 2B, in the mounting step, with the pressure in the recess 2a of the spacer 2 being reduced, each protrusion 21c of the substrate 21 is accommodated in each recess 2a of the spacer 2 while the substrate 21 is one of them. It mounts on the spacer 2 from the surface 21a side.

As shown in FIG. 2C, in the laminating step, the optical member 25 is laminated on the other surface 21b side of the thin portion 21d of the substrate 21 via the ultraviolet-curable adhesive 27. The optical member 25 includes, for example, a plurality of concave portions (through holes) 25 a as light guiding paths, for example, at positions facing the plurality of convex portions 21 e on the substrate 21. As shown in FIG. 2D, in the integration step, ultraviolet light is irradiated from the outside of the spacer 2 to cure the ultraviolet curing adhesive 27 with the ultraviolet light transmitted through the spacer 2 and the substrate 21. The substrate 21 and the optical member 25 are integrated through the adhesive 27a thus obtained to obtain an optical module 28.

As described above, also in the method of manufacturing the optical module according to the present embodiment, the production of the optical module 28 is performed while avoiding that the convex lens portion (mainly the convex portion 21c) which is the projection of the substrate 21 is scratched or soiled. Can be enhanced.

Third Embodiment
Next, a third embodiment will be described based on FIGS. 3A to 3C. In FIGS. 3A to 3C, the same components as those in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 2A to 2D will be assigned the same reference numerals and overlapping explanations will be omitted.

In the optical module manufacturing method of the present embodiment, in addition to the steps included in the optical module manufacturing method according to the second embodiment, a second preparing step, a second laminating step, and a second integration And the step of That is, in the second preparation step, as shown in FIG. 3A, the optical unit 33 and the optical module 28 and the stage 3 illustrated in FIG. 2D are prepared.

The optical unit 33 includes a substrate 31 and an optical member 35. The substrate 31 has the same configuration as the substrate 21 of the second embodiment. Specifically, the substrate 31 has translucency, and as shown in FIG. 3A, is provided with a plurality of convex portions 31c as lenses on one surface 31a. Further, a plurality of convex portions 31e as a lens are provided on the other surface 31b.

The plurality of convex portions 31c on the side of the surface 31a of the substrate 31 and the plurality of convex portions 31e on the side of the other surface 31b are respectively arranged at the same position when the substrate 31 is viewed from the plane direction. The

convex portions

31c and 31e located at the same position constitute one convex lens. The substrate 31 has an array structure in which a plurality of

convex portions

31 c and 31 e are arranged in a lattice along the planar direction.

Between the convex portions 31 c (or the convex portions 31 e) in the planar direction of the substrate 31 is a thin portion 31 d having the smallest plate thickness in the substrate 31. The surface of the thin portion 31d is formed flat. As the material of the substrate 31, those exemplified as the material of the substrate 1 are applied. On the other hand, the optical member 35 includes, for example, a plurality of concave portions (through holes) 35a as light guiding paths at positions respectively facing the plurality of convex portions 31e on the substrate 31. That is, in the optical unit 33, the optical member 35 and the substrate 31 are bonded to each other in a state in which the plurality of convex portions 31e are accommodated (inserted) in the plurality of concave portions 35a.

As shown in FIG. 3B, in the second laminating step, the upper surface side of the optical module 28 (the other surface of the upper side of the optical member 25) is exposed to the light via the UV-curable adhesive 37. The unit 33 (thin portion 31d of the substrate 31) is stacked. As shown in FIG. 3C, in the second integration step, ultraviolet light is irradiated from the outside of the spacer 2 to cure the ultraviolet-curable adhesive 37 with ultraviolet light transmitted through the spacer 2 and the optical module 28. The optical module 28 and the optical unit 33 are integrated through the cured adhesive 37a to obtain an optical module 38.

As described above, according to the method of manufacturing an optical module according to the present embodiment, it is avoided that the convex lens portion (mainly the convex portion 31c) which is the projection portion of the optical unit 33 (substrate 31) is scratched or stained. At the same time, the production efficiency of the optical module 38 can be improved.

As mentioned above, although this invention was concretely explained with the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments as it is, and can be variously changed in the execution stage in the range which does not deviate from the gist. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment, and a plurality of components disclosed in the above embodiment may be combined as appropriate.

1, 21, 31 ... substrate, 1a, 21a, 31a ... one surface, 1b, 21b, 31b ... the other surface, 1c, 5a, 21c, 21e, 31c, 31e ... projection, 1d, 21d, 31d ... thin wall Part 2:

Spacer

2a, 35a: recessed part 5, 25, 35:

optical member

7, 27, 37: adhesive before curing, 7a, 27a, 37a: adhesive after curing 8, 28, 38 ... optical module, 9 ... ultraviolet light source, 33 ... optical unit.

Claims

Preparing a translucent substrate having a convex portion on at least one surface, and a translucent spacer having a concave portion;
Placing the substrate on the spacer from the one side while accommodating the protrusion in the recess;
Laminating an optical member to the other surface of the substrate via an ultraviolet curing adhesive;
Irradiating the ultraviolet light from the outside of the spacer to cure the adhesive with the ultraviolet light transmitted through the spacer and the substrate to integrate the substrate and the optical member;
A method of manufacturing an optical module having:
The convex portion of the substrate is a lens,
A method of manufacturing an optical module according to claim 1.
The spacer has a light transmittance of 80% or more at a wavelength of 365 nm.
A method of manufacturing an optical module according to claim 1.
The spacer has a flatness of 10 μm or less and / or a parallelism of 10 μm or less.
The manufacturing method of the optical module of any one of Claim 1 to 3.
The recess of the spacer is a through hole,
The manufacturing method of the optical module of any one of Claim 1 to 4.
In the placing step, the pressure in the recess of the spacer is reduced.
The manufacturing method of the optical module of any one of Claim 1 to 5.
The method further includes the step of measuring the dimensions as an optical module in a state in which the optical member is stacked on the substrate.
The manufacturing method of the optical module of any one of Claim 1 to 6.
In the laminating step, the adhesive is interposed between the thinnest portion of the substrate and the optical member.
The manufacturing method of the optical module of any one of Claim 1-7.