| 摘要 |
A method and structure for the mechanical and optical coupling of a plurality of individual planar optical devices (10, 20) to one another includes aligning the devices, bonding (35, 37, 38) the substrates (12, 22) of the planar devices (10, 20) to one another and subsequently fusing (40, 42, 44, 46) aligned optical waveguides (11, 29) utilizing a heat fusion technique. The substrates (12, 22) are bonded utilizing either heat fusion for a silica substrate or by a bonding adhesive for a silicon substrate. Once the aligned substrates (12, 22) have been mechanically bonded to one another, the optical pathways (11, 29) are coupled in one embodiment by heat fusion, preferably a focused CO2 laser (30) which completes the mechanical and optical interconnection of multiple devices. It is possible with such alignment, bonding, and fusion processes to couple numerous planar optical devices (10, 20, 50) in an array which can subsequently be packaged for use in relatively complex optical networks. The resultant devices display a high level of reliability, are relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and display excellent operating characteristics.
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