| 摘要 |
A method of attaching and aligning optical fibers to integrated optical waveguide circuits of different modules is disclosed. In accordance with the method, a layout of a certain number of parallel grooves along with a number of markers, with standard distances from each other, first are imprinted on the substrate; grooves with the desired depth are then fabricated by the suitable means and fibers are embedded and affixed by the suitable adhesive in the in end-to-end grooves, fabricated in a substrate, and annealed thereafter. In one preferred embodiment, the embedded fibers are buried in the grooves such that the outer surface of the fiber is slightly below the surface of the substrate. At least one strip from the at least one side of the substrate with embedded fiber therein protruding loosely beyond the edge of the strip is cut and the end face is polished for later re-attachment. The remaining area, with embedded fiber therein, is called the "Integrated Optical Board," (IOB). The area(s) allocated for the optical waveguide circuits on the IOB is carved out and polished at the same time with a dicing saw such that the cut surfaces of the formed input/output fibers are fully exposed. The created hollow space is next filled with layer or layers of a desired material to form the lower cladding and core area for the waveguide circuit. The surface level and thickness of the said layers will match the cladding and core section of the embedded fiber. Next is to imprint or fabricate the replicate of the integrated optical waveguide patterns on the formed new substrates in the carved areas with an associated method of fabricating waveguide on that particular material. If necessary, waveguides are fabricated using direct lithography to achieve high quality waveguides with perfect alignment of waveguides with embedded fibers by means of the said markers. The said cut at least one strip of the substrate, called connector, then will be re-attached to the said Integrated Optical Board to achieve a complete attachment of the loose fibers to the board. The method offers a precise alignment and connection of the outside world optical fibers with respect to the optical waveguide without using an expensive aligning device. The method also provide a solution for integration of fiber based devices with planar waveguides. Furthermore, it provide a method of interconnecting different integrated optic circuits made of different materials.
|
