Securing an optical component onto a micro bench

Abstract

A method of attaching a component onto a microbench includes laying the component in a groove in the substrate, and locally deforming a portion of the groove, to thereby hold the component in the groove. Preferably, the microbench is a silicon substrate used for MEMs-type structures in the fiber optics industry. In particular, the method is used for securing an optical fiber in a groove, DRI etched from a silicon substrate, before or after the fiber is aligned with other optical components, i.e. lenses, lasers etc. The local deformation is done using a laser welding device selected to be effective in locally melting the substrate while leaving the component relatively undamaged.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.