Apparatus and process for welding a fiber optic cable

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to a fiber optic module and a method for making the module.

#2. Background Information

#FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an embodiment of a fiber module of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the fiber module;

#FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing a clip and a fiber optic cable of the module;

#Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference numbers, FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a fiber module 10 of the present invention. The module 10 may include a plurality of electrical leads 12 that extend from a package housing 14. The leads 12 are typically bent into a gull-wing configuration and soldered to a printed circuit board assembly 16. The package housing 14 may include a number of flanges 18 which have openings 20 that allow the module 10 to be mounted to the printed circuit board assembly 16 with fasteners (not shown) such as screws. The printed circuit board assembly 16 typically contains driver amplifiers and other electronic circuits that are connected to the module 10.

#The module 10 may include an optical subassembly 22 that is mounted to a cooling element 24. The cooling element 24 may be mounted to a base surface 26 of the package housing 14. The cooling element 24 may be an electronic device such as a Peltier element which removes heat generated by the optical subassembly 22. The cooling element 24 may have leads 27 that are connected to electrical bond pads 28 of the package housing 14. By way of example, the housing 14 may be constructed from ceramic material with a co-fired process commonly used to construct integrated circuit packages.

#As shown in FIG. 2, The optical subassembly 22 may include a laser diode 30 that emits a beam of light (not shown). The laser diode 30 may be mounted to a diode substrate 32 which is attached to a circuit platform 34. The platform 34 may be connected to the bond pads 28 of the package housing 14 with bond wires, TAB tape or other means of interconnection known in the art.