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US 6,787,812 B2Granted
Active optical device
AssigneeZarlink Semiconductor Inc.
InventorJan Isaksson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method is disclosed for making an active optical device for coupling to optical fibers. Arrays of contacts are formed on the rear face of a substrate, which is preferably transparent, at precisely defined locations. Components are then flip-chip bonded onto the substrate using a solder alignment technique to attach the components to said substrate in precisely predetermined locations determined by the arrays of contacts. At least one of the components is a light emitter or receiver so that it can be optically coupled through the transparent substrate to an external light guide on the front face of the substrate. Preferably, a guide frame for positioning guide pins is bonded to the substrate also using a solder alignment technique.
Claims19
A method of making an active optical device for coupling to an external light guide, comprising the steps of:
- providing a substrate with a light path therethrough and having a front face and a rear face;
- said component having a face presenting an array of contacts, said components including at least one actives optical component selected from the group consisting of a light emitter and light receiver;
- forming a plurality of arrays of contacts on the rear face of said transparent substrate at precisely defined locations corresponding to an intended location of the contacts of each component;
- forming arrays of positioning pads on said rear face of said transparent substrate at precisely defined locations relative to said plurality of arrays of contacts;
- providing a guide frame for locating the external light guide and having guide frame pads precisely matching said arrays of positioning pads;
- attaching said guide frame to said rear face of said substrate in a precise location determined by said positioning pads by soldering said guide frame pads to said arrays of positioning pads and floating said guide frame into place on molten solder;
- and
- flip-chip bonding said components onto said substrate in precisely predetermined locations determined by said arrays of contacts by floating said components into said precisely determined locations on molten solder;
- and
- wherein said at least one optical component is oriented so that it can be optically coupled through said substrate to the external light guide.
7 more elements
A method of making an active optical device for coupling to optical fibers, comprising the steps of:
- providing a transparent substrate having a front face and a rear face;
- providing a plurality of active components for attachment to the rear face of said substrate, each said active component having face presenting an array of contacts, said components including at least one optical component selected from the group consisting of a light emitter and light receiver;
- forming a plurality of arrays of solder bumps on the rear face of said transparent substrate at precisely defined locations corresponding to an intended location of the contacts of each component;
- providing a guide frame having at least one array of shaped pads;
- forming at least one array of solder pads on the rear face of said substrate at precise locations for locating a guide frame, said solder pads being matched to said shaped pads of said guide frame.
- flip-chip bonding said components onto the rear face of said substrate using a solder alignment technique to attach said components to said substrate in precisely predetermined locations determined by said arrays of solder bumps;
- said at least one optical component being oriented so that it can be optically coupled through said transparent substrate to an external light guide on the front face thereof;
- and
- bonding said guide frame to said substrate using a solder alignment technique to locate said guide frame in a precise position by aligning said shaped pads with said solder pads, said guide frame including indicia marking the location of guide pins for said external light guide.
6 more elements
A method of making an active optical device for coupling to an external light guide, comprising the steps of:
- providing a substrate with a light path therethrough and having a front face and a rear face;
- providing a plurality of components for attachment to the rear face of said substrate, each said component having a face presenting an array of contacts, said components including at least one active optical component selected from the group consisting of a light emitter and light receiver;
- forming a plurality of arrays of contacts on the rear face of said transparent substrate at precisely defined locations corresponding to an intended location of the contacts of each component;
- flip-chip boding said components onto said substrate using a solder alignment technique to attach said components to said substrate in precisely predetermined location determined by said arrays of contacts, said at least one optical component being oriented so that it can by optically coupled through said substrate to the external light guide;
- forming arrays of positioning pads on said rear surface of said transparent substrate at precisely defined locations relative to said plurality of array of contacts;
- providing a guide frame for locating the external light guide and having guide frame pads precisely matching said arrays of positioning pads;
- attaching said guide frame to said rear face of said substrate in a precise location determined by said positioning pads by soldering said guide frame pads to said arrays of positioning pads and floating said frame into place on molten solder;
- bonding a heat sink on said substrate over said components and said guide frame, said heat sink including on a front side thereof facing the rear face of said substrate protruding guide pins for aligning said substrate with said external light guide, said guide pins being aligned with the aid of said guide frame;
- and
- wherein said guide frame contains holes located to permit said guide pins to pass through, said holes being located in wing portions of said guide frame extending beyond side edges of said substrate.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.