Apparatus and method for active alignment of optical components

Abstract

The invention provides an apparatus and method for the active alignment and coupling of separate optical components consisting of a light-emitting component and a light-receiving component. It comprises first alignment means having a relatively lower optical resolving power stage that is adapted to perform coarse alignment of the light-emitting component to locate an approximate location of its point of highest intensity, and second alignment means having a relatively higher optical resolving power stage that is adapted to perform fine alignment of the light-emitting component to locate a more precise location of the said point of highest intensity. Accordingly, coarse alignment may be performed using a multi-mode fiber and fine alignment may be performed using a single-mode fiber that may further be coupled to the light-emitting component.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.