Optical device, optical connector assembly, and optical connecting method
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsShigeru Nakagawa, Hidetoshi Numata, Yoichi Taira
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An optical device includes a substrate including a waveguide array formed therein, each waveguide having a reflective surface; a lens array unit including a waveguide-side lens array arranged facing the waveguide array so each lens of the lens array is aligned with the corresponding reflective surface; and a connector unit including an optical transmission path-side lens array arranged and fixed so each lens of the lens array is aligned with the corresponding lens in the waveguide-side lens array, the plurality of inserted optical transmission paths aligned with the corresponding lens in the optical transmission path-side lens array.
Claims14
An optical device, comprising:
- a substrate including a waveguide array formed therein, each waveguide having a reflective surface;
- a lens array unit including a waveguide-side lens array arranged facing the waveguide array so each lens of the lens array is aligned with the corresponding reflective surface;
- and
- a connector unit including an optical transmission path-side lens array arranged and fixed so each lens of the lens array is aligned with the corresponding lens in the waveguide-side lens array, the plurality of inserted optical transmission paths aligned with the corresponding lens in the optical transmission path-side lens array;
- wherein the substrate and lens array unit each include a substrate-side portion and lens array-side portion constituting an alignment mechanism aligning the waveguide-side lens array, each lens of the waveguide-side lens array being aligned with the corresponding reflective surface by the alignment mechanism;
- and
- wherein the substrate-side portion is formed using a core material of the waveguides.
An optical connector assembly, comprising:
- a lens array unit including a waveguide-side lens array arranged facing a waveguide array on a substrate, each waveguide having a reflective surface, so each lens of the lens array is aligned with the corresponding reflective surface;
- and
- a connector unit including an optical transmission path-side lens array arranged and fixed so each lens of the lens array is aligned with the corresponding lens in the waveguide-side lens array, and the plurality of inserted optical transmission paths are aligned with the corresponding lens in the optical transmission path-side lens array;
- the lens array unit having a lens array-side portion in the bottom surface aligned with respect to the substrate and including an alignment mechanism for aligning each lens of the waveguide-side lens array with the corresponding reflective surface;
- wherein
- the substrate and lens array unit each include a substrate-side portion and lens array-side portion constituting an alignment mechanism aligning the waveguide-side lens array, each lens of the waveguide-side lens array being aligned with the corresponding reflective surface by the alignment mechanism;
- and
- the substrate-side portion is formed using a core material of the waveguides.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.