Self-aligning optical beam system
US5745631A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 26, 1996 |
| Grant date | Apr 28, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 26, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/4232
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A self-aligning optical beam system is disclosed in which optical alignment of two beam-carrying portions, such as a laser beam generated by a chip, and a light guide formed as a waveguide in a polymeric material, is precisely controlled by plug-and-socket connection between a substrate and a chip. Plugs in the form of solder bumps are formed on one surface of a laser chip, and are inserted in sockets provided in a substrate. The optical alignment is precisely controlled in three axes, two of which guarantee alignment for laser beam transmission into a waveguide, and one of which minimizes the gap across which the beam travels. A powerful waveguide division multiplexer may be provided by having numerous converging waveguides on a single substrate, and by stacking a number of substrates, all of whose waveguides feed into a single optical output channel.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.