High coupling and low cost TO optical device

Abstract

The invention relates to a high-coupling, low-cost TO optical device, including a tube seat, a laser generator and a tube cap, wherein the tube cap is buckled on the tube seat to form a closed space, wherein the laser generator is placed in the closed space, and further comprising a lens assembly, wherein the lens assembly includes a non-spherical lens and a ring-shaped member, wherein the non-spherical lens is located in the inner ring of the ring-shaped member, and the non-spherical lens and the ring-shaped member are integrally formed together; a through hole is opened on the top surface of the tube cap, wherein the lens assembly is fixed on the top surface of the tube cap and covers the through hole, wherein the non-spherical lens is aligned with the through hole, and wherein the laser generator, the through hole and the non-spherical lens are aligned. The invention realizes the improvement of the coupling efficiency of the lens assembly by arranging the non-spherical lens in the inner ring of the ring-shaped member, and by integrally forming the non-spherical lens and the ring-shaped member, the lens assembly is directly fixed on the top surface of the tube cap during assembly, thereby realizing the improvement of assembly efficiency and the reduction of cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a high-coupling and low-cost TO optical device. Background Art

[0002] Existing TO optical devices (also called lasers) are divided into: Figure 1 The spherical TO optical device shown and Figure 2 Two types of non-spherical TO optical devices are shown.

[0003] See Figure 1 The lens of the spherical TO optical device is spherical, so it is called a spherical lens 11 in the industry. The spherical lens 11 is made of glass material and is formed by cold processing by molding. The metal cap 13 of the spherical TO optical device is made of Kovar alloy material. The glass glue 12 is sintered and solidified between the metal cap 13 and the spherical lens 11 by a high-temperature glass sintering process, thereby achieving the fixation between the metal cap 13 and the spherical lens 11. Since the high-temperature glass sintering process itself is relatively costly, the manufacturing cost of the spherical TO optical device is high.

[0004] See Figure 2 The lens of the non-spherical TO optical device is a non-spherical lens 21. The structure of the non-spherical lens 21 is Figure 1 The structure of the spherical lens 11 has the advantage of higher coupling efficiency. The material of the aspherical lens 21 is also glass material. Through molding, the metal cap 22 of the aspherical TO optical device is made of Kovar alloy. During the production process, the internal structure of the metal cap 22 needs to be processed so that the aspherical lens can be embedded and fixed in the metal cap 22. This results in high processing costs for the metal cap 22, and the cost reaches Figure 1 The metal tube cap 13 of the spherical TO optical device is more than 10 times that of the non-spherical TO optical device, which makes it impossible for the non-spherical TO optical device to achieve the optimization effect in both coupling performance and cost. Summary of the invention

[0005] The invention aims to provide a TO optical device with low cost and high coupling efficiency.

[0006] To this end, a high-coupling and low-cost TO optical device is provided, comprising a tube holder, a laser generator and a tube cap, wherein the tube cap is buckled on the tube holder to form a closed space, and the laser generator is placed in the closed space.

[0007] Also included is a lens assembly, the lens assembly includes a non-spherical lens and a ring-shaped member, the non-spherical lens is located in the inner ring of the ring-shaped member, and the non-spherical lens and the ring-shaped member are integrally formed together;

[0008] A through hole is opened on the top surface of the tube cap, the lens assembly is fixed on the top surface of the tube cap and covers the through hole, the aspheric lens is aligned with the through hole, and the laser generator, the through hole and the aspheric lens are aligned.

[0009] Optionally, the TO optical device further includes fixing glue, and the lens assembly is fixed to the top surface of the tube cap by the fixing glue.

[0010] Optionally, a glue injection groove for injecting the fixing glue is formed on the top surface of the tube cap, and when the lens assembly is assembled to the tube cap, the lens assembly does not completely cover the notch of the glue injection groove.

[0011] Optionally, the glue injection groove continuously and uninterruptedly surrounds the periphery of the through hole, and the fixing glue in the glue injection groove and at the notch seals the gap between the lens assembly and the tube cap.

[0012] Optionally, the fixing glue is specifically epoxy resin glue.

[0013] Optionally, the bottom edge of the inner ring of the annular member extends downward, thereby forming a positioning member with a hole in the center.

[0014] Optionally, the aperture of the through hole just accommodates the positioning member.

[0015] Optionally, the aspheric lens and the annular component are both made of PEI, and the aspheric lens and the annular component are integrally formed by injection molding.

[0016] Optionally, the material of the tube cap is stainless steel.

[0017] Optionally, the aspherical lens is embedded in the inner ring of the annular member and is located on the central axis of the annular member, and the central axis of the annular member coincides with the central axis of the tube cap.

[0018] Beneficial effects:

[0019] The lens assembly created by the present invention simulates the top structure of a traditional non-spherical TO optical device by arranging a non-spherical lens in the inner ring of the annular member, so that the coupling efficiency of the lens assembly reaches the range of 55-65%. By forming the non-spherical lens and the annular member together as one piece, the lens assembly is directly fixed on the top surface of the tube cap during assembly, thereby improving the assembly efficiency. Compared with the traditional glass solution, the cost can be reduced by dozens of times.

[0020] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present invention, it can be implemented according to the contents of the specification. In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present invention are listed below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are only used for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the invention. In addition, the same reference symbols are used throughout the accompanying drawings to represent the same components. In the accompanying drawings:

[0022] Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the structure of the spherical TO optical device in the prior art is shown;

[0023] Figure 2 The schematic diagram of the structure of the non-spherical TO optical device in the prior art is shown;

[0024] Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the structure of the TO optical device created by the present invention is shown;

[0025] Figure 4 The figure shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the cap of the TO optical device created by the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of a TO optical device created by the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0028] See Figure 3 The TO optical device of this embodiment is composed of a PEI lens assembly 31, a tube cap 33 and a traditional tube seat 34.

[0029] The PEI lens assembly 31 is composed of a conventional aspheric lens 311 and a peripheral annular member 312, wherein the aspheric lens 311 is embedded in the inner ring of the annular member 312 and is located on the central axis of the annular member 312, thereby simulating Figure 2 The top structure of the non-spherical TO optical device is designed so that the coupling efficiency of the PEI lens assembly 31 reaches a range of 55-65%, which is equivalent to the coupling efficiency of the traditional non-spherical TO optical device.

[0030] In order to facilitate the production of the PEI lens assembly 31 and reduce its manufacturing cost, the material of the non-spherical lens 311 and the ring member 312 are both PEI materials, and are injection molded by a one-mold multi-cavity process (1 mold 4 cavities, 1 mold 8 cavities or 1 mold 16 cavities) through an injection molding device. After molding, the non-spherical lens 311 and the ring member 312 are integrally formed to form the PEI lens structure required for the TO optical device of this embodiment.

[0031] The pipe cap 33 uses 304 or 316 stainless steel to replace the traditional Kovar alloy material. The stainless steel material can be punched by a high-speed punch press to achieve rapid mass production, thereby reducing the production cost of the pipe cap 33.

[0032] The pipe cap 33 is buckled on the pipe base 34 to form a closed space. Figure 5 , conventional components constituting TO optical devices such as laser generator A are fixed on the tube holder 34 and are located in a closed space.

[0033] See Figure 4 A through hole 331 is formed on the central axis of the top of the tube cap 33, and a glue injection groove 332 surrounding the through hole 331 is formed around the through hole 331. Figure 5 The bottom edge of the inner ring of the annular member 312 extends downward, thereby forming an annular positioning member 3121 with a hole in the center. By controlling the size of the through hole 331, the aperture of the through hole 331 can just accommodate the annular positioning member 3121.

[0034] When assembling the PEI lens assembly 31 onto the tube cap 33, first align the annular positioning piece 3121 at the bottom of the PEI lens assembly 31 with the through hole 331, and then press down to embed the annular positioning piece 3121 into the through hole 331 until the bottom of the PEI lens assembly 31 tightly covers the notch of the glue injection groove 332. By setting the notch width of the glue injection groove 332, the PEI lens assembly 31 does not completely cover the notch of the glue injection groove 332, and the notch not covered by the PEI lens assembly 31 forms a glue injection channel, through which low-cost epoxy resin glue 32 is injected into the glue injection groove 331. During the glue injection process, the glue injection groove 331 will be filled first. After the glue injection groove 331 is filled, it will naturally overflow and spread to the outer wall of the PEI lens assembly 31. After the epoxy resin glue 32 is cooled and solidified, the PEI lens assembly 31 and the tube cap 33 can be bonded and assembled.

[0035] It should be noted that, by providing the glue injection groove 331, on the one hand, the gluing area between the PEI lens assembly 31 and the tube cap 33 can be increased, while preventing the glue from penetrating into the aspheric lens 311; on the other hand, the glue injection groove 331 can cooperate with the glue to achieve a sealing effect, so that the TO optical device can reach the industrial-grade temperature application standard.

[0036] After the PEI lens assembly 31 and the tube cap 33 are assembled, the position of the laser generator A on the tube seat 34 is set in advance so that it is located on the central axis of the tube cap 33, and then the laser generator A, the through hole 331 and the aspheric lens 311 are aligned. In this way, the laser emitted by the laser generator A can be transmitted through the through hole 331 into the aspheric lens 311, and then coupled by the aspheric lens 311 and emitted out of the TO optical device.

[0037] In the material selection of the PEI lens assembly 31 of this embodiment, PEI is used to replace traditional glass so as to produce the PEI lens assembly 31 by injection molding. While achieving high coupling efficiency, the PEI lens assembly 31 has low material cost, short processing time, and easier mass production.

[0038] The annular member 312 of this embodiment uses stainless steel to replace the traditional Kovar alloy material, and uses epoxy resin glue to replace glass glue, thereby reducing costs.

[0039] In this embodiment, the PEI lens assembly 31 is directly covered on the tube cap 33, and the two are assembled by using an adhesive process instead of a traditional glass glue sintering process, thereby improving the assembly efficiency and reducing the cost by dozens of times compared with the traditional glass solution.

[0040] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present application, rather than to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, ordinary technicians in this field should understand that the technical solution of the present application can be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the essence and scope of the technical solution of the present application.

Claims

1. A high-coupling, low-cost TO optical device, comprising a tube holder, a laser generator and a tube cap, wherein the tube cap is buckled on the tube holder to form a closed space, and the laser generator is placed in the closed space, wherein: Also included is a lens assembly, the lens assembly includes a non-spherical lens and a ring-shaped member, the non-spherical lens is located in the inner ring of the ring-shaped member, and the non-spherical lens and the ring-shaped member are integrally formed together; A through hole is opened on the top surface of the tube cap, the lens assembly is fixed on the top surface of the tube cap and covers the through hole, the aspheric lens is aligned with the through hole, and the laser generator, the through hole and the aspheric lens are aligned; It also includes a fixing glue, and the lens assembly is fixed to the top surface of the tube cap by the fixing glue; The top surface of the tube cap is provided with a glue injection groove for injecting the fixing glue, and when the lens assembly is assembled to the tube cap, the lens assembly does not completely cover the notch of the glue injection groove; The glue injection groove continuously and uninterruptedly surrounds the periphery of the through hole, and the fixing glue in the glue injection groove and at the notch seals the gap between the lens assembly and the tube cap; The bottom edge of the inner ring of the annular member extends downward, thereby forming a positioning member with a hole in the center; the aperture of the through hole just accommodates the positioning member.

2. The TO optical device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fixing glue is specifically epoxy resin glue.

3. The TO optical device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The aspheric lens and the annular component are both made of PEI, and the aspheric lens and the annular component are integrally formed by injection molding.

4. The TO optical device according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that: The material of the tube cap is specifically stainless steel.

5. The TO optical device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The aspherical lens is embedded in the inner ring of the annular member and is located on the central axis of the annular member, and the central axis of the annular member coincides with the central axis of the tube cap.

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