Convenient and rapid material coating clamp for optical fiber surface

Abstract

The invention provides a convenient and fast material coating clamp for the surface of an optical fiber, and relates to the technical field of optical fiber micromachining equipment.The material coating clamp comprises a horizontal clamp assembly and an inclined clamp assembly, and the horizontal clamp assembly comprises an integrated clamp and a disc type contour clamp; the integrated clamp comprises a split type base and a turnover optical fiber support assembly, the disc type outline clamp comprises a disc type base body, an annular tail fiber containing groove formed in the periphery of the base body and a central coating area arranged in the base body, and the inclined clamp assembly comprises a mounting tray matched with an electron beam evaporation coating system interface. The device further comprises an inclined supporting frame and a multi-channel optical fiber fixing module. The multi-channel optical fiber fixing module is provided with an optical fiber guiding channel. The horizontal clamp assembly and the inclined clamp assembly are used in a combined mode, and the problems that when a traditional coating clamp is used for coating the circumferential surface of the optical fiber, positioning precision is low, overturning operation is complex, equipment is prone to being damaged due to falling off, and coating uniformity is poor are remarkably solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of optical fiber microprocessing equipment, and in particular to a fixture for conveniently and quickly coating materials on the surface of an optical fiber. Background Art

[0002] An optical fiber is a fiber used to transmit optical signals, with a slender cylindrical structure. To enhance the performance of the optical fiber and adapt to different scenarios, microprocessing of coating the circumferential outer surface of the optical fiber is usually carried out. For example, in the field of optical fiber communication, coating a waterproof film on the surface of the optical fiber can effectively prevent water vapor from invading the optical fiber in a humid environment; in the field of optical fiber sensors, coating the surface of the optical fiber can enhance its sensitivity to specific physical quantities (such as temperature, stress, humidity), improving the detection accuracy and sensitivity of the sensor; in the fields of optical switches and optical modulators, coating the surface of the optical fiber can enhance its light signal projection or reflectivity, improving the adjustment sensitivity of the light signal.

[0003] Electron beam evaporation is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technology that uses a high-energy electron beam to heat and evaporate a target material and deposit it on the surface of a substrate to form a thin film. The made thin film has high precision and good uniformity. For a substrate with a certain three-dimensional structure, the deposited thin film will not or rarely cover the side wall of the structure, having good directivity. Electron beam evaporation has been widely used in the preparation processes of various microelectronics, optoelectronic devices, MEMS, electrodes, etc. Usually, the substrate of electron beam evaporation is basically vertically facing the evaporation source, and the substrate is usually a horizontal thin sheet. However, if you want to coat the circumferential outer surface of an optical fiber, usually after coating on the front side, the optical fiber is flipped 180° and coated again. Currently, there is no evaporation fixture suitable for precisely flipping an optical fiber by 180°. The current dry optical fiber modulators mainly have the following problems: 1. The split structure is prone to cause parts to fall off and damage the equipment; 2. The lack of a precise flipping and positioning mechanism leads to uneven coating; 3. The complex structure affects the operation efficiency; 4. The insufficient heat resistance of the material causes deformation. The existing high-temperature tape fixing method in the prior art has problems such as poor positioning accuracy and non-reusability, and cannot meet the requirements of mass production. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, in order to solve the above problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a fixture for conveniently and quickly coating materials on the surface of an optical fiber, which can effectively fix the optical fiber and ensure that the optical fiber can maintain accurate positioning during the coating process, realizing efficient and uniform coating on the surface of the optical fiber. This fixture system is applicable to common evaporation equipment, can support optical fibers of various sizes, and at the same time has excellent high-temperature tolerance, operation convenience, and multi-scene adaptability.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] For the above purposes, the present invention provides a convenient and rapid material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber, including a horizontal fixture assembly and an inclined fixture assembly;

[0007] The horizontal fixture assembly includes an integrated fixture and a disc-shaped contour fixture. The integrated fixture includes a split base and a flipable optical fiber support assembly. The split base has an optical fiber support groove adapted to the flipable optical fiber support assembly. The flipable optical fiber support assembly includes at least three independently movable optical fiber supports, which are hinged together by a rotating shaft. The disc-shaped contour fixture includes a disc-shaped base body, an annular pigtail storage groove provided on the periphery of the base body, and a central coating area provided inside the base body;

[0008] The inclined fixture assembly includes a mounting tray matching the interface of an electron beam evaporation coating system, and further includes an inclined support frame and a multi-channel optical fiber fixing module provided at both ends of the support frame. The multi-channel optical fiber fixing module is provided with an optical fiber guiding channel.

[0009] As a further aspect of the present invention, the flipable optical fiber support assembly is composed of optical fiber supports of three specifications: large, medium, and small. The optical fiber support is provided with an optical fiber positioning groove and a magnetic adsorption fixing mechanism. The bottom surface of the optical fiber support is provided with a dovetail groove structure matching the optical fiber support groove. Each optical fiber support forms a 180° flip positioning system through a rotating shaft to achieve 0-180° flip positioning, and an anti-interference gap is provided between adjacent optical fiber supports.

[0010] As a further aspect of the present invention, the magnetic adsorption fixing mechanism includes a neodymium iron boron magnet array provided on the upper and lower halves of the optical fiber support, and the optical fiber is clamped without damage through magnetic adsorption.

[0011] As a further aspect of the present invention, the magnetic pole arrangement mode of the magnetic adsorption fixing mechanism is: the upper support body adopts an N-S alternating polarity array, and the lower support body adopts a corresponding S-N alternating polarity mirror image array to form a misaligned magnetic adsorption fixing mode.

[0012] As a further aspect of the present invention, both the integrated fixture and the disc-shaped contour fixture are made of photosensitive resin. Among them, the split base surface is provided with symmetrically distributed optical fiber support grooves, and the integrated fixture is in a symmetric dovetail shape for directly inserting into the base.

[0013] As a further aspect of the present invention, both the upper and lower surfaces of the disc-shaped base body in the disc-shaped contour fixture adopt a symmetric dovetail contour design for the two sides of the dovetail to fit the tray respectively during two gold plating processes.

[0014] As a further solution of the present invention, a fiber optic holder is provided on both the front and rear sides of the disc-shaped profile fixture for fixing the optical fiber during the evaporation coating process, so that the part of the optical fiber to be gold-plated is placed in the central coating area of the disc-shaped profile fixture, and the long optical fiber pigtail that does not need to be gold-plated is coiled in the annular pigtail storage groove on the periphery of the disc-shaped profile fixture.

[0015] As a further solution of the present invention, a connection port is provided on each of the left and right sides of the disc-shaped profile fixture, and the disc-shaped profile fixture is fixed on the tray using tape. After one side is gold-plated, the disc-shaped profile fixture is turned over and fixed again with tape before gold-plating the other side.

[0016] As a further solution of the present invention, the disc-shaped substrate in the disc-shaped profile fixture is an annular substrate engraved with an annular pigtail storage groove, and the positions of the fiber optic holders on the disc-shaped profile fixture form fiber optic positioning card slots distributed along the circumference on the annular substrate.

[0017] As a further solution of the present invention, the split base of the horizontal fixture assembly is formed by 3D printing with photosensitive resin material, and the thickness gradient design includes a stepped weight reduction structure with a thickness of 6 mm in the central area and a thickness of 4 mm in the edge area.

[0018] As a further solution of the present invention, the inclination angle of the support frame in the inclined fixture assembly is 33.7° ± 0.5°, and the multi-channel fiber optic fixing modules provided at both ends of the support frame are fiber optic holders.

[0019] As a further solution of the present invention, the multi-channel fiber optic fixing module of the inclined fixture assembly is provided with a fiber optic guiding channel, and the fiber optic guiding channel adopts an involute curved surface design, with the curvature radius gradually changing from 5 mm at the inlet end to 2 mm at the outlet end.

[0020] As a further solution of the present invention, there is a cylindrical groove at each of the four corners of the fiber optic holder on the inclined fixture assembly, and a magnet is fixed by interference fit.

[0021] As a further solution of the present invention, the installation tray of the inclined fixture assembly is provided with quick positioning marks, including three laser engraving alignment marks distributed at 120°.

[0022] As a further solution of the present invention, the horizontal fixture assembly and the inclined fixture assembly are used in combination, and quick switching between the fixtures is achieved through an interface conversion module.

[0023] Compared with the prior art, a material coating fixture for the convenient and rapid coating on the surface of an optical fiber proposed by the present invention significantly solves the problems of low positioning accuracy, complex flipping operation, easy falling off and damage to equipment, and poor coating uniformity existing in the traditional coating fixture when coating on the circumferential surface of the optical fiber, and has the following beneficial effects:

[0024] 1. The material coating fixture of the present invention realizes the strict 180° flipping and positioning of the optical fiber support assembly through the precise cooperation between the optical fiber support groove of the flip - type optical fiber support assembly and the dovetail groove structure, combined with the hinge design of the rotating shaft, ensuring that the circumferential surfaces of the optical fibers are completely aligned during front - and - back - side coating, and eliminating the angular deviation in traditional flipping operations. Moreover, the symmetric dovetail profile design makes both the split base and the disc - type matrix of the horizontal fixture adopt upper - and - lower - symmetric dovetail profiles. During two - time coating, by fitting the two sides of the dovetail to the equipment tray respectively, it is ensured that the optical fiber does not need to be recalibrated during the flipping process, improving the positioning repeat accuracy.

[0025] 2. In the material coating fixture of the present invention, the horizontal fixture assembly and the inclined fixture assembly are quickly switched through the interface conversion module, with less conversion time. The combined design of the snap - lock structure and the ball - head positioning pin ensures the seamless docking of different fixtures with the evaporation coating equipment. The multi - channel optical fiber fixing module of the inclined fixture assembly is provided with multiple groups of optical fiber positioning slots, supporting the synchronous coating of multiple optical fibers; the optical fiber guiding channel adopts an involute curved surface design to avoid the winding of the pigtail and improve the winding efficiency.

[0026] 3. The present invention adopts a neodymium - iron - boron magnet array with upper - and - lower support bodies arranged in a mirror image. Through the alternating - polarity array, a misaligned magnetic attraction mode is formed, and the magnetic attraction force is evenly distributed, facilitating the control of the clamping pressure, which not only avoids the deformation of the optical fiber under pressure but also prevents displacement during the evaporation coating process; the working surface of the optical fiber support is covered with an alternately deposited film, effectively blocking the high - temperature radiation during the evaporation coating process, reducing the risk of thermal damage to the optical fiber, and extending the service life of the fixture.

[0027] 4. In the present invention, the integrated fixture and the disc - type profile fixture adopt photosensitive resin materials, which have low density and high temperature resistance. Combined with the stepped weight - reducing structure, the total mass of the horizontal fixture is reduced, meeting the requirements of tape fixation and reducing the risk of detachment; the separation design of the split base and the optical fiber support assembly avoids applying mechanical stress to the optical fiber during direct plug - in and unplug - in; the distance between the elastic limit pieces at the optical fiber connection port is adjustable to prevent the optical fiber from sagging or displacing.

[0028] In summary, through high - precision positioning, magnetic - attraction non - destructive clamping, thermal - protection optimization, and modular design, the coating fixture of the present invention significantly improves the uniformity, efficiency, and safety of coating on the circumferential surface of the optical fiber. At the same time, it is compatible with a variety of evaporation coating equipment and complex working conditions, providing a reliable solution for the low - cost and high - quality manufacturing of optical fiber sensors, optical communication devices, and micro - nano optical devices.

[0029] These aspects or other aspects of the present application will be more clearly understood in the following description of the embodiments. It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are only exemplary and explanatory, and cannot limit the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or in the related art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the exemplary embodiments or the related art. The drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present invention, they are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute a limitation to the present invention. In the drawings:

[0031] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of an integrated fixture in a material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber that is convenient, fast, and quick in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 2 It is an exploded schematic diagram of an integrated fixture in a material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber that is convenient, fast, and quick in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of a split base in a material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber that is convenient, fast, and quick in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of optical fiber holders of three specifications, large, medium, and small, in a material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber that is convenient, fast, and quick in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the use of an optical fiber holder in a material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber that is convenient, fast, and quick in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 6 It is a schematic side structural diagram of a horizontal fixture assembly forming symmetric double dovetails in a material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber that is convenient, fast, and quick in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 7 It is a schematic structural diagram of a disc-shaped contour fixture in a material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber that is convenient, fast, and quick in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 8 It is a dovetail contour schematic diagram of a disc-shaped contour fixture in a material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber that is convenient, fast, and quick in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 9 It is a schematic structural diagram of an inclined fixture assembly in a material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber that is convenient, fast, and quick in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the use of an inclined fixture assembly in a material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber that is convenient, fast, and quick in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 11Schematic diagram of SEM electron microscope image of the gold film for single - time horizontal gold plating in a convenient and fast material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 12 Schematic diagram of the thickness analysis result of single - time horizontal gold plating in a convenient and fast material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] Figure 13 Schematic diagram of SEM electron microscope image of the gold film for two - time horizontal front - back double - side gold plating in a convenient and fast material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] Figure 14 Schematic diagram of the thickness analysis result of two - time horizontal front - back double - side gold plating in a convenient and fast material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] Figure 15 Schematic diagram of SEM electron microscope image of the gold film for single - time inclined gold plating in a convenient and fast material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] Figure 16 Schematic diagram of the thickness analysis result of single - time inclined gold plating in a convenient and fast material coating fixture for the surface of an optical fiber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] Reference numerals in the figure:

[0048] 10 - integrated fixture, 20 - disc - type contour fixture, 30 - inclined fixture assembly, 101 - split base, 102 - neodymium iron boron magnet array, 103 - optical fiber support groove, 104 - optical fiber support, 105 - rotating shaft, 106 - optical fiber positioning groove, 107 - magnetic attraction fixing mechanism, 201 - disc - type matrix, 202 - dovetail contour, 203 - annular pigtail storage groove, 204 - central coating area, 301 - support frame, 302 - multi - channel optical fiber fixing module, 303 - optical fiber guiding channel, 304 - optical fiber positioning card slot, 305 - installation tray, 306 - iron pressing piece. Detailed implementation manners

[0049] Next, in combination with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation manners, the present application will be further described. It should be noted that, on the premise of no conflict, the following described embodiments or technical features can be combined arbitrarily to form new embodiments.

[0050] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the following further details the embodiments of the present invention in combination with specific embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0051] It should be noted that all the expressions using "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present invention are used to distinguish two non-identical entities or non-identical parameters with the same name. It can be seen that "first" and "second" are only for the convenience of expression and should not be construed as a limitation on the embodiments of the present invention. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units inherently includes other steps or units.

[0052] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present application without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0053] The flowcharts shown in the accompanying drawings are only illustrative examples and do not necessarily include all the contents and operations / steps, nor do they necessarily need to be executed in the described order. For example, some operations / steps can be decomposed, combined or partially merged, so the actual execution order may change according to the actual situation.

[0054] Next, some embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Without conflict, the following embodiments and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0055] Since common evaporation coating equipment only provides a raw material tray, the raw material tray is located in the upper part of the equipment, and the electron beam is located in the lower part. During evaporation coating, the raw materials are usually fixed on the tray with high-temperature tape and are in an inverted hanging state, so that the raw materials can face the electron beam interface below, thereby completing the coating. At the same time, evaporation coating is usually carried out on a flat surface of a sheet-shaped substrate, while the optical fiber is a cylindrical structure. It is a difficult point to uniformly coat the outer circumferential surface of the optical fiber. Therefore, it is required that the fixture is light in weight to ensure that it will not fall off when fixed with tape, the optical fiber is accurately positioned to ensure that the optical fiber is strictly flipped 180° during the two-sided coating, so that it can be uniformly coated; it is convenient to use to ensure that the optical fiber is not damaged and can be quickly flipped to coat the other side after one-sided coating; it is high-temperature resistant to ensure that it will not deform during the evaporation coating process and can be reused.

[0056] In view of this, in order to solve the problems of low positioning accuracy, complex flipping operation, easy falling off and damage to equipment, and poor coating uniformity when traditional coating fixtures are used for coating on the circumferential surface of optical fibers, the present invention proposes a convenient and fast material coating fixture for the surface of optical fibers, which can effectively fix the optical fiber and ensure that the optical fiber can maintain accurate positioning during the coating process, realizing efficient and uniform coating on the surface of the optical fiber. This fixture system is applicable to common evaporation coating equipment, can support optical fibers of various sizes, and has excellent high-temperature tolerance, operation convenience and multi-scenario adaptability.

[0057] See Figures 1 to 10 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a convenient and fast material coating fixture for the surface of optical fibers, including a horizontal fixture assembly and an inclined fixture assembly 30. The horizontal fixture assembly includes an integral fixture 10 and a disc-shaped contour fixture 20. The integral fixture 10 includes a split base 101 and a rotatable optical fiber support assembly. The split base 101 has an optical fiber support groove 103 adapted to the rotatable optical fiber support assembly. The rotatable optical fiber support assembly includes at least three independently movable optical fiber supports 104, which are hinged together by a rotating shaft 105; The disc-shaped contour fixture 20 includes a disc-shaped matrix 201, an annular pigtail receiving groove 203 provided on the periphery of the matrix, and a central coating area 204 provided in the matrix.

[0058] The inclined fixture assembly 30 includes a mounting tray 305 matching the interface of the electron beam evaporation coating system, and also includes an inclined support frame 301 and a multi-channel optical fiber fixing module 302 provided at both ends of the support frame 301. The multi-channel optical fiber fixing module 302 is provided with an optical fiber guiding channel 303.

[0059] See Figures 1 to 6 As shown, since the lower part of the electron beam evaporation coating system and various coating equipment is the electron beam target material outlet, and the upper part is the fixture interface of the substrate, the equipment fixture is directly opposite the electron beam target material outlet, and it can support the coating of raw materials with a size of about 8×8 (unit: cm), and needs to be docked with a self-designed fixture with a thickness of 4 mm. At the same time, coating is usually carried out on a flat surface of a sheet-shaped substrate, while an optical fiber is a cylindrical structure, and it is a difficult point to uniformly coat its circumferential outer surface. For this reason, in this embodiment, the integral fixture 10 can cooperate with common coating equipment, so that the fixture can be firmly fixed on the evaporation coating equipment, will not fall off within 3-5 hours, the optical fiber is accurately positioned, ensuring that the optical fiber is strictly flipped 180° during the two-sided coating, so that it can be uniformly coated, is easy to use, ensures that the optical fiber is not damaged, and can quickly complete flipping for reverse coating after one-sided coating, is high-temperature resistant, ensures that it will not deform during the evaporation coating process, and can be reused.

[0060] See Figures 1 to 6As shown, in the integrated fixture 10, the integrated fixture 10 is a combination of optical fiber holders 104 in three specifications of large, medium and small. The overall size is approximately 6*6*1 (unit: cm). The main body of the integrated fixture 10 is made of photosensitive resin and manufactured by 3D printing, meeting the requirement of the fixture being "high-temperature resistant". Its structure is as Figure 1 shown. Among them, as Figure 3 shown, the thickness of the split base 101 is about 4 mm, which can be directly inserted into the card slot of the evaporation equipment to ensure that the fixture "can cooperate with the evaporation equipment". Two optical fiber holder slots are designed on the split base 101 to fix the position of the optical fiber holder on the z-axis. The middle thickness of the split base 101 is 6 mm, and the thickness of both sides is 4 mm. This is to increase the depth of the optical fiber holder slot and prevent it from falling off.

[0061] In this embodiment, the split base 101 and the optical fiber holder 104 are respectively used to connect with the equipment and fix the optical fiber. After being divided into two components of the split base 101 and the optical fiber holder 104, when the optical fiber holder 104 is inserted into the split base 101, it hardly receives excessive friction force, ensuring the convenience of using the fixture. The optical fiber holder 104 is provided with an optical fiber positioning groove 106 and a magnetic adsorption fixing mechanism 107. The bottom surface of the optical fiber holder 104 is provided with a dovetail groove structure that cooperates with the optical fiber holder slot 103. Each optical fiber holder 104 forms a 180° flipping positioning system through a rotating shaft 105 to realize 0-180° flipping positioning. An anti-interference gap is provided between adjacent optical fiber holders 104. When in use, the optical fiber is placed in the optical fiber positioning groove 106, and the optical fiber is fixed by the magnetic force of the upper and lower optical fiber holders 104. The overall optical fiber holder 104 is designed in a symmetrical dovetail shape and is directly inserted into the split base 101 when in use.

[0062] For the material coating fixture of the present invention, through the precise cooperation of the optical fiber holder slot 103 of the flipable optical fiber holder assembly and the dovetail groove structure, combined with the hinge design of the rotating shaft 105, strict 180° flipping positioning of the optical fiber holder 104 assembly is realized, ensuring that the circumferential surfaces of the optical fibers are completely aligned during front and back coating, and eliminating the angular deviation in traditional flipping operations.

[0063] Among them, the magnetic adsorption fixing mechanism 107 includes a neodymium iron boron magnet array 102 arranged on the upper and lower halves of the optical fiber holder 104, and realizes the lossless clamping of the optical fiber through magnetic adsorption. The magnetic pole arrangement mode of the magnetic adsorption fixing mechanism 107 is: the upper holder body adopts an N-S alternating polarity array, and the lower holder body adopts a corresponding S-N alternating polarity mirror image array to form a misaligned magnetic adsorption fixing mode.

[0064] The present invention adopts a neodymium iron boron magnet array 102 with upper and lower carriers arranged in a mirror image manner, forming a misaligned magnetic attraction mode through an alternating polarity array, with the magnetic attraction force evenly distributed, facilitating the control of the clamping pressure, avoiding both the deformation of the optical fiber under pressure and the displacement during the evaporation coating process; the working surface of the optical fiber holder 104 is covered with an alternately deposited film, effectively blocking the high-temperature radiation during the evaporation coating process, reducing the risk of heat damage to the optical fiber, and extending the service life of the fixture.

[0065] See Figure 4 As shown, a complete optical fiber holder assembly is obtained by combining optical fiber holders 104, magnetic attraction fixing mechanisms 107, and rotating shafts 105 of three specifications: large, medium, and small, as Figure 5 shown. The assembly is similar to a clip. When in use, the optical fiber is placed in the optical fiber positioning groove 106, and the optical fiber is fixed by the magnetic force of the upper and lower optical fiber holders 104. The overall optical fiber holder 104 is designed in a symmetrical dovetail shape and can be directly inserted into the split base 101 during use, which can fix the optical fiber holder 104 and prevent the optical fiber holder 104 from falling off in the z-axis direction, ensuring that it can be accurately flipped by 180° during front and back side gold plating, meeting the requirement of "accurate optical fiber positioning"; when flipping, there is no need to move the base, and the optical fiber holder assembly is directly taken out from the side, and after flipping, it is directly inserted into the split base 101, which is convenient and fast to use.

[0066] In this embodiment, see Figures 1 to 8 As shown, both the integrated fixture 10 and the disc-shaped contour fixture 20 are made of photosensitive resin. Among them, the surface of the split base 101 is provided with symmetrically distributed optical fiber holder grooves 103. The integrated fixture 10 is in an overall symmetrical dovetail shape for directly inserting into the base. The upper and lower surfaces of the disc-shaped base 201 in the disc-shaped contour fixture 20 are both designed with upper and lower symmetrical dovetail contours 202 for the dovetail sides to fit the tray respectively during two gold plating processes. Both the front and back sides of the disc-shaped contour fixture 20 are provided with an optical fiber holder 104 for fixing the optical fiber during the evaporation coating process, so that the part of the optical fiber to be gold plated is placed in the central coating area 204 of the disc-shaped contour fixture 20, and the optical fiber tail fiber that does not need to be gold plated is coiled in the annular tail fiber storage groove 203 on the periphery of the disc-shaped contour fixture 20. Each of the left and right sides of the disc-shaped contour fixture 20 is provided with a connection port, and the disc-shaped contour fixture 20 is fixed on the tray with tape. After one side of gold plating is completed, the disc-shaped contour fixture 20 is flipped, and after being fixed with tape again, the other side is gold plated. The disc-shaped base 201 in the disc-shaped contour fixture 20 is an annular base engraved with an annular tail fiber storage groove 203, and the positions of the optical fiber holders on the disc-shaped contour fixture 20 form optical fiber positioning card slots distributed along the circumference on the annular base.

[0067] The disc-shaped contour fixture 20 of the present invention is applicable to an evaporation coating device that only provides a raw material tray. The raw material tray is located in the upper part of the device, and the electron beam is located in the lower part. During evaporation coating, the raw material is fixed on the tray with a high-temperature tape and in an inverted state, so that the raw material can face the electron beam interface below, thereby completing the coating. Similarly, for the above device, it is still a difficult point to uniformly coat the outer surface of a cylindrical optical fiber. The fixture is required to be light in weight to ensure that it will not fall off when fixed with tape, and the optical fiber is accurately positioned, which is the same requirement as the integrated fixture 10. The size of the disc-shaped contour fixture 20 is approximately 10*10*1 (unit: cm), which occupies the same area on the tray as a common 4-inch wafer. The material uses photosensitive resin to meet the requirement of high-temperature resistance of the fixture. The upper and lower surfaces of the disc-shaped contour fixture 20 also adopt a dovetail design. When gold plating twice, both sides of the dovetail are respectively attached to the tray, meeting the requirement of accurate optical fiber positioning of the fixture. A fiber holder 104 is designed at the front and back of the disc-shaped contour fixture 20. During the evaporation coating process, the optical fiber is fixed on the fiber holder 104, and the part to be gold-plated is exactly placed in the center of the fixture. The long optical fiber tails that do not need to be gold-plated can be coiled in the circular fiber groove. Connection ports are designed on both the left and right sides of the disc-shaped contour fixture 20. Tape can be used here to fix the fixture on the tray. After one side is gold-plated, only the disc-shaped contour fixture 20 needs to be turned over and fixed with tape again to perform gold plating on the other side, meeting the requirement of convenient use of the fixture.

[0068] In this embodiment, the split base 101 of the horizontal fixture assembly is formed by 3D printing with photosensitive resin material, and the thickness gradient design includes: a stepped weight reduction structure with a thickness of 6 mm in the central area and a thickness of 4 mm in the edge area.

[0069] In the present invention, the integrated fixture 10 and the disc-shaped contour fixture 20 adopt photosensitive resin materials, which have low density and high temperature resistance. Combined with the stepped weight reduction structure, the total mass of the horizontal fixture is reduced, meeting the tape fixation requirement and reducing the risk of falling off; the separation design of the split base 101 and the fiber holder 104 assembly avoids applying mechanical stress to the optical fiber during direct plugging and unplugging; the spacing of the elastic limit pieces at the optical fiber connection port is adjustable to prevent the optical fiber from sagging or shifting.

[0070] See Figures 1 to 10As shown, the inclination angle of the support frame 301 in the inclined fixture assembly 30 is 33.7° ± 0.5°. The multi-channel optical fiber fixing module 302 provided at both ends of the support frame 301 is the optical fiber holder 104. The multi-channel optical fiber fixing module 302 of the inclined fixture assembly 30 is provided with an optical fiber guiding channel 303, and the optical fiber guiding channel 303 adopts an involute curved surface design, and the curvature radius gradually changes from 5 mm at the inlet end to 2 mm at the outlet end. There is a cylindrical groove at each of the four corners of the optical fiber holder 104 on the inclined fixture assembly 30, and the fixing magnet is fixed by interference fit. Among them, the installation tray 305 of the inclined fixture assembly 30 is provided with quick positioning marks, including three laser engraving alignment marks distributed at 120°.

[0071] In this embodiment, the purpose of the inclined fixture assembly 30 is to make the optical fiber in a vertical state during the evaporation process to facilitate better contact with the target ions in the entire chamber. The inclined fixture assembly 30 is fully adapted to the fixture interface design of the electron beam evaporation coating system (for example: DZS-500 type, Shenyang Keyi), as Figure 9 and Figure 10 shown. The electron beam outlet of the target of the inclined fixture assembly 30 is directly below the raw material fixture. In order to avoid the target ions being completely blocked, the optical fiber is set at an angle of 33.7° to the vertical direction. The iron pressing piece 305 and the magnet provided in the inclined fixture assembly 30 are used to fix the optical fiber. The size of the fixture main body is 6*6*8 (unit: cm). There is an optical fiber holder 104 at the upper and lower parts of the support frame 301, which are connected by the side support frame 301. The optical fiber guiding channel 303 and the optical fiber positioning slot 304 are engraved in the middle of the optical fiber holder 104. The optical fiber positioning slot 304 is used as an optical fiber slot, and each slot can hold one optical fiber. If the optical fiber is too long, the pigtail can pass through here. There is a circular installation tray provided above the inclined fixture assembly 30, and this installation tray can be directly connected to the fixture interface of the evaporation coating equipment.

[0072] In the material coating fixture of the present invention, the horizontal fixture assembly and the inclined fixture assembly 30 are quickly switched through the interface conversion module, with less conversion time. The combined design of the buckle structure and the ball head positioning pin ensures seamless docking of different fixtures with the evaporation coating equipment. The multi-group optical fiber positioning slots 304 provided in the multi-channel optical fiber fixing module 302 of the inclined fixture assembly 30 support synchronous coating of multiple optical fibers; the optical fiber guiding channel 303 adopts an involute curved surface design to avoid pigtail winding and improve the winding efficiency.

[0073] In this embodiment, the horizontal fixture assembly is used in combination with the inclined fixture assembly 30, and the quick switching between fixtures is realized through the interface conversion module. During the use, the purpose of the pre-treatment before gold plating is to remove the coating on the outer surface of the fiber circumference, so that the resonance peak of the fiber cladding can contact the metal medium. In order to explore the influence of different gold plating methods on the uniformity of the gold film on the outer surface of the fiber circumference, only single-mode fibers are selected for the experiment. The detailed steps of the pre-treatment are as follows:

[0074] Step 1: Take a 60-cm-long single-mode fiber. At the 30-cm position of the fiber, use a fiber stripper to remove the coating, and the stripping length is 1.5 cm. Subsequently, a 50-nm-thick gold film will be evaporated on the cladding at this position (hereinafter referred to as the sample preparation position). The stripping length should be less than the reserved length of the fixture because the fiber after removing the coating is very fragile, and direct contact between the sample preparation position and the fixture should be avoided.

[0075] Step 2: Use anhydrous ethanol to clean the residual debris of the coating at the sample preparation position, avoid the debris adhering to the outer surface of the fiber and affecting the sample preparation effect, and at the same time avoid the debris contaminating the vacuum chamber of the evaporation coating equipment.

[0076] Step 3: Carefully fix the single-mode fiber on the fixture corresponding to the evaporation coating scheme, and seal the single-mode fiber and the fixture as a whole to avoid contamination. Start the evaporation coating.

[0077] The results of the horizontal single-time gold plating using the fixture for convenient and rapid material coating on the fiber surface of the present invention are as Figure 11 and Figure 12 shown. Under this clamping condition, a visible gold film can be seen on the entire 60-cm-long single-mode fiber. And at the sample preparation position, obvious gold films can be seen on the outer surface of the fiber both facing and back to the gold target. Observe the cross-section of the sample preparation position. The SEM electron microscope photos and thickness analysis results of the gold film are as Figure 11 and Figure 12 shown. After magnifying the gold film locally, its SEM results can be observed. It can be clearly observed that the coating is not completely uniform. The gold film is obvious at a certain place, and the film thickness here can be measured as 34.6 ± 9.2 nm. However, it is difficult to find the gold film on the opposite side. It can be speculated that the side with the obvious gold film is the side facing the gold target during evaporation coating, while on the back side, the gold film is too thin to be basically observed.

[0078] The results of horizontal double-sided gold plating on both sides are as Figure 13 and Figure 14 shown. Under this clamping method, the visual observation effect of the gold film is the same as that of the horizontal single-time gold plating. Observe the cross-section of the sample preparation position. The SEM electron microscope photos and thickness analysis results of the gold film are as Figure 13 and Figure 14As shown, it can be observed that the entire circumference of the optical fiber is covered by the gold film, and the film thickness can be measured to be 40.0 ± 13.9 nm. However, its standard deviation is relatively large. The reason is that although the film is coated on both sides to ensure that the outer surface of the optical fiber is completely covered by the gold film, some gold nanoparticles cannot fully adhere to the part where the outer surface of the optical fiber is tangent to the target beam, resulting in a thinner gold film in some parts.

[0079] The results of single-time gold plating with inclination are as Figure 15 and Figure 16 shown. In this clamping method, it is difficult to observe the gold film at the sample preparation area with the naked eye. Observe the cross-section at the sample preparation area. The SEM electron microscope photos and thickness analysis results of the gold film are as Figure 15 and Figure 16 shown. It can be found that it is very difficult for the electron microscope to focus, and it is almost impossible to measure the specific film thickness result. The reason is that the inclined fixture still blocks the target beam, resulting in fewer free gold nanoparticles in the chamber. Moreover, since the outer surface of the optical fiber is almost tangent to the target beam, the finally formed gold film is thinner.

[0080] In summary, the coating fixture of the present invention significantly improves the uniformity, efficiency, and safety of coating on the circumferential surface of the optical fiber through high-precision positioning, magnetic adsorption non-destructive clamping, thermal protection optimization, and modular design. At the same time, it is compatible with various evaporation coating devices and complex working conditions, providing a reliable solution for the low-cost and high-quality manufacturing of optical fiber sensors, optical communication devices, and micro-nano optical devices.

[0081] The above are the exemplary embodiments disclosed by the present invention. However, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments disclosed by the present invention as defined by the claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to the disclosed embodiments herein do not need to be executed in any specific order. In addition, although the elements disclosed by the embodiments of the present invention can be described or claimed in individual form, they can also be understood as multiple unless clearly limited to the singular.

[0082] It should be understood that, as used herein, unless the context clearly supports an exception, the singular form "a" is also intended to include the plural form. It should also be understood that the "and / or" used herein refers to any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The above serial numbers of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention are only for description and do not represent the advantages or disadvantages of the embodiments.

[0083] Those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the discussion of any of the above embodiments is merely exemplary and is not intended to imply that the scope (including the claims) disclosed by the embodiments of the present invention is limited to these examples; under the concept of the embodiments of the present invention, the technical features in the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, and there are many other variations in different aspects of the embodiments of the present invention as above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of brevity. Therefore, any omission, modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the embodiments of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fixture for convenient and rapid material coating on the surface of optical fiber, characterized in that: It includes a horizontal clamp assembly and an inclined clamp assembly (30); The horizontal clamp assembly comprises an integrated clamp (10) and a disc-shaped contour clamp (20), wherein the integrated clamp (10) comprises a split base (101) and a reversible optical fiber holder assembly, wherein the split base (101) has an optical fiber holder groove (103) adapted to the reversible optical fiber holder assembly, and the reversible optical fiber holder assembly comprises at least three independently movable optical fiber holders (104) which are hingedly connected by a rotating shaft (105); the disc-shaped contour clamp (20) comprises a disc-shaped base (201), an annular pigtail receiving groove (203) arranged at the periphery of the base, and a central coating area (204) arranged in the base; The tilting fixture assembly (30) comprises a mounting tray (305) matched with an interface of an electron beam evaporation coating system, and also comprises a tilting support frame (301) and a multi-channel optical fiber fixing module (302) arranged at both ends of the support frame (301), wherein the multi-channel optical fiber fixing module (302) is provided with an optical fiber guide channel (303).

2. The fixture for convenient and rapid material coating on the surface of optical fiber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The reversible optical fiber holder assembly is composed of optical fiber holders (104) of three sizes: large, medium and small. The optical fiber holder (104) is provided with an optical fiber positioning groove (106) and a magnetic fixing mechanism (107). The bottom surface of the optical fiber holder (104) is provided with a dovetail groove structure that matches the optical fiber holder groove (103). Each optical fiber holder (104) forms a 180° reversible positioning system through a rotating shaft (105), and an anti-interference gap is provided between adjacent optical fiber holders (104).

3. The fixture for convenient and rapid material coating on the surface of optical fiber as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: The magnetic attraction fixing mechanism (107) comprises a neodymium iron boron magnet array (102) arranged on the upper and lower halves of the optical fiber holder (104), and performs lossless clamping of the optical fiber through magnetic attraction.

4. The fixture for convenient and rapid material coating on the surface of optical fiber as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: The magnetic pole arrangement of the magnetic attraction fixing mechanism (107) is as follows: the upper support body adopts an NS alternating polarity array, and the lower support body adopts a corresponding SN alternating polarity mirror array, forming a staggered magnetic attraction fixing mode.

5. The fixture for convenient and rapid material coating on the surface of optical fiber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The integrated clamp (10) and the disc-shaped contour clamp (20) are both made of photosensitive resin, wherein the surface of the split base (101) is provided with symmetrically distributed optical fiber brackets (103), the integrated clamp (10) as a whole is in a symmetrical dovetail shape for direct insertion into the base, and the disc-shaped base (201) is designed with a dovetail contour (202) that is symmetrical up and down, so that the two sides of the dovetail are respectively fitted with the tray during the double gold plating.

6. The fixture for convenient and rapid material coating on the surface of optical fiber according to claim 5, characterized in that: The upper and lower surfaces of the disc-shaped base (201) in the disc-shaped contour fixture (20) are both designed with a dovetail contour (202) that is symmetrical up and down, so that the two sides of the dovetail are respectively fitted to the tray during the double gold plating.

7. The fixture for convenient and rapid material coating on the surface of an optical fiber as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that: The disc-shaped contour fixture (20) is provided with an optical fiber holder (104) on both the front and rear sides for fixing the optical fiber during the vapor deposition process, so that the gold-plated portion of the optical fiber is placed in the central coating area (204) of the disc-shaped contour fixture (20), and the long optical fiber pigtail that does not need to be gold-plated is coiled in the annular pigtail storage groove (203) on the periphery of the disc-shaped contour fixture (20).

8. The fixture for convenient and rapid material coating on the surface of an optical fiber as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that: The disc-shaped base (201) in the disc-shaped contour fixture (20) is an annular base engraved with an annular pigtail receiving groove (203), and the optical fiber holder position on the disc-shaped contour fixture (20) forms an optical fiber positioning groove distributed along the circumference on the annular base.

9. The fixture for convenient and rapid material coating on the surface of an optical fiber as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The multi-channel optical fiber fixing module (302) of the tilting clamp assembly (30) is provided with an optical fiber guide channel, and the optical fiber guide channel adopts an involute curved surface design.

10. The fixture for convenient and rapid material coating on the surface of optical fiber according to claim 9, characterized in that: The optical fiber holder (104) on the tilting fixture assembly (30) has four corners each with a cylindrical groove for fixing the magnet through interference fit.

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