Optical module

Abstract

To accurately mount an isolator in an optical module.SOLUTION: An optical module comprises: a light source that outputs light; an isolator that is magnetic and transmits the light; a housing that has a plurality of surfaces and accommodates the light source and the isolator; and a magnetic substance that is located between at least one of the plurality of surfaces of the housing and the isolator.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to optical modules. [Background technology]

[0002] Some optical modules such as laser units include an isolator that uses a magnet. An example of a method for manufacturing an optical module including an isolator is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

[0003] According to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, an isolator is housed inside a housing, and a holding jig made of a ferromagnetic material is used to attract the magnet of the isolator to the inner surface of the housing. In this state, the isolator and the housing are fixed together by laser welding. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 2503239 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] According to the technique disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when manufacturing an optical module, an isolator is fixed to the inner surface of a housing. However, some optical modules have an isolator mounted at a position away from the inner surface of the housing.

[0006] However, optical modules must satisfy the current trend toward smaller size and lower power consumption, which means that even if the isolator is mounted away from the inner surface of the housing, the distance between the housing and the isolator becomes shorter. Therefore, if the housing is made of metal, the magnet of the isolator will be attracted to the housing, causing the problem that the isolator cannot be mounted in the correct position.

[0007] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an optical module in which an isolator can be mounted with high precision. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] An optical module according to one aspect includes: a light source that outputs light; an isolator having a magnetic force and transmitting the light; a housing having a plurality of surfaces and housing the light source and the isolator; The magnetic body is located between at least one of the surfaces of the housing and the isolator. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the above-described aspect, it is possible to provide an optical module in which an isolator can be mounted with high precision. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of an optical module according to a related art. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration example of an isolator. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a side view showing a configuration example of an isolator. [Figure 4] 1 is a plan view illustrating an example of the configuration of an optical module according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure and related technologies will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description and drawings have been omitted and simplified as appropriate for clarity of explanation. In addition, in the following drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations are omitted as necessary.

[0012] Before describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, a related art will be described. Note that the optical module described in the following embodiments and related art is, for example, a laser unit.

[0013] <Related technologies> FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of an optical module 900 according to the related art. 1, the optical module 900 includes a light source 10, an isolator 20, and a housing 30. The optical module 900 also includes other components such as a SiP (Silicon Photonics) and a BOA (Booster Optical Amplifier), but these other components are omitted from FIG. 1 (the same applies to the optical module 100 described later).

[0014] The light source 10 outputs light. The isolator 20 has a magnetic force and transmits the light output from the light source 10. At this time, the isolator 20 transmits the light output from the light source 10 only in the output direction (positive direction of the x-axis) and blocks light in the opposite direction to the output direction (negative direction of the x-axis). This makes it possible to prevent reflected light of the light output from the light source 10 from circulating back into the light source 10.

[0015] 2 and 3 are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of the isolator 20, with FIG. 2 being a plan view and FIG. 3 being a side view. 2 and 3, the isolator 20 includes a magnet 21 and an optical element 22. When the isolator 20 shown in Fig. 2 and 3 is incorporated into the optical module 900 shown in Fig. 1, the isolator 20 is incorporated so that the main surface (xz plane) of the magnet 21 faces a surface 30A (described later) of the housing 30 (the same applies to the optical module 100 (described later)).

[0016] The magnet 21 has a magnetic force. The optical element 22 transmits the light output from the light source 10 . In addition, the optical element 22 includes elements such as a Faraday rotator, and by the function of the magnet 21 and the optical element 22, the light output from the light source 10 is transmitted only in the output direction (positive direction of the x-axis) and light in the opposite direction to the output direction (negative direction of the x-axis) is blocked.

[0017] 1 again, the housing 30 houses the light source 10 and the isolator 20. The housing 30 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and has four faces (inner surfaces) 30A to 30D. However, the housing 30 is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped shape having four faces 30A to 30D, and may have any shape as long as it has multiple faces (inner surfaces) and can house the light source 10 and the isolator 20. The housing 30 is made of metal, for example, a material containing at least Kovar.

[0018] Here, the optical module 900 needs to satisfy the recent trend toward smaller size and lower power consumption, so the distance between the housing 30 and the isolator 20 is short. In the example of Fig. 1, the distance between the isolator 20 and the face 30A is the shortest among the four faces 30A to 30D of the housing 30. In addition, the housing 30 is made of metal.

[0019] Therefore, when mounting the isolator 20, the magnet 21 of the isolator 20 is attracted to the surface 30A of the housing 30, causing a problem that the isolator 20 cannot be mounted in the correct position.

[0020] The embodiments of the present disclosure described below solve the above problems and enable the isolator 20 to be mounted with high precision.

[0021] <First Embodiment> FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example configuration of an optical module 100 according to the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 4, the optical module 100 differs from the optical module 900 in that a magnetic body 40 is added.

[0022] The magnetic body 40 is made of, for example, a material containing 40% or more of iron or kovar. The magnetic body 40 is located between the isolator 20 and at least one of the four surfaces 30A to 30D of the housing 30.

[0023] 4, the distance between the isolator 20 and the surface 30A is the shortest among the four surfaces 30A to 30D of the housing 30. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the magnet 21 of the isolator 20 will be attracted to the surface 30A of the housing 30. Therefore, the magnetic body 40 is located between the surface 30A of the housing 30 and the isolator 20. In this way, it is preferable that the magnetic body 40 be located at least between the isolator 20 and the surface 30A of the housing 30, which is the surface 30A that is the shortest distance from the isolator 20 among the four surfaces 30A to 30D of the housing 30.

[0024] According to the first embodiment, the magnetic body 40 is located between the surface 30A of the housing 30 and the isolator 20. Therefore, the isolator 20 is mounted by attaching the magnet 21 to the magnetic body 40. In this way, the isolator 20 can be mounted with high precision because it is not attracted to the surface 30A of the housing 30. Furthermore, the magnetic body 40 can be mounted with high precision because it is not attracted to the surface 30A of the housing 30. Therefore, if the magnetic body 40 is mounted with high precision, the isolator 20 can be mounted with even higher precision.

[0025] Next, an example of a method for mounting the isolator 20 will be described below. Here, it is assumed that the isolator 20 and the magnetic body 40 are mounted at the positions shown in Fig. 4. Note that, in the following, a description of a method for mounting the light source 10 will be omitted.

[0026] First, the magnetic body 40 is fixed to the inner bottom surface of the housing 30 with an adhesive (first adhesive) between the intended mounting position of the isolator 20 and the surface 30A of the housing 30, or is fixed to any component fixed to the inner bottom surface of the housing 30 with an adhesive (first adhesive). This adhesive may be, for example, an epoxy adhesive or an acrylic adhesive. In this case, the magnetic body 40 is not attracted to the surface 30A of the housing 30, allowing for highly accurate mounting.

[0027] Next, the magnet 21 of the isolator 20 is affixed to the magnetic body 40, which is fixed to the inner bottom surface of the housing 30 or any of the above-mentioned components. In this state, the magnet 21 of the isolator 20 is fixed to the magnetic body 40 with an adhesive (second adhesive). At this time, the adhesive may be applied in advance to at least one of the magnet 21 or the magnetic body 40. This adhesive may also be, for example, an epoxy adhesive or an acrylic adhesive.

[0028] As described above, the isolator 20 is fixed to the magnetic body 40 by attaching the magnet 21 to the magnetic body 40. Therefore, the isolator 20 is mounted without being attracted to the surface 30A of the housing 30, and can be mounted with high precision.

[0029] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the optical module 100 is provided with the magnetic body 40 located between at least one of the four surfaces 30A to 30D of the housing 30 (surface 30A in the example of FIG. 4) and the isolator 20. Therefore, the isolator 20 is not attracted to the housing 30 but is attached to the magnetic body 40 and mounted, allowing for highly accurate mounting.

[0030] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, each embodiment can be combined with other embodiments as appropriate.

[0031] Furthermore, each drawing is merely an example for describing one or more embodiments. Each drawing may relate not only to one particular embodiment, but also to one or more other embodiments. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, various features or steps described with reference to any one drawing can be combined with features or steps shown in one or more other drawings to create, for example, an embodiment not explicitly shown or described. Not all features or steps shown in any one drawing are necessarily required to describe an exemplary embodiment, and some features or steps may be omitted. The order of steps described in any drawing may be changed as appropriate.

[0032] Furthermore, some or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes. (Appendix 1) a light source that outputs light; an isolator having a magnetic force and transmitting the light; a housing having a plurality of surfaces and housing the light source and the isolator; a magnetic body located between at least one of the surfaces of the housing and the isolator, Optical module. (Appendix 2) the magnetic body is located at least between the isolator and one of the surfaces of the housing that is closest to the isolator, 10. The optical module according to claim 1. (Appendix 3) The isolator comprises: a magnet having the magnetic force; an optical element that transmits the light, 10. The optical module according to claim 1. (Appendix 4) the magnetic body is fixed to the inner bottom surface of the housing with a first adhesive, or is fixed to an arbitrary component fixed to the inner bottom surface of the housing with the first adhesive, The isolator is mounted by attaching the magnet to the magnetic body fixed to the inner bottom surface of the housing or the arbitrary component. 10. The optical module according to claim 3. (Appendix 5) The first adhesive is an epoxy adhesive or an acrylic adhesive. 5. The optical module according to claim 4. (Appendix 6) In the isolator, the magnet is attached to the magnetic body and fixed to the magnetic body with a second adhesive. 5. The optical module according to claim 4. (Appendix 7) The second adhesive is an epoxy adhesive or an acrylic adhesive. 7. The optical module according to claim 6. (Appendix 8) The magnetic body is made of a material containing kovar or iron in an amount of 40% or more. 10. The optical module according to claim 1. (Appendix 9) The housing is made of a material containing at least Kovar. 10. The optical module according to claim 1. (Appendix 10) The optical module is a laser unit. 10. The optical module according to claim 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 10 light source 20 Isolator 21 Magnet 22 Optical Elements 30 Case 30A~30D side 40 Magnetic material 100 Optical Modules

Claims

1. a light source that outputs light; an isolator having a magnetic force and transmitting the light; a housing having a plurality of surfaces and housing the light source and the isolator; a magnetic body located between at least one of the plurality of surfaces of the housing and the isolator, Optical module.

2. the magnetic body is located at least between the isolator and one of the surfaces of the housing that is closest to the isolator, 2. The optical module according to claim 1.

3. The isolator comprises: a magnet having the magnetic force; an optical element that transmits the light, 2. The optical module according to claim 1.

4. the magnetic body is fixed to the inner bottom surface of the housing with a first adhesive, or is fixed to an arbitrary component fixed to the inner bottom surface of the housing with the first adhesive, The isolator is mounted by attaching the magnet to the magnetic body fixed to the inner bottom surface of the housing or the arbitrary component.

4. The optical module according to claim 3.

5. The first adhesive is an epoxy adhesive or an acrylic adhesive.

5. The optical module according to claim 4.

6. the isolator is configured such that the magnet is attached to the magnetic body and fixed to the magnetic body with a second adhesive; 5. The optical module according to claim 4.

7. The second adhesive is an epoxy adhesive or an acrylic adhesive.

7. The optical module according to claim 6.

8. The magnetic body is made of a material containing kovar or iron in an amount of 40% or more.

2. The optical module according to claim 1.

9. The housing is made of a material containing at least Kovar.

2. The optical module according to claim 1.

10. The optical module is a laser unit.

2. The optical module according to claim 1.

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