Method for mounting optical connection component and optical connection assembly

Abstract

A method for mounting an optical connection component according to the present disclosure comprises: a step for preparing a carrier wafer on which a plurality of two-dimensionally arranged optical connection components are placed, and a circuit wafer on which a plurality of circuit boards arranged two-dimensionally corresponding to the plurality of optical connection components are formed; a step for aligning a plurality of optical waveguide components together with respect to the plurality of circuit boards by positioning the carrier wafer with respect to the circuit wafer in a state in which the carrier wafer is facing the circuit wafer; a step for fixing the plurality of optical connection components to the plurality of circuit boards after aligning the plurality of optical waveguide components with respect to the plurality of circuit boards; and a step for forming at least one circuit board-attached optical connection component, in which at least one optical connection component is fixed to at least one circuit board, by cutting the circuit wafer after fixing the plurality of optical connection components to the plurality of circuit boards.

Description

Mounting method for optical connection components and optical connection assembly

[0001] This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-061087, filed April 4, 2024, and incorporates by reference the entire contents of that application.

[0002] An optical communication module that performs optical communication using an optical transmission medium such as an optical fiber includes, for example, a communication LSI (Large Scale Integration) and a plurality of optical IC (Integrated Circuit) substrates electrically connected to the communication LSI. An optical connector is attached to the optical IC substrate to optically connect the optical IC to the optical transmission medium. Such an optical connector is connected to a receptacle mounted on the optical IC substrate, and is optically connected to the optical IC substrate via the receptacle, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

[0003] US Patent Application Publication No. 2016 / 0370544

[0004] A mounting method for optical connecting components disclosed herein is a mounting method for mounting a plurality of optical connecting components, for connecting a plurality of optical waveguide components to a plurality of circuit boards, on a plurality of circuit boards. The mounting method includes the steps of: preparing a carrier wafer on which a plurality of optical connecting components arranged two-dimensionally are mounted, and a circuit wafer on which a plurality of circuit boards arranged two-dimensionally corresponding to the plurality of optical connecting components are formed; aligning the plurality of optical waveguide components with the plurality of circuit boards by positioning the carrier wafer with respect to the circuit wafer while the carrier wafer faces the circuit wafer; fixing the plurality of optical connecting components to the plurality of circuit boards after aligning the plurality of optical waveguide components with the plurality of circuit boards; and, after fixing the plurality of optical connecting components to the plurality of circuit boards, cutting the circuit wafer to form at least one circuit board-attached optical connecting component, in which at least one of the plurality of optical connecting components is fixed to at least one of the plurality of circuit boards.

[0005] FIG. 1A is a plan view showing an example of an optical communication module to which the optical connection assembly of the present disclosure can be applied. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view showing the optical communication module of FIG. 1A. FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing the optical connection assembly of FIG. 1A. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the optical connection assembly taken along line A1-A1 of FIG. 2A. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing steps of the mounting method of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the carrier wafer of FIG. 3. FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a step subsequent to FIG. 3. FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a step subsequent to FIG. 5A. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view showing the carrier wafer and circuit wafer in the step of FIG. 5A. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view showing the carrier wafer and circuit wafer in the step of FIG. 5B. FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a step subsequent to FIG. 5B. FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a step subsequent to FIG. 7A. FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view showing the carrier wafer and circuit wafer in the step of FIG. 7A. FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view showing the carrier wafer and circuit wafer in the step of FIG. 7B. FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a step subsequent to FIG. 8B. FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a step subsequent to FIG. 8A . FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a modified carrier wafer. FIG. 11A is a cross-sectional view showing a step of a mounting method using the carrier wafer of FIG. 10 . FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view showing a step subsequent to FIG. 11A . FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of a step of the mounting method of the present disclosure. FIG. 13A is a side view showing a modified optical connection assembly of the present disclosure. FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view of the optical connection assembly taken along line A2-A2 of FIG. 13A . FIG. 14A is a perspective view showing the optical connection part of FIG. 13A . FIG. 14B is a plan view showing the optical connection part of FIG. 14A . FIG. 15A is a side view showing another modified optical connection assembly of the present disclosure. FIG. 15B is a plan view showing the optical connection part of FIG. 15A .

[0006] [Problem to be Solved by the Present Disclosure] In the optical communications module of Patent Document 1, one possible method for mounting receptacles on a plurality of optical IC substrates is to first separate the optical IC substrates from a wafer on which the plurality of optical IC substrates are formed, and then individually align and fix the receptacles to each optical IC substrate. However, this method requires the work of aligning the optical IC substrates and receptacles for each optical IC substrate formed on the wafer, which results in a problem of time and effort being required for the process of mounting the receptacles on the optical IC substrates.

[0007] The present disclosure provides a mounting method for optical connecting components and an optical connecting assembly that can simplify the mounting process.

[0008] Effect of the Present Disclosure According to the mounting method of an optical connecting component and the optical connecting assembly of the present disclosure, the mounting process can be simplified.

[0009] [Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] First, the contents of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.

[0010] (1) A mounting method for optical connecting components disclosed herein is a mounting method for mounting a plurality of optical connecting components, for connecting a plurality of optical waveguide components to a plurality of circuit boards, on a plurality of circuit boards. The mounting method includes the steps of: preparing a carrier wafer on which a plurality of optical connecting components arranged two-dimensionally are mounted, and a circuit wafer on which a plurality of circuit boards arranged two-dimensionally corresponding to the plurality of optical connecting components are formed; aligning the plurality of optical waveguide components with the plurality of circuit boards by positioning the carrier wafer with respect to the circuit wafer while the carrier wafer faces the circuit wafer; fixing the plurality of optical connecting components to the plurality of circuit boards after aligning the plurality of optical waveguide components with the plurality of circuit boards; and, after fixing the plurality of optical connecting components to the plurality of circuit boards, cutting the circuit wafer to form at least one circuit board-attached optical connecting component, in which at least one optical connecting component of the plurality of optical connecting components is fixed to at least one circuit board of the plurality of circuit boards.

[0011] In the above mounting method, a carrier wafer on which a plurality of optical connecting components are mounted is positioned relative to a circuit wafer on which a plurality of circuit boards are formed, thereby aligning the plurality of optical connecting components collectively with respect to the plurality of circuit boards. In this case, unlike the case where circuit boards are cut out one by one from a circuit wafer and optical connecting components are aligned for the number of circuit boards, the alignment of the plurality of optical connecting components with respect to the plurality of circuit boards can be performed in a single process, thereby simplifying the process of mounting the plurality of optical connecting components with respect to the plurality of circuit boards.

[0012] (2) In the mounting method described in (1) above, at least one of the carrier wafer and the optical connecting component may be formed of a material that transmits at least a portion of the wavelength range of visible light and infrared light. In this case, when the carrier wafer is viewed using a camera or the like while facing the circuit wafer, the position of the circuit wafer can be detected through the carrier wafer. This makes it easy to position the carrier wafer relative to the circuit wafer based on the detected image.

[0013] (3) In the mounting method described in (1) or (2) above, in the step of aligning the plurality of optical waveguide components with respect to the plurality of circuit boards, positioning marks formed on the carrier wafer and target elements included in the circuit wafer and to be positioned relative to the positioning marks may be detected, or positioning marks formed on the circuit wafer and target elements included in the carrier wafer and to be positioned relative to the positioning marks may be detected, and the carrier wafer may be positioned relative to the circuit wafer so that a deviation between the positioning marks and the target elements is small in a direction intersecting the facing direction of the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer. In this way, when the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer are positioned based on the positions of the positioning marks and the target elements, the positioning of the carrier wafer with respect to the circuit wafer can be more easily performed than when the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer are positioned based on the optical coupling efficiency between the circuit board and the optical waveguide components.

[0014] (4) In the mounting method according to any one of (1) to (3), in the step of preparing the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer, the optical connecting component may be positioned relative to the carrier wafer by inserting a first convex portion formed on the carrier wafer into a first concave portion formed in the optical connecting component. In this case, the optical connecting component can be easily positioned relative to the carrier wafer by the simple operation of inserting the first convex portion into the first concave portion.

[0015] (5) In the mounting method according to any one of (1) to (3), in the step of preparing the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer, the optical connecting component may be positioned relative to the carrier wafer by inserting a first convex portion formed on the optical connecting component into a first concave portion formed on the carrier wafer. In this case, the optical connecting component can be easily positioned relative to the carrier wafer by the simple operation of inserting the first convex portion into the first concave portion.

[0016] (6) In the mounting method described in (5) above, after forming the optical connecting component with the circuit board, the optical waveguide component may be positioned relative to the optical connecting component by inserting a first convex portion formed on the optical connecting component into a hole formed in an optical waveguide member to be connected to the optical connecting component. In this case, the first convex portion formed on the optical connecting component can be used to position the optical connecting component and the optical waveguide component, making it possible to simplify the configuration of the optical connecting component compared to when a concave-convex structure for positioning the optical connecting component and the optical waveguide component is separately formed.

[0017] (7) In the mounting method according to any one of (1) to (6) above, in the step of fixing the plurality of optical connecting components to the plurality of circuit boards, the optical connecting components may be positioned relative to the circuit boards by inserting second convex portions formed on the circuit boards into second concave portions formed on the optical connecting components, or by inserting second convex portions formed on the optical connecting components into second concave portions formed on the circuit boards. In this case, the optical connecting components can be easily positioned relative to the circuit boards by the simple operation of inserting the second convex portions into the second concave portions.

[0018] (8) The mounting method according to any one of (1) to (7) above may further include a step of removing the carrier wafer from the optical connecting components after fixing the optical connecting components to the circuit boards and before forming the circuit board-attached optical connecting components. In this case, the carrier wafer can be reused and used repeatedly, which has the advantage of saving resources and being more economical than when the carrier wafer cannot be removed from the optical connecting components.

[0019] (9) In the mounting method described in any one of (1) to (8) above, the step of aligning multiple optical waveguide components with multiple circuit boards may include preparing an alignment component having a first optical waveguide and a second optical waveguide. With the optical connecting component stacked on the circuit board, the first optical waveguide and the second optical waveguide may be optically connected to a first optical element and a second optical element included in the circuit board, respectively. Measurement light may be input from the first optical waveguide to the first optical element, and the intensity of the measurement light may be measured after passing through an optical waveguide connecting the first optical element and the second optical element and output from the second optical element to the second optical waveguide. The carrier wafer may be positioned relative to the circuit wafer so that the intensity of the measurement light is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value. In this case, the optical connecting component can be aligned with the circuit board with higher precision based on the intensity of the measurement light.

[0020] (10) In the mounting method according to any one of (1) to (9), the step of fixing a plurality of optical connecting components to a plurality of circuit boards may include the steps of: injecting an adhesive between the optical connecting components and the circuit boards through injection holes formed between two adjacent optical connecting components in the carrier wafer, with the optical connecting components spaced 50 μm or more from the circuit board in the facing direction between the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer; and, after injecting the adhesive between the optical connecting components and the circuit boards, bringing the optical connecting components closer to the circuit board in the facing direction to 10 μm or less, thereby curing the adhesive to fix the optical connecting components to the circuit boards. In this case, even when the carrier wafer is positioned facing the circuit wafer, the adhesive can be easily applied between the optical connecting components and the circuit boards by inserting a dispenser through the injection holes formed in the carrier wafer.

[0021] (11) In the mounting method according to any one of (1) to (9), the step of fixing a plurality of optical connecting components to a plurality of circuit boards may include the steps of: heating a fixing material disposed between the circuit board and the optical connecting components, the fixing material melting when the temperature reaches or exceeds a predetermined temperature, to a predetermined temperature or higher; and fixing the optical connecting components to the circuit board by cooling the heated, melted fixing material to a temperature below the predetermined temperature and solidifying it. Fixing the optical connecting components to the circuit board using a fixing material that melts when heated in this manner eliminates the need for an additional step of applying adhesive between the circuit board and the optical connecting components, thereby simplifying the mounting process of the optical connecting components on the circuit board. Furthermore, when fixing the optical connecting components to the circuit board using a fixing material that melts when heated, rework can be easily performed by reheating the fixing material even after the optical connecting components have been fixed to the circuit board.

[0022] (12) In the mounting method described in any one of (1) to (9) above, in the step of fixing multiple optical connecting components to multiple circuit boards, the optical connecting components may be fixed to the circuit boards by melting and solidifying a fixing material that melts with ultrasonic vibrations and is disposed between the circuit boards and the optical connecting components using ultrasonic vibrations. Fixing the optical connecting components to the circuit board using a fixing material that melts with ultrasonic vibrations like this also simplifies the mounting process of the optical connecting components to the circuit boards, as described above, because it eliminates the need for the extra step of applying adhesive between the circuit board and the optical connecting components. Furthermore, using a fixing material that melts with ultrasonic vibrations eliminates the need to form metallization on the circuit board to improve wettability and adhesion to the fixing material. Furthermore, because flux-free solder can be used as the fixing material, the optical connecting components can be fixed to the circuit board without the optical properties being affected by flux adhesion to the optical surface.

[0023] (13) In the mounting method described in (11) or (12) above, in the step of fixing the plurality of optical connecting components to the plurality of circuit boards, solder may be used as a fixing material. In this case, the fixing material can be easily realized.

[0024] (14) An optical connection assembly including an optical connecting component mounted on a circuit board by the mounting method according to any one of (11) to (13). In this optical connection assembly, a solidified fixing material is disposed between the circuit board and the optical connecting component, and the optical connecting component is fixed to the circuit board by the solidified fixing material. In this optical connection assembly, since the optical connecting component is fixed to the circuit board by the solidified fixing material, the effect according to any one of (11) to (13) can be achieved.

[0025] [Details of the embodiments of the present disclosure] Specific examples of the mounting method of an optical connection component and the optical connection assembly of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

[0026] 1A and 1B performs optical communication via a plurality of optical fibers 500. The optical communication module 10 includes, for example, a communication LSI 20 and a plurality of optical connection assemblies 100.

[0027] In the optical communications module 10, for example, a communication LSI 20 and a plurality of optical connection assemblies 100 are mounted on a substrate 15. Each optical connection assembly 100 is connected to the communication LSI 20 by an electrical wiring 25. The substrate 15 is, for example, an interposer substrate. The electrical wiring 25 passes through the inside of the substrate 15, for example, to connect the optical connection assemblies 100 and the communication LSI 20. The electrical wiring 25 may also pass through the surface layer of the substrate 15 to connect the optical connection assemblies 100 and the communication LSI 20.

[0028] The optical communications module 10 is required to be compact in order to efficiently utilize the storage space. As the optical communications module 10 becomes smaller, the optical connection assembly 100 comes closer to the communication LSI 20, which becomes hot. As a result, the optical connection assembly 100 is exposed to a high-temperature environment (e.g., 85°C or higher) caused by the heat generated by the communication LSI 20. The optical communications module 10 of this embodiment is designed assuming use in such a high-temperature environment.

[0029] As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the optical connection assembly 100 includes an optical IC substrate 30, an optical connector 50, and an adapter 70.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2A , in the optical connection assembly 100, the adapter 70 is mounted on the main surface 30 a of the optical IC substrate 30, and the optical connector 50 is disposed in a position facing the adapter 70 in a vertical direction. The optical connector 50 is positioned relative to the adapter 70 while facing the adapter 70 in a vertical direction. In this state, the optical connector 50 is connected to the adapter 70 along the vertical direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2B , the multiple optical fibers 500 included in the optical connector 50 are optically connected to the optical ICs 31 included in the optical IC substrate 30. The adapter 70 and the optical connector 50 may be positioned relative to each other while facing each other in a horizontal direction, or may be connected along the horizontal direction. FIG. 2A shows a state before the optical connector 50 is completely connected to the adapter 70.

[0031] The adapter 70 is a component for connecting the optical connector 50 to the optical IC board 30 and is an example of an "optical connecting component" of the present disclosure. The adapter 70 is, for example, a glass substrate formed from a glass material. The glass adapter 70 transmits at least some wavelengths included in the wavelength ranges of visible light and infrared light. The term "transmittable to visible light wavelengths" refers to, for example, a visible light transmittance of 10% or more, more preferably 50% or more, when a 1 mm thick material is irradiated with visible light having a wavelength of 400 nm or more and 850 nm or less. The term "transmittable to infrared light wavelengths" refers to, for example, a 1 mm thick material being irradiated with infrared light having a wavelength of 850 nm or more and 2500 nm or less, and more preferably 50% or more, when the infrared light transmittance is 10% or more, more preferably 50% or more.

[0032] The adapter 70 is capable of transmitting at least a part of the wavelength range of ultraviolet light. The term "transmittable to ultraviolet light" means that when a material having a thickness of 10 mm is irradiated with ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 320 nm or more and 400 nm or less, the transmittance of the ultraviolet light is 10% or more, more preferably 50% or more. The adapter 70 is, for example, 1×10 －６ It is suitable for the adapter 70 to have a linear thermal expansion coefficient of 0.1 kJ / K or less. Examples of materials for the adapter 70 include glass materials such as synthetic quartz glass, borosilicate glass, and aluminoborosilicate glass. The material for the adapter 70 does not necessarily have to be a glass material, and may be other materials such as a resin material or a metal material.

[0033] In the following description, the normal direction to the upper surface 70a of the adapter 70 is referred to as the Z-axis direction, and the directions along the upper surface 70a are referred to as the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. The X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction are, for example, perpendicular to one another. The adapter 70 has, for example, a rectangular plate shape with the Y-axis direction as the longitudinal direction, the X-axis direction as the lateral direction, and the Z-axis direction as the thickness direction.

[0034] The upper surface 70a and the lower surface 70b of the adapter 70 are flat surfaces along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and face opposite each other in the Z-axis direction. The lower surface 70b faces the main surface 30a of the optical IC substrate 30 in the Z-axis direction. The optical IC substrate 30 is a substrate having a plurality of optical ICs 31 mounted on the main surface 30a, and is an example of a "circuit board" in the present disclosure. The optical ICs 31 are an example of an "optical element" in the present disclosure. The main surface 30a is disposed, for example, parallel to the upper surface 70a and the lower surface 70b. The upper surface 70a faces the optical connector 50 in the Z-axis direction.

[0035] A solidified fixing material 650 (see FIG. 6A ) is disposed between the lower surface 70 b of the adapter 70 and the main surface 30 a of the optical IC substrate 30, and the solidified fixing material 650 fixes the lower surface 70 b of the adapter 70 to the main surface 30 a of the optical IC substrate 30. The fixing material 650 is, for example, a solder that melts at a predetermined temperature or higher. Examples of solder materials that melt at a predetermined temperature or higher include lead-free solders such as Ag / Sn / Cu-based solders, Au / Sn-based solders, and Sn / Bi-based solders with low melting points. The fixing material 650 may also be a solder that melts due to ultrasonic vibration energy. Examples of solders that melt due to ultrasonic vibration energy include Cerasolzer (registered trademark, manufactured by Komura Tech Co., Ltd.) and Cerasolzer Eco (registered trademark, manufactured by Komura Tech Co., Ltd.).

[0036] An opening 70c is formed on the upper surface 70a of the adapter 70. The opening 70c penetrates from the upper surface 70a to the lower surface 70b in the Z-axis direction, exposing the multiple optical ICs 31 mounted on the main surface 30a of the optical IC substrate 30. The opening 70c forms a space for propagating optical signals between the multiple optical ICs 31 and the multiple optical fibers 500. As shown in FIG. 2A , the opening 70c viewed in the Z-axis direction has, for example, a rectangular shape with the Y-axis direction as the longitudinal direction and the X-axis direction as the lateral direction. The multiple optical ICs 31 exposed from the opening 70c are aligned, for example, along the Y-axis direction.

[0037] A pair of guide holes 70d are formed in the upper surface 70a of the adapter 70. The pair of guide holes 70d are, for example, through holes that penetrate the adapter 70 in the Z-axis direction from the upper surface 70a to the lower surface 70b at a pair of positions sandwiching the opening 70c in the Y-axis direction. A guide pin 71 is inserted into each guide hole 70d. When inserted into each guide hole 70d, each guide pin 71 is fixed to the inner surface of the guide hole 70d, for example, with an adhesive. When each guide pin 71 is inserted into each guide hole 70d, a first end 71a of each guide pin 71 protrudes from the upper surface 70a in the Z-axis direction, and a second end 71b of each guide pin 71 protrudes from the lower surface 70b in the Z-axis direction. Each guide hole 70d is not limited to a through hole, and may have other shapes, such as a recess or a groove, as long as it has a shape that provides space to accommodate a portion of the guide pin 71.

[0038] The through-holes (e.g., guide holes 70d) formed in the adapter 70 are formed using, for example, a process combining photolithography and dry etching such as RIE, or a laser-based hole-drilling technique. However, any glass hole-drilling technique can be used as long as the through-hole position has an error of 1 μm or less from the predetermined design position and the inner diameter of the through-hole can be within ±1 μm of the target inner diameter. The through-holes formed in the adapter 70 do not have to be perpendicular to the top surface 70a of the adapter 70. For example, if the through-holes are formed at an angle of, for example, 8 degrees with respect to the perpendicular to the top surface 70a of the adapter 70, reflected backlight can be effectively reduced.

[0039] 2B , a pair of pin receiving portions 30b are formed on the main surface 30a of the optical IC substrate 30. The pair of pin receiving portions 30b are recesses recessed from the main surface 30a in the Z-axis direction. The pair of pin receiving portions 30b are formed at positions corresponding to the pair of guide holes 70d. In other words, the pair of pin receiving portions 30b are formed at positions that overlap the pair of guide holes 70d formed in the adapter 70 in the Z-axis direction.

[0040] The second end 71b of each guide pin 71 protruding from the lower surface 70b of the adapter 70 is inserted into each pin receiving portion 30b. Each pin receiving portion 30b is not limited to a recess, and may have other shapes such as a through hole or a groove, as long as the second end 71b of the guide pin 71 can be inserted therein. The shape of each pin receiving portion 30b as viewed along the Z-axis direction is a circle with an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of each guide pin 71. By inserting the second end 71b of each guide pin 71 into each pin receiving portion 30b, the adapter 70 and the optical IC substrate 30 are positioned relative to each other.

[0041] The second end 71b of the guide pin 71 protruding from the lower surface 70b of the adapter 70 is an example of a "second convex portion" formed in the "optical connecting component" of the present disclosure. The pin receiving portion 30b recessed from the main surface 30a of the optical IC board 30 is an example of a "second concave portion" formed in the "circuit board" of the present disclosure.

[0042] 2A , the optical connector 50 is a component connected to an adapter 70 mounted on the optical IC substrate 30, and is an example of an "optical waveguide component" of the present disclosure. The optical connector 50 includes, for example, a ferrule 60 that holds the tip end of an optical fiber 500. The ferrule 60 includes, for example, a connection end face 60a that is connected to the adapter 70, and a protruding face 60b that protrudes from the connection end face 60a.

[0043] 2B , the connection end face 60a and the protruding surface 60b are, for example, flat surfaces along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, respectively. The connection end face 60a faces the upper surface 70a of the adapter 70 in the Z-axis direction. The protruding surface 60b protrudes from the connection end face 60a in the Z-axis direction and is disposed inside an opening 70c formed in the upper surface 70a. The protruding surface 60b faces the main surface 30a of the optical IC substrate 30 in the Z-axis direction. When the optical connector 50 is viewed in the Z-axis direction, for example, the protruding surface 60b has a rectangular shape located in the center of the optical connector 50, and the connection end face 60a has a rectangular ring shape surrounding the protruding surface 60b.

[0044] A plurality of optical fibers 500 are exposed from the protruding surface 60b of the optical connector 50. The tip of each optical fiber 500 faces each optical IC 31 on the main surface 30a exposed from the opening 70c in the Z-axis direction and is optically connected to each optical IC 31. The protruding surface 60b may be in contact with the main surface 30a in the Z-axis direction, or may be separated from the main surface 30a in the Z-axis direction. Therefore, the tip of each optical fiber 500 exposed from the protruding surface 60b may also be in contact with each optical IC 31 on the main surface 30a in the Z-axis direction, or may be separated from each optical IC 31 in the Z-axis direction.

[0045] A pair of guide holes 60c are formed in the connection end surface 60a. Each guide hole 60c is a through hole that penetrates the ferrule 60 in the Z-axis direction. The pair of guide holes 60c are formed at positions corresponding to a pair of guide holes 70d formed in the adapter 70. In other words, the pair of guide holes 60c are formed at positions that overlap the pair of guide holes 70d in the Z-axis direction.

[0046] A first end 71 a of each guide pin 71 protruding from the upper surface 70 a of the adapter 70 is inserted into each guide hole 60 c. By inserting the first end 71 a of each guide pin 71 into each guide hole 60 c, the adapter 70 and the optical connector 50 are positioned relative to each other. The guide holes 60 c are not limited to through holes, and may have other shapes, such as recesses or grooves, as long as the first end 71 a of the guide pin 71 can be inserted therein. The first end 71 a of the guide pin 71 protruding from the upper surface 70 a of the adapter 70 is an example of a "first convex portion" formed in the "optical connecting component" of the present disclosure. The guide holes 60 c formed in the optical connector 50 are an example of a "hole portion" formed in the "optical waveguide component" of the present disclosure.

[0047] The optical connector 50 may be a glass substrate in which a plurality of optical fibers 500 are embedded. The optical connector 50 may be a glass substrate in which a plurality of refractive index change regions (optical waveguides) are formed by laser drawing. As the glass substrate in which the plurality of optical fibers 500 are embedded, for example, a porous glass substrate having a plurality of through holes into which the plurality of optical fibers 500 are respectively inserted may be used.

[0048] When connecting the optical connector 50 to the adapter 70, the first ends 71a of the guide pins 71 protruding from the top surface 70a of the adapter 70 are inserted into the guide holes 60c of the optical connector 50. In this state, the optical connector 50 is moved closer to the adapter 70 in the Z-axis direction. As a result, the tips of the optical fibers 500 exposed from the protruding surface 60b face the optical ICs 31 exposed from the openings 70c in the Z-axis direction and are optically connected to the optical ICs 31. This results in an optical connection assembly 100 in which the optical connector 50 is connected to the optical IC substrate 30 using the adapter 70.

[0049] Next, an example of a method for mounting the adapter 70 on the optical IC board 30 will be described.

[0050] First, as shown in FIG. 3 , a carrier wafer 700 and a circuit wafer 300 are prepared. Each of the carrier wafer 700 and the circuit wafer 300 has a disk shape with the thickness direction in the Z-axis direction, for example. The carrier wafer 700 is used to temporarily fix a plurality of adapters 70. The carrier wafer 700 is a separate component from the plurality of adapters 70, and the plurality of adapters 70 are placed on a surface 700 a of the carrier wafer 700. The plurality of adapters 70 are arranged two-dimensionally along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction on the surface 700 a of the carrier wafer 700.

[0051] The carrier wafer 700 is formed of, for example, the same material as the adapter 70. In this case, the material of the carrier wafer 700 is, for example, a glass material such as borosilicate glass or aluminoborosilicate glass. When such a low-thermal-expansion glass material is selected as the material of the carrier wafer 700, deformation of the carrier wafer 700 due to thermal expansion can be reduced even in a high-temperature environment. In this case, the carrier wafer 700 and the circuit wafer 300, which will be described later, can be positioned with high precision. The material of the carrier wafer 700 may be different from the material of the adapter 70 and may be a material other than a glass material.

[0052] A pair of positioning marks M7 are formed on the carrier wafer 700. The pair of positioning marks M7 are formed on a pair of adapters 70 at positions that do not overlap in the Z-axis direction when the carrier wafer 700 is viewed in the Z-axis direction. The pair of positioning marks M7 are marks that serve as references for positioning the carrier wafer 700 and the circuit wafer 300, and can be detected by an imaging device such as a camera. The pair of positioning marks M7 may be formed on the front surface 700a or the back surface 700b of the carrier wafer 700.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 4 , a pair of pin insertion holes 700c are formed in the carrier wafer 700 at positions corresponding to the first ends 71a of the pair of guide pins 71 protruding from the upper surface 70a of the adapter 70. The pair of pin insertion holes 700c are, for example, through holes penetrating the carrier wafer 700 in the Z-axis direction. Each pin insertion hole 700c is formed at a position overlapping with each guide hole 70d of the adapter 70 in the Z-axis direction. The first ends 71a of the guide pins 71 protruding from the upper surface 70a of the adapter 70 are inserted into each pin insertion hole 700c. Each pin insertion hole 700c is not limited to a through hole, and may have other shapes, such as a recess or a groove, as long as the first ends 71a of the guide pins 71 can be inserted therein. The pin insertion holes 700c formed in the carrier wafer 700 are an example of a "first recess" formed in a "carrier wafer" of the present disclosure.

[0054] The adapter 70 is positioned relative to the carrier wafer 700 by inserting the first end 71 a of each guide pin 71 into each pin insertion hole 700 c. A resin layer, such as a primer layer, is applied to the inner surface of each pin insertion hole 700 c. Friction between the resin layer and each guide pin 71 prevents each guide pin 71 from easily slipping out of each pin insertion hole 700 c. Therefore, even when the surface 700 a of the carrier wafer 700 is facing downward, the adapter 70 does not fall out of the carrier wafer 700, and the first end 71 a of each guide pin 71 remains inserted in each pin insertion hole 700 c. The guide pins 71 can be pulled out of the pin insertion holes 700 c, allowing the adapter 70 to be removed from the carrier wafer 700. In this manner, the carrier wafer 700 is removably attached to the adapter 70.

[0055] 4, a plurality of fixing materials 650 are applied to the underside 70b of the adapter 70 so as to be arranged at predetermined intervals. As described above, each fixing material 650 is used to fix the adapter 70 to the optical IC board 30, and is, for example, solder that melts at a predetermined temperature or higher. Each fixing material 650 may also be solder that melts due to ultrasonic vibration energy.

[0056] 3, a plurality of optical IC substrates 30 are formed on a circuit wafer 300. The circuit wafer 300 is integrally formed with the plurality of optical IC substrates 30. The plurality of optical IC substrates 30 are exposed from a surface 300a of the circuit wafer 300. The plurality of optical IC substrates 30 are arranged two-dimensionally along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction on the circuit wafer 300 so as to correspond to the plurality of adapters 70. In other words, the plurality of optical IC substrates 30 are arranged at positions that overlap the plurality of adapters 70 in the Z-axis direction.

[0057] A pair of positioning marks M3 are formed on the circuit wafer 300. The pair of positioning marks M3 are formed on the surface 300a of the circuit wafer 300 at positions that overlap the pair of positioning marks M7 of the carrier wafer 700 in the Z-axis direction. The pair of positioning marks M3 are marks that are targets for positioning relative to the pair of positioning marks M7 of the carrier wafer 700, and are an example of a "target element" in the present disclosure. Like the pair of positioning marks M7, the pair of positioning marks M3 can be detected by an imaging device such as a camera. The "target element" in the present disclosure does not necessarily have to be a mark, and may be, for example, a characteristic part included in the circuit wafer 300 as long as it can be detected by an imaging device such as a camera. The positioning mark M3 may be considered an example of a "target element" in the present disclosure, and the positioning mark M7 may be considered an example of a "target element" in the present disclosure.

[0058] 5A , the front surface 700a of the carrier wafer 700 is brought into opposition to the front surface 300a of the circuit wafer 300 in the Z-axis direction, and the carrier wafer 700 is positioned relative to the circuit wafer 300. When the carrier wafer 700 faces the circuit wafer 300, the facing direction of the carrier wafer 700 and the circuit wafer 300 coincides with the Z-axis direction, and directions intersecting the facing direction coincide with the X- and Y-directions. When the carrier wafer 700 faces the circuit wafer 300, for example, a camera is placed at a position facing the back surface 700b of the carrier wafer 700 in the Z-axis direction. Then, each positioning mark M7 on the carrier wafer 700 and each positioning mark M3 on the circuit wafer 300 are detected by the camera.

[0059] At this time, since the carrier wafer 700 is formed from a glass material that is transparent to visible light and infrared light, even when the carrier wafer 700 is stacked on the circuit wafer 300 in the Z-axis direction, both the positioning marks M7 on the carrier wafer 700 and the positioning marks M3 on the circuit wafer 300 can be detected through the transparent carrier wafer 700.

[0060] Next, the carrier wafer 700 is positioned relative to the circuit wafer 300 using the positioning marks M7 and M3 as references. For example, when the back surface 700b of the carrier wafer 700 is viewed along the Z-axis direction, the relative positions of the carrier wafer 700 and the circuit wafer 300 are adjusted so that the deviation between the positioning marks M7 on the carrier wafer 700 and the positioning marks M3 on the circuit wafer 300 is small. The deviation between the positioning marks M7 and M3 corresponds to the distance between the positioning marks M7 and M3 on the XY plane. The deviation between the positioning marks M7 and M3 is adjusted to be, for example, 1 μm or less.

[0061] By adjusting the relative positions of the carrier wafer 700 and the circuit wafer 300 in this manner, each adapter 70 overlaps with each optical IC substrate 30 in the Z-axis direction, and each optical IC substrate 30 is aligned together with each adapter 70. Aligning the adapter 70 with the optical IC substrate 30 means that the relative position of the adapter 70 with respect to the optical IC substrate 30 is adjusted so that when the optical connector 50 is connected to the adapter 70, each optical fiber 500 is optically connected to each optical IC substrate 30 exposed from the opening of the adapter 70.

[0062] After aligning the multiple adapters 70 collectively with respect to the multiple optical IC substrates 30, the multiple adapters 70 are fixed to the multiple optical IC substrates 30. When a glass material is selected as the material for the carrier wafer 700 and the adapters 70 as in the present embodiment, the glass material has high heat resistance, and therefore the aligned carrier wafer 700 and the adapters 70 can withstand the reflow process used to fix the multiple adapters 70 to the multiple optical IC substrates 30.

[0063] When fixing the multiple adapters 70 to the multiple optical IC substrates 30, for example, each fixing material 650 shown in FIG. 6A is melted by heating the fixing material 650 to a predetermined temperature or higher. The predetermined temperature is the melting temperature (melting point) of the fixing material 650, for example, 170°C or higher and 265°C or lower. Each fixing material 650 is then solidified by cooling it to a temperature lower than the predetermined temperature. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6B , each adapter 70 is fixed to each optical IC substrate 30 by a solidified portion 65 of the fixing material 650. When fixing the multiple adapters 70 to each optical IC substrate 30, for example, ultrasonic vibration energy may be applied to each fixing material 650 to melt and solidify the fixing material 650.

[0064] The fixing material 650 does not necessarily have to be solder, and may be made of other materials as long as they can fix the adapter 70 to the optical IC substrate 30. Examples of other materials that can be selected for the fixing material 650 include thermoplastic resins and thermoplastic metals. In this case, for example, the adapter 70 and the optical IC substrate 30 can be fixed together by locally or entirely applying laser heating to the fixing material 650 between the adapter 70 and the optical IC substrate 30.

[0065] Next, as shown in Fig. 7A , the carrier wafer 700 is removed from the plurality of adaptors 70. For example, as shown in Fig. 8A , the guide pins 71 fixed to the adaptors 70 are pulled out from the pin insertion holes 700c of the carrier wafer 700, thereby separating the carrier wafer 700 from the adaptors 70. This results in the adapters 70 from which the carrier wafer 700 has been removed and which are attached only to the optical IC substrates 30, as shown in Figs. 7B and 8B .

[0066] Next, the circuit wafer 300 is cut to form the optical IC board-equipped adapter 370 shown in FIG. 9A . The optical IC board-equipped adapter 370 is an example of an “optical connecting component with a circuit board” of the present disclosure. The optical IC board-equipped adapter 370 includes, for example, one optical IC board 30 and one adapter 70 to which one optical IC board 30 is fixed. In this case, by cutting the circuit wafer 300 into individual pieces, the same number of optical IC board-equipped adapters 370 as the number of optical IC boards 30 (i.e., the number of adapters 70) are formed. Each optical IC board-equipped adapter 370 is mounted, for example, on the substrate 15 of the optical communications module 10. One optical IC board-equipped adapter 370 may include two or more optical IC boards 30 and two or more adapters 70 to which two or more optical IC boards 30 are respectively fixed. In this case, the number of optical IC boards 30 and the number of adapters 70 included in one optical IC board-equipped adapter 370 correspond one-to-one.

[0067] Next, as shown in Fig. 9B, the first ends 71a of the guide pins 71 fixed to the adapter 70 are inserted into the guide holes 60c (see Fig. 2B) of the optical connector 50, thereby connecting the optical connector 50 to the adapter 70. This results in the optical connection assembly 100 shown in Fig. 2A.

[0068] Next, a method for mounting the adapter 70 and the effects achieved by the optical connection assembly 100 of this embodiment will be described.

[0069] In this embodiment, as described above, the carrier wafer 700 on which the multiple adapters 70 are placed is positioned relative to the circuit wafer 300 on which the multiple optical IC substrates 30 are formed, thereby collectively aligning the multiple adapters 70 with respect to the multiple optical IC substrates 30. In this case, unlike the case where the optical IC substrates 30 are cut out one by one from the circuit wafer 300 and the adapters 70 are aligned as many times as the number of optical IC substrates 30, the alignment of the multiple adapters 70 with respect to the multiple optical IC substrates 30 can be performed in a single process, thereby simplifying the process of mounting the multiple adapters 70 with respect to the multiple optical IC substrates 30.

[0070] As in the present embodiment, the carrier wafer 700 and the adapter 70 may be formed of a material that transmits at least a portion of the wavelengths in the visible and infrared wavelength ranges. In this case, when the carrier wafer 700 is viewed using an imaging device such as a camera while facing the circuit wafer 300, the position of the circuit wafer 300 can be detected through the carrier wafer 700. Then, based on the detected image, the carrier wafer 700 can be easily positioned relative to the circuit wafer 300. In particular, when the carrier wafer 700 and the adapter 70 are formed of a glass material that is transparent to visible light, as in the present embodiment, it becomes possible to use a variety of cameras for image processing and optical systems that enhance resolution. Furthermore, because the thermal expansion coefficient of glass material is low, the adapter 70 can be positioned with high precision relative to the optical IC substrate 30, even in a high-temperature environment.

[0071] As in the present embodiment, the carrier wafer 700 may be positioned relative to the circuit wafer 300 so as to reduce the misalignment between each positioning mark M7 of the carrier wafer 700 and each positioning mark M3 of the circuit wafer 300. When the carrier wafer 700 and the circuit wafer 300 are positioned based on the positions of each positioning mark M7 and each positioning mark M3 in this way, the carrier wafer 700 can be positioned relative to the circuit wafer 300 more easily than when the carrier wafer 700 and the circuit wafer 300 are positioned based on the optical coupling efficiency between the optical IC substrate 30 and the optical connector 50.

[0072] As in the present embodiment, the adaptor 70 may be positioned relative to the carrier wafer 700 by inserting the first end 71 a of each guide pin 71 formed in the adaptor 70 into each pin insertion hole 700 c formed in the carrier wafer 700. In this case, the adaptor 70 can be easily positioned relative to the carrier wafer 700 by the simple operation of inserting the first end 71 a of each guide pin 71 into each pin insertion hole 700 c.

[0073] As in the present embodiment, after forming the adapter 370 with optical IC substrate, the optical connector 50 may be positioned relative to the adapter 70 by inserting the first ends 71 ​​a of the guide pins 71 formed on the adapter 70 into the guide holes 60 c formed in the optical connector 50. In this case, the guide pins 71 formed on the adapter 70 can be used to position the adapter 70 and the optical connector 50, so the configuration of the adapter 70 can be simplified compared to when a separate concave-convex structure for positioning the adapter 70 and the optical connector 50 is formed.

[0074] As in the present embodiment, the adapter 70 may be positioned relative to the optical IC substrate 30 by inserting the second end 71b of each guide pin 71 formed on the adapter 70 into each pin receiving portion 30b formed on the optical IC substrate 30. In this case, the adapter 70 can be easily positioned relative to the optical IC substrate 30 by the simple operation of inserting the second end 71b of each guide pin 71 into each pin receiving portion 30b.

[0075] As in the present embodiment, after the plurality of adapters 70 are fixed to the plurality of optical IC substrates 30, the carrier wafer 700 may be removed from the plurality of adapters 70 before forming the optical IC substrate-equipped adapter 370. In this case, the carrier wafer 700 can be reused and used repeatedly, which has the advantage of saving resources and being more economical than when the carrier wafer 700 cannot be removed from the plurality of adapters 70.

[0076] As in the present embodiment, the fixing material 650, which melts when it reaches or exceeds a predetermined temperature, may be heated to or above the predetermined temperature, and then the heated, melted fixing material 650 may be cooled to or below the predetermined temperature to solidify, thereby fixing the adapter 70 to the optical IC substrate 30. In this case, compared to when an adhesive is used to fix the adapter 70 to the optical IC substrate 30, an extra step of applying adhesive between the optical IC substrate 30 and the adapter 70 is not required, and the process of mounting the adapter 70 on the optical IC substrate 30 can be simplified. Furthermore, when the fixing material 650, which melts when heated, is used to fix the adapter 70 to the optical IC substrate 30, rework can be easily performed by reheating the fixing material 650 even after the adapter 70 has been fixed to the optical IC substrate 30 with the fixing material 650.

[0077] In this embodiment, the adapter 70 may be fixed to the optical IC substrate 30 by melting and solidifying the fixing material 650 that melts due to ultrasonic vibrations using ultrasonic vibrations. In this case, as described above, the extra step of applying adhesive between the optical IC substrate 30 and the adapter 70 is not required, thereby simplifying the process of mounting the adapter 70 on the optical IC substrate 30. Furthermore, when the fixing material 650 that melts due to ultrasonic vibrations is used, it is not necessary to form metallization on the optical IC substrate 30 to improve wettability and adhesion to the fixing material. Furthermore, since flux-free solder can be used as the fixing material 650, the adapter 70 can be fixed to the optical IC substrate 30 without the optical characteristics being affected by flux adhesion to the optical surface.

[0078] The mounting method of an optical connecting component and the optical connection assembly of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described embodiments. The mounting method of an optical connecting component and the optical connection assembly of the present disclosure may be modified in specific aspects without departing from the spirit of the claims.

[0079] <Variation 1> As in the carrier wafer 700A shown in FIG. 10 , multiple injection holes 700d may be formed on the surface. In this case, each injection hole 700d is formed to pass between two adjacent adapters 70. In the example shown in FIG. 10 , the injection holes 700d extend linearly along the Y-axis direction between an adapter row in which the adapters 70 are lined up along the Y-axis direction and another adapter row adjacent to that adapter row. Each injection hole 700d extends along the Y-axis direction to a position that does not reach the outer edge of the carrier wafer 700A. Each injection hole 700d is used to inject adhesive 750 (see FIG. 11B ) for fixing each adapter 70 on the carrier wafer 700A to each optical IC substrate 30 on the circuit wafer 300.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 11A , when fixing the adapter 70 to the optical IC substrate 30, a dispenser is inserted into an injection hole 700d (see FIG. 10 ) formed in the carrier wafer 700A with the lower surface 70b of the adapter 70 placed on the carrier wafer 700A and the main surface 30a of the optical IC substrate 30 of the circuit wafer 30 separated by a distance d. The distance d is the distance in the Z-axis direction from the main surface 30a of the optical IC substrate 30 to the lower surface 70b of the adapter 70, and is, for example, 50 μm or more and 500 μm or less. Then, as shown in FIG. 11B , adhesive 750 is applied from the dispenser to between the lower surface 70b of the adapter 70 and the main surface 30a of the optical IC substrate 30, and the adapter 70 is then brought close to the optical IC substrate 30 so that the distance d is 1 μm or more and 10 μm or less, and the adhesive 750 is cured. This fixes the adapter 70 to the optical IC substrate 30 by the adhesive 750.

[0081] When using the carrier wafer 700A shown in Figure 10, even when the carrier wafer 700A is positioned facing the circuit wafer 300, a dispenser can be inserted through the injection hole 700d formed in the carrier wafer 700A to easily apply adhesive 750 between the adapter 70 and the optical IC substrate 30.

[0082] <Modification 2> In the above-described embodiment, when aligning the adapter 70 with respect to the optical IC substrate 30, after positioning the carrier wafer 700 with respect to the circuit wafer 300, an alignment component 600 shown in FIG. 12 may be used to more precisely align the adapter 70 with respect to the optical IC substrate 30. The alignment component 600 includes a first optical waveguide 500a and a second optical waveguide 500b. The optical IC substrate 30 includes a first optical IC 31a and a second optical IC 31b corresponding to the first optical waveguide 500a and the second optical waveguide 500b, and an optical waveguide 31c connecting the first optical IC 31a and the second optical IC 31b. The first optical IC 31a and the second optical IC 31b are, for example, arranged at positions separated from the optical IC 31.

[0083] The alignment component 600 is inserted into the opening 70c of the adapter 70. The first optical waveguide 500a and the second optical waveguide 500b of the alignment component 600 are optically connected to the first optical IC 31a and the second optical IC 31b, respectively, exposed through the opening 70c. In this state, measurement light L is input to the first optical waveguide 500a. The measurement light L input to the first optical waveguide 500a is input to the first optical IC 31a, passes through the loop-back optical waveguide 31c, and is output from the second optical IC 31b to the second optical waveguide 500b. The intensity of the measurement light L output from the second optical waveguide 500b is then measured, and the position of the adapter 70 relative to the optical IC substrate 30 is adjusted so that the optical coupling efficiency between the alignment component 600 and the optical IC substrate 30 is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value. This allows for more accurate alignment of the adapter 70 relative to the optical IC substrate 30. The predetermined reference value may be the maximum value of the optical coupling efficiency or a value lower than the maximum value. The measurement light L may be input to the second optical waveguide 500b, and the intensity of the measurement light L output from the first optical waveguide 500a may be measured.

[0084] 13A , the optical connector 50A may be connected to a side surface 70e of the adapter 70A instead of the top surface 70a. In this case, a pair of guide holes 70f into which a pair of guide pins 71A are respectively inserted are formed in the side surface 70e of the adapter 70A. The pair of guide pins 71A are, for example, fixed to the optical connector 50A and protrude from the optical connector 50A. The pair of guide pins 71A may be fixed to the inner surfaces of the pair of guide holes 70f of the adapter 70A, or may protrude from the side surface 70e of the adapter 70A.

[0085] 14A and 14B, a plurality of optical waveguides 500A are formed inside the adapter 70A, each optically connected to a plurality of optical fibers 500. Each optical waveguide 500A extends from a side surface 70e of the adapter 70A toward an inclined side surface 70g located on the opposite side from the side surface 70e. The inclined side surface 70g is inclined toward both the top surface 70a and the side surface 70e. Light output from each optical waveguide 500A is reflected by the inclined side surface 70g and enters each optical IC 31 on the optical IC substrate 30.

[0086] A pair of positioning holes 70h are formed in the top surface 70a of the adapter 70A. The pair of positioning holes 70h are through holes that penetrate the adapter 70A in the Z-axis direction. Each positioning hole 70h may have any shape that provides space for accommodating a portion of the positioning pin 81, and may have other shapes such as a recess or a groove, rather than being limited to a through hole. A pair of positioning pins 81 shown in FIG. 13B is inserted into each of the pair of positioning holes 70h.

[0087] With each positioning pin 81 inserted into each positioning hole 70h, the first end 81a of each positioning pin 81 protrudes from the upper surface 70a of the adapter 70A and penetrates the carrier wafer 700 in the Z-axis direction. The second end 81b of each positioning pin 81 protrudes from the lower surface 70b of the adapter 70A in the Z-axis direction and is inserted into a pair of pin receiving portions 30b formed on the main surface 30a of the optical IC substrate 30. Even with this configuration, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained. As shown in FIG. 13A , the carrier wafer 700 does not need to be removed from the adapter 70A and may be fixed to the adapter 70A by a pair of positioning pins 81.

[0088] A pigtail-type optical connector 50B may be used, as in the optical connection assembly 100B shown in Figures 15A and 15B. In this case, each optical fiber 500 drawn out from the optical connector 50B is connected to a side surface 70e of an adapter 70B, and each optical fiber 500 is optically connected to each optical IC 31 on the optical IC substrate 30 via an optical waveguide 500A of the adapter 70B. The optical connection assembly 100B has a configuration similar to that of the optical connection assembly 100A shown in Figure 13A, except that the optical connector 50B is a pigtail type. Even with such optical connection assemblies 100A and 100B, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiments can be obtained.

[0089] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and various other modifications are possible. For example, the above-described embodiments and modifications may be combined with each other to a consistent extent depending on the required purpose and effect. The configuration of the optical connection assembly is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications. For example, in the above-described embodiments, a first convex portion is provided on the optical connecting component, and a first concave portion into which the first convex portion is inserted is provided on the carrier wafer. The optical connecting component may be provided with a first concave portion, and the carrier wafer may be provided with a first convex portion. In the above-described embodiments, a second convex portion is provided on the optical connecting component, and a second concave portion into which the second convex portion is inserted is provided on the circuit board. The optical connecting component may be provided with a second concave portion, and the carrier wafer may be provided with a second concave portion. In the above-described embodiments, a case has been described in which the first convex portion and the second convex portion provided on the optical connecting component are each a guide pin portion. As long as the combination of concave-convex structures allows the relative positions of the optical connecting component and the optical waveguide component to be positioned with high precision when the optical connecting component and the optical waveguide component are fitted together, each of the first convex portion and the second convex portion provided on the optical connecting component may be a protrusion other than a guide pin.

[0090] In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which positioning marks are formed on both the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer. Positioning marks may be formed on only one of the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer. Positioning marks may not be formed on both the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer. Even when positioning marks are not formed on both the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer, characteristic parts of the carrier wafer that can be detected by a camera and characteristic parts of the circuit wafer that can be detected by a camera can be used as references for positioning. The positions of the positioning marks formed on the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer are not limited to the example shown in FIG. 3 and can be changed as appropriate.

[0091] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10...Optical communication module 15...Substrate 25...Electrical wiring 30...Optical IC substrate (circuit board) 30a...Main surface 30b...Pin receiving portion (second recess) 31...Optical IC (optical element) 31a...First optical IC (first optical element) 31b...Second optical IC (second optical element) 31c...Optical waveguide 50...Optical connector (optical waveguide component) 60...Ferrule 60a...Connection end face 60b...Protruding surface 60c...Guide hole (hole portion) 70d, 70f...Guide hole 65...Solidified substance 70, 70A, 70B...Adapter 70a...Upper surface 70b...Lower surface 70c...Opening 70e...Side surface 70g...Inclined side surface 70h...Positioning hole 71, 71A...Guide pin 71a...First end (first convex portion) 71b...Second end (second convex portion) 81a...first end 81b...second end 81...positioning pin 100, 100A, 100B...optical connection assembly 300...circuit wafer 300a...surface 370...adapter with optical IC board (optical connection part with circuit board) 500...optical fiber 500A...optical waveguide 500a...first optical waveguide 500b...second optical waveguide 600...alignment part 650...fixing material 700, 700A...carrier wafer 700a...surface 700b...back surface 700c...pin insertion hole (first recess) 700d...injection hole 750...adhesive d...distance L...measurement light M3...positioning mark M7...positioning mark (target element)

Claims

1. A mounting method for mounting a plurality of optical connecting components for connecting a plurality of optical waveguide components to a plurality of circuit boards, the method comprising the steps of: preparing a carrier wafer on which a two-dimensionally arranged plurality of optical connecting components are placed, and a circuit wafer on which a plurality of circuit boards are formed, the plurality of circuit boards being arranged two-dimensionally corresponding to the plurality of optical connecting components; aligning the plurality of optical waveguide components collectively with the plurality of circuit boards by positioning the carrier wafer with respect to the circuit wafer while the carrier wafer is facing the circuit wafer; fixing the plurality of optical connecting components to the plurality of circuit boards after aligning the plurality of optical waveguide components with the plurality of circuit boards; and, after fixing the plurality of optical connecting components to the plurality of circuit boards, cutting the circuit wafer to form at least one optical connecting component with a circuit board, in which at least one optical connecting component of the plurality of optical connecting components is fixed to at least one circuit board of the plurality of circuit boards.

2. The mounting method for optical connecting parts according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the carrier wafer and the optical connecting parts is formed from a material that transmits at least a part of the wavelengths in the wavelength range of visible light and infrared light.

3. A method for mounting optical connecting components according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein in the step of aligning the plurality of optical waveguide components with respect to the plurality of circuit boards, a positioning mark formed on the carrier wafer and a target element included in the circuit wafer that is to be positioned relative to the positioning mark are detected, or a positioning mark formed on the circuit wafer and a target element included in the carrier wafer that is to be positioned relative to the positioning mark are detected, and the carrier wafer is positioned relative to the circuit wafer so that the deviation between the positioning mark and the target element is small in a direction intersecting the facing direction of the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer.

4. A method for mounting optical connection components according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the step of preparing the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer, the optical connection components are positioned relative to the carrier wafer by inserting a first convex portion formed on the carrier wafer into a first concave portion formed on the optical connection components.

5. A method for mounting optical connection components according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the step of preparing the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer, the optical connection components are positioned relative to the carrier wafer by inserting a first convex portion formed on the optical connection component into a first concave portion formed on the carrier wafer.

6. A method for mounting an optical connection component according to claim 5, wherein, after forming the optical connection component with a circuit board, the optical waveguide component is positioned relative to the optical connection component by inserting the first convex portion formed on the optical connection component into a hole formed in an optical waveguide member to be connected to the optical connection component.

7. A method for mounting optical connection components according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein in the step of fixing the plurality of optical connection components to the plurality of circuit boards, the optical connection components are positioned relative to the circuit board by inserting second convex portions formed on the circuit boards into second concave portions formed on the optical connection components, or by inserting second convex portions formed on the optical connection components into second concave portions formed on the circuit boards.

8. A method for mounting optical connection components according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising the step of removing the carrier wafer from the plurality of optical connection components after fixing the plurality of optical connection components to the plurality of circuit boards and before forming the optical connection components with circuit boards.

9. A method for mounting optical connecting components according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the step of aligning the plurality of optical waveguide components with respect to the plurality of circuit boards comprises: preparing an alignment component having a first optical waveguide and a second optical waveguide; optically connecting the first optical waveguide and the second optical waveguide to a first optical element and a second optical element included in the circuit board, respectively, with the optical connecting component superimposed on the circuit board; inputting measurement light from the first optical waveguide to the first optical element; measuring the light intensity of the measurement light that passes through the optical waveguide connecting the first optical element and the second optical element and is output from the second optical element to the second optical waveguide; and positioning the carrier wafer with respect to the circuit wafer so that the light intensity of the measurement light is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value.

10. A method for mounting optical connecting components according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the step of fixing the plurality of optical connecting components to the plurality of circuit boards comprises the steps of: injecting adhesive between the optical connecting components and the circuit boards from injection holes formed between two adjacent optical connecting components on the carrier wafer, with the optical connecting components spaced 50 μm or more from the circuit board in the facing direction between the carrier wafer and the circuit wafer; and, after injecting the adhesive between the optical connecting components and the circuit boards, fixing the optical connecting components to the circuit boards by curing the adhesive in a state where the optical connecting components are brought close to the circuit board to 10 μm or less in the facing direction.

11. A method for mounting optical connection components according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the step of fixing the plurality of optical connection components to the plurality of circuit boards includes the steps of: heating a fixing material, which is disposed between the circuit board and the optical connection components and melts when the temperature reaches or exceeds a predetermined temperature, to the predetermined temperature or higher; and cooling the fixing material that has melted due to heating to below the predetermined temperature and solidifying it, thereby fixing the optical connection components to the circuit board.

12. A method for mounting optical connection components as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein in the step of fixing the plurality of optical connection components to the plurality of circuit boards, a fixing material that is disposed between the circuit board and the optical connection components and that melts when subjected to ultrasonic vibration is melted and solidified by the ultrasonic vibration, thereby fixing the optical connection components to the circuit boards.

13. The method for mounting optical connecting parts according to claim 11 or 12, wherein in the step of fixing the plurality of optical connecting parts to the plurality of circuit boards, solder is used as the fixing material.

14. An optical connection assembly comprising an optical connection component mounted on the circuit board by the mounting method of any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein a solidified fixing material is disposed between the circuit board and the optical connection component, and the optical connection component is fixed to the circuit board by the solidified fixing material.

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