Fiber array assembling device

Abstract

This fiber array assembling device comprises: a fiber holding mechanism (300) that mounts a plurality of tape fibers (102), which are arranged in a row, on a plurality of chips (110), which are arranged in a row on a wafer (200); a lid holding head (525) that presses a lid member (123), from above, onto the plurality of chips (110) on which the tape fibers (102) have been mounted; an adhesive curing head (524) that cures an adhesive of the lid member (123); a film peeling head that peels the plurality of chips (110) to which the lid member (123) has been fixed, away from a dicing film (205); and a dicing head (523) that divides the lid member (123) into individual lids for each chip.

Description

Fiber array assembly equipment

[0001] The present invention relates to a fiber array assembly device.

[0002] Fiber arrays are used to introduce light from fibers into waveguides formed in optical chips. Fiber arrays are made by removing the coating from multiple fibers, arranging the fibers in a row on a substrate with a pitch of, for example, 250 μm, and fixing them with a lid, and flattening the fiber end faces. The substrate typically has a V- or U-shaped groove. The fibers with their coating removed are aligned in the groove, and the lid is fixed with adhesive. Finally, the fiber ends, lid, and substrate end face are aligned and polished to flatten the end faces and allow light to exit the fibers.

[0003] Conventional fiber array assembly equipment uses a jig to mount fibers on a glass block with grooves (see Patent Document 1). In this equipment, the target workpiece is placed on a turntable, which can be accessed from four directions, and the turntable rotates as the process progresses, improving productivity.

[0004] However, with conventional assembly equipment, the processes excluding polishing are divided into four, and if any one of these processes becomes a bottleneck, it can limit the overall process speed. Furthermore, while it is possible to divide the processes into more than four so as to eliminate bottlenecks, this increases the size of the turntable itself, which in turn increases the size of the equipment and the number of steps required for setup. Thus, the process of mounting fibers one by one on a grooved glass substrate and then attaching a lid poses productivity problems.

[0005] Patent No. 3398764

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has an object to provide a fiber array assembly device that can improve the productivity of fiber arrays.

[0007] The fiber array assembly device of the present invention is characterized by comprising a wafer fixing unit configured to fix a dicing film to which a diced wafer is attached; a camera head for image recognition; a fiber holding mechanism configured to simultaneously mount a plurality of tape fibers arranged in a row on a plurality of chips arranged in a row on the wafer; a lid holding head configured to press a lid member held with the adhesive application surface facing downwards onto the plurality of chips on which the tape fibers are mounted; an adhesive curing head configured to harden the adhesive; a film peeling head configured to peel the plurality of chips to which the lid members are fixed by the adhesive hardening from the dicing film; and a dicing head configured to divide the lid member held by the lid holding head into individual lids for each chip.

[0008] According to the present invention, when chips that have undergone wafer processing, such as PLC chips, are used in a fiber array, multiple ribbon fibers can be mounted and fixed to multiple chips at once after the wafer-by-wafer process without affecting the positional relationships of the multiple chips formed by microfabrication and lithography techniques. This makes it easier to assemble the fiber array and improves productivity.

[0009] FIG. 1A is a plan view of a fiber array according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of a fiber array according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views of a fiber array according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a fiber array assembly device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a front view of a fiber array assembly device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 5A and 5B are views illustrating a film peeling mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a process of assembling a fiber array according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of assembling a fiber array according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process of assembling a fiber array according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a view illustrating details of a fiber holding mechanism of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a view illustrating an example of a change in force detected by a load sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 11A to 11D are cross-sectional views illustrating a process of loading a tape fiber into a V-groove and a process of adjusting the pressing force. FIG. 12 is a plan view illustrating a process of adjusting the pressing force of a tape fiber into a V-groove. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a computer realizing a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1A is a plan view of a fiber array to be fabricated by a fiber array assembly apparatus according to this embodiment, and Fig. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the fiber array. The fiber array 101 has a structure in which a tape fiber 102, a PLC (Planar Lightwave Circuit) chip 110, and a lid 120 are fixed together with an adhesive 140.

[0011] The tape fiber 102 is composed of a coated fiber 103 with a cladding and an exposed-clad fiber 104 with the cladding removed and the cladding exposed. The PLC chip 110 includes a waveguide 112 formed on a Si substrate by PLC technology and a V-groove 111. The side of the V-groove 111 that connects to the waveguide 112 at the back is called a V-groove end face 113, and the side of the PLC chip 110 where the tip of the waveguide 112 is exposed is called a waveguide end face 114. The tip of the exposed-clad fiber 104 abuts against the tip of the waveguide 112 at the back of the V-groove 111, thereby achieving optical connection between the tape fiber 102 and the PLC chip 110.

[0012] The lid 120, which is fixed to the PLC chip 110 so as to hold down the tape fiber 102 from above, has a convex fiber guide 121 for guiding the tape fiber 102 to an appropriate position, and a lid recess 122 for fixing the clad-exposed fiber 104 in an appropriate position between the V-groove 111 of the PLC chip 110.

[0013] 1A and 1B show an example in which an MT connector 130 is provided at the other end of the ribbon fiber 102. As shown in Fig. 1B, inside the MT connector 130, the ribbon fiber 102 passes through a boot 131, and the tip of the ribbon fiber 102, with its coating removed and its cladding exposed, is fixed by a ferrule 132. Adhesive is injected into the MT connector 130 through an adhesive injection port 133. The tip of each fiber, with its coating removed, is inserted into each of the multiple microholes in the ferrule 132. The fibers are positioned so that their tips slightly protrude from the side of the ferrule 132, and the tips are polished.

[0014] Note that providing an MT connector at the end of the tape fiber 102 is just one example; a PLC chip and lid may be provided in the same manner as at the opposite end, or the fiber of the tape fiber 102 may be divided and multiple single-core connectors may be provided.

[0015] 2A is a perspective view of the fiber array 101 as viewed from the lid 120 side, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the fiber array 101 as viewed from the PLC chip 110 side. As described above, a V-groove 111 is formed in the PLC chip 110. The tape fiber 102 is positioned by a fiber guide 121 provided in the lid 120. The clad-exposed fiber 104, whose coating has been removed to expose its clad, is placed in the V-groove 111. The tape fiber 102 is fixed to the lid 120 with adhesive 140.

[0016] In conventional fiber arrays, a V-groove is formed on the substrate that secures the tape fiber 102, and the lid that is mounted on top of that is simply a flat plate. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the lid 120, which is the substrate that secures the tape fiber 102, has unevenness for guiding and securing, but does not have a V-groove. Instead, a V-groove 111 and a waveguide 112 are formed on a PLC chip 110 that corresponds to the conventional lid.

[0017] By forming a V-groove 111 in the PLC chip 110 and forming a waveguide 112 in the PLC chip 110 so as to connect to the end of the V-groove 111, highly accurate optical connection can be achieved using the lithography precision of microfabrication technology. Also, as shown in FIG. 1B , the PLC chip 110 has a structure in which the waveguide-side end face 114 protrudes from the lid 120. Therefore, if the end face of the waveguide 112 is exposed by dicing during manufacturing, as described below, the polishing step for aligning the end faces of the lid 120 and the PLC chip 110 can be omitted.

[0018] The ribbon fiber 102 has a structure in which eight fibers with an outer diameter of 125 μm are arranged at a pitch of 250 μm, and has a cross-sectional dimension of about 250 μm×2 mm. The glass fibers are covered with a resin.

[0019] The PLC chip 110 is, for example, a 4 mm square, 625 μm thick Si substrate on which glass waveguides 112 are formed with an accuracy of 1 μm or less using microfabrication technology. In this embodiment, eight waveguides 112 and eight V-grooves 111 are formed to optically connect to the eight-core ribbon fiber 102.

[0020] The lid 120 is a glass substrate having a width of 4 mm, a length of 8 mm, and a thickness of approximately 500 μm, with lid recesses 122 formed in the surface thereof. In this embodiment, eight lid recesses 122 are formed so as to face the V-grooves 111. The width of the lid recesses 122 is several tens to several hundreds of μm. Since it is sufficient to roughly position the ribbon fiber 102 and the clad-exposed fiber 104, the processing accuracy of the lid recesses 122 can be up to approximately 10 μm.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a fiber array assembly apparatus 500 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the fiber array assembly apparatus 500. In this embodiment, the left-right direction of the fiber array assembly apparatus 500 is defined as the x-direction, the depth direction as the y-direction, and the up-down direction as the z-direction. FIGS. 3 and 4 show a state in which no components such as wafers or chips to be assembled as workpieces are mounted. The fiber array assembly apparatus 500 includes a wafer fixing unit 511 for fixing a wafer attached to a dicing film with a dicing frame, a movable stage 512 that is arranged to support the wafer from below and is movable in the x-direction, and a film peeling head 513 that is fixed to the movable stage 512 so that its position in the x-direction is determined by the movable stage 512 and is movable in the y-direction.

[0022] 3, the wafer holding part 511 has a circular ring shape. The movable stage 512 is able to move within the wafer holding part 511. The right side of the movable stage 512 is linear in plan view to support the right edge of the wafer from below, while the left side is semicircular in plan view to prevent the stage from colliding with the wafer holding part 511 when moved to the left.

[0023] The film peeling head 513 moves in the y direction, thereby being able to peel off from the dicing film a plurality of PLC chips 110 arranged in a row in the y direction on the right edge of the wafer.

[0024] The film peeling mechanism will be explained using Figures 5A and 5B. In Figures 5A and 5B, 200 is a wafer, 205 is a dicing film, 123 is a lid member, 311 is a far arm, 312 is a near arm, and 321 is a fulcrum rod. Here, a case is shown in which a dicing film 205 whose adhesive strength decreases when heated is used. In the example of Figure 5A, a film peeling head 513 irradiates the back surface of the chip and the dicing film 205 underneath with laser light to locally heat the chip, thereby peeling it off from the dicing film 205. In the example of Figure 5B, the heated film peeling head 513 is brought into contact with the back surface of the dicing film 205, thereby peeling the chip off from the dicing film 205.

[0025] In the case of a dicing film 205 of a type whose adhesive strength decreases when exposed to ultraviolet light, ultraviolet light is locally irradiated onto the dicing film 205 from the film peeling head 513, and the chips can be peeled off from the dicing film 205. In the case of a dicing film 205 of a type that requires a mechanical force for peeling, the film peeling head 513 can be pressed against the back surface of the dicing film 205, and the chips can be peeled off from the dicing film 205.

[0026] Next, returning to Figures 3 and 4, the configuration of the upper side of the device will be described. A camera head 522, a dicing head 523, an adhesive curing head 524, and a lid holding head 525 are positioned above the workpiece to be assembled. The camera head 522, the dicing head 523, the adhesive curing head 524, and the lid holding head 525 must be movable in at least the x, y, and z directions. Since the laser dicing and adhesive curing processes are performed separately by using the camera head 522 to determine their positions, the movable parts can be shared. Therefore, in this embodiment, the camera head 522, the dicing head 523, and the adhesive curing head 524 are mounted on a movable common head 521 that is movable in at least the x, y, and z directions.

[0027] On the other hand, it is necessary to align the lid 120 with the fiber holding mechanism 300 using the camera head 522 while holding the lid 120 with the lid holding head 525, and to cure the adhesive 140 by irradiating it with ultraviolet light using the adhesive curing head 524 with the lid 120 with the adhesive 140 attached mounted on the ribbon fiber 102. For this reason, it is necessary to independently drive the lid holding head 525. Therefore, in this embodiment, the lid holding head 525 is mounted on a movable head 526 that is movable at least in the x, y, and z directions.

[0028] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the fiber holding mechanism 300 includes a near arm 312 with a rectangular cross section that is positioned to extend in the y direction at a position close to the wafer, a far arm 311 with a rectangular cross section that is positioned to extend in the y direction at a position farther from the wafer than the near arm 312, a fulcrum rod 321 with a circular cross section that is positioned to extend in the y direction at a position between the near arm 312 and the far arm 311, and a movable part 322 that supports the near arm 312, the far arm 311, and one end of the fulcrum rod 321.

[0029] The movable unit 322 must be movable in at least the x, y, and z directions, but may also be configured to be rotatable around each of the x, y, and z axes. The movable unit 322 also includes a mechanism for raising and lowering the far arm 311 and rotating it around the y axis, and a mechanism for raising and lowering the fulcrum rod 321. The near arm 312 and the far arm 311 each have a plurality of grooves 312a, 311a formed therein for placing and holding each tape fiber 102. The near arm 312, the far arm 311, and the fulcrum rod 321 are shaped to extend in the y direction in order to handle multiple tape fibers 102 collectively. The near arm 312 and the far arm 311 each have a suction mechanism, for example, on their upper surfaces on which the tape fibers 102 are mounted. As shown in FIG. 4 , the fulcrum rod 321 is located above the near arm 312 and the far arm 311, as viewed from the side.

[0030] Fig. 6 is a plan view illustrating a process of assembling the fiber array 101, and Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of assembling the fiber array 101. Figs. 6 and 7 show a state in which the dicing film 205 after the wafer dicing process is placed on the wafer fixing part 511, the tips of the tape fibers 102 are mounted on the PLC chip 110 while the fiber holding mechanism 300 holds the tape fibers 102, and the lid member 123 is mounted on the PLC chip 110 on which the tape fibers 102 are mounted.

[0031] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the assembly process of the fiber array 101. The assembly process of the fiber array 101 includes a wafer process step (step S100 in FIG. 8) in which PLC chips 110 are fabricated at the wafer level, a step (step S101 in FIG. 8) in which a dicing film 205 is attached to a dicing frame 206 and the wafer 200 fabricated in step S100 is attached to the surface of the dicing film 205, and a wafer dicing step (step S102 in FIG. 8) in which the wafer 200 is divided into chip regions (PLC chips 110) along scribe lines. Step S100 is performed in a wafer process line consisting of multiple devices. Step S101 is performed by a mounter device. Step S102 is performed by a dicing device. These steps S100 to S102 are performed on a wafer-by-wafer basis.

[0032] Next, the dicing film 205 is placed on the wafer fixing part 511 of the fiber array assembly device 500 with the surface to which the wafer 200 is attached facing upward (step S103 in FIG. 8). The wafer fixing part 511 may be equipped with a mechanism for adsorbing the dicing film 205. The dicing film 205 may be placed by an operator, or the wafer transfer device 601 may transfer the dicing film 205 onto the wafer fixing part 511 based on instructions from the control device 600.

[0033] Next, the control device 600 controls the fiber transport device 602 to transport the multiple tape fibers 102 onto the near arm 312 and the far arm 311. Then, based on the images captured by the camera head 522, the control device 600 controls the fiber transport device 602 and the movable unit 322 to align the tape fibers 102 so that they are placed in the grooves 312a, 311a of the near arm 312 and the far arm 311. At this time, the control device 600 controls the fiber transport device 602 and the movable unit 322 so that the tape fibers 102 are placed on the near arm 312 and the far arm 311 and the fulcrum rods 321 contact the tape fibers 102 from above. The control device 600 performs this process for each tape fiber. In this way, the multiple tape fibers 102 can be aligned so that the clad-exposed fibers 104 face the wafer 200 (step S104 in FIG. 8 ). In this case, the number of tape fibers 102 is the same as the number of PLC chips 110 arranged in a row in the Y direction on the wafer 200 .

[0034] The control device 600 controls the movable unit 322 to move the tape fiber 102 held by the near arm 312 and the far arm 311 so that the clad-exposed fibers 104 at the tips of the tape fiber 102 are placed in the V-grooves 111 of the PLC chips 110 on the wafer 200. At this time, the control device 600 controls the movable unit 322 to align the clad-exposed fibers 104 so that the clad-exposed fibers 104 are placed in the V-grooves 111 based on an image captured by the camera head 522. In this manner, a step of collectively mounting the clad-exposed fibers 104 at the tips of multiple tape fibers 102 into the V-grooves 111 of multiple PLC chips 110 is performed (step S105 in FIG. 8 ). The clad-exposed fibers 104 are mounted on the PLC chips 110 in a vertical row (one row in the Y direction) located at the right end of the PLC chips 110 on the wafer 200 shown in FIG. 6 .

[0035] Next, the control device 600 controls the movable part 322 to move the tape fiber 102 held by the near arm 312 and the far arm 311 so that the end face of the clad-exposed fiber 104 at the tip of the tape fiber 102 abuts against the waveguide 112 at the back of the V-groove 111 of the PLC chip 110 (step S106 in Figure 8).

[0036] Next, adhesive 140 is applied to the rectangular parallelepiped lid member 123 (step S107 in FIG. 8). In this step S107, adhesive 140 may be applied in advance by a separate device. Alternatively, the dispenser 603 may apply adhesive 140 to the lid member 123 based on instructions from the control device 600.

[0037] The control device 600 controls the movable head 526 to transport the lid member 123, held by the lid holding head 525 with the surface to which the adhesive 140 is applied facing downward, above the V-groove 111 of the PLC chip 110 in which the clad-exposed fiber 104 is disposed, and causes the lid holding head 525 to press the lid member 123 against the PLC chip 110 and the ribbon fiber 102. The control device 600 then controls the movable common head 521 to move the adhesive curing head 524 above the lid member 123 and irradiate the lid member 123 with ultraviolet light from the adhesive curing head 524, thereby curing the adhesive 140. In this way, the lid member 123 is fixed to the PLC chip 110 and the ribbon fiber 102 (step S108 in FIG. 8 ).

[0038] Next, the control device 600 controls the movable stage 512 to move the film peeling head 513 below the PLC chips 110 to which the lid members 123 are fixed, and peels the PLC chips 110 from the dicing film 205 using the function of the film peeling head 513 (step S109 in FIG. 8 ). At this time, the control device 600 peels the PLC chips 110 lined up in a row in the y direction from the dicing film 205 by moving the film peeling head 513 in the y direction.

[0039] The control device 600 controls the movable common head 521 to move the dicing head 523 onto the lid member 123 held by the lid holding head 525, and irradiates the lid member 123 with laser light from the dicing head 523, thereby dividing the lid member 123 into individual lids 120 in chip units (step S110 in FIG. 8). In this way, the assembly of the fiber array 101 shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B is completed.

[0040] Then, the control device 600 releases the tape fiber 102 from the near arm 312 and the far arm 311, and controls the fiber conveying device 602 to grasp and convey each separated fiber array 101 to a predetermined position (step S111 in Figure 8).

[0041] The control device 600 performs steps S104 to S111 for each PLC chip 110 in one row in the Y direction until all PLC chips 110 on the wafer 200 are gone (YES in step S112 in FIG. 8).

[0042] 9 is a diagram showing the details of the fiber holding mechanism 300. As described above, the near arm 312 and the far arm 311 are each formed with a plurality of grooves 312a, 311a in which to place and hold one tape fiber 102. The tape fibers 102 placed in the grooves 312a, 311a have clad-exposed fibers 104 protruding from the tip of each tape fiber 102. The far arm 311 holds the tape fiber 102 placed in the groove 311a by vacuum suction or a mechanical gripping mechanism. The control device 600 can control the far arm 311 to hold and release the tape fiber 102.

[0043] On the other hand, the strength with which the proximal arm 312 holds the tape fiber 102 can be adjusted. Figure 9 shows a method for adjusting the degree of vacuum for vacuum suction as an example of strength adjustment. The control device 600 controls the vacuum pump 323 to draw a vacuum. The piping of the vacuum pump 323 is connected to suction holes 325 and 326 formed on the upper surface of the proximal arm 312 on which the tape fiber 102 is mounted. This allows the tape fiber 102 to be suctioned to the proximal arm 312. The suction hole 325 is formed in the groove 312a of the proximal arm 312. On the other hand, the suction hole 326 is formed in a position on the upper surface of the proximal arm 312 where the groove 312a is not present. The suction hole 326 is used to temporarily fix the tape fiber 102 before adhesively fixing the lid member 123 in a later process.

[0044] A suction force adjustment valve 324 is provided in the pipe connecting the vacuum pump 323 and the suction hole 325. The control device 600 can adjust the suction force that attracts the tape fiber 102 to the groove 312a by controlling the opening degree of the suction force adjustment valve 324. This allows the tape fiber 102 to be slid by an external force without separating from the groove 312a.

[0045] The proximal arm 312 is also provided with a load sensor 305. The load sensor 305 detects a force applied to the proximal arm 312 in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the tape fiber 102 when the tape fiber 102 is moved by the fiber holding mechanism 300 in steps S105 and S106. The load sensor 305 may be, for example, a piezo-resistive sensor.

[0046] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a change in force detected by the load sensor 305 in steps S105 and S106. If the positions of the V-grooves 111 of the multiple PLC chips 110 and the positions of the multiple ribbon fibers 102 are perfectly aligned and the movement direction of the fiber holding mechanism 300 is perfectly parallel to the extension direction of the V-grooves 111, a change in load such as F1 in FIG.

[0047] That is, when the cladding-exposed fiber 104 begins to contact the V-groove 111, the load gradually increases due to friction. Next, when the end face of the cladding-exposed fiber 104 of the first of the multiple tape fibers 102 hits the waveguide 112 at the back of the V-groove 111, the load suddenly increases. Then, as the number of cladding-exposed fibers 104 hitting the waveguide 112 increases, the load increases, and when all of the cladding-exposed fibers 104 have hit the waveguide 112, the load suddenly increases and then settles at a substantially constant value. Therefore, when the force detected by the load sensor 305 has settled, the control device 600 stops the movement of the tape fiber 102 by the fiber holding mechanism 300 and ends the process of step S106.

[0048] On the other hand, if the positions of the V-groove 111 and the tape fiber 102 are misaligned, the tape fiber 102 will not smoothly enter the V-groove 111 but will collide with it midway, causing the load to rise sharply early on, as shown by F2 in Fig. 10. This allows the control device 600 to monitor the processes of steps S105 and S106 based on the output of the load sensor 305 and confirm their validity.

[0049] In this embodiment, a method using the load sensor 305 has been described, but the control device 600 may also detect the position of the tip of the tape fiber 102 based on an image captured by the camera head 522, and perform steps S105 and S106.

[0050] 11A to 11D show the operation of the assembly apparatus 500 in steps S105 and S106, one by one. In step S105, the control device 600 controls the movable part 322 to align the tape fiber 102 so that the clad-exposed fiber 104 at the tip of the tape fiber 102 is placed in the V-groove 111, based on an image captured by the camera head 522, while the tape fiber 102 is fixed between the near arm 312 and the far arm 311. The control device 600 ends step S105 when the force detected by the load sensor 305 reaches a predetermined value. FIG. 11A shows the end point of step S105.

[0051] Next, the process proceeds to step S106. The control device 600 controls the movable unit 322 to rotate the far arm 311 around the y-axis and raise it in the z-axis direction as shown in Fig. 11B, thereby causing the tape fiber 102 to bend around the fulcrum rod 321 as a fulcrum as shown in Fig. 11B. This causes tension to be generated in the tape fiber 102.

[0052] Next, the control device 600 controls the movable part 322 to raise the fulcrum rod 321 in the z-axis direction, as shown in Fig. 11C . This releases the warp of the tape fiber 102 that had been pressed down by the fulcrum rod 321, and the elasticity of the tape fiber 102 that is being stretched releases the tension in the direction that stretches the tape fiber 102. At this time, the control device 600 throttles the suction force adjustment valve 324 to weaken the suction force of the proximal arm 312, causing the tape fiber 102 to move in the direction of arrow 400 in Fig. 11D . The force that moves the tape fiber 102 is generated until the tape fiber 102 comes into contact with the fulcrum rod 321 again.

[0053] The operation of step S106 described above is performed collectively on a plurality of tape fibers 102, rather than on each tape fiber 102 individually. Fig. 12 shows a case where, at the end of step S105, only the cladding-exposed fiber 104 at the tip of a specific tape fiber 102 does not reach the back of the V-groove 111 in the PLC chip 110, and a gap 301 exists between the waveguide 112 and the cladding-exposed fiber 104. In this embodiment, even in such a case, the end face of the cladding-exposed fiber 104 can be brought into contact with the waveguide 112 by the process of step S106.

[0054] The gap 301 depends on the accuracy of image recognition by the camera head 522 when aligning the tape fiber 102 in step S104 and the accuracy of the mechanism of the fiber conveying device 602, so it is at most a few tens of μm, which is a length that can be sufficiently handled in steps S105 and S106.

[0055] Table 1 shows the relationship between the opening degree of the suction force adjustment valve 324 in steps S105 and S106, the suction force (fixed / relaxed) of the nearby arm 312, the position of the fulcrum rod 321, the suction force and position of the distant arm 311, and Figures 11A to 11D.

[0056]

[0057] In this embodiment, two arms, the distant arm 311 and the proximal arm 312, are shown, but multiple arms may be used. Furthermore, although a method of adjusting the suction force using a valve has been shown as a method for adjusting the force holding the tape fiber 102, a method of mechanically clamping the tape fiber 102 and adjusting the holding force by the number of screw rotations of the clamping mechanism may also be used. Furthermore, a method of bending and curving the tape fiber 102 has been shown as a method for generating tension in the tape fiber 102, and a method of moving the bending fulcrum away from the tape fiber 102 has been shown as a method for releasing the tension, but other methods may be used as long as they can control the generation and release of tension. For example, a force caused by the bending of the tape fiber 102 generated by slightly moving the distant arm 311 toward the proximal arm 312 while the proximal arm 312 is fixed may also be used.

[0058] As described above, in this embodiment, when chips that have undergone wafer processing, such as PLC chips, are used for the fiber array 101, a fiber array assembly device is proposed that assembles multiple fiber arrays 101 together after wafer-unit processing without compromising the positional relationships of multiple chips formed by microfabrication and lithography technology, thereby improving productivity.

[0059] The control device 600 described in this embodiment can be realized by a computer equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device, and an interface, and a program that controls these hardware resources. An example of the configuration of this computer is shown in FIG.

[0060] The computer includes a CPU 700, a storage device 701, and an interface device (I / F) 702. The I / F 702 is connected to the movable part 322, the movable common head 521, the movable head 526, the movable stage 512, the dicing head 523, the adhesive curing head 524, the camera head 522, the wafer conveying device 601, the fiber conveying device 602, the dispenser 603, the vacuum pump 323, the suction force adjusting valve 324, etc. In such a computer, a program for implementing the assembly method of the present invention is stored in the storage device 701. The CPU 700 executes the processing described in this embodiment in accordance with the program stored in the storage device 701.

[0061] Some or all of the above embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0062] (Appendix 1) The fiber array assembly device of the present invention comprises a wafer fixing section configured to fix a dicing film to which a diced wafer is attached, a camera head for image recognition, a fiber holding mechanism configured to mount a plurality of tape fibers arranged in a row on a plurality of chips arranged in a row on the wafer at the same time, a lid holding head configured to press a lid member held with the adhesive application surface facing downwards onto the plurality of chips on which the tape fibers are mounted, an adhesive curing head configured to harden the adhesive, a film peeling head configured to peel the plurality of chips to which the lid members are fixed by the adhesive hardening from the dicing film, and a dicing head configured to divide the lid member held by the lid holding head into individual lids for each chip.

[0063] (Supplementary Note 2) In the fiber array assembly device described in Supplementary Note 1, the fiber holding mechanism has a plurality of arms arranged along a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of tape fibers and configured to hold the plurality of tape fibers collectively, and after holding the plurality of tape fibers, generates tension on the plurality of tape fibers collectively by changing the positional relationship of the plurality of arms, and releases the holding force of the arm of the plurality of arms that is closer to the wafer, thereby releasing the tension on the plurality of tape fibers collectively and moving the plurality of tape fibers toward the wafer.

[0064] (Supplementary Note 3) In the fiber array assembly device described in Supplementary Note 2, the fiber holding mechanism includes two of the multiple arms, a first arm located closer to the wafer and a second arm located farther from the wafer than the first arm, and further includes a fulcrum rod located between the first arm and the second arm so as to contact from above the multiple tape fibers placed on the first and second arms, and after the multiple tape fibers are held by the first and second arms, the second arm is moved so as to warp the multiple tape fibers collectively, with the axis of the fulcrum rod as a fulcrum, while keeping the position of the first arm fixed, thereby generating the tension by putting the multiple tape fibers into a warped state, and after the fulcrum rod is moved away from the multiple tape fibers, the holding force of the first arm is relaxed, thereby releasing the tension on the multiple tape fibers collectively and moving the multiple tape fibers toward the wafer.

[0065] (Supplementary Note 4) The fiber array assembly device according to Supplementary Note 1 further comprises a movable common head capable of driving the camera head, the dicing head, and the adhesive curing head about at least three axes.

[0066] (Appendix 5) The fiber array assembly device described in Appendix 1 further includes a movable stage that is arranged to support the wafer from below and is configured to be movable along a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction, and the film peeling head is fixed to the movable stage so that its position in the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction is determined by the movable stage, and is movable along the arrangement direction of the multiple tape fibers.

[0067] (Appendix 6) The fiber array assembly device described in Appendix 2 further includes a control device configured to detect the positions of the tips of the plurality of tape fibers relative to the plurality of chips based on images captured by the camera head and control the fiber holding mechanism.

[0068] (Appendix 7) The fiber array assembly device described in Appendix 2 further includes a load sensor provided on one of the plurality of arms and configured to detect a force applied to the arm in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the plurality of tape fibers, and a control device configured to detect the positions of the tips of the plurality of tape fibers relative to the plurality of chips based on the output of the load sensor and control the fiber holding mechanism.

[0069] 101...fiber array, 102...tape fiber, 110...PLC chip, 120...lid, 123...lid member, 200...wafer, 205...dicing film, 300...fiber holding mechanism, 311...distal arm, 312...proximal arm, 321...fulcrum rod, 322...movable part, 500...fiber array assembly device, 511...wafer fixing part, 512...movable stage, 513...film peeling head, 521...movable common head, 522...camera head, 523...dicing head, 524...adhesive curing head, 525...lid holding head, 526...movable head, 600...control device.

Claims

1. A fiber array assembly device comprising: a wafer fixing unit configured to fix a dicing film to which a diced wafer has been attached; a camera head for image recognition; a fiber holding mechanism configured to simultaneously mount a plurality of tape fibers arranged in a row on a plurality of chips arranged in a row on the wafer; a lid holding head configured to press a lid member, which is held with the adhesive application surface facing downward, onto the plurality of chips on which the tape fibers are mounted; an adhesive hardening head configured to harden the adhesive; a film peeling head configured to peel the plurality of chips to which the lid members have been fixed by the hardening of the adhesive, from the dicing film; and a dicing head configured to divide the lid member held by the lid holding head into individual lids for each chip.

2. A fiber array assembly device according to claim 1, wherein the fiber holding mechanism has a plurality of arms arranged in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of tape fibers and configured to hold the plurality of tape fibers collectively, and after holding the plurality of tape fibers, the positional relationship of the plurality of arms is changed to generate tension on the plurality of tape fibers collectively, and the holding force of the arm of the plurality of arms that is closer to the wafer is relaxed to release the tension on the plurality of tape fibers collectively and move the plurality of tape fibers toward the wafer.

3. A fiber array assembly device according to claim 2, wherein the fiber holding mechanism comprises two of the multiple arms, a first arm positioned closer to the wafer and a second arm positioned farther from the wafer than the first arm, and further comprises a fulcrum rod positioned between the first arm and the second arm so as to contact from above the multiple tape fibers placed on the first and second arms, and after the multiple tape fibers are held by the first and second arms, the second arm is moved so as to warp the multiple tape fibers collectively, with the axis of the fulcrum rod as a fulcrum, while keeping the position of the first arm fixed, thereby generating the tension by putting the multiple tape fibers into a warped state, and after moving the fulcrum rod away from the multiple tape fibers, the holding force of the first arm is relaxed, thereby releasing the tension on the multiple tape fibers collectively and moving the multiple tape fibers toward the wafer.

4. A fiber array assembly device according to claim 1, further comprising a movable common head capable of driving said camera head, said dicing head and said adhesive curing head about at least three axes.

Images