Disposable Fiber Holder for Opto-Electronic Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional photonic devices with fiber pigtails face misalignment and damage issues during assembly due to dangling fibers, which interfere with BGA bonds and optical coupling, requiring a secure and disposable fiber holder device for routing and spooling fibers without entanglement.
Innovation Solution
A fiber holder device with a body for mounting on opto-electronic devices, featuring a spool for winding fibers and a fiber guide extension to direct them from the device to the spool, secured using various clamps or fasteners, allowing for attachment via SMT processes and ensuring fibers do not interfere with assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fiber pigtails are left dangling during assembly, then the device structure remains simple, but the fibers become entangled in BGA bonds causing misalignment and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber holder device extracts and isolates the fiber management function from the main device assembly. By providing a separate holder with spool and guide extension, the fibers are removed from the BGA bonding area, preventing entanglement while maintaining overall device simplicity through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
The fiber holder device acts as an intermediary component between the fiber pigtails and the BGA bonding process. The guide extension and spool mechanism mediate the fiber routing, keeping fibers secured and organized during assembly without interfering with the bonding operations
2Reliability
If a fiber holder device is implemented to secure fibers, then fiber alignment and protection are improved, but the device becomes more complex and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber holder device is segmented into distinct functional components: a body for mounting, a spool for fiber winding, and a guide extension for routing. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates modular manufacturing, reducing overall complexity while maintaining protective functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The fiber holder device is designed as a disposable component that is inexpensive to manufacture. After serving its purpose during assembly to protect and organize fibers, it can be discarded, eliminating the need for complex recovery or reuse mechanisms and reducing overall system cost
3Manufacturing precision
If fibers are secured in place during BGA bonding, then misalignment and damage are prevented, but fiber routing and spooling becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The spool component provides a curved surface around which fibers can be naturally wound and organized. This curved geometry facilitates smooth fiber routing and spooling operations, making it easier to manage fibers while maintaining precise positioning during the bonding process
Data Source
AI summary
In order to bond an opto-electronic device with fiber pigtails to a larger PCB, the fibers need to be secured in place so that they don't become entangled in the bonding elements resulting in misalignment of the electronic connectors and of the optics. Accordingly, there is a need for packaged parts, which enables customers to use their own surface mount technology (SMT) bonding process without the fiber pigtails interfering with the process. Ideally, the fiber holder device is disposable and provides a spool and a fiber track to guide the fibers from the package to the spool. Ideally, an opening is provided through the spool to enable the components on the opto-electronic device to be accessed.