Product category:
Optical Filters, Lenses, Gratings etc
News Release from: Oki Electric | Subject: Silicon microlens
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 12 December 2002
Silicon microlens promises reduced-cost
optos
Oki Electric reckons it has developed the world's smallest silicon-based microlens, allowing low-cost mass-production of high-performance optical components for metro and access-network markets.
Oki Electric reckons it has developed the world's smallest silicon-based microlens, allowing for mass-production of high-performance optical components at low cost for the metro and access-network markets This microlens improves the performance of optical components, as it can be used for surface-mount technology (SMT), a popular method for the mass-production of low-end optical components at low cost
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 10 Apr 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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The cost of the microlens itself is also reduced more than tenfold, as it is produced using LSI fabrication technology.
"Because it enables production in volume of high-performance optical components at very low cost, I believe that this microlens and its associated technology will meet growing optical market requirements, in particular those of the metro and access network markets, where many network carriers are presenting severe competition.
This will help in the deployment of broadband access", said Harushige Sugimoto, General Manager of the Corporate Research and Development Center at Oki Electric.
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Oki employs silicon diffractive optical elements (DOE) for the microlens, as silicon is transparent at the 1300 and 1550nm wavelengths used for mid- to long-distance optical communications.
Combining conventional LSI mass-production technology and deep etching technology now popular in micromachine fabrication, Oki has succeeded in reducing the diameter of the microlens to 125mm - identical to that of an optical fibre.
This enables the microlens to be used in the conventional SMT process for optical components.
The SMT process uses a silicon substrate featuring a V-shaped groove for the optical fibre attachment; a laser diode chip is mounted on the top surface of the substrate using alignment marks.
This structure allows for fully automated assembly of optical components enabling low-cost mass production.
Until now, however, virtually no lens has been available for use in SMT processes, and only a small portion of the light from the laser diode could be coupled into the optical fibre.
The microlens developed by Oki shares the same V-shaped groove as the optical fibre, enabling the microlens to be automatically aligned between the laser diode and the optical fibre.
The coupling efficiency of the microlens reaches -3.0dB for a fibre output power comparable to that achieved by conventional lenses.
Therefore, the microlens is expected to expand the applications of SMT optical components from conventional low-end uses to the higher-performance applications required for metro and access networks.
These microlenses generate collimating optical beams by inserting two of them in the same V-shaped groove.
Any functional elements required the metro and access networks, such as isolators and filters, can be placed between these lenses; the silicon V-groove substrate thus may serve as a universal platform for various applications of more advanced optical components at low cost.
Oki plans to offer microlens samples in December 2002.
The company will begin commercial shipment of this product in 2003, targeting various applications including those involving the use of high-performance, small, low-cost optical components required for the metro- and access-network optical communications markets and for the high-speed data network market.
(This was Electronicstalk's Top Story on 11 December 2002).
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