Logunov Stephan L, Quesada Mark A, Dabich Leonard C, Nord John L
Appl Opt. 2024 Mar 20;63(9):2167-2174. doi: 10.1364/AO.515224.
We report the results of fabricating fiber array unit (FAU) connectors using a near IR laser welding process, locking fibers in proper position on planar glass substrates and forming strong glass-to-glass bonds, followed by final assembly using lower coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) epoxies. A thin metal film deposited on the glass substrate provides the absorption required to attain interfacial temperatures suitable for glass-to-glass bonding. This method allows the elimination of dedicated expensive V-groove plates while still maintaining very good fiber placement accuracy. The use of epoxy is minimized to simply securing macro packaging components and protecting fibers from environmental pressure, temperature, and humidity variation. The thermal expansion properties of the epoxy used were essential for the long-term FAU reliability.
我们报告了使用近红外激光焊接工艺制造光纤阵列单元（FAU）连接器的结果，将光纤锁定在平面玻璃基板上的适当位置并形成牢固的玻璃与玻璃键合，然后使用低热膨胀系数（CTE）环氧树脂进行最终组装。沉积在玻璃基板上的薄金属膜提供了达到适合玻璃与玻璃键合的界面温度所需的吸收。这种方法可以消除专用的昂贵V型槽板，同时仍保持非常好的光纤放置精度。环氧树脂的使用被最小化，仅用于固定宏观封装部件并保护光纤免受环境压力、温度和湿度变化的影响。所使用环氧树脂的热膨胀特性对FAU的长期可靠性至关重要。
