Claims
- 1. An apparatus for aligning optical fibers to a lens, comprising:
a base fabricated from a first crystallographic orientation, the base including an alignment feature for an optical fiber; and a lens, fabricated from a second crystallographic orientation, wherein the lens is aligned with the base using a second alignment feature associated with the first and second crystallographic orientations.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first crystallographic orientation and the second crystallographic orientation are substantially normal.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an optoelectronic element that is optically coupled to the optical fiber.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the optoelectronic element comprises one of a group comprising a modulator, a switch, a laser, a photodetector, a transmitter, and a receiver.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lens further comprises an alignment mesa that aligns the lens to the base.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the alignment feature of the base and the second alignment feature of the lens aligns the base to the lens.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the alignment feature of the base is a groove.
- 8. A method for aligning an optoelectronic element to an optical fiber, comprising the steps of:
coupling an optoelectronic element to a base, the base comprising a material having a first crystallographic orientation; coupling a lens to the base, the lens comprising a material having a second crystallographic orientation, wherein the lens is aligned to the base using the first crystallographic orientation and the second crystallographic orientation; and attaching an optical fiber to the base, wherein the optical fiber is placed proximate to the lens, such that a light path of the optical fiber is aligned with the optoelectronic element through the lens.
- 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first crystallographic orientation and the second crystallographic orientation are substantially normal.
- 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the optoelectronic element comprises one of a group comprising a modulator, a switch, a laser, a photodetector, a transmitter, and a receiver.
- 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the lens further comprises an alignment mesa that aligns the lens to the base.
- 12. The method of claim 8, wherein an alignment feature of the lens and a second alignment feature of the base aligns the lens to the base.
- 13. The method of claim 8, wherein an alignment feature of the base is a groove.
- 14. An optoelectronic assembly, comprising:
an optoelectronic element for converting between an optical signal and an electrical signal; a lens assembly comprising a first material having a first crystallographic orientation, the lens assembly including a first alignment feature; and a base comprising a second material having a second crystallographic orientation, the base including a second alignment feature, wherein the lens assembly and base are aligned using the first alignment feature and the second alignment feature, the first alignment feature aligns the lens assembly to the optoelectronic element, and the second alignment feature aligns an optical fiber to the lens assembly.
- 15. The optoelectronic assembly of claim 14, further comprising the optical fiber for carrying the optical signal.
- 16. The optoelectronic assembly of claim 14, further comprising an optical connector for connecting the optical fiber to the optoelectronic assembly.
- 17. The optoelectronic assembly of claim 14, wherein the first crystallographic orientation and the second crystallographic orientation are substantially perpendicular.
- 18. The optoelectronic assembly of claim 14, wherein the optoelectronic element comprises one of a group comprising a modulator, a switch, a laser, a photodetector, a transmitter, and a receiver.
- 19. The optoelectronic assembly of claim 14, wherein the lens assembly contains an alignment mesa and the base contains a groove, and the lens assembly is aligned to the base by aligning the alignment mesa into the groove.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0001] This invention was made with Government support under Contract Number DAAB07-96-3-J016 awarded by the U.S. Army. The Government has certain rights in this invention.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09452942 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Child |
09920666 |
Jul 2001 |
US |