Toyo Glass Company, Limited

Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd.

Toru Achiwa

Hiroyoshi Matsumura

Taro Suzuki

Tomomi Ichinose

[Object] In manufacturing a GRIN lens by a sol-gel method, an operation for preparing a wet gel is facilitated and cracking in a base material during sintering and foaming during drawing are prevented. [Solution] The object is achieved by obtaining a GRIN lens by producing a wet gel from an alcohol solution containing a silicon alkoxide, a dopant alkoxide, and a boron alkoxide as the main ingredients, leaching the same, drying the same to form a dry gel, and sintering and drawing the same.

Method for manufacturing grin lens

A method for manufacturing a GRIN lens includes the steps of forming a wet gel provided with a concentration distribution having a different concentration of a refractive index distribution imparting metal that differs in concentration in a radial direction, drying the wet gel to form a dry gel having a bulk specific gravity &#x3c1; (g/cm), sintering the dry gel to form a GRIN lens base material and stretching the GRIN lens base material while heating. The method is characterized in that, in the step of sintering the dry gel, partial pressures of oxygen during sintering at 800&#xb0; C. or higher are 10Pa or lower and also the relation between a rate of temperature increase v (&#xb0; C./hr) and a bulk density &#x3c1; of the dry gel during sintering at 1,000 to 1,150&#xb0; C. is defined by v&#x2266;10*EXP (&#x2212;&#x3c1;). As a result of this, the GRIN lens, which has a large numerical aperture and a small diameter, can stably and easily be manufactured.

Method for manufacturing GRIN lens

The manufacture of a GRIN lens using a sol-gel process includes forming a wet gel from an alcohol solution containing a silicon alkoxide, a dopant alkoxide, and an aluminum alkoxide, first, an alcohol solution containing the silicon alkoxide and the aluminum alkoxide as is prepared, and then the dopant alkoxide is mixed thereto.

Method of manufacturing grin lens and grin lens

An optical fiber coupling part that reduces the difficulty in adjusting cores, minimizes coupling loss, and prevents optical characteristics from deteriorating. An optical fiber is fused to one end of a GRIN lens which includes a quartz glass containing one or more refractive index regulating substances selected from SbO, TaO, TiOor ZrO. Optical characteristics are not deteriorated because an adhesive is not used, and self-alignment effects facilitate adjustment of the cores of the GRIN lens and the optical fiber. Furthemore, coupling loss can be minimized by setting a refractive index distribution constant g of the GRIN lens within an appropriate range.

Optical fiber coupling part and manufacturing method thereof

A fiber optic collimator system, a fiber optic collimator array, and a fiber optic collimator array system, which can reduce difficulty in an alignment process, minimize a coupling loss, and prevent the optical characteristics from deteriorating. An optical fiber is fused to one end of a GRIN lens made of quartz glass containing one or more selected from SbO, TaO, TiOand ZrOas a refractive index regulating substance, to form an optical fiber with a GRIN lens. Since an adhesive is not used, the core alignment of the GRIN lens and the optical fiber can be facilitated by a self alignment effect without deteriorating the optical characteristics. Moreover, the coupling loss is remarkably reduced by appropriately setting a refractive index distribution constant g of the GRIN lens. By fabricating the fiber optic collimator system, the fiber optic collimator array, the fiber optic collimator array system using the optical fiber with a GRIN lens can reduce the difficulty in the core alignment process, minimize the coupling loss, and prevent the optical characteristics from deteriorating.

Fiber optic collimator system, fiber optic collimator array, and manufacturing method of the fiber optic collimator system and fiber optic collimator array system

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Tokyo, Japan

Toru Achiwa