The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 04, 2003
Filed:
Feb. 01, 2001
Benson Chan, Vestal, NY (US);
Richard R. Hall, Endwell, NY (US);
How T. Lin, Vestal, NY (US);
John H. Sherman, Lisle, NY (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
An optical fiber guide includes a matrix of holes integrated directly into a substrate on which one or more optical chips are mounted. The substrate therefore functions both as a guide for optically coupling a plurality of optical fibers to an optical chip, as well as a carrier for the optical chip itself. The size of the fiber guide and its integration density is therefore improved over conventional fiber connectors. The substrate is preferably made of a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion substantially similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the optical chip. This ensures that the optical fibers will remain optically coupled to the chip through the matrix of holes in the substrate regardless of external temperature influences. If desired, integrated circuits may be mounted onto the substrate to increase the functionality of the fiber guide. A method for making the fiber guide has fewer process steps than conventional methods because fiber guide has fewer parts than conventional fiber-optic connectors.