US 7,484,897 B2
Optical module, optical module substrate and optical coupling structure
Masaki Ono, Aichi (Japan); Toshikatsu Takada, Aichi (Japan); Toshifumi Kojima, Aichi (Japan); Takeshi Ohno, Aichi (Japan); Susumu Wakamatsu, Gifu (Japan); Toshikazu Horio, Aichi (Japan); and Ayako Kawamura, Nagoya (Japan)
Assigned to NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd., Aichi (Japan)
Filed on Oct. 31, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/932,565.
Application 11/932565 is a division of application No. 11/138426, filed on May 27, 2005, granted, now 7,404,680.
Claims priority of application No. 2004-162244 (JP), filed on May 31, 2004; and application No. 2004-248486 (JP), filed on Aug. 27, 2004.
Prior Publication US 2008/0063342 A1, Mar. 13, 2008
Int. Cl. G02B 6/36 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 385—53  [385/14; 385/49; 385/50; 385/51; 385/52; 385/54; 385/55; 385/56; 385/83; 385/85; 385/86; 385/87; 385/88; 385/89; 385/90; 385/91; 385/92; 385/93; 385/94; 439/577] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An optical module for coupling with a fiber optic cable through an optical connector, comprising:
a module body being connectable to a plug of the optical connector by a guide pin, with a side surface of the module body being opposed to a mating surface of the connector plug at which an end face of the fiber optic cable is exposed, the module body having a multilayer ceramic substrate as a main component, the ceramic substrate having a cavity formed in a main surface thereof and including a plurality of ceramic insulating layers and conducting layers alternately laminated together and through-hole conductors formed between the conducting layers;
an optical element mounted to a side surface of the ceramic substrate and having an optical axis brought into alignment with an optical axis of the fiber optic cable upon fitting of the guide pin into the module body and the connector plug; and
at least one of first and second semiconductor elements arranged in the cavity of the ceramic substrate and electrically connected to the optical element via the conductive layers and the through-hole conductors, the first semiconductor element being capable of driving the optical element, the second semiconductor element being capable of amplifying a signal from the optical element,
the module body being so structured as to be clamped to the connector plug by a clamp spring adapted for clamping therebetween two optical connector plugs.