A fibre optic connector was manufactured from a ceramic substrate. The tapered holes were fabricated with very high precision at high process speeds.
The component pictured is a self-aligned fibre ribbon terminator. This particular component was for a modulator array used in a high energy physics optical interconnection application at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Due to the dimensions of the semiconductor component and limitations on the optical access to this device, it was necessary to maintain alignment to better than 1degree.
Oxford Lasers micro machining techniques and equipment were used to drill the alumina substrate to provide precise lateral and angular constraint for single mode fibre ribbons. By comparison with alternative laser drilling techniques, consistent hole shapes were obtained without re-deposition or burning of the substrate surface.
Other applications for these high precision holes include inkjet printers (30 - 60 µm diameter), fuel injection systems (100 – 300 µm diameter) and flow and dosage regulators. A wide variety of materials have been successfully processed including alumina, tungsten carbide and metal matrix composites.