ALIGNMENT OF OPTICAL AXES BY USING ELECTROSTATIC FORCE

A new alignment method of optical axes for efficient coupling is developed, and its performance is examined. The optical axis is positioned by bending the flexible fiber like a cantilever beam by using an electrostatic force. It is shown that the end of the flexible fiber is scanned over an approximately 10 mum x 10 mum area in two dimensions, and the low-loss coupling is attained by searching the peak transmission intensity of light signal through coupling. The feasibility of applying this alignment method for practical use is discussed in terms of whether it satisfies the specifications for a coupling in which multiple axes are aligned individually.