Use of Machine Vision in the Manufacture of Lightwave Devices (NOT PUBLISHED)

Machine vision has been successfully used in the manufacture of short- haul transmitter and detector devices. The transmitter package requires the alignment of an LED to a spherical lens, and the detector package requires the alignment of a PIN photodetector to a fiber stub. In both cases precise axial alignment, ranging from 2 to 15 microns depending on the device model, is required for proper operation. These alignments are being performed automatically on the factory floor with machine vision feedback. As well as performing the alignments reliably with high accuracy,process times have been greatly improved over previously employed methods.