TWO-DIMENSIONALLY POSITIONING DEVICE AND MOVABLE LENS UNIT USING THE SAME

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the composition of a two-dimensional positioning device simple and its size compact, for the device which conducts alignment of a movable lens that deflects light made incident into an optical waveguide, an optical fiber, and so on. SOLUTION: A movable lens unit 1 includes a movable lens 11 and a device for two-dimensional positioning. Here, the movable lens 11 is sandwiched between front and back covers and a case to control its displacement in a z-axis (optical axis) direction and allow its displacement in an xy direction. On the other hand, driving members 31, 32 consisting of piezoelectric elements 31a, 32a and weights 31, 32b are mounted on the movable lens 11 from two directions on the xy plane which mutually cross orthogonally; and then the movable lens is displaced in the xy direction by the difference between the stretching speeds of the piezoelectric elements 31a, 32a and their contracting speeds for positioning the movable lens 11. Accordingly, the front and back covers and the case have only to have a structure in which the movable lens 11 is sandwiched, and the driving members are the piezoelectric elements and the weights, and the variable lens unit 1 can be made simple in composition, compact in size, and in particular, thin in thickness. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT