Patent ID: 7397616

Claim:
An optical communication module comprising: a first light-receiving element with a receiving surface in which a light flux with a wavelength λ 1 emitted from an end surface of an optical fiber enters; a light-emitting element for emitting a light flux with a wavelength λ 2 (λ 1 ≠λ 2 ); and a first optical element arranged between the first light-receiving element and the light-emitting element, and the end surface of the optical fiber, converging the light flux with the wavelength λ 1 emitted from the end surface of the optical fiber on the receiving surface of the first light-receiving element, and converging the light flux with the wavelength λ 2 emitted from the light-emitting element on the end surface of the optical fiber, wherein the first optical element comprises a first optical surface with a positive refractive power and a second optical surface having a diffractive structure generating a m-th order diffracted light flux with a larger light amount than any generated diffracted light fluxes with the other diffraction order when the light flux with the wavelength λ 2 passes through the diffractive structure, and generating a n-th order diffracted light flux with a larger light amount than any generated diffracted light flux with the other diffraction order when the light flux with the wavelength λ 1 passes through the diffractive structure, where m is 0, n is an integer excluding 0, and one of the first optical surface and the second optical surface is divided into a plurality of optical functional surfaces provided with at least one step difference extending along the optical axis, the plurality of optical functional surfaces include at least a first optical functional surface including an optical axis and a second optical functional surface surrounding the first optical functional surface through a step difference extending along the optical axis, a number of the divided optical functional surfaces is 2 or 3.