Plastic molded single and ribbon type optical fiber connectors

• Published in: Polymer engineering and science 1989-09, Vol.29 (17), p.1193-1196
• Main Authors: Inada, K., Yokosuka, H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Circuit properties; Electric, optical and optoelectronic circuits; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Integrated optics. Optical fibers and wave guides; Optical and optoelectronic circuits
• ISSN: 0032-3888; 1548-2634
• DOI: 10.1002/pen.760291710

Two types of precisely molded fiber optic connectors have been developed. They are a cylindrical ferrule connector for a single fiber and a five‐fiber array connector for a tape fiber. The connectors are made by using a transfer molding technique with a silica‐filled thermosetting epoxy resin. The resin has low pressure and high melt‐flow characteristics, high dimensional accuracy, and high stability. The single fiber connector consists of a pair of plastic molded ferrules, a slitted alignment sleeve, and a plate spring. A fiber is inserted into a ferrule capillary and is fixed with adhesive. Then the fiber end face positioned in the center of the ferrule is polished to have a mirror surface. The five‐fiber connector consists of a couple of precisely molded ferrules, two alignment pins, and a plate spring. The five‐fiber ribbon is inserted into fiber receiving capillaries, of the ferrule, and fixed with adhesive. The fiber end faces on the ferrule mating face are polished to have a mirror face. In order to realize a low‐loss connection, the alignment pin holes and five‐fiber positioning capillaries on the ferrule mating face must be molded precisely. Various kinds of reliability tests on the connectors were conducted. All the results obtained proved that the connectors have entirely satisfactory properties for practical use. The connectors are now widely used in an optical fiber subscriber network.