Optical fiber connector ferrule assembly having dual reflective surfaces for beam expansion and expanded beam connector incorporating same

An expanded beam optical connector, comprising:

• a first expanded beam ferrule and a second expanded beam ferrule, each expanded beam ferrule comprising:
• a first ferrule halve having first reflective surfaces;
• a second ferrule halve having second reflective surfaces, wherein the first ferrule halve and the second ferrule halve together retain optical fibers;
• wherein a pair of first and second reflective surfaces input/output collimated light parallel to the mid-plane of the respective expanded beam ferrule;
• an external alignment sleeve aligns external surfaces of the first and second expanded beam ferrules, with corresponding second reflective surfaces of the first and second expanded beam ferrules facing each other,
• wherein output light from an optical fiber held in the first expanded beam ferrule is bent twice by a corresponding pair of first and second reflective surfaces in the first expanded beam ferrule, with beam divergence after a first bent, and collimation after a second bent, and
• wherein a collimated light is transmitted to the facing second reflective surface in the facing second expanded beam ferrule aligned by the sleeve, which is subject to optical reshaping in reverse to that undertaken in the first expanded beam ferrule, so as to converge and focus light to input to a corresponding optical fiber held in the second expanded beam ferrule.

An expanded beam optical connector, comprising:

• a first expanded beam ferrule, comprising:
• a first ferrule halve having at least one first reflective surface;
• a second ferrule halve having at least one second reflective surface,
• wherein the first ferrule halve and the second ferrule halve together retain at least one first optical fiber,
• wherein the first reflective surface of the first ferrule halve reflects incident light from the first optical fiber to the second reflective surface of the second ferrule halve, and
• wherein the second reflective surface output collimated light parallel to the mid-plane of the first expanded beam ferrule;
• and
• a second expanded beam ferrule, comprising:
• a third ferrule halve having at least one third reflective surface;
• a fourth ferrule halve having at least one fourth reflective surface,
• wherein the third ferrule halve and the fourth ferrule halve together retain at least one second optical fiber,
• wherein the fourth reflective surface of the fourth ferrule halve reflects the collimated light output from the first expanded beam ferrule to the third reflective surface of the third ferrule halve, and
• wherein the third reflective surface of the third ferrule halve reflects incident light from the fourth reflective surface of the fourth ferrule halve to the second optical fiber.