Optical connector and optical connector manufacturing method
AssigneeOrbray Co., Ltd.
InventorsTsuyoshi Namekawa, Masahiro Abumi, Satoshi Kano, Keishiro Komatsu
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Abstract
An optical connector includes: at least a ferrule and n self-forming optical waveguides, wherein the ferrule includes n optical fiber insertion holes, and optical fibers are each inserted into and included in the optical fiber insertion holes, the number n indicates a natural number not including zero, there are variations in an angle of each optical fiber in a core axial direction and a core gap between adjacent ones of the optical fibers, an end surface of the ferrule is formed with roundness, and end portions of the self-forming optical waveguides are each optically connected to the optical fibers.
Claims12
An optical connector comprising:
- at least a ferrule and n self-forming optical waveguides,
- wherein the ferrule includes n optical fiber insertion holes, and optical fibers are each inserted into and included in the optical fiber insertion holes,
- the number n is four or six,
- there are variations in an angle of each optical fiber in a core axial direction and a core gap between adjacent ones of the optical fibers,
- an end surface of the ferrule is formed with roundness,
- end portions of the self-forming optical waveguides are each optically connected to the optical fibers, and
- a variation in the core gap on one end side of the self-forming optical waveguides is smaller than a variation in the core gap on other end side of the self-forming optical waveguides, the other end side of the self-forming optical waveguides being in direct contact with the end surface of the ferrule, the one end side of the self-forming optical waveguides being opposite to the other end side of the self-forming optical waveguides in the core axial direction.
An optical connector manufacturing method comprising:
- preparing a first ferrule, a second ferrule and photo-curing resin, each of the first ferrule and the second ferrule including at least n optical fiber insertion holes and including optical fibers in the optical fiber insertion holes, the optical fibers being inserted therein, wherein there are variations in an angle of each optical fiber in a core axial direction and a core gap between adjacent ones of the optical fibers, an end surface of the first ferrule is formed with roundness, an end surface of the second ferrule is formed with no roundness, and a variation in second core gaps between the adjacent ones of the optical fibers of the second ferrule is smaller than a variation in first core gaps between the adjacent ones of the optical fibers of the first ferrule;
- arranging the first and second ferrules such that the end surface of the first ferrule and the end surface of the second ferrule face each other and arranging the photo-curing resin between the first and second ferrules;
- curing end portions of the photo-curing resin with core gaps by incident light entering the end portions of the photo-curing resin from the optical fibers, thereby transferring the first and second core onto the photo-curing resin and forming n self-forming optical waveguides at the photo-curing resin such that a variation in the core gap on one end side of the self-forming optical waveguides is smaller than a variation in the core gap on other end side of the self-forming optical waveguides, the one end side of the self-forming optical waveguides being in direct contact with the end surface of the second ferrule, the other end side of the self-forming optical waveguides being in direct contact with the end surface of the first ferrule;
- forming a clad by curing of the photo-curing resin;
- and
- detaching the second ferrule from the self-forming optical waveguides, thereby forming a ferrule body including the first ferrule and the self-forming optical waveguides,
- wherein the number n is four or six.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.