Optical to electrical backshell connector

A backshell connector for an optical cable including a plurality of optical fibers and a protective jacket, said backshell connector comprising:

• a backshell housing having an input port for receiving said optical fibers and an output port, said backshell housing being secured to said protective jacket at said input port;
• a plurality of ferrules, each ferrule attached to an end of one of said optical fibers;
• a plurality of receiver subassemblies disposed within said backshell housing, wherein each receiver subassembly includes a receiver housing adapted to receive and hold one of said ferrules, a photodetector disposed within said receiver housing adapted to receive an optical signal from the optical fiber attached to said ferrule and convert said optical signal to an electrical signal, and a matching circuit coupled to an output of each photodetector;
• and;
• an electrical connector disposed within said output port and adapted to output said electrical signals and receive one or more supply voltages for said receiver subassemblies.

An optical cable harness comprising:

• an optical cable containing a plurality of optical fibers and a protective jacket and
• a backshell connector secured to said protective jacket and adapted to convert optical signals from said optical fibers to electrical signals, said backshell connector including:
• a plurality of photodetectors, each photodetector adapted to convert an optical signal from one of said optical fibers into an electrical signal, and
• an electrical connector adapted to output said electrical signals and receive one or more supply voltages for biasing said photodetectors.

A backshell connector for an optical cable including a plurality of optical fibers and a protective jacket, said backshell connector comprising:

• a backshell housing secured to said protective jacket;
• a plurality of photodetectors disposed within said housing, each photodetector adapted to convert an optical signal from one of said optical fibers into an electrical signal;
• and
• an electrical connector having a plurality of electrical contacts for outputting said electrical signals and one or more electrical contacts for receiving one or more supply voltages for biasing said photodetectors.

A method for connecting an optical cable to an electronics module including the steps of:

• providing a backshell connector secured to said optical cable for connecting said optical cable to said electronics module;
• coupling optical signals from said optical cable to photodetectors disposed within said backshell connector;
• biasing said photodetectors to operate at a desired operating point;
• converting said optical signals to electronic signals in said photodetectors;
• and
• outputting said electronic signals to said electronics module.