Hollow core fiber air-gap connector

An air-gap HCF connector termination method and connector assembly for factory and field connector assembly termination for patch cables and trunk cables made from HCF, wherein the gap is produced by using and end cap that limits the distance between the inserted HCF and the end-face of the ferrule, comprising preparing the HCF end-faces using appropriate cleaving methods including mechanical, ultrasonic and laser cleaving, and wherein the air-gap separation between first and second HCF's can be anywhere between 0.5-100 microns, where reflection at the connector interface is low with RL>35 dB, due to HCF propagation mode effective index matching with index of air.

An air-gap HCF connector termination method and connector assembly for factory and field connector assembly termination for patch cables and trunk cables made from HCF, wherein the gap is produced using a special ferrule design feature where a reduced inner bore diameter, and/or a series of bumps in the ferrule to act as a stop for cleaved HCF, comprising preparing the HCF end-faces using appropriate cleaving methods including mechanical, ultrasonic and laser cleaving, and where the air-gap separation between first and second HCF's can be anywhere between 0.5-100 microns, where reflection at the connector interface is low with RL>35 dB, due to HCF propagation mode effective index matching with index of air.

An adapter for HCF connectivity, wherein a spacer with a hole greater than 20 micron diameter in the center and thinner than 80 um is used produce the gap between the ferrule of two connectors with hollow core fibers.