System and method for contactlessly and automatically determining the insertion loss of an optical fiber connector

A method for contactlessly and automatically determining an insertion loss of an optical fiber connector having a domed combination of an optical fiber and a surrounding support ferrule, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) determining a core-to-ferrule eccentricity parameter by:
• (1) imaging a fiber periphery and a portion of said ferrule from a vantage point that is substantially axial to said fiber;
• (2) determining a fiber center from said fiber periphery;
• (3) determining a ferrule center from said ferrule portion;
• and
• (4) determining said core-to-ferrule eccentricity based upon said fiber center and said ferrule center;
• (b) determining a fiber light intensity parameter by:
• (1) passing said reference light through said connector at one end of an optical fiber cable and through another connector disposed at another end of said cable to derive modified reference light;
• and
• (2) combining said modified reference light from said another connector with said reference light to determine said amount of said reference light that fails to pass through said connector;
• and
• (c) determining an insertion loss based upon said parameters.

A system for contactlessly and automatically determining an insertion loss of an optical fiber connector having a domed combination of an optical fiber and a surrounding support ferrule, the system comprising:

• (a) a core-to-ferrule eccentricity (CFE) inspection system configured to determine a CFE parameter corresponding with an offset between a fiber center and a ferrule center;
• (b) a fiber light intensity tester (FLIT) configured to determine a FLIT parameter corresponding with an amount of a reference light that falls to pass through said fiber;
• and
• (c) an insertion loss evaluation system configured to determine an insertion loss of said connector based upon said parameters.

A computer readable medium having a computer program, said program comprising:

• means for receiving a core-to-ferrule eccentricity (CFE) parameter corresponding with an offset between a fiber center and a ferrule center of an optical fiber connector;
• means for receiving a fiber light intensity parameter corresponding with an amount of a reference light that fails to pass through said fiber;
• and
• means for determining an insertion loss of said connector based upon said parameters.