Thereof fiber interconnection apparatus and process for the preparation
OwnerBruce L. Booth, Robert J. Furmanak +1inventors
InventorsBruce L. Booth, Robert J. Furmanak, Danahey Ryan
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Abstract
An improved, lower cost, optical fiber interconnect device of the type known as a “perfect shuffle” and processes for the preparation thereof. The present invention relates to devices that are smaller in size than prior art devices and that exhibit superior optical properties including lower attenuation loss (lower insertion loss) and to processes which produce such devices.
Claims21
A method for the preparation of a device for connecting a first M by N array of optical fibers with a second N by M array of optical fibers, each first array comprising M rows and N columns of fibers and each second array comprising N rows and M columns of fibers, wherein each row is identified by a first subscript i and each column is identified by a second subscript j, wherein a fiber at a position ij of an input array is routed to a corresponding position ji of an output array, the method comprising:
- (a) assembling a first input array of optical fibers, comprising M optical fiber ribbons, by assembling M row-groups of fibers, each row-group comprising N fibers, into M ribbons by:
- (i) selecting a first portion of each optical fiber from each row-group of the first array, the first fiber portions being adjacent to a first end of the fiber;
- (ii) assembling a row-group of fibers by adhering the first portions of each selected optical fiber in a side-by-side arrangement to form a row-group optical fiber ribbon;
- (iii) repeating steps (i) - (ii) until M row-group ribbons are assembled;
- (iv) stacking the M row-group ribbons atop one another to form a first input array of fibers;
- (b) assembling a second output array of optical fibers, comprising N optical fiber ribbons, by assembling N column-groups of fibers, each column-group comprising M fibers, into N ribbons by:
- (i) selecting a second portion of each optical fiber from each column-group of the first array, the second fiber portion being adjacent to a second end of the fiber;
- (ii) assembling a column-group of fibers by adhering the second portions of each selected optical fiber in a side-by-side arrangement to form a column-group optical fiber ribbon;
- (iii) repeating steps (i) - (ii) until N column-group ribbons are assembled;
- (iv) stacking the N column-group ribbons atop one another to form a second output array of fibers;
- so that
- a fiber at a row position ij of the input array is routed to a corresponding column position ji of the output array.
A method for the preparation of a device for connecting a first M by N array of optical fibers with a second N by M array of optical fibers, each first array comprising M rows and N columns of fibers and each second array comprising N rows and M columns of fibers, wherein each row is identified by a first subscript i and each column is identified by a second subscript j, wherein a fiber at a position ij of an input array is routed to a corresponding position ji of an output array, the method comprising:
- (a) assembling a first input array of optical fibers, comprising M optical fiber ribbons, by assembling a first wide ribbon comprising M row-groups of fibers in a side-by-side arrangement, each row-group comprising N fibers;
- (b) slitting the first wide ribbon into M ribbons;
- (c) stacking the M ribbons atop one another to form the input array of fibers;
- (d) assembling a second output array of optical fibers, comprising N optical fiber ribbons, by assembling a second wide ribbon comprising N column-groups of fibers in a side-by-side arrangement, each column-group comprising M fibers;
- (e) slitting the second wide ribbon into N ribbons;
- (f) stacking the N ribbons atop one another to form the output array of fibers.
A method for verifying the location of each fiber in a device for connecting a first M by N array of optical fibers with a second N by M array of optical fibers, each first array comprising M rows and N columns of fibers and each second array comprising N rows and M columns of fibers, the device comprising an input array of optical fibers, comprising M rows of optical fiber ribbons and an output array of optical fibers, comprising N columns of optical fiber ribbons, wherein each row is identified by a first subscript i and each column is identified by a second subscript j, wherein a fiber at a position ij of an input array is routed to a corresponding position ji of an output array, the method comprising:
- (a) connecting an optical source to a first end of each optical fiber;
- (b) bending a portion of each ribbon over a curved mandrel so that the fibers are bent to a radius sufficiently small to cause coupling of light out of the fiber;
- (c) positioning a photodetector adjacent the bent portion of the each of the fibers;
- (d) sequentially illuminating each fiber by selectively energizing the light sources;
- (e) detecting light emitted from the bent portion of the illuminated fiber;
- (f) verifying the row and column position within the array of the illuminated fiber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.