JP2014126849A - Manufacturing method for lensed ferrule, lensed ferrule, and optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lensed ferrule for accommodating and holding an inserted optical fiber, capable of aligning a center axis of a front end surface of the inserted optical fiber being held with a center axis of a lens unit.SOLUTION: A method of manufacturing a lensed ferrule involves; inserting an optical cable with an optical fiber extending from a front end thereof into an insertion hole formed along a center axis of the ferrule until the front end of the optical fiber comes into contact with a rear end surface of a lens unit; and filling a groove, which is cut out from an outer periphery of the ferrule through to a portion of the circumference of the insertion hole and extends along the axis direction, with a sealing resin to fix the optical fiber and the optical fiber cable to an inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole.

Description

  The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a ferrule with a lens, a ferrule with a lens manufactured by the method, and an optical connector equipped with the ferrule, and more specifically, with a lens having a front end side of a ferrule for inserting and holding an optical fiber as a lens portion. In the ferrule, the alignment accuracy between the axis of the front end face of the optical fiber to be inserted and held and the axis of the lens portion is increased.

  In recent years, communication using optical cables has become widespread in automobiles. For example, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, an optical connector 100 in which a ferrule 102 having an optical fiber 103 inserted therein is accommodated in a housing 101 is used as a connection method of an optical fiber that is a core of an optical fiber cable. Is generally used in which the front end faces 103a and 113a of the optical fibers 103 and 113 exposed from the front ends of the ferrules 102 and 112 are directly contacted to be optically coupled. It has been. Since the core diameters of the optical fiber front end faces 103a and 113a that are brought into contact with each other are very small, for example, about 50 μm, the axial cores of the front end faces 103a and 113a of both optical fibers are slightly displaced, and the optical fiber front end faces 103a and 113a There is a possibility that optical coupling cannot be performed simply by attaching fine dust or the like [see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-91404 (Patent Document 1)].

  In view of this, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-316292 (Patent Document 2) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-174988 (Patent Document 3) propose a ferrule with a lens in which a lens portion is formed on the front end side of the ferrule. The ferrule is integrally formed of a transparent resin and has, for example, a cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. In the ferrule 120 with a lens, a through hole 121a of the optical fiber 130a and a through hole 121b of the optical fiber cable 130b are continuously provided along the axis of the ferrule 120 as shown in FIG. A lens portion 122 is provided in the front portion of the through hole 121a of the optical fiber, and the front end surface of the lens portion 122 is a lens surface 122a that is spherically processed into a convex shape.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the connection of the optical fiber 130a inserted and held in the ferrule 120 with a lens as described above is such that the light emitted from the front end face 130a-1 of the optical fiber 130a of one ferrule is the lens section 122 on the front end side. Diverges into a parallel light, and the parallel light is converged by the lens portion 122 of the other ferrule and condensed on the front end face 130a-1 of the other optical fiber 130a.

JP 2006-91404 A JP 2005-316292 A JP 2011-174988 A

  In the optical fiber connection method using the ferrule 120, since the emitted light is diverged by the lens unit 122 to be parallel light, a slight axial shift of both of the optical fibers 130a to be connected and a minute amount on the lens surface 122a. The adhesion of dust or the like has the advantage that it does not significantly affect the optical coupling. On the other hand, since the deviation between the axis of the front end face 130a-1 of the optical fiber 130a inserted and held in the ferrule 120 and the axis of the lens portion 122 of the ferrule 120 has a great effect on optical coupling, the front end of the optical fiber It is required to prevent the axial deviation between the surface 130a-1 and the lens portion 122 from occurring as much as possible.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the ferrule 120 is normally manufactured by an injection molding comprising an upper mold 140 for molding the rear part of the ferrule 120 and a lower mold 141 for molding the front part of the ferrule 120 having the lens part 122 as the front end. It is resin-molded using a mold. Specifically, a pin 142 for continuously forming the through hole 121a of the optical fiber and the through hole 121b of the optical fiber cable is projected downward from the center of the upper wall surface of the upper mold 140 along the central axis. Yes. As shown in FIG. 13B, the upper mold 140 and the lower mold 141 are closed, and the cavity 143 is filled with a transparent resin. After the resin is cured, the upper and lower molds 140 and 141 are opened, and the pins 142 are pulled out. Is manufactured.

However, in order to form the through hole 121a of the optical fiber and the through hole 121b of the optical fiber cable, the pin 142 suspended from the upper mold 140 into the cavity 143 is cantilevered and the distal end portion 142a is a free end. Therefore, when the resin flows into the cavity 143, the tip 142a of the pin 142 is swung, and the axis of the through hole 121a of the resin-molded optical fiber and the axis of the lens 122 are likely to be displaced. As a result, the axial displacement between the front end surface 130a-1 of the optical fiber 130a inserted and held in the through hole 121a of the optical fiber and the lens portion 122 is likely to occur.
More quantitatively, when a general optical fiber having an outer diameter of 125 μm and a core diameter of 50 μm is used, in order to suppress the connector connection loss to 1.5 dB or less, the amount of misalignment between the lens axis and the optical fiber axis is approximately It is necessary to suppress it to 5 μm or less. This is a level that is difficult to achieve with a mold pin cantilever mold structure having a diameter of about 125 μm that receives molding resin pressure.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a ferrule with a lens in which the front end side of a ferrule for inserting and holding an optical fiber is a lens portion, the axis of the front end surface of the optical fiber to be inserted and held and the lens portion An object of the present invention is to provide a ferrule that can match the axis.

In order to solve the above problems, as a first invention, a ferrule body with a lens is molded with an injection mold, and the ferrule body extends from the outer peripheral surface to the central axis from the rear side end surface to the rear end of the lens unit. A shape with a cut groove,
Next, the optical fiber is horizontally inserted from the opening of the groove of the molded ferrule body and placed on the bottom surface of the groove, and the front end surface of the optical fiber is abutted against the rear end surface of the lens part,
Next, a sealing resin is filled in the groove,
A method of manufacturing a ferrule with a lens in which an optical fiber is fixed along a central axis is provided.

In the manufacturing method of the present invention described above, it is not necessary to insert the optical fiber in the axial direction into an extremely fine through hole provided in the ferrule with a lens, and the optical fiber can be laterally inserted into the groove from the direction perpendicular to the axis, which greatly increases the number of work. It can be simplified.
Further, in the conventional manufacturing method shown in FIG. 13, it is necessary to attach a pin and hang it in the cavity in order to form a through hole of the optical fiber in the mold, and the pin is not stably held at the central axis. There is a problem that the position accuracy of the optical fiber through hole is influenced by the position of the pin. On the other hand, in the manufacturing method of the present invention, since the insertion hole of the optical fiber can be formed only by the mold without using the pin, the positional accuracy can be improved. Therefore, the axial center of the front end of the optical fiber can be accurately matched with the axial center of the lens surface, and there is no fear that the axial center will shift.

  Before the sealing resin is filled in the groove, an optical fiber pressing member made of transparent resin is inserted into the groove, and the lower surface of the optical fiber pressing member is pressed against the optical fiber that has been inserted in advance. It is preferable that a space for filling the sealing resin is formed between the upper surface of the pressing member and the upper end opening of the groove.

  As 2nd invention, the ferrule with a lens manufactured by the said manufacturing method is provided.

In the ferrule with a lens according to the present invention, an optical fiber is inserted into an insertion hole along the central axis of the rear side portion and the intermediate portion, the front end of the optical fiber is abutted against the rear end surface of the lens portion, and A groove cut from the outer circumferential surface in a part of the circumferential direction of the insertion hole extends along the central axis direction, and the optical fiber is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the insertion hole by a sealing resin filled in the groove. It is fixed.
The front side portion of the optical fiber inserted through the insertion hole of the ferrule with a lens has a covering portion peeled off, and the rear side portion is covered with a covering portion.

  In the ferrule with a lens according to the present invention, it is preferable that the optical fiber is fixed by the sealing resin in the groove in a state where the optical fiber is positioned and held by an optical fiber pressing member.

For example, an epoxy-based adhesive can be used as the sealing resin filling the groove. The ferrule is formed of a transparent resin. Examples of the transparent resin include polyetherimide resin (PEI) and polycarbonate resin (PC).
In addition, the optical fiber pressing member is preferably formed by pre-molding and curing the same type of resin as the sealing resin, but may be a transparent resin having a large specific gravity.

Furthermore, as a third invention, comprising a ferrule with a lens to which the optical fiber is inserted and fixed, and an optical connector housing for inserting and holding the ferrule with a lens,
An optical connector characterized in that an axis of the lens portion of the ferrule with lens accommodated in the optical connector housing and an axis of the optical fiber inserted and held in the ferrule with lens are aligned. Is provided.

  In the optical connector, since the axis of the lens portion of the ferrule with a lens housed in the optical connector housing is aligned with the axis of the optical fiber inserted and held in the ferrule, The optical fibers inserted and held in the ferrules in the respective optical connector housings can be reliably connected with low connection loss simply by being fitted to the connectors.

As described above, in the method for manufacturing a ferrule with a lens according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is not necessary to insert the optical fiber in the axial direction into the extremely thin insertion hole provided in the ferrule, and the optical fiber is inserted into the groove from the direction perpendicular to the axis. This can greatly simplify the work.
It is not necessary to attach a pin in order to form the optical fiber insertion hole in the molding die, and the position accuracy of the optical fiber insertion hole is not affected by the position of the pin. The position accuracy can be increased by matching the central axis. Therefore, the axial center of the front end of the optical fiber and the axial center of the lens surface can be accurately matched, and there is no possibility of deviation.

The ferrule with a lens manufactured with the manufacturing method of this invention is shown, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is sectional drawing along the axial direction. The ferrule injection mold of the said invention is shown, (A) is sectional drawing of a mold open state, (B) is BB sectional drawing of (A). (A) (B) is sectional drawing of the state which closed the metal mold | die shown in FIG. The ferrule main body shape | molded with the metal mold | die is shown, (A) is sectional drawing along an axial direction, (B) is BB sectional drawing of (A). The state which inserted the optical fiber in the ferrule main body is shown, (A) is sectional drawing along an axial direction, (B) is the BB sectional drawing of (A). The state which filled the ferrule main body which inserted the optical fiber shown in FIG. 5 with resin is shown, (A) is sectional drawing along an axial direction, (B) is the BB sectional drawing of (A). The 1st modification of the injection mold of the ferrule with a lens of this invention is shown, (A) is sectional drawing of a mold open state, (B) is sectional drawing of the state which closed the mold. The 2nd modification of the injection mold of the ferrule with a lens of this invention is shown, (A) is sectional drawing of a mold open state, (B) is sectional drawing of the state which closed the mold. It is sectional drawing which shows the optical connector which inserted and hold | maintained the optical fiber with the ferrule with a lens of this invention, and was accommodated in the connector. The prior art example of the system which optically couples the front-end surfaces of the optical fiber exposed from the front end of each ferrule directly is shown, (A) is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the state before optical connector fitting, (B ) Is a partial cross-sectional view showing a fitting state of the optical connector. A prior art example is shown, (A) is a sectional view of a ferrule with a lens, and (B) is a sectional view of a ferrule with an optical fiber inserted and held therein. It is explanatory drawing which shows the optical coupling state of the optical fibers inserted and hold | maintained at the ferrule with a lens. The upper and lower molds for forming the conventional ferrule with a lens are shown, (A) is a sectional view in the state before closing the upper and lower molds, (B) is a sectional view showing the state in which the upper and lower molds are closed. .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a ferrule 1 with a lens manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention has an optical fiber 2 inserted and fixed in the manufacturing process.

  A ferrule 1 with a lens made of a resin molded product includes a rear side portion 4, an intermediate portion 5, a front side portion 6, and a lens portion 7 of a convex lens at a front end portion. The rear side portion 4 and the intermediate portion 5 are provided with insertion holes 8 of an optical fiber cable 3 (hereinafter abbreviated as the coating portion 3) in which the optical fiber 2 is coated with an insulating coating along the central axis. The insertion hole 9 of the optical fiber 2 that peels off the insulation coating and protrudes is provided along the central axis of the front side portion 6 continuously from the front end. The insertion hole 8 of the covering portion 3 is made larger than the insertion hole 9 of the optical fiber by the thickness of the insulating coating. The lens portion 7 is provided on the front side of the front side portion 6 of the ferrule 1, the front end of the insertion hole 9 of the optical fiber 2 is closed, and the front end surface of the lens portion 7 is formed as a lens surface 7 a having a convex spherical shape.

  A ferrule body 1A formed by a mold has a shape shown in FIG. 4, and a groove 10 extending in the entire axial direction from the front end position of the insertion hole 9 of the optical fiber to the rear end of the rear side portion 4 is partly in the circumferential direction. Provided. The groove 10 is cut in the radial direction from the outer peripheral surface to a position in contact with the insertion hole 9 and the insertion hole 8. In other words, the front side of the bottom surface of the groove 10 is the insertion hole 9 for the optical fiber, and the rear side is the insertion hole 8 for the covering portion 3. The bottom surface of the groove 10 has a V-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. 4 so that the groove 10 can be stably held in contact with at least two points on the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber 2 and the covering portion 3.

  After inserting the optical fiber 2 and the covering portion 3 from the upper end opening of the groove 10 into the insertion hole 9 and the insertion hole 8 formed from the bottom surface of the groove 10 continuous along the central axis, the optical fiber pressing member 18 is inserted. In a state where the optical fiber 2 and the covering portion 3 are held along the groove bottom surface, the groove 10 is filled with a sealing resin 11 and closed, and the ferrule with a lens to which the optical fiber 2 shown in FIG. 1 is assumed.

The ferrule 1 is manufactured by an injection molding apparatus provided with a lower mold 15, an upper mold 16, and a slide mold 17 for molding a lens portion shown in FIGS.
The lower die 15 includes a cavity 20 for molding the lower half side portion of the ferrule 1, the upper die 16 includes a cavity 21 for molding the upper half side portion of the ferrule 1, and the slide die 17 is a front end portion of the upper and lower dies 16, 15. And a cavity 23 for molding the lens part.
The upper and lower molds may be arranged on the left and right to form a left and right mold, and the slide mold may be arranged on the upper surface.

  In the upper die 16, a groove forming portion 16a projects into the cavity at the center of the cavity 21 from the center of the upper end of the die surface. The protruding end 16e of the groove forming portion 16a has a V shape, and the bottom surface of the groove 10 has a V shape in cross section. As shown in FIGS. 2B and 3B, the left and right sides sandwiching the groove forming portion 16a are continuous with the mold surface of the lower mold 15 to form the outer peripheral surface of the ferrule 1 excluding the lens portion 7. It has a shape.

The mold surface 17a of the slide mold 17 is used as a molding surface of the lens surface 7a of the lens unit 7, and no dividing line (parting line) is formed on the lens surface 7a. Further, a resin injection hole 17 b is opened in the slide mold 17. Resin injection holes are also provided at appropriate locations on the lower mold 15 and the upper mold 16.
In addition, although the burr | flash is formed in the cylindrical part of the ferrule 1 shape | molded by this embodiment by the metal mold | die matching surface, since the emitted light is made into parallel collimated light by the lens part 7, some axial deviation is carried out by a burr | flash. Even if it occurs, the effect on connection loss is small.

The manufacturing process of the ferrule using the injection mold provided with the said lower mold | type 15, the upper mold | type 16, and the slide mold | type 17 is demonstrated below.
First, as shown in FIG. 3, the lower die 15, the upper die 16 and the slide die 17 are closed and filled with a transparent resin for ferrule molding. In this embodiment, a polyetherimide resin (PEI) is used.

  After the resin is cured, the mold is opened to obtain a ferrule body 1A with a lens shown in FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B). The ferrule body 1 </ b> A has a lens portion 7 having a lens surface 7 a on a front end surface, and a front side portion 6, an intermediate portion 5, and a rear side portion 4 are provided continuously to the lens portion 7. In the drawing, a groove 10 formed by the groove forming portion 16a is provided at the center of the upper half side portion. As described above, the groove 10 extends in the axial direction from the front end position of the insertion hole 9 to the rear end of the rear side portion 4, and the depth (d) thereof extends from the outer peripheral surface to the insertion hole 9 and the insertion hole 8. It extends to the position where it touches. As described above, the bottom surface of the groove 10 has a V-shaped cross section, and the portions along the bottom surface become the insertion holes 8 and 9. The circumferential dimension (t) of the groove 10 may be any dimension (more than the diameter of the optical fiber cable) in which the covering portion 3 can be inserted, and the dimension t is preferably narrow.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the ferrule body 1 </ b> A that has been molded is placed horizontally, and the groove 10 is held in an attitude that opens upward. With the insulation coating peeled off at the end of the optical fiber cable and the optical fiber 2 exposed, the optical fiber 2 and the continuous coating portion 3 are inserted into the groove 10 from above as indicated by a dashed line in the figure. And placed on the bottom surface of the groove 10. The front end surface of the optical fiber 2 to be placed is positioned on the front end surface of the groove 10 and abuts against the rear end surface 7e of the lens unit 7. Since the optical fiber 2 placed on the bottom surface of the groove 10 has a V-shaped cross section, the center axis of the optical fiber 2 can be stably held without being displaced from the center axis of the ferrule 1.

  After the optical fiber 2 is inserted into the groove 10, the optical fiber pressing member 18 formed of a transparent polyetherimide resin (PEI) is inserted into the groove 10, and the optical fiber 2 and the covering portion 3 are inserted into the groove 10. The optical fiber 2 is lifted and held so as not to be displaced when the sealing resin 11 is filled. The optical fiber holding member 18 has a space between the upper end surface 18 a and the upper end opening of the groove 10 when the lower end surface is pressed against the optical fiber 2 and the covering portion 3. The width of the optical fiber holding member 18 is equal to or slightly smaller than the width of the groove 10, and the sealing resin to be added later passes through the gap between the optical fiber holding member 18 and the inner surface of the side wall of the groove 10. It is preferable that the optical fiber 2, the covering portion 3, and the optical fiber pressing member 18 are fixed to the inner surface of the groove 10 with the sealing resin 11.

  After the optical fiber pressing member 18 is inserted into the groove 10, the sealing resin 11 (in this embodiment, an epoxy-based adhesive) melted from the upper end opening of the groove 10 is filled. By the injected sealing resin, the optical fiber 2 and the covering portion 3 are fixed to the groove bottom surface and both side surfaces as described above. Further, the optical fiber pressing member 18 is fixed to the inner surfaces of both sides of the groove, and the space between the upper surface of the optical fiber pressing member and the upper end opening of the groove 10 is filled with the sealing resin 11 so that the groove 10 is closed.

In the process, the ferrule 1 with a lens to which the end of the optical fiber shown in FIG. 1 is inserted and fixed is manufactured.
According to the manufacturing method, it is not necessary to insert the optical fiber in the axial direction into an extremely thin insertion hole provided in the ferrule, and the optical fiber 2 can be laterally inserted into the groove 10 from the direction perpendicular to the axis, thereby greatly simplifying the work. it can.
Further, in the conventional manufacturing method shown in FIG. 13, it is necessary to attach a pin in order to form the optical fiber insertion hole in the mold, and the positional accuracy of the optical fiber insertion hole depends on the installation state of the pin. However, in the manufacturing method of the present invention, since the optical fiber insertion hole can be formed only by a mold without using a pin, the positional accuracy can be improved. Therefore, the axial center of the front end of the optical fiber 2 and the axial center of the lens surface 7a can be exactly matched, and there is no fear of deviation.

  The ferrule with a lens of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and after inserting the optical fiber 2 into the groove 10, the optical fiber is held from the outside when the sealing resin is injected, and the optical fiber holding member is unnecessary. It is good.

FIG. 7 shows a first modification of the ferrule molding die.
In the mold of the first modified example, the lower mold 15-2 and the upper mold 16-2 are divided into two with the central axis as the symmetry line from the rear end of the ferrule to be molded to the front end of the lens surface. An opening 16h is provided in the center of the upper surface from the rear end of the lens portion molding portion of the upper die 16-2 to the rear end of the ferrule, and a groove forming die is disposed in the opening 16h. The groove forming die 30 is formed with a groove forming protrusion 30a projecting into a cavity surrounded by the upper and lower molds when the mold is closed.

  In the ferrule molded using the mold of the first modification, a dividing line (parting line) is formed on the lens surface. However, if the emitted light is sufficiently enlarged at the position of the lens surface, the connection loss is reduced. The effect is small. Furthermore, there is an advantage that a slide mechanism is not required in the mold structure.

FIG. 8 shows a second modification of the ferrule molding die.
In the mold according to the second modified example, the lower mold 32 is for forming an intermediate part, a front side part and a front end lens part having a flange part of a ferrule, and the upper mold 33 is a rear side part molding of the ferrule on the optical fiber insertion side. It is for. An opening is provided on one side (left side in the drawing) of the lower mold 32 from the upper end to a position reaching the rear end of the lens portion, and a groove forming mold 35 is disposed in the opening. Further, the upper mold 33 is provided with a groove forming projection 33a from the left mold surface, and the protrusion 35a and the groove forming protrusion 33a of the groove forming mold 35 are set to continue with the same protrusion amount when the mold is closed. Furthermore, a lens surface molding die 36 is disposed as an opening in the lowermost lens surface molding portion of the lower mold 32.

  The ferrule formed using the mold of the second modification has an advantage that no parting line (parting line) is formed on the cylindrical part and lens surface of the ferrule.

FIG. 9 shows optical connectors 51 and 53 in which the ferrule 1 with a lens to which the optical fiber shown in FIG.
The ferrule 1 is inserted and locked in the connector housings 52 and 54 of the optical connectors 51 and 53, respectively.

  In the optical connectors 51 and 53, the axis of the lens portion 7 of the ferrule 1 housed and locked in the connector housings 52 and 54 and the axis of the front end of the optical fiber 2 exactly coincide. Therefore, the optical fibers 2 held by the ferrule 1 of the optical connectors 51 and 53 can be reliably optically coupled with low connection loss.

1 Ferrule 1A Ferrule body 2 Optical fiber 3 Covering part (optical fiber cable)
7 Lens part 7a Lens surface 10 Groove 11 Sealing resin 15 Lower mold 16 Upper mold 16a Groove molding part 17 Slide mold 18 Optical fiber pressing member 51, 53 Optical connector

Claims (6)

A ferrule body with a lens is molded with an injection mold, and the ferrule body has a shape with a groove cut from the outer peripheral surface to the central axis from the rear end surface to the rear end of the lens portion,
Next, the optical fiber is horizontally inserted from the opening of the groove of the molded ferrule body and placed on the bottom surface of the groove, and the front end surface of the optical fiber is abutted against the rear end surface of the lens part,
Next, a sealing resin is filled in the groove,
A manufacturing method of a ferrule with a lens, in which an optical fiber is fixed along a central axis.   Before the sealing resin is filled in the groove, an optical fiber pressing member made of transparent resin is inserted into the groove, and the lower surface of the optical fiber pressing member is pressed against the optical fiber that has been inserted in advance. The manufacturing method of the ferrule with a lens of Claim 1 which opened the filling space of the said sealing resin between the upper surface of a pressing member, and the upper end opening of the said groove | channel.   A ferrule with a lens manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1.   An optical fiber cable and an optical fiber protruding from the front end of the optical fiber cable are inserted through the insertion hole along the central axis, the front end of the optical fiber is abutted against the rear end surface of the lens portion, and the circumference of the insertion hole is A groove cut from the outer peripheral surface in a part of the direction extends along the axial direction, and the optical fiber and the optical fiber cable are fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole with a sealing resin filled in the groove. Ferrule with lens.   The ferrule with a lens according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the optical fiber is positioned and held by an optical fiber pressing member. A ferrule with a lens according to any one of claims 3 to 5, an optical fiber in which a terminal side is inserted and held in the ferrule, and an optical connector housing for inserting and holding the ferrule,
An optical connector characterized in that an axis of the lens portion of the ferrule accommodated in the optical connector housing is aligned with an axis of the optical fiber inserted and held in the ferrule.

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