JPH01191106A - Optical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the quantity of reflection attenuation and connection loss by specifying the roughness of the end surface of an optical fiber which is positioned and fixed in an optical connector main body and using a matching agent at the time of connection. CONSTITUTION:The roughness of the end surface 3 of the optical fiber 2 which is positioned and fixed in the optical connector main body 1 is so specified that the mean surface roughness (Ra) is >=400Angstrom ; and the matching agent is used at the time of the connection. Thus, the end surface 3 of the optical fiber 2 is roughened properly to increase the scattering of reflected light from the optical connector end surface. Consequently, light returning to a light source by being scattered decreases in quantity, so the quantity of reflection attenuation is reduced. Further, the connection loss of this is equalized to that of a conventional polished optical connector by using the matching agent.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an optical connector that realizes coupling of optical fibers in optical communications.

(Prior art) Conventional technology regarding optical connectors is to perform precision finishing on the end face of an optical fiber that is positioned and fixed within the optical connector main body by ■puff polishing, etc., or ■concave spherical PC polishing, diagonal polishing, etc. This was intended to reduce return loss and connection loss.

(Problem to be solved) In the conventional technology described above, various polishing processes such as rough, medium, and finish polishing of the optical fiber end face are required in the process after inserting the optical fiber, which increases the cost and the time required per connector. There is a problem in that work efficiency is poor because of the large size and the number of steps involved in on-site assembly of the optical connector.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides an optical connector that solves the above-mentioned problems, and is characterized in that the roughness of the end face of the optical fiber positioned and fixed in the optical connector main body is the average surface roughness. The length (Ra) is 400λ or more, and a matching agent is used during connection.

FIG. 1 is a partial explanatory diagram of a specific example of the optical connector of the present invention. In the drawings, (1) is an optical connector main body in which an optical fiber (2) is positioned and fixed, and (3) is an end face of the optical fiber (2), the average surface roughness (Ra) of which is 400 Å or more. (4) is the reflected light at the optical fiber end face (3).

(Function) The optical connector of the present invention is obtained by omitting all the finishing steps of conventional optical connectors. As mentioned above, in order to reduce the return loss of conventional optical connectors, the surface of the connector is polished to a fine finish such as diagonal polishing or PC polishing. In contrast, in the optical connector of the present invention, the return loss is reduced by appropriately roughening the end face of the optical fiber. For example, the surface roughness obtained by rough polishing using a 6μ lapping wheel is 600 in Ra.
It is about λ.

As described above, by appropriately roughening the end face of the optical fiber, the scattering of reflected light from the end face of the optical connector increases.

This scattering of light reduces the amount of light that returns to the light source, so the amount of return loss also decreases. Furthermore, in the optical connector of the present invention, by using a matching agent, the connection loss is equivalent to that of a conventional polished optical connector.

It can be seen that if it is above, a return loss of 25 dB or more can be obtained. However, when it becomes about 2000λ, the stability of the connection loss during attachment and detachment deteriorates.

(Example) Using a conventional GI fiber optic connector plug, insert an optical fiber into it, position and fix it with adhesive, and then polish the end face using a 60 rough polishing diamond wheel. The entire process was omitted.

The pieces that had been subjected to only rough polishing were connected using a matching agent. The return loss at this time was about 28 dB. Also, there was no significant difference in connection loss compared to the case where conventional puff polishing was performed. Further, the surface roughness of the end face at this time was 450 to 800 Ra.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partial explanatory diagram of a specific example of the optical connector of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram of the relationship between the surface roughness of the optical fiber end face and the amount of reflection loss/h. 1... Optical connector body, 2... Optical fiber, 3...
- Optical fiber end face, 4...Reflected light.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) An optical connector characterized in that the end face of the optical fiber positioned and fixed within the optical connector body has an average surface roughness (Ra) of 400 Å or more, and a matching agent is used during connection.