Hollow-core optical fiber connector and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

The invention belongs to the field of optical communication, and particularly discloses a hollow-core optical fiber connector and a manufacturing method thereof.The connector comprises a connecting piece, the connecting piece is fixedly installed at the end of a hollow-core optical fiber body, and an insertion hole for the hollow-core optical fiber body to penetrate through is formed in the connecting piece; and the plugging structure is arranged at one end of the connecting piece to physically plug the central channel of the hollow-core optical fiber body, and the plugging structure can allow optical signals transmitted in the central channel to pass through. Based on the structural design of the hollow-core optical fiber connector, butt joint of the two hollow-core optical fibers can be achieved by butt joint of the plugging structures on the two hollow-core optical fiber connectors, it is guaranteed that optical signals are transmitted in the two hollow-core optical fiber bodies, no special equipment needs to be adopted for fusion welding, the connection mode is simpler and more convenient, and the cost is lower. Meanwhile, due to the design of the plugging structure, the problem that water vapor and impurities enter the central channel of the hollow-core optical fiber body to affect optical signal transmission can be effectively avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of optical communications, and more specifically, to a hollow core optical fiber connector and a manufacturing method thereof. Background Art

[0002] From the inside to the outside, hollow-core optical fiber is composed of an air core, a microstructure, and a cladding. The outer surface of the cladding is usually provided with a coating layer, wherein the cladding is made of transparent materials such as silica. The middle of the air core is provided with a central channel, namely, the air core. The function of the microstructure is to confine the optical signal in the air core for propagation. Hollow-core optical fiber mainly utilizes the principle that light propagates faster in air than in glass. Hollow-core optical fiber confines light in the air core to reduce the interaction between light and optical fiber materials, thereby reducing communication delays, and thus enabling high-frequency transmission and reducing mobile network costs.

[0003] In optical fiber communication systems, optical fibers and optical fibers or optical fibers and equipment often need to be detachably connected. During the optical fiber connection process, the two end faces of the optical fiber need to be precisely docked. The most important thing is to align the axes of the two optical fibers so that the light energy output by the transmitting optical fiber can be coupled to the receiving optical fiber to the maximum extent. During the process of hollow-core optical fiber connection, water vapor or other impurities in the surrounding environment will enter the air core, causing the core to be blocked, thereby affecting the transmission of optical signals.

[0004] In the related art, the connection between hollow-core optical fibers is usually achieved by using expensive special equipment to fuse the hollow-core optical fibers together, or by using mechanical devices for spatial coupling, which is not only costly but also extremely inconvenient to operate in many applications. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the defects of the prior art, the present application provides a hollow-core optical fiber connector and a manufacturing method thereof, aiming to solve the problem that the connection operation between existing hollow-core optical fibers is inconvenient and the cost is high.

[0006] The present application provides a hollow-core optical fiber connector, which specifically includes a connector, which is fixedly mounted on the end of a hollow-core optical fiber body, and has a plug hole for the hollow-core optical fiber body to pass through; A blocking structure is provided at one end of the connector to physically block the central channel of the hollow-core optical fiber body, and the blocking structure enables optical signals transmitted in the central channel to pass through.

[0007] Through the above technical scheme conceived by the present application, compared with the prior art, based on the structural design of the hollow-core optical fiber connector of the present application, the two hollow-core optical fibers can be docked by docking the sealing structures on the two hollow-core optical fiber connectors, thereby ensuring that the optical signal is transmitted in the two hollow-core optical fiber bodies. There is no need to use special equipment for welding, and the connection method is simpler and more convenient. At the same time, due to the design of the sealing structure, it can effectively prevent water vapor and impurities from entering the central channel of the hollow-core optical fiber body and affecting the transmission of optical signals.

[0008] As a further preference, the blocking structure is made of light-transmitting material.

[0009] By adopting the above technical solution, the optical signal in the central channel of the hollow-core optical fiber body can pass through the blocking structure, thereby realizing the optical signal transmission between the two hollow-core optical fiber bodies.

[0010] As a further preference, a side of the blocking structure facing away from the connecting piece is coated with an anti-reflection film.

[0011] By adopting the above technical solution, since there are two interfaces with different refractive indices at the joint of the hollow-core optical fiber body, the optical signal will undergo two transmissions and reflections, which will cause signal loss. The Fresnel reflection is reduced by coating treatment, thereby improving the insertion loss and return loss.

[0012] As a further preference, one end of the connector is provided with a V-shaped groove which is coaxially arranged with and connected to the jack.

[0013] By adopting the above technical solution, the hollow-core optical fiber body can be easily inserted into the jack, thereby improving installation efficiency.

[0014] As a further preference, the connecting piece is made of any one of ceramic material, metal material or high molecular polymer material.

[0015] By adopting the above technical solution, the strength of the connecting piece is ensured so that the two hollow-core optical fiber bodies can be butt-jointed through the hollow-core optical fiber connector.

[0016] As a further preference, the hollow-core optical fiber connector has an insertion loss of ≤0.5 dB and a return loss of ≤-40 dB at wavelengths of 1310 nm and 1550 nm.

[0017] The present application provides a method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector, which is used to manufacture the above hollow core optical fiber connector, comprising the following steps: S1: cutting the end face of the hollow core optical fiber body; S2: connecting the hollow-core optical fiber body, the plugging structure, and the connector into a whole, and making the plugging structure plug the central channel of the hollow-core optical fiber body; S3: Process the plugging structure until the end face quality of the plugging structure meets the requirements, and complete the manufacture of the hollow core optical fiber connector.

[0018] As a further preferred embodiment, in step S2, the connection method is: inserting one end of the hollow-core optical fiber body after cutting into the socket from one end of the connector, and setting a sealing structure at the end face of the other end of the connector to fix the hollow-core optical fiber body and seal the central channel of the hollow-core optical fiber body.

[0019] By adopting the above technical solution, the blocking structure can block the central channel of the hollow-core optical fiber body, and at the same time can improve the relative stability between the hollow-core optical fiber body and the blocking structure.

[0020] As a further preference, the blocking structure is made of glue or paint, and the thickness of the blocking structure is greater than the length of the hollow-core optical fiber body extending out of the insertion hole.

[0021] By adopting the above technical solution, the hollow-core optical fiber body and the connector can be connected and fixed by applying glue and paint, and the central channel can be blocked at the same time.

[0022] As a further preference, the blocking structure has a thickness of 100um-300um.

[0023] As a further preference, the depth to which the glue or paint enters the central channel is less than 300 um.

[0024] As further preferred, in step S2, the connection method is: after the blocking structure is fixedly installed on one end of the jack of the connector, the cut end of the hollow-core optical fiber body is inserted into the jack and abutted against the blocking structure.

[0025] By adopting the above technical solution, the plugging structure adopts a prefabricated part, and the hollow-core optical fiber body, the plugging structure, and the connector can be directly assembled, thereby improving the connection efficiency of the hollow-core optical fiber body, the plugging structure, and the connector.

[0026] As further preferred, the blocking structure is a film or quartz glass, or other silicon-based materials, and the thickness of the blocking structure is 50um-200um.

[0027] As further preferred embodiment, in step S3, a grinder is used to grind and polish the blocking structure.

[0028] By adopting the above technical solution, the integrity of the hollow core optical fiber connector is improved, thereby improving the connection effect.

[0029] In general, the above technical solutions conceived by this application have the following technical advantages compared with the prior art: 1. Based on the structural design of the hollow-core optical fiber connector of the present application, the two hollow-core optical fibers can be butted together by butting the plugging structures on the two hollow-core optical fiber connectors, ensuring that the optical signal is transmitted in the two hollow-core optical fiber bodies, without the need to use special equipment for fusion splicing, the connection method is simpler and more convenient, reducing the link connection time, reducing the wiring cost of the communication line, improving the working efficiency of the communication system, and realizing low-loss connection between hollow-core optical fibers. At the same time, due to the design of the plugging structure, it can effectively prevent water vapor and impurities from entering the central channel of the hollow-core optical fiber body to affect the transmission of optical signals.

[0030] 2. When the performance of the hollow core optical fiber connector in this application deteriorates after repeated plugging and unplugging, the end face can be repaired by secondary grinding to restore its optical performance to the initial state, thereby reducing the resource consumption of replacing the connector with a new one.

[0031] 3. In this application, the hollow core optical fiber body, the plugging structure, and the connector are connected by two methods, which can be carried out according to actual needs to improve the overall connection stability and connection efficiency of the hollow core optical fiber connector. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of a hollow core optical fiber; Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the hollow-core optical fiber body provided in the embodiment of the present application connected by the first connection method; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the hollow-core optical fiber body provided in the embodiment of the present application connected by the second connection method; Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the connection adapter provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0033] Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to denote the same elements or structures, wherein: 1. Connector; 101. Socket; 102. V-shaped groove; 103. Butt end; 2. Sealing structure; 3. Hollow core optical fiber body; 301. Central channel; 4. Connecting adapter; 401. Mounting hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0035] Compared with traditional solid core optical fiber, hollow core optical fiber can confine light in the central air hole, thereby reducing the interaction between light and optical fiber materials, thus enabling a series of special applications, such as high-power laser guidance, ultra-short laser transmission, pulse compression, reduced latency communication, and mid-infrared transmission. Reducing communication delays, enabling high-frequency transmission and reducing mobile network costs, also means that the use of hollow core optical fiber in the radio access network (RAN) can reduce mobile network operating costs by providing more 5G antennas from a switch or cabinet.

[0036] When hollow-core optical fibers are being connected, water vapor or other impurities in the surrounding environment will enter the air core, causing the core to be blocked, thus affecting the transmission of optical signals. Therefore, in the preparation of hollow-core optical fiber connectors, on the one hand, the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber must be processed, and the appropriate material must be selected to seal the end face of the optical fiber without affecting the transmission of optical signals. On the other hand, the mode field matching of the hollow-core optical fiber and the conventional single-mode optical fiber must also be considered, so a suitable mode field adapter is required.

[0037] like Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment, the middle of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 is a central channel 301 filled with air, which is surrounded by a circle of hollow glass capillary rings, and its cross section is similar to a honeycomb, with an air hole in the middle. Light is mainly transmitted in the middle air hole, that is, in the central channel 301. The central channel 301 serves as the core of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, and the multiple hollow glass capillary rings surrounding it serve as cladding, which confines the light to be transmitted in the central channel 301. A coating layer is usually provided on the outside of the cladding. Among them, the diameter of the central channel 301 is 20um~30um, the diameter of the cladding is 125um~230um, and the diameter of the coating layer is 250um~375um. The central channel 301 can transmit single-mode signals. The hollow glass capillary ring can adopt a single-ring, double-ring or multi-ring structure, and it is single-layer or multi-layer through regular or irregular arrangement.

[0038] like Figure 2-3As shown, a hollow-core optical fiber connector disclosed in the present application includes a connector 1 and a blocking structure 2. The connector 1 is fixedly installed at the end of a hollow-core optical fiber body 3. A plug hole 101 is provided on the connector 1 for the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 to pass through. Specifically, the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 is inserted into the plug hole 101 from the tail end of the connector 1 and is fixed to the connector 1 by glue. To facilitate the insertion of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, a V-shaped groove 102 is provided on the tail end of the connector 1, which is connected to the plug hole 101 and coaxially arranged. The plug hole 101 is connected to the small head end of the V-shaped groove 102. The front end of the connector 1 is a butt end 103 and is connected to the plug hole 101. The butt end 103 is coaxially arranged with the plug hole 101 and the diameter of the butt end is smaller than the diameter of the connector 1. The blocking structure 2 is provided at the butt end 103 of the connector 1 to physically block the central channel 301 of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3. The blocking structure 2 can allow optical signals transmitted in the central channel 301 to pass through. By connecting two hollow-core fiber connectors, active docking between the two hollow-core fiber bodies 3 can be achieved, so that the optical signal can be transmitted in the two hollow-core fiber bodies 3, and the mode field transformation of the optical signal from one hollow-core fiber body 3 to another hollow-core fiber body 3 can be effectively realized. The sealing structure 2 blocks the central channel 301 to prevent water vapor and impurities from entering the central channel 301 of the hollow-core fiber body 3 and affecting the transmission of the optical signal.

[0039] Specifically, the blocking structure 2 is made of a light-transmitting material; the side of the blocking structure 2 facing away from the connector 1 is coated with an anti-reflection film. In this embodiment, the blocking structure 2 is formed by coating with a coating or glue, so as to block the central channel 301 of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 to prevent dirt or water vapor from entering and affecting the transmission performance. After the coating or glue is cured, it is ground and polished, and then the polished blocking structure 2 is coated with an anti-reflection film according to specific processing needs. The coating treatment can reduce Fresnel reflection, thereby improving insertion loss and return loss. Specifically, the ground and polished blocking structure 2 can be placed in a vacuum coating machine to be coated with a metal anti-reflection film, which is generally covered with one or more layers of metal film, and its characteristic is high anti-reflection. The coating or glue can be an optical adhesive such as NTT E3810 or NTT GA700H, which can adapt to grinding and polishing after curing, and will not significantly affect the optical performance of the connector. In another feasible embodiment, the blocking structure 2 is a film or quartz glass, or other silicon-based materials, or other light-transmitting materials with the same function, which can adapt to grinding, polishing and coating. When the performance of the hollow core optical fiber connector in the present application deteriorates, the end face can be repaired by secondary grinding to restore its optical performance to the initial state, thereby reducing the resource consumption of replacing the connector with a new one.

[0040] More specifically, the connecting member 1 is made of any one of a single-porous ceramic material, a metal material or a porous high molecular polymer material.

[0041] The hollow-core fiber connector has a simple structure, effectively reduces the difficulty of preparing existing hollow-core fiber connectors, realizes the active docking between hollow-core fibers, and can effectively provide good optical connection performance; the hollow-core fiber connector of the present application can provide an insertion loss of no more than 0.5dB at wavelengths of 1310nm and 1550nm, and the return loss at wavelengths of 1310nm and 1550nm is no more than -40dB, and is measured using an insertion-return loss tester or a light source in the art in combination with an optical power meter.

[0042] Preferably, Figure 4 As shown, the two hollow-core optical fiber connectors designed in the present application can be connected by using a connection adapter 4. Specifically, a mounting hole 401 for inserting the hollow-core optical fiber connector is provided in the middle of the connection adapter 4, the inner diameter of the mounting hole 401 is adapted to the outer diameter of the connector 1, and threaded rings are fixedly connected to both sides of the connection adapter 4, the threaded ring sleeve is arranged on the outside of the connector 1, and a threaded sleeve is rotatably connected to the connector 1, and the butt end 103 of the connector 1 is inserted into the mounting hole, and the threaded sleeve is rotated to connect and fix with the threaded ring to realize the installation of a hollow-core optical fiber connector, and then another hollow-core optical fiber connector is installed in the same way, so that the two hollow-core optical fiber connectors are in physical contact (that is, the blocking structures in the two hollow-core optical fiber connectors are abutted against each other), and the two hollow-core optical fiber bodies 3 are movablely connected, so that the optical signal can be transmitted in the two hollow-core optical fiber bodies 3, and the hollow-core optical fiber connectors are physically contacted through the connection adapter 4, which effectively improves the butt coupling efficiency of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, and has strong anti-pollution ability and excellent environmental performance.

[0043] The present application also discloses a method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector, which is used to manufacture the above hollow core optical fiber connector, comprising the following steps: S1: Cut the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3; after stripping the coating layer at one end of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, use a fiber optic cutting knife to cut the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 flat. The incision position of the coating layer can be stepped, conical or other shapes to ensure that the incision of the coating layer fits the inner wall of the V-shaped groove 102, thereby improving the connection stability and connection sealing between the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 and the connector 1.

[0044] S2: Connect the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, the blocking structure 2, and the connector 1 into a whole, and make the blocking structure 2 block the central channel 301 of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3; Figure 2-3As shown, one of the connection methods is: inserting one end of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 after cutting into the socket 101 from the V-shaped groove 102 at the tail end of the connector 1, and setting a blocking structure 2 on the butt end 103 of the connector 1 to fix the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 and block the central channel 301 of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3. The blocking structure 2 uses glue or paint, and the thickness of the blocking structure 2 is greater than the length of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 extending out of the socket 101. The thickness of the blocking structure is 100um-300um, and the depth of the glue or paint entering the central channel is less than 300um; another connection method is: first fix the blocking structure 2 on the butt end 103 of the connector 1, and then insert the one end of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 after cutting into the socket 101 from the V-shaped groove 102 at the tail end of the connector 1 and abut against the blocking structure 2. The blocking structure is a film or quartz glass, or other silicon-based materials, and the thickness of the blocking structure is 50um-200um.

[0045] S3: Process the plugging structure 2 until the end face quality of the plugging structure 2 meets the requirements and the hollow-core optical fiber connector manufacturing is completed; after the plugging structure 2 is ground and polished by a grinder, an end inspection instrument (optical fiber end face detector) is used for inspection. The specific quality requirements of the plugging structure 2 are that the plugging structure will not cause a significant impact on the optical performance and can provide normal propagation of optical signals. In actual production, it can be determined according to production conditions, and this application does not make clear limitations. Among them, the end inspection instrument is commonly used to detect the quality of the optical fiber end. In this embodiment, it can be used to detect the quality of the plugging structure, and its detection parameters can be manually adjusted according to actual production conditions and user needs.

[0046] Embodiment 1: A method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector comprises the following steps: S1: Cut the required length of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 and coil it into a circle. After stripping the coating layer at one end of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, use a fiber optic cutter to cut the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 flat. After cutting, the length of the bare optical fiber is controlled to be 10.5 mm~11.0 mm.

[0047] S2: Figure 2 As shown, a circle of 353ND epoxy glue is evenly applied within a range of 5mm before and after the coating stripping point of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, and the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 is inserted into the plug hole 101 on the connector 1 with an outer diameter of 2.5mm, and the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 is kept to protrude 0.1mm from the plug hole 101, and then the coating or glue is evenly applied on the butt end 103 surface of the connector 1 and the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 to form a blocking structure 2, and the coating thickness is 0.3mm. After being pre-fixed by ultraviolet curing, it is placed in a curing furnace for heating and curing.

[0048] S3: After the curing is completed, the plugging structure 2 is ground and polished by a grinder, and the end face is checked on an end inspection instrument. After confirming that the end face is qualified, the manufacture of the hollow core optical fiber connector is completed.

[0049] Embodiment 2: A method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector comprises the following steps: S1: Cut the required length of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 and coil it into a circle. After stripping the coating layer at one end of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, use a fiber cleaver to cut the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 flat. After cutting, the length of the bare optical fiber is controlled to be 6.5 mm~7.0 mm.

[0050] S2: Figure 2 As shown, a circle of 353ND epoxy glue is evenly applied within a range of 3mm before and after the coating stripping point of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, and the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 is inserted into the plug hole 101 on the connector 1 with an outer diameter of 1.25mm, and the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 is kept to protrude 0.1mm from the plug hole 101, and then the coating or glue is evenly applied on the butt end 103 surface of the connector 1 and the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 to form a blocking structure 2, and the coating thickness is 0.3mm. After being pre-fixed by ultraviolet curing, it is placed in a curing furnace for heating and curing.

[0051] S3: After the curing is completed, the plugging structure 2 is ground and polished by a grinder, and the ground and polished end face is checked on an end inspection instrument. After confirming that the end face is qualified, the manufacture of the hollow core optical fiber connector is completed.

[0052] Embodiment 3: A method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector comprises the following steps: S1: Cut the required length of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 and coil it into a circle. After stripping the coating layer at one end of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, use a fiber optic cutter to cut the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 flat. After cutting, the length of the bare optical fiber is controlled to be 10.0 mm~10.5 mm.

[0053] S2: Figure 3 As shown, take a connector 1 with an outer diameter of 2.5 mm, wipe the butt end 103 of the connector 1 clean, take a piece of film with a thickness of 0.1 mm, apply glue on one side, and place the film coated with glue tightly against the butt end 103 of the connector 1 as a blocking structure 2, and place it on a curing furnace for heating and curing after UV pre-curing; evenly apply a circle of 353ND epoxy glue within 5 mm before and after the coating stripping point of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, insert the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 into the connector 1 with an outer diameter of 2.5 mm, keep the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 in physical contact with the film on the end face of the connector 1, and place it on a curing furnace for heating and curing.

[0054] S3: After curing, the film is ground and polished with a grinder, and the ground and polished end face is checked on an end inspection instrument. Once the end face is confirmed to be qualified, the manufacture of the hollow core optical fiber connector is completed.

[0055] Embodiment 4: A method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector comprises the following steps: S1: Cut the required length of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 and coil it into a circle. After stripping the coating layer at one end of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, use a fiber optic cutter to cut the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 flat. After cutting, the length of the bare optical fiber is controlled to be 10.0 mm~10.5 mm.

[0056] S2: Figure 3 As shown, take a connector 1 with an outer diameter of 2.5 mm, wipe the butt end 103 surface of the connector 1 clean, take a piece of quartz glass with a thickness of 0.2 mm, apply glue on one side, and place the quartz glass coated with glue tightly against the butt end 103 surface of the connector 1 as a blocking structure 2, and place it on a curing furnace for heating and curing after UV pre-curing; evenly apply a circle of 353ND epoxy glue within 5 mm before and after the coating stripping point of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, insert the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 into the connector 1 with an outer diameter of 2.5 mm, keep the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 in physical contact with the quartz glass on the end face of the connector 1, and place it on a curing furnace for heating and curing.

[0057] S3: After curing, the quartz glass is ground and polished with a grinder, and the ground and polished end face is checked on an end inspection instrument. Once the end face is confirmed to be qualified, the manufacture of the hollow core optical fiber connector is completed.

[0058] Embodiment 5: A method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector comprises the following steps: S1: Cut the required length of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 and coil it into a circle. After stripping the coating layer at one end of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, use a fiber cleaver to cut the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 flat. After cutting, the length of the bare optical fiber is controlled to be 6.0 mm~6.5 mm.

[0059] S2: Figure 1 As shown, take a connector 1 with an outer diameter of 1.25 mm, wipe the butt end 103 of the connector 1 clean, take a piece of film with a thickness of 0.1 mm, apply glue on one side, and place the film coated with glue tightly against the butt end 103 of the connector 1 as a blocking structure 2. After UV pre-curing, place it on a curing furnace for heating and curing; evenly apply a circle of 353ND epoxy glue within 3 mm before and after the coating stripping point of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3, insert the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 into the connector 1 with an outer diameter of 1.25 mm, keep the end face of the hollow-core optical fiber body 3 in physical contact with the film on the end face of the connector 1, and place it on a curing furnace for heating and curing.

[0060] S3: After curing, the film is ground and polished with a grinder, and the ground and polished end face is checked on an end inspection instrument. Once the end face is confirmed to be qualified, the manufacture of the hollow core optical fiber connector is completed.

[0061] It should be understood that expressions such as "include" and "may include" used in this application indicate the existence of the disclosed functions, operations or constituent elements, and do not limit one or more additional functions, operations and constituent elements. In this application, terms such as "include" and / or "have" may be interpreted as indicating specific characteristics, numbers, operations, constituent elements, components or combinations thereof, but may not be interpreted as excluding the existence or possibility of adding one or more other characteristics, numbers, operations, constituent elements, components or combinations thereof.

[0062] It should be understood that the terms "center", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0063] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of this application, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0064] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0065] It will be easily understood by those skilled in the art that the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A hollow core optical fiber connector, characterized in that: include: A connector (1), the connector (1) being fixedly mounted on the end of the hollow-core optical fiber body (3), the connector (1) being provided with a plug hole (101) for the hollow-core optical fiber body (3) to pass through; A blocking structure (2) is arranged at one end of the connector (1) to physically block the central channel (301) of the hollow-core optical fiber body (3), and the blocking structure (2) can allow optical signals transmitted in the central channel (301) to pass through.

2. A hollow core optical fiber connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The blocking structure (2) is made of light-transmitting material.

3. A hollow core optical fiber connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The side of the blocking structure (2) facing away from the connecting member (1) is coated with an anti-reflection film.

4. A hollow core optical fiber connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the connecting piece (1) is provided with a V-shaped groove (102) which is coaxially arranged with and communicates with the insertion hole (101).

5. The hollow core optical fiber connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting piece (1) is made of any one of ceramic material, metal material or high molecular polymer material.

6. A hollow core optical fiber connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hollow-core optical fiber connector has an insertion loss of ≤0.5dB and a return loss of ≤-40dB at wavelengths of 1310nm and 1550nm.

7. A method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector, used to manufacture the hollow core optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The steps include: S1: cutting the end face of the hollow core optical fiber body (3); S2: connecting the hollow-core optical fiber body (3), the blocking structure (2), and the connector (1) into a whole, and making the blocking structure (2) block the central channel (301) of the hollow-core optical fiber body (3); S3: Processing the plugging structure (2) until the end surface quality of the plugging structure (2) meets the requirements, and the manufacture of the hollow core optical fiber connector is completed.

8. The method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector according to claim 7, characterized in that: In the step S2, the connection method is: inserting one end of the hollow-core optical fiber body (3) after cutting into the plug hole (101) from one end of the connector (1), and providing a blocking structure (2) at the end face of the other end of the connector (1) to fix the hollow-core optical fiber body (3) and block the central channel (301) of the hollow-core optical fiber body (3).

9. The method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector according to claim 8, characterized in that: The blocking structure (2) is made of glue or paint, and the thickness of the blocking structure (2) is greater than the length of the hollow-core optical fiber body (3) extending out of the insertion hole (101).

10. A method for manufacturing a hollow-core optical fiber connector according to claim 9, wherein the thickness of the blocking structure (2) is 100 um-300 um.

11. A method for manufacturing a hollow-core optical fiber connector according to claim 9, wherein the depth of the glue or coating entering the central channel (301) is less than 300 um.

12. The method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector according to claim 7, characterized in that: In step S2, the connection method is: after the blocking structure (2) is fixedly installed on one end of the insertion hole (101) of the connector (1), the cut end of the hollow-core optical fiber body (3) is inserted into the insertion hole (101) and abutted against the blocking structure (2).

13. The method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector according to claim 12, characterized in that: The blocking structure (2) is a thin film or quartz glass, or other silicon-based materials, and the thickness of the blocking structure (2) is 50um-200um.

14. The method for manufacturing a hollow core optical fiber connector according to claim 7, characterized in that: In the step S3, a grinder is used to grind and polish the blocking structure (2).

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