Optical fiber connector, optical communication module, optical communication assembly and optical communication equipment

Abstract

The invention provides an optical fiber connector, an optical communication module, an optical communication assembly and optical communication equipment. The optical fiber connector comprises an optical fiber insertion core and a lens, the optical fiber insertion core comprises an insertion core body and an optical fiber penetrating through the insertion core body, and the first end face, in the length direction, of the optical fiber protrudes out of the first end face of the insertion core body. The lens is arranged on one side of the first end face of the ferrule body away from the second end face. The first end face of the optical fiber is in direct contact with and fixedly connected with the first surface of the lens. Divergent light rays emitted from the first end face of the optical fiber enter the first surface of the lens and can be collimated into quasi-parallel light rays after passing through the lens, or the quasi-parallel light rays entering the lens from the second surface of the lens can be converged into converged light rays and enter the first end face of the optical fiber, and the second surface and the first surface of the lens are arranged oppositely. The optical fiber connector provided by the embodiment of the invention is high in tolerance power, high in heat dissipation performance, good in reliability and capable of realizing high-power transmission.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of optical communication, and in particular to an optical fiber connector, an optical communication module, an assembly and an apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the development of the big data era, massive data transmission needs to be realized through an optical communication system. The optical communication system includes an optical fiber and an optical fiber connector. The optical fiber connector can realize the butt joint of two optical fibers, thereby ensuring the transmission of data. In some industries, the optical fiber connector needs to be used under high transmission power of several kilowatts or even tens of kilowatts. High transmission power means that the optical energy density of the butt joint end face of the optical fiber connector is high, which leads to the fact that the optical fiber connector is easy to be burned out.

[0003] The industry generally solves the problem of burning out of the optical fiber connector under high transmission power through a beam expansion technology. The beam expansion technology refers to increasing the mode field diameter of one optical fiber in the optical fiber connector, thereby reducing the optical energy density of the butt joint end face of the optical fiber connector, and further preventing burning out. For example, one technology directly increases the core diameter of the optical fiber by using a heat diffusion method. However, the heat diffusion technology is sensitive to heat. When the heat accumulates to a certain degree, the shape of the optical fiber will change, leading to the decrease of the reliability of the optical fiber connector. Some other technologies set a lens at the front end of the optical fiber, and increase the mode field diameter of the optical fiber through the lens. However, in the lens technology, the lens and the optical fiber are generally fixed through a sleeve. On the one hand, the reliability of the sleeve connection is poor. When the heat accumulates to a certain degree, the components of the optical fiber connector will slightly deform, and the lens and the optical fiber may be displaced, leading to the decrease of the transmission performance. On the other hand, when fixed through the sleeve, there is inevitably a gap between the lens and the optical fiber. When the optical energy density is very high, the air in the gap will be broken down, leading to the damage of the optical path, and even the burning out of the optical fiber connector. Alternatively, the lens and the optical fiber are connected through an adhesive. However, the adhesive is also easy to be burned out by high energy density light. Therefore, the optical fiber connector after beam expansion still cannot be used for a long time under high transmission power.

[0004] Another existing technology uses an air cooling device to cool the optical fiber connector to solve the problem of burning out of the optical fiber connector. However, the optical fiber connector has a large volume and high cost, and is not suitable for use in the communication field.

[0005] It can be seen that in the prior art, the optical fiber connector in the optical communication system has low tolerance power and poor reliability, and it is difficult to realize high power transmission. SUMMARY

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide an optical fiber connector, an optical communication module, an assembly and an apparatus, and solve the problem of low tolerance power and poor reliability of the optical fiber connector in the optical communication system in the prior art, and it is difficult to realize high power transmission.

[0007] The embodiment of the present application provides a fiber connector, which comprises:

[0008] The fiber ferrule comprises a ferrule body and a fiber penetrating the ferrule body, the ferrule body has a first end face and a second end face arranged oppositely, and the first end face of the fiber protrudes from the first end face of the ferrule body along the length direction of the fiber, and the first end face of the fiber is a light transmission end face.

[0009] The lens is arranged on the side of the first end face of the ferrule body away from the second end face, and the first end face of the fiber is directly in contact with and fixedly connected with the first surface of the lens.

[0010] In addition, the divergent light rays emitted from the first end face of the fiber enter the first surface of the lens and can be collimated as parallel light rays after passing through the lens, or the parallel light rays entering the lens from the second surface of the lens can be converged as convergent light rays and enter the first end face of the fiber, wherein the second surface of the lens is arranged oppositely to the first surface.

[0011] The fiber connector provided by the present application comprises a fiber ferrule and a lens, wherein the fiber ferrule comprises a ferrule body and a fiber, the fiber is inserted into the ferrule body from the second end face of the ferrule body along the length direction of the fiber and protrudes from the first end face of the ferrule body. The lens is arranged oppositely to the first end face of the ferrule body to be connected with the fiber. The first surface of the lens is directly in contact with and fixedly connected with the first end face of the fiber. It can be understood that the first end face of the fiber is a light transmission end face, and the light is emitted from the first end face of the fiber and enters the lens, or the light enters the first end face of the fiber from the lens. The lens can increase the mode field diameter of the fiber. In the case that the transmission power of the light is unchanged, the mode field diameter is increased, and the light energy density of the light transmission end face is reduced, therefore, the fiber connector can resist high power.

[0012] Further, the lens and the fiber are directly in contact and fixed, on the one hand, the connection material (for example, adhesive) which is easy to burn out is avoided, on the other hand, the light can directly enter the lens from the fiber, or directly enter the fiber from the lens without passing through the air, thereby preventing the air from being broken down to cause the light path to be blocked, and ensuring the reliability of the fiber connector under high transmission power. In addition, the lens does not need to be repeatedly collimated after being fixed with the fiber, the lens can consider both the spot expansion and the collimation, and the process is simple.

[0013] Therefore, the fiber connector provided by the present application has high resistance power and high reliability, and can realize high power transmission.

[0014] In some embodiments, the first end face of the optical fiber is fixedly connected with the first surface of the lens by fusion. Fusion refers to melting the first end face of the optical fiber and the corresponding part of the lens and directly connecting them together. Fusion has small loss of fused optical fiber, is conducive to improving transmission quality, and has high connection reliability of fusion and is not prone to breaking. Moreover, fusion does not introduce other connection materials that are prone to burning out.

[0015] In some embodiments, the first surface of the lens has a fiber positioning part, and the first end face of the optical fiber is fused with the fiber positioning part. In the first surface of the lens, the fiber positioning part is configured as a positioning hole recessed inward relative to other regions of the first surface or a positioning column protruding outward. The fiber positioning part provided in the first surface of the lens facilitates the alignment of the first end face of the optical fiber with the part where the to-be-fused region of the first surface of the lens is located.

[0016] In some embodiments, the other regions of the first surface of the lens are inclined planes, and the angle of the inclined planes relative to the first plane is 6°-10°, wherein the first plane is perpendicular to the length direction of the optical fiber. The other regions of the first surface of the lens are provided as inclined planes, which can prevent reflected light from causing interference or damage when returning along the light path.

[0017] In some embodiments, the second surface of the lens is coated with an anti-reflection film, and the refractive index of the anti-reflection film is greater than the refractive index of air and less than the refractive index of the material of the lens. The anti-reflection film includes at least one optical film. The anti-reflection film can reduce the amount of reflection when light passes through the second surface of the lens, improve the transmittance, and make the light better pass through the lens.

[0018] In some embodiments, the at least one optical film is a multilayer optical film, and the refractive indices of adjacent two optical films in the multilayer optical film are different. The anti-reflection film including the multilayer optical film has different refractive indices of each adjacent two optical films, which is conducive to expanding the wavelength range of the reflected light to be reduced and enhancing the anti-reflection effect.

[0019] In some embodiments, the lens is a collimating lens or a self-focusing lens; and / or, the material of the lens is glass. The melting point of glass is similar to the melting point of the material of the optical fiber, and the lens made of glass material is convenient for fusion with the optical fiber.

[0020] In some embodiments, the optical fiber connector further includes a sleeve, and an inner wall surface of the sleeve surrounds to form a first accommodating space. The lens and the optical fiber ferrule are sequentially arranged in the first accommodating space along the length direction of the sleeve and are fixedly connected with the sleeve.

[0021] The sleeve has an insertion end face and an opposing end face arranged opposite along the length direction of the sleeve. The insertion end face is an end face for inserting the ferrule body of the sleeve, and the lens, the first end face of the ferrule body of the optical fiber ferrule, and the insertion end face of the sleeve are sequentially and spaced apart in the length direction of the sleeve.

[0022] By the above scheme, at least part of the structure of the lens and the fiber ferrule is arranged in the sleeve and fixedly connected to the sleeve, and the sleeve can protect the lens and the fiber and strengthen the connection strength of the two.

[0023] In some embodiments, the fiber connector comprises an adhesive part, a part of the first surface of the lens, a part of the first end face of the ferrule body protruding from the fiber, and the first end face of the ferrule body are fixed to each other by the adhesive part.

[0024] The sleeve is provided with a glue injection hole, the glue injection hole communicates the first accommodating space with the outside of the sleeve, and the adhesive part is formed by filling flowable glue into the first accommodating space from the glue injection hole, and the adhesive part is formed after the flowable glue is cured, wherein the flowable glue is inorganic glue.

[0025] The flowable glue is filled into the sleeve through the glue injection hole, and the adhesive part is formed after the flowable glue is cured, so that the part of the first surface of the lens, the part of the first end face of the ferrule body protruding from the fiber, and the first end face of the ferrule body are fixed by the adhesive part, so that the part of the fiber and the lens is protected, and the fiber and the lens are not easy to be separated. The flowable glue is inorganic glue, which will not be blackened, and the smoothness of the optical path is ensured.

[0026] In some embodiments, in the length direction of the sleeve, the glue injection hole is arranged on the side of the first surface of the lens facing the first end face of the ferrule body, and the glue injection hole penetrates the sleeve in the thickness direction of the sleeve.

[0027] The adhesive part is arranged as an integral structure and filled in the space surrounded by the first surface of the lens, the first end face of the ferrule body, and the inner wall surface of the sleeve, so that a part of the first surface of the lens, a part of the first end face of the ferrule body protruding from the fiber, an end part where the first end face of the ferrule body is located, and the sleeve are fixed to each other by the adhesive part.

[0028] The glue injection hole is arranged on the side of the first surface of the lens facing the first end face of the ferrule body, so that the filled flowable glue can first fill in the space surrounded by the first surface of the lens, the first end face of the ferrule body, and the inner wall surface of the sleeve, and the flow distance is the shortest. The glue injection hole penetrates the sleeve in the thickness direction of the sleeve, so that the adhesive part can fill the space in the thickness direction of the sleeve, and the looseness between the lens, the fiber ferrule, and the sleeve is prevented to the greatest extent. Moreover, the glue injection hole is arranged at this position, so that whether the ferrule body is slid to the appropriate position in the sleeve after being inserted from the insertion end face of the sleeve can be observed through the glue injection hole.

[0029] In some embodiments, the inner wall of the sleeve has a mounting platform protruding from the inner wall, the outer edge of the first surface of the lens abuts against the mounting platform, and a part of the first surface of the lens, a part of the first end surface of the ferrule body protruding from the ferrule body, the end portion where the first end surface of the ferrule body is located, the sleeve, and the mounting platform are adhesively fixed to each other by an adhesive part. The adhesive part adhesively fixes the lens and the mounting platform of the sleeve, so that the lens is fixedly connected to the sleeve.

[0030] In some embodiments, the butt joint end surface of the sleeve protrudes outwardly from the second surface of the lens in the length direction of the sleeve. The butt joint end surface of the sleeve is used for butt joint, and the butt joint end surface of the sleeve protrudes beyond the second surface of the lens in the length direction of the sleeve, preventing the lens from directly contacting other devices, on the one hand, preventing burning, and on the other hand, the gap is conducive to heat dissipation.

[0031] In some embodiments, the ferrule body is provided with a mounting hole through which the optical fiber passes, and the ferrule body is provided with at least one heat dissipation flow channel, each of the at least one heat dissipation flow channel extending from the wall surface of the mounting hole of the ferrule body to the outer wall surface of the ferrule body and being filled with inorganic glue. The optical fiber connector can dissipate heat through the heat dissipation flow channel, reducing heat accumulation and further improving the tolerance power of the optical fiber connector.

[0032] In some embodiments, the at least one heat dissipation flow channel is arranged in a plurality of heat dissipation flow channels arranged at intervals in the length direction and the circumferential direction of the ferrule body. And / or, the inorganic glue filled in the heat dissipation flow channel contains heat dissipation particles. The plurality of heat dissipation flow channels and the heat dissipation particles in the inorganic glue can further enhance the heat dissipation capacity, thereby improving the tolerance power of the optical fiber connector.

[0033] In some embodiments, the sleeve is made of metal material, the ferrule body is made of ceramic material, or the ferrule body is made of metal material. The sleeve made of metal material is conducive to heat dissipation, the ferrule body made of ceramic material has good thermal stability, so that the precision of the ferrule body is higher, or the ferrule body made of metal material can further improve the heat dissipation capacity of the optical fiber connector.

[0034] In some embodiments, the optical fiber connector further comprises a shell, and a first anti-rotation member and a second anti-rotation member sequentially sleeved in the shell from the inside to the outside, the optical fiber ferrule and the sleeve are respectively sleeved in the first anti-rotation member away from the lens, and the sleeve is fixedly connected with the first anti-rotation member.

[0035] The first anti-rotation member is fixedly connected with the second anti-rotation member, and the second anti-rotation member is fixedly connected with the shell.

[0036] By the above scheme, the sleeve is fixedly connected to the shell through the first rotation preventing member and the second rotation preventing member, so that the sleeve and the lens and the fiber ferrule fixedly connected to the sleeve are fixed in position in the shell, and after the fiber connector is connected to other components in the optical communication system, the sleeve does not rotate, so that the position and angle of the lens are fixed and unchanged, the connection precision is improved, and the loss is reduced.

[0037] In some embodiments, the optical fiber includes a first portion and a second portion connected along a length direction of the optical fiber, the first portion includes a core layer and a cladding layer, the second portion includes the core layer, the cladding layer and a coating layer, the core layer of the first portion is connected to the core layer of the second portion, the cladding layer of the first portion is connected to the cladding layer of the second portion, the first portion and the part of the second portion are inserted into the ferrule body from the second end surface of the ferrule body, and the first end surface of the optical fiber is an end surface of the first portion away from the second portion. The first end surface of the optical fiber is located at the first portion of the optical fiber, and the first portion does not include the coating layer, facilitating fusion with the lens.

[0038] In some embodiments, the fiber connector includes only one optical fiber ferrule and one corresponding lens.

[0039] In some embodiments, the fiber connector includes a plurality of optical fiber ferrules arranged in an array, and a plurality of lenses and a plurality of sleeves, each optical fiber ferrule is arranged corresponding to one lens and one sleeve, and constitutes an optical transmission unit.

[0040] When the fiber connector includes a shell, the plurality of optical transmission units are arranged in the shell.

[0041] Embodiments of the present application also provide an optical communication module including an optical communication element, and further including the fiber connector provided by any of the above embodiments, and the optical fiber ferrule of the fiber connector is connected to the optical communication element. The fiber connector can withstand high power and has high reliability, so that the transmission capacity of the optical communication module is large and the transmission power is high.

[0042] Embodiments of the present application also provide an optical communication device including a first optical communication module and a second optical communication module, wherein the first optical communication module and the second optical communication module are connected through respective fiber connectors, and at least one of the first optical communication module and the second optical communication module adopts the optical communication module provided by any of the above embodiments. The fiber connector of at least one of the first optical communication module and the second optical communication module has high withstand power, and the optical communication device meets the requirements of large-capacity transmission applications.

[0043] The embodiment of the present application also provides an optical communication assembly, comprising a first optical fiber connector and a second optical fiber connector, the first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector are connected, and at least one of the first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector adopts the optical fiber connector provided in any of the above embodiments. At least one of the first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector is not easy to burn out under high power, thereby reducing the burnout risk of the optical communication assembly.

[0044] In some embodiments, the first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector both adopt the optical fiber connector provided in any of the above embodiments.

[0045] The optical communication assembly further comprises a connecting piece, the connecting piece has a first connecting surface and a second connecting surface arranged oppositely, the first optical fiber connector is inserted into the connecting piece from the first connecting surface, and the second optical fiber connector is inserted into the connecting piece from the second connecting surface, so that the quasi-parallel light emitted by one of the first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector is converged into convergent light by the other.

[0046] When the first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector both comprise a shell, the shell is connected to the connecting piece in a plug-in or threaded manner.

[0047] The first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector are both optical fiber connectors capable of resisting high power, thereby ensuring reliable data transmission and high power. The first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector are inserted into the connecting piece to be connected, and the connecting piece makes the connection of the first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector convenient and accurate in alignment, thereby reducing the loss.

[0048] The embodiment of the present application also provides an assembling device for assembling the optical fiber connector provided in any of the above embodiments, and the assembling device comprises:

[0049] An optical fiber positioning system, the optical fiber positioning system comprises an optical fiber clamp and an optical fiber position adjusting device, the optical fiber clamp is used for clamping an optical fiber, and the optical fiber position adjusting device is used for adjusting the position of the optical fiber clamp.

[0050] A lens positioning system, the lens positioning system comprises a lens clamp and a lens position adjusting device, the lens clamp is used for clamping a lens, and the lens position adjusting device is used for adjusting the position of the lens clamp.

[0051] A fusion device, the fusion device is configured to: align a first end surface of the optical fiber clamped in the optical fiber clamp with a to-be-fused region of a first surface of the lens clamped in the lens clamp through the optical fiber position adjusting device and the lens position adjusting device, and then fuse the first end surface of the optical fiber and the to-be-fused region of the first surface of the lens after alignment.

[0052] The first end face of the optical fiber and the first surface of the lens are aligned by the optical fiber positioning system and the lens positioning system, and then are fused, so that the fusion position is accurate, and the lens can simultaneously realize the functions of expanding the mode field diameter of the optical fiber and collimating (or converging) light.

[0053] In some embodiments, the assembly device further comprises:

[0054] A target device for detecting the offset of the light spot emitted by the lens relative to the target position under the current position of the optical fiber and the lens.

[0055] A light spot analysis device for detecting and analyzing the light spot emitted by the lens under the current position of the optical fiber and the lens.

[0056] The target device is used to observe the offset of the light spot and preliminarily provide reference data for the adjustment of the relative position between the lens and the optical fiber, and the light spot analysis device can analyze various data of the light spot and accurately provide reference data for the adjustment of the relative position between the lens and the optical fiber.

[0057] In some embodiments, the optical fiber position adjustment device is configured to enable the optical fiber clamp to translate and rotate in the first direction, the second direction and the third direction, the first direction, the second direction and the third direction are perpendicular to each other, and the first direction is parallel to the length direction of the optical fiber.

[0058] The lens position adjustment device is configured to enable the lens clamp to translate and rotate in the first direction, the second direction and the third direction.

[0059] The fusion device is configured to emit annular laser to heat and melt the part where the first end face of the optical fiber is located and the part where the to-be-fused region of the first surface of the lens is located, so that the first end face of the optical fiber is fused with the first surface of the lens.

[0060] The optical fiber position adjustment device and the lens position adjustment device can translate and rotate in the first direction, the second direction and the third direction, so as to accurately adjust the relative position between the lens and the optical fiber. The fusion device can emit annular laser, the diameter of the first end face of the optical fiber is very small, and the difference between the diameter of the first end face of the optical fiber and the diameter of the first surface of the lens is very large, so that the annular laser can realize accurate fusion.

[0061] The embodiment of the application further provides an assembly method, which assembles the optical fiber connector provided by any of the above-mentioned embodiments by using the assembly device provided by any of the above-mentioned embodiments, and comprises the following steps:

[0062] Clamping the lens and the optical fiber, wherein the lens is clamped by the lens clamp, the optical fiber is clamped by the optical fiber clamp, and the first end face of the optical fiber faces the first surface of the lens.

[0063] Adjust and align the positions of the lens and the optical fiber, wherein the relative positions of the lens and the optical fiber are adjusted by the optical fiber position adjusting device and the lens position adjusting device, so that the divergent light rays emitted from the first end surface of the optical fiber enter the first surface of the lens and can be collimated into quasi-parallel light rays after passing through the lens.

[0064] Fuse the aligned lens and the optical fiber, wherein the first end surface of the aligned optical fiber and the to-be-fused region of the first surface of the lens are fused by the fusing device.

[0065] By the above scheme, the first end surface of the optical fiber and the to-be-fused region of the first surface of the lens are aligned and accurately fused.

[0066] In some embodiments, when the assembly device includes a target position device and a light spot analysis device, after clamping the lens and the optical fiber, the light spot emitted by the lens is detected by the target position device, and the optical fiber position adjusting device and the lens position adjusting device are adjusted for preliminary positioning, so that the offset of the light spot does not exceed a predetermined threshold.

[0067] Then, based on the result of the light spot analysis device, the optical fiber position adjusting device and the lens position adjusting device are repeatedly adjusted for fine positioning, so that the light rays emitted from the lens are collimated into quasi-parallel light rays. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0068] Figure 1a is a structural schematic diagram of a first optical fiber connector;

[0069] Figure 1b is a structural schematic diagram of an optical fiber in the first optical fiber connector;

[0070] Figure 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a second optical fiber connector;

[0071] Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a third optical fiber connector;

[0072] Figure 4a is a system architecture schematic diagram of an optical communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] Figure 4b is a structural schematic diagram of an optical communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] Figure 5a is a structural schematic diagram of an optical communication assembly according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] Figure 5b is Figure 5a is a sectional structural schematic diagram along the A-A direction;

[0076] Figure 6a is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a first embodiment of an optical fiber connector according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] Figure 6b exploded structural schematic view of a first embodiment of the optical fiber connector of the present application;

[0078] Figure 6c Figure 6a schematic view of a cross-sectional structure along the direction of B-B;

[0079] Figure 6d Figure 6c enlarged view of a middle C portion;

[0080] Figure 6e schematic view of a light propagation path of the optical fiber connector of the present application;

[0081] Figure 7a schematic view of a perspective structure of a lens of the optical fiber connector of the present application;

[0082] Figure 7b schematic view of a principle of lens and optical fiber connection of the optical fiber connector of the present application;

[0083] Figure 8 schematic view of a cross-sectional structure of a ferrule body of the optical fiber connector of the present application;

[0084] Figure 9 schematic view of a structure of a second embodiment of the optical fiber connector of the present application;

[0085] Figure 10a schematic view of a structure of an assembling apparatus of the optical fiber connector of the present application;

[0086] Figure 10b schematic view of a target device of the assembling apparatus of the optical fiber connector of the present application;

[0087] Figure 11a flowchart one of assembling the optical fiber connector of the present application;

[0088] Figure 11b flowchart of assembling the optical fiber connector of the present application Figure Two .

[0089] Explanation of Reference Numerals:

[0090] First Scheme:

[0091] 100', optical fiber connector; 110', housing; 120', optical fiber ferrule; 1201', mating end face;

[0092] 121', ferrule body; 122', optical fiber; 1221', core layer; 1222', cladding layer.

[0093] Second Scheme:​​

[0094] 200', fiber connector;

[0095] 201', optical fiber; 202', end cap; 203', ferrule body; 204', sleeve; 205', lens; 206', adhesive.

[0096] Third aspect:

[0097] 300, fiber connector;

[0098] 310', fiber ferrule; 311', optical fiber; 312', ferrule body; 320', lens; 330', sleeve; 340', gap.

[0099] The present application:

[0100] 100, fiber connector; 1001, first fiber connector; 1002, second fiber connector;

[0101] 100a, optical transmission unit;

[0102] 10, fiber ferrule; 11, ferrule body; 1101, first end face; 1102, second end face;

[0103] 111, mounting hole; 112, heat dissipation flow channel;

[0104] 12, optical fiber; 1201, first end face;

[0105] 121, first part; 122, second part;

[0106] 20, lens; 201, first surface; 202, second surface; 21, optical fiber positioning portion; 22, anti-reflection film;

[0107] 30, sleeve; 301, butt joint end face; 302, insertion end face;

[0108] 31, first accommodation space; 32, mounting table; 33, glue injection hole;

[0109] 40, adhesive portion; 41, flowing glue;

[0110] 51, first anti-rotation member; 511, groove; 512, positioning protrusion;

[0111] 52, second anti-rotation member; 521, positioning groove; 522, wedge structure;

[0112] 60, housing; 61, spring;

[0113] 700, optical communication device; 701, first optical communication module; 701a, first optical communication element; 701b, first optoelectronic module;

[0114] 702, second optical communication module; 702a, second optical communication element;

[0115] 800, optical communication assembly; 810, connecting piece; 810a, first connecting piece; 810b, first connecting piece;

[0116] 811, first connecting surface; 812, second connecting surface;

[0117] 900, assembling device; 910, optical fiber positioning system; 911, optical fiber clamp;

[0118] 912, optical fiber position adjusting device; 9121, first movable rod; 9122, second movable rod; 9123, sliding block; 9124, base; 920, lens positioning system; 921, lens clamp;

[0119] 922, lens position adjusting device; 9221, first movable rod; 9222, second movable rod; 9223, sliding block; 9224, base;

[0120] 930, fusion device; 940, target position device; 950, light spot analysis device; 960, high-definition observation lens;

[0121] X, length direction of optical fiber; M, first plane;

[0122] F1, first direction; F2, second direction; F3, third direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0123] The present application will be described by way of illustration in connection with certain embodiments. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize from the disclosure herein certain advantages and purposes of the present application and will readily ascertain specific embodiments within the scope of the application. Although the present application will be described with reference to a certain embodiments, it is to be understood that the application is not limited to such. To the contrary, it is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as can be included within the scope of the application. In order to provide a thorough and enabling disclosure of the present application, numerous specific details are set forth in the following description. It is to be understood that the application can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present application. Embodiments of the application can include other features to be understood by persons of skill in the art upon examination thereof. It is to be understood that any feature of the application can be employed in any combination with any other feature or combination of features.

[0124] It should be noted that in the present specification, similar reference numbers and letters represent similar items in the following drawings, and therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, it need not be further defined and explained in subsequent drawings.

[0125] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", "top", "bottom", and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second" are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0126] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connecting", "connecting" should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixedly connected, or it can be detachably connected, or integrally connected; it can be mechanically connected, or it can be electrically connected; it can be directly connected, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; it can be the communication inside two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0127] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that "electrical connection" in the present application can be understood as physical contact and electrical conduction of components; it can also be understood as a form of connection between different components in a circuit structure through a physical circuit that can transmit electrical signals such as copper foil or wire on a printed circuit board (PCB).

[0128] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the mutual perpendicularity in the present application is not absolute perpendicularity, and approximate perpendicularity (for example, the included angle between two structural features is 89.9°) caused by processing errors and assembly errors is also within the scope of mutual perpendicularity in the present application. The mutual parallelism in the present application is also not absolute parallelism, and approximate parallelism (for example, the included angle between two structural features is 0.1°) caused by processing errors and assembly errors is also within the scope of mutual parallelism in the present application. The present application does not specifically limit this.

[0129] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present application more clear, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0130] With the development of the big data era, massive data transmission needs to be realized through an optical communication system. The optical communication system includes a light source, an optical fiber, an optical fiber connector, etc. The optical fiber connector can realize the butt joint of two optical fibers, thereby ensuring the transmission of data. In some industries, the optical fiber connector needs to be used under high transmission power of several kilowatts or even tens of kilowatts. High transmission power means that the optical energy density of the butt joint end face of the optical fiber connector is high, which leads to the burning of the optical fiber connector.

[0131] The industry generally solves the problem of burning of the optical fiber connector under high transmission power through a spot expansion technique. The spot expansion technique refers to increasing the mode field diameter of a section of the optical fiber in the optical fiber connector, thereby reducing the optical energy density of the butt joint end face of the optical fiber connector, and further preventing burning.

[0132] Please refer to Figures 1a-1b , Figure 1a FIG. 1 is a structural schematic view of a first optical fiber connector; Figure 1b FIG. 2 is a structural schematic view of an optical fiber in the first optical fiber connector.

[0133] As shown in Figure 1a , the optical fiber connector 100' includes a housing 110' and an optical fiber ferrule 120'. The optical fiber ferrule 120' includes a ferrule body 121' and an optical fiber 122' penetrating the ferrule body 121'. As shown in Figure 1b , the optical fiber 122' includes a core layer 1221' and a cladding layer 1222'. The heat diffusion technique is used to increase the diameter of the core layer 1221' of a section of the optical fiber 122' close to the butt joint end face 3011201' from 9 microns to 55 microns, thereby reducing the optical energy density of the butt joint end face 3011201' and further preventing burning. However, the optical fiber connector 100' expanded by this technique must be used in pairs, and cannot be directly interchanged with common optical fiber connectors, which is relatively inconvenient. In addition, the heat diffusion technique is sensitive to heat. When the heat accumulates to a certain extent, the shape of the optical fiber 122' will change, resulting in reduced reliability of the optical fiber connector 100'.

[0134] Please refer to Figures 2-3 , Figure 2 FIG. 3 is a structural schematic view of a second optical fiber connector; Figure 3 FIG. 4 is a structural schematic view of a third optical fiber connector.

[0135] As shown in Figures 2-3 , the optical fiber connector can also be expanded by a lens. Specifically, as shown in Figure 2As shown, in a fiber optic connector 200', an end cap 202' is fused to the front end of an optical fiber 201'. End cap 202' can pre-amplify the light spot emitted from the optical fiber 201' to increase the power tolerance of the optical fiber connector 200'. The optical fiber 201', fused with end cap 202', is inserted into a ferrule body 203'. The outer portion of the ferrule body 203' is covered with a sleeve 204', and a lens 205' is provided at the front end. Lens 205' can further expand the light spot and collimate the light. This process is relatively complex, and the lens 205' is connected to the front end of the ferrule body 203' via an adhesive 206'. The adhesive 206' is easily burned by high-energy-density light, causing deviation between the lens 205' and the optical fiber 201', thereby reducing the transmission reliability of the optical fiber 200'.

[0136] like Figure 3 As shown, another fiber optic connector 300' has an optical fiber 311', and the optical fiber 311' is inserted into the core body 312', and together with the core body 312', it forms a fiber optic core 310'. The fiber optic core 310' and the lens 320' set at the front end of the fiber optic core 310' are relatively fixed by the sleeve 330', and the lens 320' can expand the light spot. However, in this fiber optic connector 300', the lens 320' and the core body 312' are relatively fixed by the sleeve 330'. On the one hand, the reliability of the sleeve 330' connection is poor. When the heat accumulates to a certain extent, the various components of the fiber optic connector 300' will be slightly deformed, and displacement may occur between the lens 320' and the optical fiber 311', resulting in a decrease in transmission performance. On the other hand, when fixed by the sleeve 330', a gap 340' is inevitably formed between the lens 320' and the optical fiber 311'. When the light energy density is very high, the air in the gap 340' will be penetrated, causing the light path to be destroyed and even the optical fiber connector 300' to be burned.

[0137] Another prior art uses an air cooling device to dissipate heat from the optical fiber connector to reduce heat accumulation and improve the power tolerance of the optical fiber connector. However, this optical fiber connector is large in size and high in cost, making it unsuitable for use in the communication field.

[0138] Therefore, in the prior art, optical fiber connectors in optical communication systems have low power tolerance and poor reliability, making it difficult to achieve high-power transmission.

[0139] In order to solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a fiber optic connector. Through the improvement of the structure of the fiber optic connector, the lens and the optical fiber are in direct contact and fixed, and the fiber optic connector is provided with a heat dissipation structure, so that the fiber optic connector meets the requirements of high power tolerance and high reliability.

[0140] The embodiment of the present application further provides an optical communication device, which can be but is not limited to an optical switch, an optical amplifier, an optical sensor, an optical router, etc. The present application does not limit the optical communication device. The optical communication device is described below in combination with the drawings.

[0141] Please refer to Figures 4a-4b , Figure 4a for a system architecture schematic diagram of the optical communication device of the embodiment of the present application; Figure 4b for a structure schematic diagram of the optical communication device of the embodiment of the present application.

[0142] As shown in Figures 4a-4b , the optical communication device 700 comprises a first optical communication module 701 and a second optical communication module 702, wherein the number of the first optical communication module 701 and the second optical communication module 702 is not limited and can be 1, 2, 4, etc. The present application does not limit the number. In an embodiment, the optical communication device 700 comprises 2 first optical communication modules 701 and 1 second optical communication module 702. The first optical communication module 701 comprises a first fiber connector 1001 and a first optical communication element 701a, and the second optical communication module 702 comprises a second fiber connector 1002 and a second optical communication element 702a, wherein each optical communication element in the first optical communication element 701a and the second optical communication element 702a comprises but is not limited to an optical single board, an optical backboard, a chip light-emitting module, an optical flexible board, etc. The present application does not limit the optical communication element. Those skilled in the art can understand that the optical communication element can convert an electrical signal into an optical signal or convert an optical signal into an electrical signal, thereby realizing the emission or reception of the optical signal. The optical communication element can comprise a power supply, a signal processor, a receiver and a transmitter, etc. The present application does not limit the optical communication element. The fiber connector can realize the transmission of the optical signal. The fiber ferrule of each fiber connector in the first fiber connector 1001 and the second fiber connector 1002 is connected to the corresponding optical communication element, so that the fiber connector can transmit the optical signal emitted by the optical communication element or transmit the optical signal to the optical communication element. The first fiber connector 1001 and the second fiber connector 1002 are connected, thereby realizing the signal transmission between the first optical communication module 701 and the second optical communication module 702. It can also be understood that the first fiber connector 1001 and the second fiber connector 1002 are connected to form an optical communication assembly 800, and the first optical communication module 701 and the second optical communication module 702 transmit signals through the optical communication assembly 800. The specific structure of the fiber connector will be described in detail below. As shown in Figure 4b , in an embodiment, the optical communication device 700 is an optical single board interconnection device, wherein the first optical communication element 701a of the first optical communication module 701 is an optical single board, and the second optical communication element 702a of the second optical communication module 702 is an optical backboard. It should be noted that, in order to facilitate the description of the structure of the optical communication device 700, Figure 4bThe first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 shown are not connected. The connection mode between the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 is not limited. As shown in FIG. 1, in one embodiment, the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 are connected through a connector. Figure 4b As shown, in one embodiment, the optical communication assembly 800 can further include a connector (it is noted that the connector can also not be provided), and the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 are connected through the connector. It is noted that the connector can be a one-piece structure or a split structure. As shown in FIG. 1, in one embodiment, the connector is a split structure, including a first connector 810a and a second connector 810b, the first optical fiber connector 1001 is arranged through and fixedly connected to the first connector 810a, the second optical fiber connector 1002 is arranged through and fixedly connected to the second connector 810b, the first connector 810a is installed on the corresponding first optical communication element 701a, the second connector 810b is installed on the second optical communication element 702a, and the first connector 810a and the second connector 810b are butted (for example, one of the first connector 810a and the second connector 810b is a male connector, and the other is a female connector, so that it is easier to align when butting), thereby realizing the butt joint of the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002. Figure 4b As shown, in one embodiment, the connector is a split structure, including a first connector 810a and a second connector 810b, the first optical fiber connector 1001 is arranged through and fixedly connected to the first connector 810a, the second optical fiber connector 1002 is arranged through and fixedly connected to the second connector 810b, the first connector 810a is installed on the corresponding first optical communication element 701a, the second connector 810b is installed on the second optical communication element 702a, and the first connector 810a and the second connector 810b are butted (for example, one of the first connector 810a and the second connector 810b is a male connector, and the other is a female connector, so that it is easier to align when butting), thereby realizing the butt joint of the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002.

[0143] The first optical communication element 701a further includes a first optoelectronic module 701b capable of emitting or receiving an optical signal, and the optical fiber ferrule of the first optical fiber connector 1001 is connected to the first optoelectronic module 701b. It can also be understood that the first connector 810a of any one of the two first optical communication modules 701 can be butted with the corresponding second connector 810b of the second optical communication module 702, so that the two optical single boards are connected with the optical backboard, and further, when the two first connectors 810a are butted with the corresponding second connectors 810b, the optical signal emitted by the first optoelectronic module 701b of one of the two first optical communication elements 701a can be transmitted to the other, that is, the two optical single boards are connected with each other through the optical backboard, thereby realizing high-speed transmission of data.

[0144] In other alternative embodiments, the optical fiber ferrule of the first optical fiber connector 1001 can be directly connected to the first optical communication element 701a, or the second optical communication element 702a can include a second optoelectronic module, and the optical fiber ferrule of the second optical fiber connector 1002 can be connected to the second optical communication element 702a through the second optoelectronic module, which is not limited by the present application.

[0145] Please refer to Figures 5a-5b , Figure 5a for the structural schematic diagram of the optical communication assembly of the embodiment of the present application; Figure 5b forFigure 5a A cross-sectional structure schematic diagram along the direction of A-A.

[0146] As Figures 4b-5b shown, it can be understood that the optical communication assembly 800 can realize the connection between two optical communication modules, the connection between a section of optical fiber and an optical communication module, or the butt joint between two sections of optical fiber, and the present application does not limit this.

[0147] The specific structure of the optical communication assembly 800 is not limited, as Figures 5a-5b shown, in an embodiment, the optical communication assembly 800 includes the butt joint of the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002, and further includes the connecting piece 810 of the integrated structure (i.e. the connecting piece mentioned above for connecting the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002). It should be noted that the connecting piece 810 of the integrated structure can be mounted on the first optical communication element 701a or the second optical communication element 702a. The connecting piece 810 is used to realize the butt joint of the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002. The connecting piece 810 has the first connecting surface 811 and the second connecting surface 812 arranged oppositely, the first optical fiber connector 1001 is inserted into the connecting piece 810 from the first connecting surface 811, and the second optical fiber connector 1002 is inserted into the connecting piece 810 from the second connecting surface 812, so that the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 realize accurate butt joint, and the parallel light emitted from one of the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 is converged into the convergent light by the other. In other alternative embodiments, the optical communication assembly 800 can also not include the connecting piece 810, and the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 are directly butt jointed.

[0148] As Figure 5b shown, in an embodiment, the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 are both provided with the shell 60, and the shell 60 and the connecting piece 810 are correspondingly provided with the pluggable structure, so that the shell 60 can be more accurately inserted into the connecting piece 810, and the plugging force is reduced, and the convenient plugging of the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 is realized. In other alternative embodiments, the shell 840 and the connecting piece 830 can also be connected through other connecting structures, for example, threaded connection, etc., and the present application does not limit this.

[0149] Please refer to Figures 6a-6e , Figure 6a the schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the first embodiment of the optical fiber connector of the embodiment of the present application; Figure 6b the schematic diagram of the exploded structure of the first embodiment of the optical fiber connector of the embodiment of the present application;Figure 6c As Figure 6a A schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure along the direction of B-B; Figure 6d As Figure 6c A local enlarged view of the middle C part; Figure 6e A schematic diagram of a light propagation path of the optical fiber connector of the embodiment of the present application.

[0150] As Figure 6a shown, the embodiment of the present application provides an optical fiber connector 100, in the optical communication device 700 provided by the present application, at least one of the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 adopts the optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application, which can be all the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 adopting the optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application, or one or several of them adopting the optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application, and the others can adopt the MT optical fiber connector, the multi-core multi-channel plug (MPO) optical fiber connector and the like. In an embodiment, all the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 in the optical communication device 700 adopt the optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application to ensure the best transmission effect. Similarly, in the optical communication assembly 800 provided by the present application, at least one of the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 adopts the optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application, which can be both of them adopting the optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application, or only one of them adopting the optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application. In an embodiment, the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the second optical fiber connector 1002 of the optical communication assembly 800 both adopt the optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application to ensure the best transmission effect. The optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application will be described in detail below in combination with the drawings.

[0151] As Figures 6a-6dAs shown, the optical fiber connector 100 includes an optical fiber ferrule 10 and a lens 20. The optical fiber ferrule 10 includes a ferrule body 11 and an optical fiber 12 passing through the ferrule body 11. It should be noted that the number of optical fibers 12 passing through the ferrule body 11 is not limited, and can be 1, 2, 4, etc., and this application does not impose any restrictions on this. In one embodiment, the number of optical fibers 12 passing through the ferrule body 11 is 1. The ferrule body 11 has a first end face 1101 and a second end face 1102 that are arranged opposite to each other along its length direction, and the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12 along the length direction X of the optical fiber protrudes from the first end face 1101 of the ferrule body 11, and the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12 is a light transmission end face. The light transmission end face can be understood as the end face of the optical fiber 12 that emits light or the end face that receives light. The lens 20 is disposed on the side of the first end face 1101 of the ferrule body 11 away from the second end face 1102. The first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12 is in direct contact with and fixedly connected to the first surface 201 of the lens 20. In one embodiment, the longitudinal direction X of the optical fiber is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the ferrule body 11.

[0152] And, as Figure 6e As shown, divergent light rays emitted from the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12 enter the first surface 201 of the lens 20 and can be collimated into quasi-parallel light rays after passing through the lens 20. Alternatively, quasi-parallel light rays entering the lens 20 from the second surface 202 of the lens 20 can be converged into convergent light rays and enter the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12, wherein the second surface 202 of the lens 20 is disposed opposite to the first surface 201. Collimation can be understood as converting divergent light rays into quasi-parallel light rays. Quasi-parallel light rays can be understood as parallel light rays or approximately parallel light rays. A certain angular deviation can be allowed, such as -3°, -1°, 3°, 5°, etc., which is not limited in this application.

[0153] The optical fiber connector 100 provided herein includes an optical fiber ferrule 10 and a lens 20. The optical fiber ferrule 10 includes a ferrule body 11 and an optical fiber 12. The optical fiber 12 is inserted into the ferrule body 11 from the second end face 1102 of the ferrule body 11 along the longitudinal direction X of the optical fiber and protrudes from the first end face 1101 of the ferrule body 11. The lens 20 is disposed opposite the first end face 1101 of the ferrule body 11 to interface with the optical fiber 12. The first surface 201 of the lens 20 is in direct contact with and fixedly connected to the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12. It is understood that the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12 is a light transmission end face. Light is emitted from the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12 and enters the lens 20, or light enters the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12 from the lens 20. The lens 20 can increase the mode field diameter of the optical fiber 12. While the transmission power of the light remains unchanged, the increased mode field diameter reduces the light energy density at the light transmission end face. Therefore, the optical fiber connector 100 can withstand high power.

[0154] Further, the lens 20 and the optical fiber 12 are directly contacted and fixed, on the one hand, avoiding introducing burnout-prone connecting materials such as organic glue and the like adhesives, and on the other hand, light can directly enter the lens 20 from the optical fiber 12, or directly enter the optical fiber 12 from the lens 20 without passing through air, thereby preventing the air from being broken down to cause the light path to be blocked, and ensuring the reliability of the optical fiber connector 100 under high transmission power. In addition, after the lens 20 is fixed with the optical fiber 12, it does not need to be repeatedly collimated, and the lens 20 can take into account the functions of beam expansion and collimation, and the process is simple.

[0155] Therefore, the optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application has high tolerance power and strong reliability, and can realize high-power transmission. For example, the optical power density of the light transmission surface of the optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application can be as low as 2.77 W / cm 2 Therefore, the optical fiber connector 100 can tolerate a large power of 3W or more.

[0156] In one embodiment, the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12 is fixedly connected with the first surface 201 of the lens 20 by fusion. Fusion refers to melting and directly connecting the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12 and the corresponding part of the lens 20 together. By using fusion, the loss of the optical fiber 12 is small, which is conducive to improving the transmission quality, and the fusion connection has high reliability and is not easy to break. Moreover, fusion does not introduce other burnout-prone connecting materials. In other alternative embodiments, the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12 and the first surface 201 of the lens 20 can also be directly fixedly connected by welding or other connection methods, which are not limited by the present application.

[0157] It should be noted that the material of the optical fiber 12 includes but is not limited to glass, plastic and the like. In one embodiment, the material of the optical fiber 12 can be silica glass, in order to meet the requirement of the fusion process that the melting points of the two materials to be fused are close, in one embodiment, the material of the lens 20 is also glass (for example, it can be silica glass or other glass), and the difference between the melting points of the material of the optical fiber 12 and the material of the lens 20 is less than or equal to 200℃, for example, the difference can be 0℃, 10℃, 50℃, 100℃, 150℃, 200℃ and the like. Glass also has the advantage of low thermal expansion coefficient, so that the size change of the lens 20 during fusion is small, which ensures the fusion precision. In other alternative embodiments, the lens 20 can also use other materials that can be fused with the optical fiber 12, and the melting points of the material of the optical fiber 12 and the material of the lens 20 can also differ by more than 200℃, for example, 250℃, 300℃, 400℃ and the like, which are not limited by the present application.

[0158] In one embodiment, the lens 20 is a collimator lens or a self-focusing lens. The collimator lens usually has a convex surface, which can converge parallel light rays into a point and then diverge the light rays into parallel light rays. In one embodiment, the convex surface is the second surface 202 of the lens 20. The self-focusing lens, also known as a variable refractive index lens or a non-uniform medium lens, is a cylindrical optical lens with a refractive index distribution gradually decreasing along the radial direction thereof. The self-focusing lens has a focusing function, which can collimate the divergent light rays emitted from the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12 into quasi-parallel light rays after the light rays enter the first surface 201 of the lens 20 and pass through the lens 20, or can converge the quasi-parallel light rays entering the second surface 202 of the lens 20 into convergent light rays and then into the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12.

[0159] Please refer to Figures 7a-7b , Figure 7a FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a perspective structure of a lens of an optical fiber connector according to an embodiment of the present application; Figure 7b FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a principle of a lens and an optical fiber connection of an optical fiber connector according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0160] As shown in Figures 6e-7a , in one embodiment, the first surface 201 of the lens 20 has a fiber positioning portion 21. The structure of the fiber positioning portion 21 is not limited. For example, the fiber positioning portion 21 can be a positioning hole recessed inwardly relative to other regions of the first surface 201 of the lens 20 or a positioning column protruding outwardly. It can be understood that the other regions of the first surface 201 of the lens 20 refer to regions of the first surface 201 of the lens 20 other than the fiber positioning portion 21, or it can be understood that the surface of the fiber positioning portion 21 (for example, the wall surface of the positioning hole or the outer surface of the positioning column) constitutes a part of the first surface 201 of the lens 20. In one embodiment, the fiber positioning portion 21 is a positioning hole, and the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12 is inserted into the positioning hole and fused. The specific position of the fiber positioning portion 21 is not limited. In one embodiment, the fiber positioning portion 21 is located in the central region of the first surface 201 of the lens 20. In other alternative embodiments, the fiber positioning portion 21 can also be located in other regions of the first surface 201 of the lens 20, such as the edge region, which is not limited in the present application. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the diameter of the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12 is usually only a few microns, which is much smaller than the diameter of the first surface 201 of the lens 20. The fiber positioning portion 21 provided on the first surface 201 of the lens 20 facilitates the preliminary alignment of the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12 with the part to be fused of the first surface 201 of the lens 20, thereby reducing the subsequent debugging steps. The alignment process of the lens 20 and the optical fiber 12 will be described in detail hereinafter.

[0161] As shown in Figure 7bAs shown in the figure, in one embodiment, the other regions of the first surface 201 of the lens 20 are inclined planes. The inclined planes are inclined relative to the first plane M, which is a plane perpendicular to the length direction X of the optical fiber. The angle at which the inclined planes are inclined relative to the first plane M is not limited in the present application. In one embodiment, the angle at which the inclined planes are inclined relative to the first plane M is 6°-10°, for example, which can be 6°, 8°, 10°, etc. It should be noted that the optical fiber positioning portion 21 can be inclined together with the other regions of the first surface 201 of the lens 20, and correspondingly, the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12 is also an inclined plane. Alternatively, the optical fiber positioning portion 21 can not be inclined, which is not limited in the present application. The other regions of the first surface 201 of the lens 20 are provided as inclined planes, which can reduce the damage of the return light. As understood by those skilled in the art, part of the light is reflected on the surface of the lens 20 back into the optical fiber 12, which causes damage to the optical fiber connector 100. The inclined plane can change the reflection angle of the reflected light to protect the optical fiber connector.

[0162] As shown in the figure, Figure 7a In one embodiment, the second surface 202 of the lens 20 is coated with an anti-reflection film 22, and the refractive index of the anti-reflection film 22 is greater than the refractive index of air and less than the refractive index of the material of the lens 20, so that the anti-reflection film 22 can reduce the amount of reflection when the light passes through the second surface 202 of the lens 20, improve the transmittance, and thus enable the light to pass through the lens 20 better.

[0163] In one embodiment, the anti-reflection film 22 includes an optical film, and the number of layers of the optical film is not limited, which can be 1 layer, 2 layers, multiple layers, etc., which is not limited in the present application. In one embodiment, the anti-reflection film 22 includes a multilayer optical film, and the refractive indices of adjacent two layers of the optical film in the multilayer optical film are different. By using the anti-reflection film 22 including the multilayer optical film, the refractive indices of each adjacent two layers of the optical film are different, which is conducive to expanding the wavelength range of the reflected light to be reduced and enhancing the anti-reflection effect. The material of each layer of the optical film is not limited, which can be a single metal film such as germanium, aluminum, silver, etc., or a compound film such as titanium dioxide, magnesium fluoride, etc., which is not limited in the present application.

[0164] As shown in the figure, Figures 6b-6dAs shown, in one embodiment, the fiber connector 100 can further include a sleeve 30, an inner wall surface of the sleeve 30 surrounds to form a first accommodating space 31, the lens 20 and the fiber ferrule 10 are sequentially arranged in the first accommodating space 31 along a length direction of the sleeve 30, and are fixedly connected with the sleeve 30. In one embodiment, the length direction of the sleeve 30 is parallel to the length direction X of the fiber. The sleeve 30 has an insertion end surface 302 and a mating end surface 301 oppositely arranged along the length direction of the sleeve 30, and the insertion end surface 302 is an end surface of the sleeve 30 for insertion of the ferrule body 11. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that after the lens 20 and the fiber 12 are fused, the lens 20 and the fiber 12 can be inserted into the sleeve 30 from the mating end surface 301 of the sleeve 30, the ferrule body 11 is inserted into the sleeve 30 from the insertion end surface 302 of the sleeve 30, and the assembly of the sleeve 30, the fiber ferrule 10 and the lens 20 is realized. In the length direction of the sleeve 30, the lens 20, the first end surface 1101 of the ferrule body 11 of the fiber ferrule 10 and the insertion end surface 302 of the sleeve 30 are sequentially and spacedly arranged. It can be understood that at least a part of the lens 20 and the fiber ferrule 10 are arranged in the sleeve 30 and fixedly connected with the sleeve 30, the sleeve 30 can protect the lens 20 and the fiber 12, and strengthen the connection strength of the lens 20 and the fiber 12.

[0165] As shown, Figure 6d In one embodiment, the fiber connector includes an adhesive portion 40 for reinforcing the fusion joint between the first end surface 1201 of the fiber 12 and the first surface 201 of the lens 20. Specifically, a part of the first surface 201 of the lens 20, a part of the fiber 12 protruding from the first end surface 1101 of the ferrule body 11, and the first end surface 1101 of the ferrule body 11 are fixedly adhered to each other by the adhesive portion 40. Correspondingly, the sleeve 30 is provided with a glue injection hole 33, the glue injection hole 33 communicates the first accommodating space 31 with the outside of the sleeve 30, and the adhesive portion 40 is formed by filling flowable glue into the first accommodating space 31 from the glue injection hole 33, and the flowable glue is cured to form the adhesive portion 40, wherein the flowable glue is inorganic glue. The material of the inorganic glue is not limited, and can be silicate inorganic glue, alumina inorganic glue, butyl rubber, etc., which is not limited in the present application. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the flowable glue is filled into the sleeve 30 through the glue injection hole 33, the flowable glue is cured to form the adhesive portion 40, and a part of the first surface 201 of the lens 20, a part of the fiber 12 protruding from the first end surface 1101 of the ferrule body 11, and the first end surface 1101 of the ferrule body 11 are fixed by the adhesive portion 40, so that the part fused between the fiber 12 and the lens 20 is protected, and the fiber 12 and the lens 20 are not easily separated. The flowable glue is inorganic glue, which will not be blackened, and the smoothness of the optical path is ensured.

[0166] As shown, Figure 6dAs shown, in one embodiment, along the length direction of the sleeve 30, the glue injection hole 33 is provided on the side of the first surface 201 of the lens 20 facing the first end surface 1101 of the ferrule body 11, and the glue injection hole 33 penetrates the sleeve 30 along the wall thickness direction of the sleeve 30. The bonding portion 40 is an integrated structure and fills the space enclosed by the first surface 201 of the lens 20, the first end surface 1101 of the ferrule body 11, and the inner wall surface of the sleeve 30, so that a portion of the first surface 201 of the lens 20, a portion of the optical fiber 12 protruding from the first end surface 1101 of the ferrule body 11, the end portion of the ferrule body 11 where the first end surface 1101 is located, and the sleeve 30 are bonded and fixed to each other via the bonding portion 40. It can be understood that the glue injection hole 33 is set at a position close to the first surface 201 of the lens 20, so that the flowing glue can first be filled in the space enclosed by the first surface 201 of the lens 20, the first end face 1101 of the core body 11, and the inner wall surface of the sleeve 30, and the flow distance is the shortest, saving costs on the basis of strengthening the connection strength. The glue injection hole 33 passes through the sleeve 30 along the wall thickness direction of the sleeve 30, so that the adhesive portion 40 can fill the space in the wall thickness direction of the sleeve 30, thereby preventing looseness between the lens 20, the optical fiber core 10, and the sleeve 30 to the greatest extent. In addition, the glue injection hole 33 is set at this position, and it can be observed through the glue injection hole 33 whether the core body 11 slides to the appropriate position in the sleeve 30 after being inserted from the insertion end face 302 of the sleeve 30. In other alternative embodiments, the glue injection hole 33 can also be set at other positions of the sleeve 30, or it can not pass through the sleeve 30, and this application is not limited to this.

[0167] like Figure 6d As shown, in one embodiment, the inner wall of the sleeve 30 has a mounting platform 32 protruding from the inner wall. The outer edge of the first surface 201 of the lens 20 abuts the mounting platform 32. A portion of the first surface 201 of the lens 20, a portion of the optical fiber 12 protruding from the first end surface 1101 of the ferrule body 11, the end portion of the first end surface 1101 of the ferrule body 11, the sleeve 30, and the mounting platform 32 are bonded and fixed to each other via an adhesive portion 40. The adhesive portion 40 adhesively fixes the lens 20 and the mounting platform 32 of the sleeve 30, thereby fixing the lens 20 to the sleeve 30. Furthermore, the first surface 201 of the lens 20 abuts the mounting platform 32, facilitating the positioning of the lens 20 during assembly. The lens 20 may also be fixed to the sleeve 30 by other means, which are not limited in this application.

[0168] like Figure 6d As shown, in one embodiment, in the length direction of the sleeve 30, the butt end surface 301 of the sleeve 30 protrudes outward from the second surface 202 of the lens 20. Figure 5bIt should be understood that the butt joint end surface 301 of the sleeve 30 is used for butt joint, and the butt joint end surface 301 of the sleeve 30 is beyond the second surface 202 of the lens 20 in the length direction of the sleeve 30, which can prevent the lens 20 from directly contacting other devices, for example, in the optical communication assembly 800, the lens 20 of the first optical fiber connector 1001 and the lens 20 of the second optical fiber connector 1002 do not directly contact, which can prevent the direct contact from causing burning due to excessive heat, and on the other hand, in the length direction of the sleeve 30, there is a gap between the two lenses 20, which is beneficial to heat dissipation and reduces heat accumulation.

[0169] Please refer to Figure 8 , Figure 8 It is a cross-sectional structure schematic view of the ferrule body of the optical fiber connector of the embodiment of the present application.

[0170] As Figure 6d shown, in an embodiment, the ferrule body 11 is provided with a mounting hole 111 for the optical fiber 12 to pass through. The hole diameter of the mounting hole 111 is greater than the diameter of the optical fiber 12, which facilitates the filling of the flowable glue 41 into the mounting hole 111 from the second end surface 1102 of the ferrule body 11 to fix the connection between the optical fiber 12 and the ferrule body 11. The flowable glue 41 can be inorganic glue or organic glue, which is not limited in the present application. In an embodiment, the flowable glue 41 is inorganic glue.

[0171] As Figure 6d , Figure 8 shown, in an embodiment, the ferrule body 11 is provided with a heat dissipation flow channel 112, and the number and arrangement position of the heat dissipation flow channel 112 are not limited, which can be 4, 8, 10, etc., which is not limited in the present application. It can be understood that each heat dissipation flow channel 112 extends from the wall surface of the mounting hole 111 of the ferrule body 11 to the outer wall surface of the ferrule body 11 and is filled with inorganic glue. In an embodiment, a plurality of heat dissipation flow channels 112 are arranged at intervals in the length direction and the circumferential direction of the ferrule body 11. The optical fiber connector 100 can dissipate heat through the heat dissipation flow channel 112, which reduces heat accumulation and improves the tolerance power of the optical fiber connector 100.

[0172] Further, in an embodiment, the inorganic glue filled in the heat dissipation flow channel 112 contains heat dissipation particles, and the material of the heat dissipation particles includes but is not limited to metal, plastic, etc., which is not limited in the present application. The heat dissipation particles can further enhance the heat dissipation capacity, thereby further improving the tolerance power of the optical fiber connector 100.

[0173] In one embodiment, the ferrule 30 is made of metal material, and the ferrule body 11 is made of ceramic material. The ferrule 30 made of metal material is beneficial for heat dissipation, and the ferrule body 11 made of ceramic material has good thermal stability, so that the ferrule body 11 has higher precision. Alternatively, in an alternative embodiment, the ferrule body 11 is made of metal material, so as to further improve the heat dissipation capacity of the fiber connector 100.

[0174] As shown in Figures 6a-6d In one embodiment, the fiber connector 100 further comprises a housing 60, and a first anti-rotation member 51 and a second anti-rotation member 52 which are sequentially sleeved in the housing 60 from inside to outside, the fiber ferrule 10 and the ferrule 30 are respectively arranged in the first anti-rotation member 51 away from the lens 20, and the ferrule 30 is fixedly connected with the first anti-rotation member 51, the first anti-rotation member 51 is fixedly connected with the second anti-rotation member 52, and the second anti-rotation member 52 is fixedly connected with the housing 60. The first anti-rotation member 51 and the second anti-rotation member 52 can be a split structure or an integral structure, and the present application does not limit this. In one embodiment, the first anti-rotation member 51 and the second anti-rotation member 52 are a split structure. Those skilled in the art can understand that the ferrule 30 is fixedly connected with the housing 60 through the first anti-rotation member 51 and the second anti-rotation member 52, so that the positions of the ferrule 30, the lens 20 and the fiber ferrule 10 fixedly connected with the ferrule 30 in the housing 60 are fixed, and the precision of the fiber connector 100 after being mated with other fiber connectors in the optical communication equipment 700 or the optical communication assembly 800 is ensured. It can be understood in combination with Figure 5b The first fiber connector 1001 and the second fiber connector 1002 are mated, and the housings 60 of each fiber connector in the first fiber connector 1001 and the second fiber connector 1002 are fixed relative to the connecting member 810, so that the two ferrules 30 are relatively fixed, and further, the relative positions and angles between the two lenses 20 are fixedly unchanged, so as to improve the precision of the mating and reduce the loss.

[0175] The structure of the fixed connection between the first anti-rotation member 51 and the ferrule 30 is not limited. As shown in Figure 6d In one embodiment, the first anti-rotation member 51 is provided with a recess 511, and the inner wall surface of the recess 511 is provided with a first anti-rotation structure (not shown in the figure), the insertion end surface 302 of the ferrule 30 abuts against the bottom surface of the recess 511, and the outer wall surface of the ferrule 30 is correspondingly provided with a first anti-rotation structure (not shown in the figure), and the first anti-rotation structure is clamped or locked with the first anti-rotation structure, so that the ferrule 30 is relatively fixed with the first anti-rotation member 51 in the circumferential direction. In one embodiment, the first anti-rotation structure and the first anti-rotation structure are screw connection structures, and in other alternative embodiments, the first anti-rotation structure and the first anti-rotation structure can also be other structures, and the present application does not limit this.

[0176] The structure of the fixed connection between the second anti-rotation member 52 and the first anti-rotation member 51, and between the second anti-rotation member 52 and the housing 60 is not limited. Figure 6b As shown, in one embodiment, the outer wall surface of the first anti-rotation member 51 is provided with a positioning protrusion 512, the inner wall surface of the second anti-rotation member 52 is provided with a positioning groove 521, and the outer wall surface of the second anti-rotation member 52 is provided with a wedge-shaped structure 522. The wedge-shaped structure 522 allows the second anti-rotation member 52 to be locked and fixed within the housing 60. The positioning groove 521 and the positioning protrusion 512 prevent the second anti-rotation member 52 and the first anti-rotation member 51 from rotating circumferentially, thereby ensuring that the sleeve 30 fixedly connected to the first anti-rotation member 51 and the housing 60 do not rotate relative to each other. In other alternative embodiments, other structures can be used to secure the first anti-rotation member 51 and the sleeve 30, the second anti-rotation member 52 and the first anti-rotation member 51, and the second anti-rotation member 52 and the housing 60, and this application is not limited thereto.

[0177] like Figures 6c-6d As shown, in some embodiments, the optical fiber 12 includes a first portion 121 and a second portion 122 connected along its length. The first portion 121 includes a core layer and a cladding layer, and the second portion 122 includes a core layer, a cladding layer, and a coating layer. The core layer of the first portion 121 is connected to the core layer of the second portion 122, and the cladding of the first portion 121 is connected to the cladding of the second portion 122. The entire first portion 121 and a portion of the second portion 122 are inserted into the ferrule body 11 through the second end face 1102 of the ferrule body 11. The first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12 is the end face of the first portion 121 away from the second portion 122. It can be understood that the first portion 121 of the optical fiber is the portion of the optical fiber 12 where the coating is stripped. The coating of the optical fiber 12 is primarily used to protect the surface of the optical fiber 12 from erosion or external abrasion. The coating material includes, but is not limited to, resin. The core and cladding materials of the optical fiber 12 both include silica glass, and the first portion 121 does not include a coating layer, so as to facilitate fusion splicing between the first end face 1201 located in the first portion 121 and the lens 20 .

[0178] like Figure 6b As shown, in one embodiment, the optical fiber connector 100 further includes a spring 61, Figure 5b It is understood that the spring 61 is arranged in the shell 60 and is sleeved on the outer wall of the first anti-rotation part 51. The two ends of the spring 61 are respectively abutted against the shell 60 and the first anti-rotation part 51, which is beneficial to provide the optical fiber connector 100 with an elastic force toward the other optical fiber connector when the optical fiber connector 100 is docked with another optical fiber connector, so that the optical fiber connector 100 is not easy to fall out after being inserted into the connecting part 810, and the sleeve 30 of the optical fiber connector 100 is elastically abutted against the sleeve of the other optical fiber connector in the length direction X of the optical fiber, thereby ensuring the docking reliability.

[0179] Referring to Figure 9 , Figure 9 FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the optical fiber connector according to the present application.

[0180] As Figures 6a-6c shown, in one embodiment, the optical fiber connector 100 includes only one optical fiber ferrule 10 and one corresponding lens 20.

[0181] As Figure 9 shown, in one embodiment, the optical fiber connector 100 includes a plurality of optical fiber ferrules 10 arranged in an array, and a plurality of lenses 20 and a plurality of sleeves 30, each optical fiber ferrule 10 is arranged correspondingly with one lens 20 and one sleeve 30, and constitutes an optical transmission unit 100a. The plurality of optical transmission units 100a are all arranged in and fixed to the housing 60.

[0182] It should be noted that the fixing manner of each optical transmission unit 100a to the housing 60 is not limited. In one example, the sleeve 30 of each optical transmission unit 100a is integrally formed with the housing 60 by injection molding, and the housing 60 can be understood as a plastic part. In other embodiments, the sleeve 30 of each transmission unit 100a and the housing 60 can also be a split structure, each sleeve 30 is inserted and fixedly connected to the housing 60, which is not limited by the present application.

[0183] The assembly process between the optical fiber and the lens 20 will be described in detail below in combination with the drawings.

[0184] Referring to Figures 10a-11b , Figure 10a FIG. 6 is a structural schematic diagram of an assembly device of the optical fiber connector according to the present application; Figure 10b FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a target device of the assembly device of the optical fiber connector according to the present application; Figure 11a FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the process of assembling the optical fiber connector according to the present application; Figure 11b FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the process of assembling the optical fiber connector according to the present application Figure Two .

[0185] As Figure 10a shown, the present application further provides an assembly device 900 for assembling the optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application. The assembly device 900 includes an optical fiber positioning system 910, a lens positioning system 920 and a fusion device 930. Among them, the optical fiber positioning system 910 includes an optical fiber clamp 911 and an optical fiber position adjusting device 912, the optical fiber clamp 911 is used to clamp the optical fiber 12, and the optical fiber position adjusting device 912 is used to adjust the position of the optical fiber clamp 911. The lens positioning system 920 includes a lens clamp 921 and a lens position adjusting device 922, the lens clamp 921 is used to clamp the lens 20, and the lens position adjusting device 922 is used to adjust the position of the lens clamp 921.

[0186] In one embodiment, the lens fixture 921 adsorbs the lens 20 via a negative pressure device (not shown). In one example, the lens fixture 921 includes a suction cup, and the negative pressure device includes a vacuum pipe connected to the suction cup at one end and an air pump provided at the other end of the vacuum pipe. The air pump creates a negative pressure in the vacuum pipe, thereby enabling the suction cup to adsorb the lens 20. In other alternative embodiments, the lens 20 may also be clamped to the lens fixture 921 in other ways, which is not limited in this application. The fusion splicing device 930 is used to heat the area to be fused and can provide a ring laser. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that after the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12 clamped in the optical fiber fixture 911 is aligned with the area to be fused of the first surface 201 of the lens 20 clamped in the lens fixture 921 through the optical fiber position adjustment device 912 and the lens position adjustment device 922, the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12 and the area to be fused of the first surface 201 of the lens 20 clamped in the lens fixture 921 are heated by the fusion splicing device 930, so that the two are fused.

[0187] Furthermore, the structures of the optical fiber position adjustment device 912 and the lens position adjustment device 922 are not limited. Figure 10a As shown, in one embodiment, the fiber position adjustment device 912 can cause the fiber clamp 911 to translate and rotate in the first direction F1, the second direction F2, and the third direction F3, respectively. Alternatively, it can be understood that the fiber clamp 911 can be displaced in the first direction F1, the second direction F2, and the third direction F3, respectively, and can rotate about the first axis, the second axis, and the third axis, respectively. The first axis is parallel to the first direction F1, the second axis is parallel to the second direction F2, and the third axis is parallel to the third direction F3. The first direction F1, the second direction F2, and the third direction F3 are mutually perpendicular, and the first direction F1 is parallel to the longitudinal direction X of the optical fiber. Similarly, the lens position adjustment device 922 can cause the lens clamp 921 to translate and rotate in the first direction F1, the second direction F2, and the third direction F3, respectively. In addition, both the optical fiber position adjustment device 912 and the lens position adjustment device 922 adopt high-precision guide rails and translation mechanisms, which can achieve sub-micron level fine-tuning and positioning, so that the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12 and the area to be fused on the first surface 201 of the lens 20 can be accurately docked, ensuring that during the use of the optical fiber connector 100, the divergent light emitted from the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12 enters the first surface 201 of the lens 20 and can be collimated into quasi-parallel light after passing through the lens 20, or the quasi-parallel light entering the lens 20 from the second surface 202 of the lens 20 can be converged into convergent light and enter the first end face 1201 of the optical fiber 12, thereby reducing loss.

[0188] In one example, the fiber position adjusting device 912 can include a base 9124, a first movable rod 9121, a second movable rod 9122, a sliding block 9123, and the fiber clamp 911 is mounted on the first movable rod 9121. The second movable rod 9122 is slidingly connected to the base 9124 along the third direction F3 and can rotate around its own axis (relative to the base 9124), and the axis of the second movable rod 9122 is parallel to the second axis. It should be noted that the above-mentioned movement implementation form between the second movable rod 9122 and the base 9124 is not limited, for example, a sliding groove extending along the third direction F3 can be arranged on the base 9124, and one end of the second movable rod 9122 is inserted into the sliding groove of the base 9124.

[0189] The sliding block 9123 is slidingly connected to the second movable rod 9122 along the second direction F2 and can rotate around its own axis (relative to the second movable rod 9122), and the axis of the sliding block 9123 is parallel to the third axis. It should be noted that the above-mentioned movement implementation form between the sliding block 9123 and the second movable rod 9122 is not limited, for example, a sliding groove extending along the second direction F2 can be arranged on the second movable rod 9122, and a sliding column is arranged on the sliding block 9123, one end of the sliding column is inserted into the sliding groove of the second movable rod 9122, and the axis of the sliding column constitutes the axis of the sliding block 9123.

[0190] The first movable rod 9121 is slidingly connected to the sliding block 9123 along the first direction F1 and can rotate around its own axis (relative to the sliding block 9123), and the axis of the first movable rod 9121 is parallel to the first axis. Similarly, the above-mentioned movement implementation form between the first movable rod 9121 and the sliding block 9123 is not limited, for example, the sliding groove structure described in the above-mentioned can also be used, and will not be described in detail here.

[0191] The lens position adjusting device 922 can include a base 9224, a first movable rod 9221, a second movable rod 9222, a sliding block 9223, and the lens clamp 921 is mounted on the first movable rod 9221. The second movable rod 9222 is slidingly connected to the base 9224 along the third direction F3 and can rotate around its own axis (relative to the base 9224), and the axis of the second movable rod 9222 is parallel to the second direction F2. It should be noted that the above-mentioned movement implementation form between the second movable rod 9222 and the base 9224 is not limited, for example, a sliding groove extending along the third direction F3 can be arranged on the base 9224, and one end of the second movable rod 9222 is inserted into the sliding groove of the base 9224.

[0192] The slider 9223 is slidingly connected to the second movable rod 9222 in the second direction F2 and can rotate about its own axis (relative to the second movable rod 9222), and the axis of the slider 9223 is parallel to the third direction F3. It should be noted that the above-mentioned movement between the slider 9223 and the second movable rod 9222 is not limited, for example, a sliding groove extending in the second direction F2 can be arranged on the second movable rod 9222, and a sliding column is arranged on the slider 9223, one end of the sliding column is inserted into the sliding groove of the second movable rod 9222, and the axis of the sliding column constitutes the axis of the slider 9223.

[0193] The first movable rod 9221 is slidingly connected to the slider 9223 in the first direction F1 and can rotate about its own axis (relative to the slider 9223), and the axis of the first movable rod 9221 is parallel to the first direction F1. Similarly, the above-mentioned movement between the first movable rod 9221 and the slider 9223 is not limited, for example, the sliding groove structure described above can also be used, and will not be described in detail here.

[0194] In other alternative embodiments, the optical fiber position adjusting device 912 and the lens position adjusting device 922 can also be realized by a mechanical hand, and the present application does not limit this. The fusion device 930 can emit annular laser to realize precise fusion. It should be noted that the fusion device 930 can adopt the existing known structure, and the model is not limited, for example, it can be LZM-100 and the like.

[0195] In one embodiment, the assembly device 900 further comprises a target device 940 and a light spot analysis device 950. The specific structure of the target device 940 is not limited, as shown in Figures 10a-10b Specifically, the center of the concentric ring on the target device 940 is aligned with the optical axis of the lens 20, so that the light emitted from the optical fiber 12 forms a light spot after passing through the lens 20 and is projected onto the target device 940. The distance d between the center point of the light spot projected onto the target device 940 and the center of the concentric ring on the target device 940 and the distance L between the target device 940 and the lens 20 can be used to calculate the angle θ1 according to the tangent function. The offset of the light spot emitted by the lens 20 at the current position of the optical fiber 12 and the lens 20 compared with the target position can be detected, the concentricity of the optical axis of the lens 20 and the core axis of the optical fiber 12 can be judged, and a reference for the preliminary adjustment of the relative position between the lens 20 and the optical fiber 12 can be provided. The target position can be understood as the desired position of the optical fiber 12 and the lens 20 after alignment. That is, at the target position, the center point of the light spot projected onto the target device 940 coincides with the center of the concentric ring on the target device 940.

[0196] The spot analysis device 950 is used to detect and analyze the light spot emitted by the lens 20 at the current position of the optical fiber 12 and the lens 20, and to provide reference data for the adjustment of the relative position between the lens 20 and the optical fiber 12. It should be noted that the spot analysis device 950 can adopt a known structure, for example, a slit type spot analyzer. Moreover, the model of the spot analysis device 950 is not limited, for example, it can be a BeamHere spot analyzer.

[0197] In one embodiment, the assembly device 900 further comprises a high-definition observation lens 960 to observe the alignment and fusion process of the optical fiber 12 and the lens 20, so as to ensure the fusion accuracy. The number of the high-definition observation lens 960 is not limited, which can be one, two, multiple, etc., and the present application does not limit this.

[0198] The present application also provides an assembly method, which uses the assembly device 900 provided by the present application to assemble the optical fiber connector 100 provided by the present application.

[0199] As shown in Figure 11a and understood in conjunction with Figures 10a-10b , the assembly method comprises the following steps:

[0200] Step S1: clamping the lens 20 and the optical fiber 12, wherein the lens 20 is clamped by the lens clamp 921, the optical fiber 12 is clamped by the optical fiber clamp 911, and the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12 faces the first surface 201 of the lens 20. It should be noted that the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12 can be aligned with the optical fiber positioning portion 21 of the lens 20 in advance during clamping, so as to save the subsequent adjustment times and time, and the present application does not limit this.

[0201] Step S2: adjusting and aligning the positions of the lens 20 and the optical fiber 12, wherein the relative positions of the lens 20 and the optical fiber 12 are adjusted by the optical fiber position adjusting device 912 and the lens position adjusting device 922, so that the divergent light rays emitted from the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12 enter the first surface 201 of the lens 20 and can be collimated as quasi-parallel light rays after passing through the lens 20.

[0202] Step S3: fusing the aligned lens 20 and the optical fiber ferrule 10, and fusing the first end surface 1201 of the optical fiber 12 and the to-be-fused region of the first surface 201 of the lens 20 by the fusion device 930.

[0203] As shown in Figure 11b , in one embodiment, when the assembly device 900 comprises the target device 940 and the spot analysis device 950, the assembly step further comprises:

[0204] S21: After clamping the lens 20 and the optical fiber 12, the light spot emitted by the lens 20 is detected by the target device 940, and the optical fiber position adjusting device 912 and the lens position adjusting device 922 are adjusted for preliminary positioning, so that the offset of the light spot (for example, the angle θ1 of the optical axis of the optical fiber relative to the optical axis of the lens, or the size of the overall offset of the optical axis of the optical fiber relative to the optical axis of the lens) does not exceed a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold can be understood as ensuring that the offset of the light spot is within the accuracy range. After the preliminary positioning is completed, the target device 940 is removed. It should be noted that the predetermined threshold of the offset angle may, for example, be less than 0.5 degrees, or less than 1 degree, and the predetermined threshold of the displacement offset may, for example, be less than 5 microns. The specific design is based on the actual situation, and the present application does not limit it here.

[0205] S22: Based on the results of the light spot analysis device 950, the optical fiber position adjusting device 912 and the lens position adjusting device 922 are repeatedly adjusted for fine positioning, so that the light emitted from the lens 20 is collimated into quasi-parallel light.

[0206] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. An optical fiber connector, characterized in that: include: An optical fiber ferrule, comprising a ferrule body and an optical fiber passing through the ferrule body, wherein the ferrule body has a first end face and a second end face disposed opposite to each other, and the first end face of the optical fiber along its length direction protrudes from the first end face of the ferrule body, and the first end face of the optical fiber is a light transmission end face; a lens, the lens being arranged on a side of the first end face of the ferrule body away from the second end face, the first end face of the optical fiber being in direct contact with and fixedly connected to the first surface of the lens; Furthermore, the divergent light emitted from the first end face of the optical fiber enters the first surface of the lens and can be collimated into quasi-parallel light after passing through the lens, or the quasi-parallel light entering the lens from the second surface of the lens can be converged into convergent light and enter the first end face of the optical fiber, wherein the second surface of the lens is arranged opposite to the first surface.

2. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein The first end face of the optical fiber is fixedly connected to the first surface of the lens by fusion splicing.

3. The optical fiber connector according to claim 2, wherein: The first surface of the lens has an optical fiber positioning portion, and is fused with the first end face of the optical fiber through the optical fiber positioning portion; wherein, In the first surface of the lens, the optical fiber positioning portion is configured as a positioning hole that is recessed inwardly relative to other areas of the first surface or a positioning column that is protruding outwardly.

4. The optical fiber connector according to claim 3, wherein: The other areas of the first surface of the lens are oblique planes, and the oblique planes are inclined at an angle of 6° to 10° relative to the first plane, wherein the first plane is perpendicular to the length direction of the optical fiber.

5. The optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The second surface of the lens is coated with an anti-reflection film, wherein the refractive index of the anti-reflection film is greater than the refractive index of air and less than the refractive index of the material of the lens; The anti-reflection film includes at least one optical film.

6. The optical fiber connector according to claim 5, wherein: The at least one optical film is a multilayer optical film, and the refractive indices of two adjacent optical films in the multilayer optical film are different.

7. The optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The lens is a collimating lens or a self-focusing lens; and / or, the material of the lens is glass.

8. The optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The optical fiber connector further includes a sleeve, the inner wall surface of the sleeve surrounding a first accommodation space, the lens and the optical fiber ferrule are sequentially arranged in the first accommodation space along the length direction of the sleeve and are both fixedly connected to the sleeve; The sleeve has an insertion end face and a docking end face arranged opposite to each other along its length direction. The insertion end face is the end face of the sleeve for the core body to be inserted, and in the length direction of the sleeve, the lens, the first end face of the core body of the optical fiber core and the insertion end face of the sleeve are arranged in sequence at intervals.

9. The optical fiber connector according to claim 8, wherein: The optical fiber connector includes a bonding portion, wherein a portion of the first surface of the lens, a portion of the optical fiber protruding from the first end surface of the ferrule body, and the first end surface of the ferrule body are bonded and fixed to each other through the bonding portion; The sleeve is provided with a glue injection hole, which connects the first accommodating space and the outside of the sleeve. The bonding part is formed by filling the first accommodating space with flowing glue from the glue injection hole and the flowing glue is solidified, wherein the flowing glue is an inorganic glue.

10. The optical fiber connector according to claim 9, wherein: In the length direction of the sleeve, the glue injection hole is provided on a side of the first surface of the lens facing the first end surface of the ferrule body, and the glue injection hole penetrates the sleeve along the wall thickness direction of the sleeve; The bonding portion is configured as an integrated structure and is filled in a space enclosed by the first surface of the lens, the first end face of the ferrule body, and the inner wall surface of the sleeve, so that a portion of the first surface of the lens, a portion of the optical fiber protruding from the first end face of the ferrule body, an end portion where the first end face of the ferrule body is located, and the sleeve are bonded and fixed to each other through the bonding portion.

11. The optical fiber connector according to claim 9 or 10, wherein: The inner wall surface of the sleeve has a mounting platform protruding from the inner wall surface, the outer edge of the first surface of the lens abuts against the mounting platform, and a portion of the first surface of the lens, a portion of the optical fiber protruding from the first end surface of the core body, the end portion where the first end surface of the core body is located, the sleeve and the mounting platform are bonded and fixed to each other through the bonding portion.

12. The optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein: In the length direction of the sleeve, the butt end surface of the sleeve protrudes outward from the second surface of the lens.

13. The optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein: The ferrule body is provided with a mounting hole for the optical fiber to pass through, and the ferrule body is provided with at least one heat dissipation channel. Each of the at least one heat dissipation channel extends from the wall surface of the mounting hole of the ferrule body to the outer wall surface of the ferrule body and is filled with inorganic glue.

14. The optical fiber connector according to claim 13, wherein: The at least one heat dissipation channel is configured as: a plurality of heat dissipation channels spaced apart in the longitudinal direction and the circumferential direction of the ferrule body; And / or, the inorganic glue filled in the heat dissipation channel contains heat dissipation particles.

15. The optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 8 to 14, wherein: The sleeve is made of metal material; The ferrule body is made of ceramic material, or the ferrule body is made of metal material.

16. The optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 8 to 15, wherein: The optical fiber connector further includes a housing, and a first anti-rotation member and a second anti-rotation member sequentially sleeved within the housing from the inside to the outside, the optical fiber ferrule and the ends of the sleeve away from the lens being respectively inserted through the first anti-rotation member, and the sleeve being fixedly connected to the first anti-rotation member; The first anti-rotation component is fixedly connected to the second anti-rotation component, and the second anti-rotation component is fixedly connected to the housing.

17. The optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein: The optical fiber includes a first part and a second part connected along its length direction, the first part includes a core layer and a cladding layer, the second part includes a core layer, a cladding layer and a coating layer, the core layer of the first part is connected to the core layer of the second part, the cladding of the first part is connected to the cladding of the second part, the entire first part and a part of the second part are inserted into the ferrule body from the second end face of the ferrule body, and the first end face of the optical fiber is an end face of the first part away from the second part.

18. The optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein: The optical fiber connector includes only one optical fiber ferrule and a corresponding lens.

19. The optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein: The optical fiber connector includes a plurality of optical fiber ferrules distributed in an array, a plurality of lenses, and a plurality of sleeves, wherein each optical fiber ferrule is correspondingly provided with one lens and one sleeve, and constitutes an optical transmission unit; When the optical fiber connector includes a housing, the plurality of optical transmission units are all disposed through the housing.

20. An optical communication module, comprising an optical communication element, characterized in that: It further comprises the optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the optical fiber ferrule of the optical fiber connector is connected to the optical communication element.

21. An optical communication device, comprising a first optical communication module and a second optical communication module, characterized in that: The first optical communication module and the second optical communication module are connected via respective optical fiber connectors, and at least one of the first optical communication module and the second optical communication module is the optical communication module according to claim 20.

22. An optical communication assembly comprising a first optical fiber connector and a second optical fiber connector, characterized in that: The first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector are butted against each other, and at least one of the first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector is the optical fiber connector according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

23. The optical communication component according to claim 22, wherein: The first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector are both optical fiber connectors according to any one of claims 1 to 19; The optical communication assembly further includes a connector having a first connecting surface and a second connecting surface disposed opposite to each other, the first optical fiber connector being inserted into the connector from the first connecting surface, and the second optical fiber connector being inserted into the connector from the second connecting surface, such that quasi-parallel light emitted from one of the first and second optical fiber connectors is converged into converged light by the other optical fiber connector; When both the first optical fiber connector and the second optical fiber connector include a housing, the housing is plug-connected or threadedly connected to the connector.

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