A novel reflective integrated expanded-beam optical ferrule structure and optical interconnect assembly

Abstract

A novel reflective integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure and optical interconnect assembly are disclosed, relating to the fields of optical fiber communication and optical interconnect technology, specifically a novel reflective integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure and optical interconnect assembly. It includes a ferrule body, with an optical fiber positioning mechanism at one end for fixing the optical fiber and positioning its end face at a predetermined optical axis position. The other end of the ferrule body has an optical fiber output path, with a reflective structure on the output path. The reflective mechanism is an inclined reflective surface used to reflect the output beam and change its propagation direction. A beam-expanding lens mechanism is located on the output side of the reflective mechanism, receiving the reflected beam and collimating or expanding it for output. The beam emitted from the optical fiber is reflected sequentially by the reflective mechanism and enters the beam-expanding lens mechanism to form an expanded beam output. By integrating the optical fiber positioning mechanism, reflective mechanism, and beam-expanding lens mechanism within the ferrule body, it effectively relaxes optical connection alignment tolerances, reduces the impact of dust contamination on optical transmission, and achieves structural integration and low-cost manufacturing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of optical fiber communication and optical interconnect technology, specifically to a novel reflective integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure and optical interconnect component. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of data centers, high-performance computing, cloud computing, and high-speed communication systems, optical interconnect technology is increasingly widely used in high-speed data transmission. Traditional fiber optic connectors mostly employ physical contact connection structures, such as MT or LC type fiber optic connectors. These connectors achieve optical signal coupling through direct mating of the fiber end faces. However, this type of connection places extremely high demands on the processing accuracy, alignment accuracy, and cleanliness of the fiber end faces. In practical applications, it is easily affected by factors such as dust contamination, mechanical vibration, or assembly errors, leading to a decrease in optical signal transmission efficiency.

[0003] To address these issues, Expanded Beam Optical (EBO) technology has been increasingly applied in the field of optical interconnects. EBO expands the optical fiber's output beam into a larger diameter spot using a lens structure, allowing the optical interface to have greater tolerance for lateral misalignment and axial clearance. This reduces reliance on precise alignment and improves the system's environmental adaptability. However, existing EBO structures typically require the separate fabrication of multiple optical components, such as lenses, prisms, or mirrors, followed by precise assembly and active alignment. This not only complicates the manufacturing process but also increases assembly costs, especially in multi-channel array optical interconnect applications where consistency between optical channels is difficult to guarantee. Furthermore, traditional EBO structures often employ axial optical path structures, which are less adaptable to onboard optical interconnects or space-constrained optical module packaging structures. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to address the shortcomings and deficiencies of existing technologies by providing a novel reflective integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure and optical interconnect assembly. By integrating an optical fiber positioning mechanism, a reflection mechanism, and a beam-expanding lens mechanism within the ferrule body, the optical fiber emitted beam is reflected and deflected before entering the lens array for collimation or beam expansion to form an expanded beam output. This effectively relaxes the optical connection alignment tolerance, reduces the impact of dust contamination on optical transmission, and achieves structural integration and low-cost manufacturing.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, a novel reflective integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure employs the following technical solution: it includes a ferrule body 10, one end of which is provided with an optical fiber positioning mechanism 101, which is used to fix an optical fiber 102 and position the end face of the optical fiber 102 at a predetermined optical axis position; the other end of the ferrule body 10 is provided with an optical fiber output optical path 20, on which a reflective structure 30 is provided, the reflective mechanism 30 being an inclined reflective surface used to reflect the optical fiber output beam and change the beam propagation direction; a beam-expanding lens mechanism 40 is provided on the output side of the reflective mechanism 30, which is used to receive the reflected beam and collimate or expand the beam for output; the beam emitted by the optical fiber 102 is reflected sequentially by the reflective mechanism 30 and enters the beam-expanding lens mechanism 40 to form an expanded beam output.

[0006] The insert body 10 is a one-piece molded structure and is injection molded from transparent optical plastic material.

[0007] The reflection mechanism 30 is a reflection surface that forms an angle of 30°-60° with the optical axis, used to achieve a beam reversal reflection at approximately 90°.

[0008] The beam expander lens mechanism 40 is a lens array structure composed of multiple microlenses 401, and the multiple microlenses 401 are arranged in a linear array along the fiber arrangement direction.

[0009] The reflection mechanism 30 is an off-axis aspherical reflector structure.

[0010] The ferrule body 10 is provided with a mechanical positioning mechanism 103, which is used to achieve positioning and docking with the mating ferrule.

[0011] The beam expander lens mechanism 40 is fixed inside the insert body 10 by the lens support structure 401.

[0012] A novel reflective integrated beam-expanding optical interconnect component includes: a first ferrule and a second ferrule, wherein the first ferrule and the second ferrule are both reflective integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structures as described in any one of claims 1-9. The two ferrules are aligned and connected by a mechanical positioning structure. The beam-expanding beam output from the first ferrule enters the second ferrule through an air gap and couples into the optical fiber in the second ferrule, thereby forming an optical signal transmission path.

[0013] The working principle of this invention is as follows: The optical signal emitted by the optical fiber 102 enters the interior of the ferrule body 10 along the optical axis and then enters the optical fiber output optical path 20. A reflection mechanism 30 is provided on the optical fiber output optical path 20. The reflection mechanism 30 is an inclined reflection surface that forms an angle of 30°-60° with the optical axis. When the light beam emitted by the optical fiber 102 reaches the reflection mechanism 30, the light beam is reflected at the reflection surface, thereby changing the propagation direction and achieving an optical path reversal of approximately 90°.

[0014] The reflected light beam continues to propagate to the beam expander lens mechanism 40. The beam expander lens mechanism 40 consists of multiple microlenses 401 arranged in a linear array along the fiber optic alignment direction. The microlenses 401 are used to receive the light beam reflected by the reflection mechanism 30 and to collimate or expand the beam, so that the originally divergent beam is transformed into a beam expanded with a larger spot size.

[0015] like Figure 3 As shown, in optical interconnect applications, two sets of identical optical ferrules are aligned and connected by a mechanical positioning mechanism 103, forming a certain air gap between the two ferrules. When the first ferrule outputs a beam-expanding beam, the beam enters the second ferrule through the air gap, is focused by the beam-expanding lens mechanism 40 inside the second ferrule, and is then reflected and deflected by the reflection mechanism 30 before being coupled into the optical fiber 102 in the second ferrule, thereby achieving stable transmission of optical signals between the two ferrules.

[0016] Because it uses a beam expander for optical signal coupling, this structure has a high tolerance for lateral offset and axial gap between the two ferrules, thereby improving the stability and reliability of the optical interconnect system.

[0017] After adopting the above technical solution, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: by integrating the fiber positioning mechanism, the reflection mechanism and the beam expanding lens mechanism in the ferrule body, the fiber-emitting beam enters the beam expanding lens array for collimation or beam expanding after reflection and reversal, thereby forming a beam expanding output. This not only effectively relaxes the alignment tolerance during optical connection, but also significantly reduces the impact of dust contamination on optical transmission performance, and improves the reliability and stability of the optical interconnect structure.

[0018] Meanwhile, by integrating the reflection mechanism and the beam expander lens mechanism inside the ferrule body and using transparent optical plastic material for one-piece injection molding, the present invention achieves a high degree of integration between the optical structure and the mechanical structure, greatly reducing the assembly process of optical components, lowering manufacturing costs, and facilitating the mass production of multi-channel array structures.

[0019] Furthermore, the optical path direction is reversed by the reflection mechanism, allowing the beam to exit from the ferrule side, making it more suitable for onboard optical interconnects or high-density optical module packaging structures, and showing good application prospects. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a full sectional view of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Another perspective view;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of the optical interconnect component in this invention.

[0024] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached drawings: ferrule body 10, fiber positioning mechanism 101, fixed fiber optic cable 102, fiber optic output path 20, reflection structure 30, beam expanding lens mechanism 40, microlens 401, mechanical positioning mechanism 103. Detailed Implementation

[0025] See Figure 1-3 As shown, the technical solution adopted in this specific embodiment is: a novel reflective integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure, including a ferrule body 10. The ferrule body 10 is an integrally molded structure, preferably manufactured using transparent optical plastic material through injection molding, so that the optical structure and mechanical structure are integrated into a whole structure, thereby helping to reduce manufacturing costs and improve structural consistency.

[0026] One end of the ferrule body 10 is provided with an optical fiber positioning mechanism 101, which is used to fix the optical fiber 102 and position the end face of the optical fiber 102 at a predetermined optical axis position. The optical fiber 102 can be a single-mode optical fiber or a multimode optical fiber, and its end is fixed in the optical fiber positioning mechanism 101 by crimping, bonding or inserting, thereby ensuring that the core center of the optical fiber 102 is basically aligned with the optical axis of the optical system to ensure the optical signal transmission efficiency.

[0027] The ferrule body 10 has an optical fiber output path 20 inside. When the optical signal emitted by the optical fiber 102 enters the optical fiber output path 20, the light beam propagates along the predetermined optical axis.

[0028] A reflection mechanism 30 is provided on the optical fiber output path 20. The reflection mechanism 30 is an inclined reflective surface structure, with its reflective surface forming an angle of 30°-60° with the optical axis. Preferably, the reflection mechanism 30 can be an off-axis aspherical mirror structure. When the light beam emitted from the optical fiber 102 propagates to the reflection mechanism 30, it is reflected at the reflective surface, thereby changing the propagation direction of the light beam and achieving an optical path reversal of approximately 90°. By providing this reflection mechanism 30, the propagation direction of the light beam can be changed from axial propagation to lateral propagation to adapt to the layout of the beam-expanding optical structure.

[0029] A beam-expanding lens mechanism 40 is provided on the output side of the reflecting mechanism 30. The beam-expanding lens mechanism 40 is used to receive the light beam reflected by the reflecting mechanism 30 and to collimate or expand the light beam. The beam-expanding lens mechanism 40 is composed of multiple microlenses 401, which are arranged in a linear array along the fiber optic alignment direction to form a lens array structure. Each microlens 401 is used to receive the light beam of one optical channel and to expand or collimate the light beam, so that the light beam forms an expanded beam with a larger spot size at the output end.

[0030] Preferably, the beam expander lens mechanism 40 is disposed inside the ferrule body 10 through a lens support structure, thereby ensuring the stability of the lens array installation position and ensuring that each lens 401 corresponds to the optical axis position.

[0031] In addition, the ferrule body 10 is also provided with a mechanical positioning mechanism 103, which is used to achieve mechanical positioning connection with the mating ferrule. The mechanical positioning mechanism 103 can be a guide hole structure, a guide pin structure, or other structures that can achieve precise positioning, thereby ensuring that the two ferrules can maintain a stable and accurate relative position when mating.

[0032] like Figure 3 As shown, in practical applications, the present invention can also be configured as a reflective integrated beam-expanding optical interconnect component. This optical interconnect component includes a first ferrule and a second ferrule, both of which employ the aforementioned reflective integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure. The first ferrule and the second ferrule are aligned and connected via a mechanical positioning mechanism 103, forming a certain air gap between the two ferrules.

[0033] When the optical fiber 102 in the first ferrule emits an optical signal, the optical signal first propagates along the optical fiber output path 20 and reaches the reflection mechanism 30, where it is reflected, causing the beam propagation direction to change by approximately 90°. Subsequently, the reflected beam enters the beam expanding lens mechanism 40, where the microlens 401 collimates or expands the beam, resulting in an expanded beam output.

[0034] The expanded beam enters the second ferrule through the air gap between the two ferrules and is received by the beam-expanding lens mechanism 40 in the second ferrule. After being focused by the lens 401, it enters the reflection mechanism 30 of the second ferrule and is reflected again at the reflection mechanism 30, causing the beam to change its propagation direction again and enter the optical fiber 102 in the second ferrule, thereby realizing the coupling transmission of the optical signal between the two ferrules.

[0035] Because it uses a beam expander for optical signal transmission, the structure of this invention has a greater tolerance for lateral offset and axial gap between ferrules compared to traditional fiber end-to-end splicing methods, thereby effectively improving the stability and reliability of the optical interconnect system.

[0036] Furthermore, by integrating the fiber positioning mechanism 101, the reflection mechanism 30, and the beam expanding lens mechanism 40 inside the ferrule body 10 and adopting an integral injection molding structure, not only can the manufacturing process of the optical structure be simplified, but it is also conducive to the mass production of multi-channel array structures, thus making it suitable for the application requirements of high-density optical interconnect systems.

[0037] The above description is only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention and is not intended to limit it. Any other modifications or equivalent substitutions made by those skilled in the art to the technical solution of the present invention, as long as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present invention, should be covered within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A novel reflective integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure, characterized in that... It adopts the following technical solution: It includes a ferrule body (10), one end of which is provided with an optical fiber positioning mechanism (101), which is used to fix the optical fiber (102) and make the end face of the optical fiber (102) located at a predetermined optical axis position; the other end of the ferrule body (10) is provided with an optical fiber output optical path (20), and a reflection structure (30) is provided on the optical fiber output optical path (20). The reflection mechanism (30) is an inclined reflection surface, which is used to reflect the optical fiber output beam and change the beam propagation direction; a beam expanding lens mechanism (40) is provided on the output side of the reflection mechanism (30), which is used to receive the reflected beam and collimate or expand the beam output; the beam emitted by the optical fiber (102) is reflected by the reflection mechanism (30) in sequence and enters the beam expanding lens mechanism (40) to form a beam expanded output.

2. The novel integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure of reflective type according to claim 1, characterized in that: The insert body (10) is an integrally molded structure and is injection molded using transparent optical plastic material.

3. The novel integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure of reflective type according to claim 1, characterized in that: The reflection mechanism (30) is a reflective surface that forms an angle of 30°-60° with the optical axis, used to achieve a beam reversal reflection at approximately 90°.

4. The novel integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure of reflective type according to claim 1, characterized in that: The beam expander lens mechanism (40) is a lens array structure composed of multiple microlenses (401), and the multiple microlenses (401) are arranged in a linear array along the fiber arrangement direction.

5. The novel integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure of reflective type according to claim 1, characterized in that: The reflection mechanism (30) is an off-axis aspherical reflector structure.

6. The novel integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure of reflective type according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ferrule body (10) is provided with a mechanical positioning mechanism (103), which is used to achieve positioning and docking with the mating ferrule.

7. The novel integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structure of reflective type according to claim 1, characterized in that: The beam-expanding lens mechanism (40) is fixed inside the insert body (10) by the lens support structure (401).

8. A novel reflective integrated beam-expanding optical interconnect component, characterized in that... It includes: The first ferrule and the second ferrule are both reflective integrated beam-expanding optical ferrule structures as described in any one of claims 1-9. The two ferrules are aligned and connected by a mechanical positioning structure. The beam-expanding beam output from the first ferrule enters the second ferrule through an air gap and couples into the optical fiber in the second ferrule, thereby forming an optical signal transmission path.

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