Mass insertion of optical fibers to active area device

Abstract

A multi-fiber ferrule has an opening in a rear portion to receive a plurality of optical fibers in one or more bundles, a plurality optical fiber bundle supporting structures having a rectangular cross section, and a transition portion leading to each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures from the rear portion of the main body. Each one of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures may also be joined to a tapered section at a back end of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures.

Description

MASS INSERTION OF OPTICAL FIBERS TO ACTIVE AREA DEVICEReference to Related Case

[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) to U.S. provisional application no. 63 / 553,302 filed on February 14, 2024, and also to U.S. provisional application no. 63 / 697,233, filed on September 20, 2024, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The traditional method of aligning optical fibers to either a photodectector array or a VCSEL array requires accurate placement of the optical fibers relative to the sources and detectors. This can be done with many optical fibers at once using active devices on dies and optical fibers in a multi-fiber ferrule such as an MT ferrule. In these configurations, there is normally one active device for each optical fiber and there is a significant cost to accurately align each optical fiber to the active device. The optical fibers are typically separated by 250 microns and typically there are 12, 16 or 24 optical fibers for one transceiver. The cost to align hundreds of optical fibers in this manner is not practical. A multi-fiber ferrule has been developed that allows for the grouping of a large number of optical fibers that can be simultaneously and colocationally aligned to a larger optoelectronic array, such as a charge coupled device (CCD), a photodetector array, a VCSEL array, a micropixel array, or micro LED array.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] According to one aspect, the present invention is directed to a multi-fiber ferrule that includes a main body having an end face at a front portion where a plurality of optical fibers can be terminated and a main opening at a rear portion from where the plurality of optical fibers are received into the main body in one or more bundles, a plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures having a rectangular cross section, wherein each one of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures is joined to a tapered section at a back end of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures, and a transition portion leading to each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures from the rear portion of the main body.

[0004] In some embodiments, the main opening has a width at the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures and a width at the rear portion, the width at the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures being smaller than the width at the rear portion.

[0005] In some embodiments, the main opening and the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures have no rearward facing surfaces.

[0006] In some embodiments, the plurality of optical fibers includes at least two bundles of optical fibers with each of the two bundles having 16 optical fibers.

[0007] In other embodiments, the end face includes front end portions of plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures arranged in two rows.

[0008] In some embodiments, the main opening is the only opening in the main body and the multi-fiber ferrule is shoulder-less.

[0009] In some embodiments, the plurality of optical fibers include a bare portion and a jacketed portion, at least some of the jacketed portion is secured within the main opening by an adhesive.

[0010] In some embodiments, the plurality of optical fibers extend beyond the end face at the front portion.

[0011] In some embodiments, the multi-fiber ferrule is mounted to a optoelectronic array such that the plurality of optical fibers are disposed no more than 0.1mm from a surface of the optoelectronic array.

[0012] In yet another aspect, there is a multi-fiber ferrule that includes a main body having an end face at a front portion and a main opening at a rear portion, the main opening at the rear portion receiving a plurality of optical fibers in at least two bundles, each of the at least two bundles having at least two optical fibers, a plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures, wherein each one of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures is joined to a tapered section at a back end of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures and each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures has a configuration that is the same as that of the at least two optical fibers received therein, and a transition portion leading to each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures from the rear portion of the main body.

[0013] In some embodiments, the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures are non-circular cross section.

[0014] In some embodiments, the main opening and the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures have no rearward facing surfaces.

[0015] In some embodiments, the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures are rectangular in cross section.

[0016] In yet another aspect, there is a multi-fiber ferrule comprising that includes a main body having a front end face at a front portion and a main opening at a rear portion, the main opening at the rear portion receiving a plurality of optical fibers in at least two bundles, each of the at least two bundles having at least two optical fibers, a plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures, wherein each one of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures has an opening at the front end face and is joined to a tapered section at a back end of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures, each of the openings at the end face accommodates more than 2 of the plurality of optical fibers, and a transition portion leading to each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures from the rear portion of the main body.

[0017] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present embodiments of the invention are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles and operations of the invention.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Fig. l is a perspective view of one embodiment of a multi-fiber ferrule according to the present invention;

[0019] Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of the multi-fiber ferrule in Fig. 1;

[0020] Fig. 3 is a cross section view of the multi-fiber ferrule in Fig. 1 along line 3-3;

[0021] Fig. 4 is a different cross section view of the multi-fiber ferrule in Fig. 1 along line 4-4;

[0022] Fig. 5 is a rear perspective view of the multi-fiber ferrule in Fig. 1 with the optical fiber bundles added;

[0023] Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a multi-fiber ferrule according to the present invention;

[0024] Fig. 7 is a cross section view of the multi-fiber ferrule in Fig. 6 along line 7-7;

[0025] Fig. 8 is a different cross section view of the multi-fiber ferrule in Fig. 6 along line 8-8;

[0026] Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a multi-fiber ferrule according to the present invention with a ferrule holder;

[0027] Fig. 10 is a perspective view of one version of a optoelectronic array that can be used with the multi-fiber ferrules in this application;

[0028] Fig. 11 is perspective view of the optoelectronic array in Fig. 10 with an adapter holding a number of the ferrule holders and multi-fiber ferrules from Fig. 9;

[0029] Fig. 12 is a partial cross section view of the optoelectronic array with the ferrule holder and multi-fiber ferrule installed therein;

[0030] Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a multi-fiber ferrule according to the present invention with a ferrule holder;

[0031] Fig. 14 is partial cross section view of the optoelectronic array with the ferrule holder and multi-fiber ferrule of Fig. 13;

[0032] Fig. 15 is another view of a partial cross section of the optoelectronic array with the ferrule holder and multi-fiber ferrule of Fig. 10

[0033] Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of a multi-fiber ferrule according to the present invention; and

[0034] Fig. 17 is a rear perspective view of the multi-fiber ferrule in Fig. 16.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment(s) of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

[0036] Illustrated in Figs. 1-5 is a first embodiment of a multi-fiber ferrule 100. The footprint of the multifiber ferrule 100 is based on Applicant’s TMT ferrule, which is described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 12,019,278, the contents of which are incorporated in their entirety. However, the front face or end face of the multi-fiber ferrule 100 in thefigures herein, and the internal configuration and structure is different than that of the TMT in the’278 patent, as well as from the MT ferrule, both of which have one fiber per fiber support structure with a corresponding circular cross section matching that of the single optical fiber received in each of the fiber support structures.

[0037] Applicant notes that the term “front” or “forward” means that direction where the multi-fiber ferrule would meet with another multi-fiber ferrule or device, while the term “rear” or “rearward” is used to mean the direction from which the plurality of optical fibers enter into the multi-fiber ferrule or fiber optic connector. In the present application, the multi-fiber ferrule 100 will therefore have a front and a rear, the front will be where the multi-fiber ferrule engages a device. Thus, in Fig. 1, the “front” of the multifiber ferrule 100 is on the lower left side of the figure and pointing out of the figure toward the lower left corner of the page. The “rear” or “back” is that part of the multifiber ferrule 100 is on the upper right side of the page and “rearward” and “backward” is toward the upper right and into the page toward the upper right corner of the page, where the optical fibers are visible.

[0038] The multi-fiber ferrule 100 has a main body 102 that has an end face 104 at a front portion 106 where a plurality of optical fibers 108 can be terminated. The plurality of optical fibers 108 enter, or are received in, the main body 102 through a main opening 110 at a rear portion 112. The plurality of optical fibers 108 are preferably received into the main body 102 in one or more bundles 114 for terminating. See Fig. 5. The main opening 110 is the only opening in the main body 102. There are no other openings, those in the end face 104 are not considered to be openings where epoxy may be inserted for curing the multi-fiber ferrule 100. The main body 102 also notably has no shoulders that are typically at the rear portion 112 in a traditional MT ferrule.

[0039] In the main body 102 are a plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120 that support the plurality of optical fibers 108, particularly at the front end of the plurality of optical fibers 108. See Fig. 3. The plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120 have a rectangular cross section (in this case a square as a particular rectangle) and extend between a front end 120a and a back end 120b . See Figs. 2 - 4. The configuration of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120 is preferably the same as the configuration of the bundles 114, and vice versa. In this embodiment, the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120 are illustratedas having 16 optical fibers 108 in each of the bundles 114. However, there could be more or fewer in each of the bundles 114 and the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120. There may also be more or fewer optical fiber bundle supporting structures in the main body 102. Thus, in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-5 by way of example only and not by way of limitation, the 16 optical fibers 108 in each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120 are arranged in a 4 x 4 square matrix or bundle of optical fibers 108. As a result, the multi-fiber ferrule 100 can hold a total of 64 optical fibers 108 at one time, which is higher than the typical number of fibers in one row of the TMT or the MT ferrules. See also Figs. 6-8, where there are two rows of optical fiber bundle supporting structures and more in each of the two rows.

[0040] Furthermore, each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120 is joined to a tapered section 122 at a back end 120b of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120. In the tapered section 122, there are four walls 122a, 122b, 122c, and 122d, and each of the four walls 122a, 122b, 122c, and 122d are joined to the back end 120b of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120. See Figs. 3 and 4. Each of the four walls 122a, 122b, 122c, and 122d are angled and cause the main opening 110 to have a smaller cross section (width and / or height) towards the front portion 106. As will be recognized, that narrowing of the main opening 110 helps to align the bundles of optical fibers 114 more easily to the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120.

[0041] There may also be a transition portion 130 leading to each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120 from the rear portion 112 of the main body 102. In the transition portion 130, the walls are also preferably tapered to further assist with the alignment of the bundles of optical fibers 114 and the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120. It should also be noted that with the tapering of the tapered section 122 and the transition portion 130, there are no rearward facing surfaces. Although some rearward facing surfaces may be needed for manufacturability, the size of the rearward facing surfaces should be minimized to allow for easy insertion of the fibers. That is, there are not surfaces on which the plurality of optical fibers 108 can be stubbed. At least at the periphery on each side of the main opening 110, the tapered section 122 and the transition portion 130 are continuous with each other and are in the same plane.

[0042] It is also contemplated that there be only one of the tapered section 122 and the transition portion 130. If there were only the transition portion 130, it would extend to the back end 120b of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120. Then adding the tapered section 122 to main opening 110 would mean that the tapered section 122 would extend from the back end 120b of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120 into the transition portion 130.

[0043] The plurality of optical fibers 108, as is known in the art, preferably have a bare portion and a coated or buffered portion, where the bare portion 108a is secured in optical fiber bundle supporting structures 120 and the buffered portion 108b is secured in the main opening 110. See Figs. 1, 5 and 6, where a portion of the jacketed portion 108b goes into the main opening 110.

[0044] Another embodiment of a multi-fiber ferrule 200 is illustrated in Figs. 6-8 has a main body 202 that has an end face 204 at a front portion 206 where a plurality of optical fibers 108 can be terminated. The plurality of optical fibers 108 enter the main body 202 through a main opening 210 at a rear portion 212. The plurality of optical fibers 108 are preferably received into the main body 202 in one or more bundles 114. See Fig. 6. The main opening 210 is the only opening in the main body 202. The main body 202 also notably has no shoulders that are typically at the rear portion 212 of a typical MT ferrule.

[0045] In the main body 202 are a plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 220 that support the plurality of optical fibers 108, particularly at the front end of the plurality of optical fibers 108. See Figs. 6, 7. The plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 220 have a rectangular cross section (in this case a square as a particular rectangle) and extend between a front end 220a and a back end 220b . See Figs. 7 and 8.

[0046] In this embodiment, the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 220 are illustrated as having 16 optical fibers 108 in each of the bundles 114. However, there could be more or fewer in each of the bundles 114 and the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 220. There may also be more or fewer optical fiber bundle supporting structures in the main body 202 as noted above.

[0047] The main body 202 has a transition portion 230 leading to each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 220 from the rear portion 212 of themain body 102. In the transition portion 230, the walls are illustrated as being rectilinear, but they may also be tapered to further assist with the alignment of the bundles of optical fibers 114 and the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 220 as with the first embodiment. There may also be a tapered section that is disposed between the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 220 and the transition portion 230.

[0048] Another embodiment of a multi-fiber ferrule 300 along with a multi-fiber ferrule holder 330 is illustrated in Figs. 9 and 11-12. The multi-fiber ferrule holder 330 is used to connect the multi-fiber ferrule 300 with the optoelectronic array 400 in Fig. 10. The optoelectronic array 400 can also be used by the other multi-fiber ferrules described herein (e.g., multi-fiber ferrules 100 and 200). The multi-fiber ferrule holder 330 could also be used with other multi-fiber ferrules that have a different configuration of the support structures and optical fibers. The multi-fiber ferrule 300 has a main body 302 that has an end face 304 at a front portion 306 where a plurality of optical fibers 108 can be terminated. In the main body 302 are a plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures 320 that support the plurality of optical fibers 108, particularly at the front end of the plurality of optical fibers 108.

[0049] The main body 302 has a different configuration at the end face 304 of the front portion 306. Rather than the end face 304 being the same as in the prior versions, there are two notched areas 332 at guide pin openings 334. The multi-fiber ferrule 300 and multi-fiber ferrule holder 330 are aligned to the optoelectronic array 400 using tapered pins 410 from the optoelectronic array 400 or the circuit board thereof (see fig. 12 for example) and the guide pin openings 334. Creating the notched areas 332 on the end face 304 allows for the multi-fiber ferrule 300 and the optical fibers 108 to be mounted closer to the optoelectronic array 400 than without the notched areas 332.

[0050] Figs. 11-12 show the optoelectronic array 400 with two adapters 402 straddling the optoelectronic array 400 and contacting only the printed circuit board 404 surrounding the optoelectronic array 400. The multi-fiber ferrule holder 330 and the multi-fiber ferrule 300 are inserted into receptacles 408 in the adapter 402. There may also be dust plugs 406 in those receptacles that do not have the multi-fiber ferrule holder 330 and the multi-fiber ferrule 300.

[0051] As can be seen in Fig. 12, if the two notched areas 332 were not present in the main body 302, the end face 304 would be elevated / further removed from the surface ofthe optoelectronic array 400. The systems such as this work better when the optical fibers 108 are about 0.1 mm from the surface of the optoelectronic array 400. The size of the notched areas 332 and / or the length of the tapered pins 410 in the adapter 402 can be coordinated such that the optical fibers 108 are 0.1 mm from the surface of the optoelectronic array 400.

[0052] Another embodiment of a multi-fiber ferrule 500 along with a multi-fiber ferrule holder 330 is illustrated in Figs.13-15. The multi-fiber ferrule 500 is similar to the multi-fiber ferrules 100 and 300 for its general configuration. Instead of having the optical fibers 108 stop at the end face (104) or having notched areas 332, there are no notched areas and the optical fibers 108 extend past the front face 504. As noted above with regard to the multi-fiber ferrule 300, without the notched areas 332, the end face 304 and the optical fibers 108 would be too far from the optoelectronic array 400. To get the optical fibers 108 closer to the optoelectronic array 400, the notched areas are not used with the multi-fiber ferrule 500 but rather have the optical fibers 108 extend past the front face 504 so that they are 0.1 mm from the optoelectronic array 400. See Fig. 14. In Fig. 15, the guide pin holes 534 accept the tapered pins 410 to repeatedly align the multi-fiber ferrule 500 to the optoelectronic array 400. The multi-fiber ferrule holder 530 has an extension 530a that gets held in the adapter 402 by a leg 414 when the multi-fiber ferrule 500 and the multi-fiber ferrule holder 530 are inserted into the receptacles 408. When the latch release 412 is pushed, the leg 414 is moved away from the extension 530a, and the multi-fiber ferrule 500 and the multi-fiber ferrule holder 530 are released allowing them to be removed from the receptacle 408.

[0053] Another version of a multi-fiber ferrule 600 is illustrated in Figs. 16 and 17. In this multi-fiber ferrule 600, there is a main body 602 that has an end face 604 at a front portion 606 where a plurality of optical fibers 108 can be terminated. The plurality of optical fibers (not shown) enter the main body 602 through a main opening 610 at a rear portion 612. However, there are no optical fiber bundle supporting structures in the multi-fiber ferrule 600. Rather, in this embodiment, the multi-fiber ferrule 600 is sized to receive 400 55 micron optical fibers that are funneled by the inside walls 614. The optical fibers have a bare fiber portion that is disposed at the end face 604 and a jacketed portion that is at the rear portion 612. At least a portion of the jacketed portion of the optical fibers is inside of the main opening 610 and thus inside the main body 602. Thejacketed portion is encapsulated by an adhesive to prevent the optical fibers from breaking.

[0054] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

IN THE CLAIMS:We claim:

1. A multi-fiber ferrule comprising: a main body having an end face at a front portion for terminating a plurality of optical fibers and a main opening at a rear portion from where the plurality of optical fibers are received into the main body in one or more bundles; a plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures having a rectangular cross section, wherein each one of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures is joined to a tapered section at a back end of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures; and a transition portion leading to each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures from the rear portion of the main body.

2. The multi-fiber ferrule according to claim 1, wherein the main opening has a width at the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures and a width at the rear portion, the width at the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures being smaller than the width at the rear portion.

3. The multi-fiber ferrule of claim 1, wherein the main opening and the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures have no rearward facing surfaces.

4. The multi-fiber ferrule of claim 1, wherein the plurality of optical fibers includes at least two bundles of optical fibers with each of the two bundles having 16 optical fibers.

5. The multi-fiber ferrule of claim 1, wherein the end face includes front end portions of plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures arranged in two rows.

6. The multi-fiber ferrule of claim 1, wherein the main opening is the only opening in the main body and the multi-fiber ferrule is shoulder-less.

7. The multi-fiber ferrule of claim 1, wherein the plurality of optical fibers include a bare portion and a jacketed portion, at least some of the jacketed portion is secured within the main opening by an adhesive.

8. The multi-fiber ferrule according to claim 1, wherein the multi-fiber ferrule is aligned to a optoelectronic array such that the plurality of optical fibers are disposed no more than 0.1mm from a surface of the optoelectronic array.

9. The multi-fiber ferrule according to claim 8, wherein the multi-fiber ferrule is included in a fiber optic connector aligned to the optoelectronic array.

10. The multi-fiber ferrule according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of optical fibers extend beyond the end face at the front portion.

11. A multi-fiber ferrule comprising: a main body having an end face at a front portion and a main opening at a rear portion, the main opening at the rear portion receiving a plurality of optical fibers in at least two bundles, each of the at least two bundles having at least two optical fibers; a plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures, wherein each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures has a configuration that is the same as that of the at least two optical fibers received therein; and a transition portion leading to each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures from the rear portion of the main body.

12. The multi-fiber ferrule according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures are non-circular in cross section.

13. The multi-fiber ferrule of claim 11 , wherein the main opening and the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures have no rearward facing surfaces.

14. The multi-fiber ferrule of claim 11, wherein the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures are rectangular in cross section.

15. The multi-fiber ferrule of claim 11, wherein each one of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures is joined to a tapered section at a back end of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures and extends rearwardly into the transition portion.

16. A multi-fiber ferrule comprising: a main body having an end face at a front portion and a main opening at a rear portion, the main opening at the rear portion receiving a plurality of optical fibers in at least two bundles, each of the at least two bundles having at least two optical fibers; a plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures, wherein each one of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures has an opening at the end face and is joined to a tapered section at a back end of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures, each of the openings at the end face accommodates more than 2 of the plurality of optical fibers; and a transition portion leading to each of the plurality of optical fiber bundle supporting structures from the rear portion of the main body.

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