The inventive configurable 
optical fiber polarization mode coupler is capable of providing a low-loss, high-
coupling coefficient interface with high accuracy and easy alignment between a plurality of optical fibers (or other optical devices) with a first channel-to-
channel spacing, and an optical device having a plurality of closely-spaced 
waveguide interfaces with a second channel-to-
channel spacing, where each end of the 
optical fiber coupler array is configurable to have different channel-to-
channel spacing, each matched to a corresponding one of the first and second channel-to-channel spacing, and that are preferably optimized for use with photonic integrated circuits, such as 
coupling to dense optical input / output interfaces, 
wafer-level testing, etc. The novel 
optical coupler array includes a plurality of waveguides (at least one of which may optionally be polarization maintaining), that comprises at least one gradually reduced vanishing core 
fiber, at least in part embedded within a common housing structure. Advantageously, at least one embodiment of the present invention comprises a physically untappable secure 
optical fiber link component comprising at least one optical 
fiber polarization mode coupler configured as a 
pitch reducing optical 
fiber array (PROFA) interconnect.