Alignment Ferrule Assemblies for Evanescent Optical Couplers

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-aligning optical fibers to PLC waveguides during the packaging process before final operation. The fibers are temporarily positioned and aligned with the waveguides, then secured in place. This preliminary alignment action eliminates the need for post-packaging realignment and ensures sub-micron alignment precision is achieved during manufacturing rather than requiring such precision to be maintained through operation.

The patent uses an intermediary approach by introducing a packaging substrate as a mediator between the optical fibers and PLC waveguides. The packaging substrate provides a common reference plane that enables precise alignment of both components to it, thereby achieving precise fiber-to-waveguide alignment indirectly through the intermediary substrate rather than requiring direct alignment between the fiber and waveguide.

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-aligning and securing optical fibers to the packaging substrate during manufacturing. This preliminary alignment ensures that when connectors are later connected or disconnected, the fibers maintain their precise alignment position without requiring realignment, thus enabling easy operation without sacrificing alignment precision.

The patent segments the optical interconnection system into separate packaging substrates that can be independently connected and disconnected. Each packaging substrate contains pre-aligned fibers, allowing the connector assembly to be separated into discrete units. This segmentation enables easy connection and disconnection of individual connector units while maintaining the pre-established alignment precision within each unit.