Expanded Beam Optical Connector Axis Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing expanded beam optical connectors face challenges in maintaining low optical insertion loss due to misalignment of axes, which can result in significant light attenuation caused by dust or scratches on the fiber core.
Innovation Solution
An improved expanded beam optical connector design featuring a rigid, hollow contact tube and a collimator assembly with a collimating lens, where the centerline axis of the contact tube is aligned with the optical axis of the collimator, ensuring that the light loss due to misalignment is minimized to less than 2 dB, with options to achieve even lower losses of 1.5 dB or 1.2 dB.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional PC optical connectors are used with physical contact between fibers, then alignment accuracy is critical, but dust or scratches on the fiber core cause great light attenuation and communication loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the fiber cores from direct physical contact by using expanded beam technology with lenses. The light is expanded outside the fiber cores and recollapsed at the receiving end, eliminating the need for precise core-to-core contact and making the connection insensitive to dust and scratches on the fiber surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces lenses as intermediary elements between the transmitting and receiving fibers. The lenses expand and focus the light beam, serving as a mediator that transfers optical energy without requiring direct fiber-to-fiber contact, thereby eliminating the harmful effects of dust and scratches.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If expanded beam connectors with ball lenses and metal blocks are used, then dust sensitivity is reduced, but machining accuracy of the block, pins, lens and fiber ferrule is required to achieve low optical insertion loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using a rigid hollow contact tube with specific geometric features (such as tapered sections or alignment features) that locally provide alignment guidance. This localized structural design ensures proper alignment of the lenses and fibers without requiring high precision machining of the entire assembly, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining low insertion loss.
3Ease of manufacture
If the contact tube axis and collimator optical axis are misaligned, then assembly is simpler, but significant light loss occurs due to axis misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the contact tube and collimator assembly such that the optical axis of the collimator is made coincident with the mechanical axis of the contact tube. This equipotential alignment ensures that light propagates along the same axis throughout the assembly, eliminating misalignment losses while maintaining simple assembly procedures through self-aligning features.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The improved design effectively reduces light loss caused by axis misalignment, ensuring a stable and low-loss optical connection by precisely aligning the optical axis of the collimator with the contact tube axis, thereby enhancing the reliability of the optical connection.
Implementation Method 1
a collimator assembly having an optical axis and comprising an optical fiber and a collimating lens, wherein the centerline axis of the contact tube is at least substantially aligned with the optical axis such that collimated light produced by the lens from light exiting the fiber travels though the contact tube
Data Source
AI summary
An expanded beam (EB) optical connector. In some embodiments, the EB optical connector includes: a rigid, hollow, straight contact tube having a centerline axis; and a collimator assembly having an optical axis and comprising an optical fiber and a collimating lens, wherein the centerline axis of the contact tube is at least substantially aligned with the optical axis such that collimated light produced by the lens from light exiting the fiber travels though the contact tube and the loss of light caused by misalignment of the axes is not more than 2 dB.