A ferrule for an optical fiber connector has an external surface for alignment with a complementary surface of an alignment sleeve (i.e., the inside surface of a generally cylindrical or tubular sleeve). The external surface of the ferrule is generally cylindrical, having a sectional contact surface profile that is generally oval in shape. More specifically, a plurality of points of contact between the ferrule and the sleeve are defined along a curve in cross-section, wherein the center of curvature at each of the contact points along this contact point curve (i.e., the curve containing contact points that contribute to alignment) does not lie in the plane of the axis of the array of optical fibers.

Disclosed is an optical connector, the optical connector being one of a pair of optical connectors connected to face each other along a first direction. This optical connector comprises a ferrule that holds an optical fiber, the ferrule exposing an end surface of the optical fiber from a ferrule end surface closer to the other optical connector in the first direction, and a ferrule cap that covers the ferrule. The ferrule cap has a light transmission portion through which a light path extending from the end surface of the optical fiber is made to pass. An end of the ferrule cap except for the light transmission portion is positioned closer to the other optical connector with respect to the end surface of the optical fiber and the light transmission portion in the first direction.

A multicore optical connector includes: a ferrule in which a plurality of optical fibers with lenses are arranged and held, the optical fibers with lenses having GRIN lenses fused to tips of optical fibers; and a coupling member which couples a pair of the ferrules so that the ferrules oppose each other in a non-contact state and end faces of the ferrules are parallel to each other, wherein the ferrules each have an end face inclined by a set angle .sub.0 relative to a central axis Of, the GRIN lenses are arranged and held parallel to the central axis Of so that a center of arrangement Op is at a position eccentric by t relative to the central axis Of, and the optical fibers with lenses held by the pair of the ferrules have end faces of the GRIN lenses inclined along the end faces of the ferrules.

A ferrule for an optical fiber connector has an external surface for alignment with a complementary surface of an alignment sleeve (i.e., the inside surface of a generally cylindrical or tubular sleeve). The external surface of the ferrule is generally cylindrical, having a sectional contact surface profile that is generally oval in shape. More specifically, a plurality of points of contact between the ferrule and the sleeve are defined along a curve in cross-section, wherein the center of curvature at each of the contact points along this contact point curve (i.e., the curve containing contact points that contribute to alignment) does not lie in the plane of the axis of the array of optical fibers.

A parallel optical fiber angled coupling component, which is used for parallel coupling of optical signal between the optical fiber array and the laser array, comprises an optical fiber positioning substrate, a cover plate and a plurality of optical fibers. The end face of the optical fiber is polished into a bevel with an inclination of 42.5 or 47.5, and the bevel of the optical fiber is coated with a metal reflective film. This invention has the following beneficial effects: The end face of the optical fiber is polished into a bevel with an inclination of 42.5 or 47.5 to reduce inter-modal dispersion and increase the transmission distance of the optical signal in the subsequent optical fiber; the bevel of the optical fiber is coated with a metal reflective film, so as to ensure high reflectivity even if the bevel of the optical fiber is covered with glue.

An optical fiber connection system includes a first and a second optical fiber, each with end portions that are terminated by a first and a second fiber optic connector, respectively. A fiber optic adapter connects the first and the second fiber optic connectors. A fiber alignment apparatus includes V-blocks and gel blocks. Each of the fiber optic connectors includes a connector housing and a sheath. The end portions of the optical fibers are positioned beyond distal ends of the respective connector housings. The sheath is slidably connected to the connector housing and slides between an extended configuration and a retracted configuration. The sheath covers the end portion of the respective optical fiber when the sheath is at the extended configuration and exposes the end portion when at the retracted configuration. The end portions of the optical fibers are cleaned when slid between the V-blocks and the gel blocks.

An optical connector includes a ferrule, a first optical fiber retained in the ferrule, a clamp section including an insertion section where a second optical fiber is inserted, a solid index-matching material disposed on an end face of the first optical fiber on an insertion section side, and a projecting portion on the end face of the first optical fiber and that projects more toward the insertion section side than a central region of the end face. The clamp section centers and fixes the first optical fiber and the second optical fiber.

An optical interconnect device may include a multi-fiber connector at a first end of the optical interconnect device. The optical interconnect device may include an edge coupled connector at a second end of the optical interconnect device. The optical interconnect device may include a plurality of optical fibers disposed inside the multi-fiber connector and the edge coupled connector to optically couple the multi-fiber connector to the edge coupled connector, wherein the multi-fiber connector and the edge coupled connector rigidly interconnect to structurally support the optical interconnect device.

An interface for a hollow core fiber is provided that facilitates the direct pigtailing of the hollow core fiber to a port on an electro-optic device. The interface includes an angled face that attaches to the electronic device at an angle that minimizes optical power loss as light propagates from the electronic device to the hollow core fiber.

An optical receptacle, includes a fiber stub having an optical fiber with a core and cladding, a ferrule with a through-hole fixing the optical fiber, a bonding agent fixing the optical fiber in the through hole and a holder holding the fiber stub. The optical fiber is disposed inside the through-hole over an entire region of the optical fiber, and includes a portion in which a core diameter and a fiber outer diameter decrease gradually toward an end surface of the ferrule on a side opposite to a side to be optically connected to a plug ferrule. The bonding agent is filled into a space between the optical fiber and an inner wall of the through-hole.