A unitary optical ferrule is molded to include one or more elements for receiving and securing one or more optical waveguides one or more elements for affecting one or more characteristics of light from the optical waveguide while propagating the light within the ferrule. The optical ferrule also includes one or more first alignment features and one or more second alignment features that, when the ferrule is mated with a mating ferrule, each controls alignment of the ferrule with the mating ferrule along three mechanical degrees of freedom. The surface of the optical ferrule can be divided along the thickness axis into a first section and an opposing second section, wherein the first section of the surface includes the receiving and securing elements, the light affecting elements, and the first alignment features and the second section of the surface includes the second alignment features.

The present disclosure relates to an optical connector includes at least one optical fiber; and a lens element including at least one lens that couples light to an end face of the optical fiber. The distance FLh between the end face of the optical fiber and a vertex of the lens is expressed by the sum of the distance FL from the vertex of the lens to the focal point F positioned in a back face direction of the lens and the length δ between the end face of the optical fiber and the focal point F, and the length δ is longer than 10 μm.

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.

An optical connector assembly includes a spring, a ferrule, a first housing, and a second housing connected to the first housing. The ferrule includes a ferrule body and a lens. The ferrule body defines a fiber receiver configured to receive optical fibers of an optical cable and a first spring receiver configured to receive the spring. The lens is arranged to optically communicate light propagated by the received optical fibers for free-space optical communication. The first housing defines a first opening configured to slidably receive and guide the ferrule for movement along a first longitudinal axis. The second housing defines a second opening configured to receive the optical cable therethrough along a second longitudinal axis, and a second spring receiver configured to receive the spring. The spring biases movement of the ferrule in the first housing away from the second housing.

An optical fiber array includes a plurality of single-core fibers each having a core and a cladding and each having, in a distal end surface thereof, a beam expanding portion capable of expanding a mode field diameter (MFD) of light propagating in the core, and a ferrule having an optical fiber holding hole into which the plurality of single-core fibers are inserted, and an end surface in which the optical fiber holding hole opens. A cladding diameter of each of single-core fiber in the beam expanding portion decreases toward the distal end surface. The optical fiber holding hole has a tapered portion whose inner diameter decreases toward the end surface and against which the distal end surfaces abut.

An optical fiber connection structure includes: a multi-core fiber; a plurality of single-core fibers; a first lens having a focal length of f1 (mm); and a second lens having a focal length of f2 (mm). A core pitch of the multi-core fiber is P1 (μm), a mode field diameter on the first end face of each core is MFD1 (μm), a core pitch of multiple single-core fibers is P2 (μm), a mode field diameter of a light beam on the second end face of each core is MFD2 (μm), and the following formulas are satisfied.

(P1/P2)×0.9≤f1/f2≤(P1/P2)×1.1, and

(P1/P2)×0.9≤MFD1/MFD2≤(P1/P2)×1.1

A pluggable free-space photoelectric hybrid connector including a female connector and a male connector is provided. The female connector includes a first insulating substrate, metal elastic clips, a first circuit board, and a first optical communication module. An insertion cavity is formed at the front end of the first insulating substrate, and a first fiber mounting hole and first electrode mounting holes are formed at the rear end thereof. The metal elastic clips are mounted in the first electrode mounting holes respectively, where contact portions of at least one set of metal elastic clips are exposed from the top of the insertion cavity, and contact portions of at least another set of metal elastic clips are exposed from the bottom of the insertion cavity. The first circuit board is mounted at the rear end of the first insulating substrate and is electrically connected to the metal elastic clips.

A multi-fiber ferrule has lenses that have different prescriptions to disperse the light emitted from the multi-fiber ferrule. Alternatively, the lens for each individual optical fiber can be moved relative to the optical fiber or the optical fiber opening in the multi-fiber ferrule to cause the laser beam exiting the multi-fiber ferrule to be redirected into a structure that absorbs or blocks the laser.

A light coupling unit for use in an optical connector includes a waveguide alignment member that receives and aligns at least one optical waveguide. The light coupling unit includes a light redirecting member that has an input surface configured to receive input light from the end face of the optical wave guide. A curved reflective surface of the light redirecting member receives light from the input surface propagating along an input axis and redirects the light such that the redirected light propagates along a different redirected axis. An output surface of the light redirecting member receives the redirected light and transmits the redirected light as output light propagating along an output axis and exiting the light redirecting member. A curved intersection of the curved reflective surface and a first plane formed by the input and redirected axes has a radius of curvature. The curved reflective surface has an axis of revolution disposed in the first plane. The axis of revolution forms a first angle with the redirected axis which is non-zero. The waveguide alignment member is configured such that the end face of the optical wave guide is positioned at a location that is not a geometric focus of the curved reflective surface.

Fiber optic connectors and junctions between fiber optic connectors include ferrules terminating a plurality of optical fibers, the ferrules having a ferrule keying portion that rotationally aligns and constrains the ferrules with a guide keying portion of an annular guide tube. The ferrules may further aligned and constrained and aligned in a lateral direction with a ferrule sleeve in the junction of connectors. Each of the ferrule sleeve and the guide keying portion individually constrain movement of the ferrules in different dimensions, the guide keying portion rotationally aligning and constraining the ferrules, while allowing freedom of movement in a lateral direction, and the ferrule sleeve aligning and constraining the ferrules in the lateral direction, while allowing rotational freedom of movement.