Expanded beam optical connectors and methods for using the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9507095-B2
Application number	US-201414283346-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 21, 2014
Priority date	Jun 27, 2013
Publication date	Nov 29, 2016
Grant date	Nov 29, 2016

Abstract

An expanded beam optical connector including a connector body, an optical element in the form of a waveguide or active device, a beam width altering optical lens, and a transmit/receive window. The optical element, the beam width altering optical lens, and the transmit/receive window are configured such that optical signals propagate between the optical element and the transmit/receive window via the beam width altering optical lens. The transmit/receive window includes an optical medium that forms an interior surface of the transmit/receive window, an optical transition layer between the interior surface formed by the optical medium, and a protective layer forming an exterior surface of the transmit/receive window. The connector body is configured to place the exterior surface of the transmit/receive window in close contact with a mating exterior surface of a mating transmit/receive window of a complementary optical device to define a close contact portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An expanded beam optical connector comprising:
a connector body, an optical element in the form of a waveguide or active device, a beam width altering optical lens, and a transmit/receive window, wherein:
the optical element, the beam width altering optical lens and the transmit/receive window are arranged and structurally configured such that optical signals propagate between the optical element and the transmit/receive window via the beam width altering optical lens, wherein the beam width altering optical lens alters a beam width of the optical signals;
the transmit/receive window comprises an optical medium that forms an interior surface of the transmit/receive window, an optical transition layer bonded to the interior surface formed by the optical medium, and a protective layer forming an exterior surface of the transmit/receive window; and
the connector body is structurally configured and arranged to place the exterior surface of the transmit/receive window in close contact with a mating exterior surface of a mating transmit/receive window of a complementary optical device to define a close contact portion on the transmit/receive window and the mating transmit/receive window.

2. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 1 , wherein the optical medium has a first refractive index, the optical transition layer has a second refractive index, and the protective has a third refractive index, the second refractive index of the optical transition layer being greater than the first refractive index of the optical medium and less than the third refractive index of the protective layer.

3. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 2 , wherein the protective layer has a refractive index of about 2, the optical transition layer has an optical transition layer refractive index of about √{square root over (3)}, and the optical medium has an optical medium refractive index of about 1.5.

4. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 1 , wherein the protective layer has a hardness greater than about 10 GPa.

5. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 4 , wherein the hardness is measured using the Berkovich method.

6. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 1 , wherein the protective layer has a thickness from about 500 nm to about 5 μm.

7. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 1 , wherein the optical medium is formed from glass.

8. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 7 , wherein the protective layer comprises a diamond-like carbon.

9. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 8 , wherein the optical transition layer is formed from silicon oxynitride.

10. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 1 , wherein the optical transition layer is formed from silicon oxynitride.

11. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 1 , wherein the close contact portion of the exterior surface of the transmit/receive window is substantially flat.

12. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 1 , wherein the optical signals have a wavelength λ, and the optical transition layer has a thickness of about λ/4.

13. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 1 , wherein the complementary optical device is a plug and the expanded beam optical connector is a receptacle.

14. The expanded beam optical connector of claim 1 , wherein the complementary optical device is a receptacle and the expanded beam optical connector is a plug.

15. An optical connector assembly comprising an expanded beam optical connector and a complementary optical device, wherein:
the expanded beam optical connector comprises a mating feature, an optical element in the form of a waveguide or active device, a beam width altering optical lens, and a transmit/receive window;
the transmit/receive window comprises an optical medium that forms an interior surface of the transmit/receive window, an optical transition layer bonded to the interior surface formed by the optical medium, and a protective layer forming an exterior surface of the transmit/receive window;
the complementary optical device comprises a complementary mating feature and a mating optical window having a mating exterior surface formed from a protective layer;
the mating feature of the expanded beam optical connector and the complementary mating feature of the complementary optical device are engaged;
the mating exterior surface of the mating optical window is held in close contact with the exterior surface of the transmit/receive window to define a close contact portion on each of the mating exterior surface of the mating optical window and the exterior surface of the transmit/receive window; and
when optical signals are transmitted through the close contact portion of the transmit/receive window:
the optical signals are communicated between the transmit/receive window and the beam width altering optical lens;
the beam width altering optical lens alters a beam width of the optical signals; and
the optical signals are communicated between the beam width altering optical lens and the optical element.

16. The optical connector assembly of claim 15 , wherein a force is transferred between the close contact portion of the mating exterior surface of the mating optical window and the exterior surface of the transmit/receive window, while the mating feature of the expanded beam optical connector and the complementary mating feature of the complementary optical device are engaged.

17. The optical connector assembly of claim 15 , wherein the mating feature is mechanical, magnetic, or both.

18. The optical connector assembly of claim 15 , wherein the complementary optical device is a complementary expanded beam optical connector.

19. The optical connector assembly of claim 15 , wherein the optical medium of the expanded beam optical connector is formed from glass, the protective layer of the expanded beam optical connector comprises a diamond-like carbon, and the optical transition layer of the expanded beam optical connector is formed from silicon oxynitride.

20. A method for forming an optical connection across an expanded beam optical connector and a complementary optical device, wherein:
the expanded beam optical connector comprises a connector body, an optical element in the form of a waveguide or active device, a beam width altering optical lens, and a transmit/receive window;
the optical element, the beam width altering optical lens, and the transmit/receive window are arranged and structurally configured such that optical signals propagate between the optical element and the transmit/receive window via the beam width altering optical lens, wherein the beam width altering optical lens alters a beam width of the optical signals;
the transmit/receive window comprises an optical medium that forms an interior surface of the transmit/receive window, an optical transition layer formed from silicon oxynitride bonded to the interior surface formed by the optical medium, and a protective layer forming an exterior surface of the transmit/receive window;
the complementary optical device comprises a mating optical window having a mating exterior surface formed from a protective layer;
the connector body of the expanded beam optical connector is structurally configured and arranged to place the exterior surface of the transmit/receive window of the expanded beam optical connector in close contact with the mating exterior surface of the mating optical window of the complementary optical device to define a close contact portion on the exterior surface of the trans

Assignees

• Corning Optical Communications LLC

Inventors

• Benjamin Seldon David
• Modavis Robert Adam

Classifications

• G02B6/3849

  using mechanical protective elements, e.g. caps, hoods, sealing membranes (G02B6/3816 takes precedence; provisionally see H01R13/44) · CPC title

• G02B6/4292

  the light guide being disconnectable from the opto-electronic element, e.g. mutually self aligning arrangements · CPC title

• G02B6/4206

  Optical features (G02B6/4207, G02B6/421 take precedence) · CPC title

• G02B6/3853 Primary

  Lens inside the ferrule (lensed connectors G02B6/32) · CPC title

• G02B6/3885

  Multicore or multichannel optical connectors, i.e. one single ferrule containing more than one fibre, e.g. ribbon type (optical ribbon cable G02B6/4403, G02B6/448) · CPC title