MULTI-CHANNEL OPTICAL CONNECTOR WITH COUPLING LENSES

摘要

Optical connectors are provided for connecting sets of optical waveguides (110), such as optical fiber ribbons to each other, to printed circuit boards, or to backplanes. The provided connectors include a waveguide alignment member (105) for receiving and aligning a plurality of optical waveguides (110) such that central light rays of light exiting the plurality of optical waveguides propagate along a same incident direction (115) in a same incident plane XY. The optical connectors also include a light redirecting side that comprises a plurality of segments (130) forming a row of segments (130a, 130b,...), each segment corresponding to a different optical waveguide. A first segment (130a) redirects light along a first redirected direction (140a) and a second segment (130b) redirects light along a second redirected direction (140b) different from the first redirected direction. Other segments redirect light to either a first redirected direction or a second redirected direction. The light is redirected to two or more rows of optical lenses (150). Also provided is a cable assembly that includes a provided connector and a plurality of optical waveguides permanently attached to the connector.