METHODS OF AND APPARATUS FOR RECONFIGURING OPTICAL FIBER CONNECTOR COMPONENTS AND PRODUCTS PRODUCED THEREBY

摘要

METHODS OF AND APPARATUS FOR RECONFIGURING OPTICAL FIBER CONNECTOR COMPONENTS AND PRODUCTS PRODUCED THEREBY A biconic connector includes two plugs each of which terminates a single fiber optical cable and each of which includes a conically shaped end portion. The connector also includes an alignment sleeve having back-to-back conically shaped cavities each of which is adapted to receive an end portion of a plug. In order to minimize loss through a connection, it becomes important for the axis of the end portion of the core of the optical fiber in the conically shaped end portion of the plug to be coincident with the axis of revolution of the conically shaped end portion. This is accomplished by holding the plug in a fixture such that its conically shaped end portion is exposed and the fixture adapted to be turned about an axis of rotation. Images of light launched into the optical fiber are acquired in two planes at a plurality of positions spaced apart along a reference axis. The center of rotation of the turntable and the relative angle of the light emitted from the end portion of the plug are resolved from these images. A device is positioned over an end of the conically shaped portion of the plug and used to determine the angle between the axis of revolution of the plug and the axis of rotation of the fixture. The direction of the axis of the fiber core is then determined and the fixture is oriented to cause the axis of the fiber core to be parallel to the axis of rotation. Adjustments are then made to cause the center of the images and the center of the fiber core to be coincident with the axis of rotation. Subsequently, the end portion of the plug is reconfigured such as by grinding to cause the axis of revolution of the reconfigured end portion and the axis of the optical fiber core to be substantially coincident.