Pitch Reducing Optical Fiber Array for dense optical interconnect

Standard single mode fibers, required to maximize communication speeds of avionic fiber links, have a mode-field-diameter (MFD) of 10 μm. Waveguides with such MFD can be spaced with crosstalk below -40 dB with pitch of 30-40 μm. However, standard arrayed fiber couplers are based on labor-intensive, one-dimensional (1D) v-groove arrays typically spaced by 250 μm. Thus there is a mismatch between available 1D fiber assemblies and two dimensional (2D) optical waveguides, 2D vertical cavity surface emitting laser arrays, and multi-fiber connectors, where the optical channels could be spaced much closer than 250 μm on a 2D pattern. We have developed a Pitch Reducing Optical Fiber Array (PROFA) that bridges the gap between standard optical fiber and photonic integrated circuits (PICs). This lensless subcomponent utilizes a “vanishing core” optical fiber concept and precision glass microforming capabilities developed at Chiral Photonics. The PROFA is a 2D coupler offering more than an order of magnitude enhancement in channel density compared to conventional 1D fiber arrays.