The experimental study on improved polishing method for terminating optical connector

The growing demand for a wide variety of data communication and telecomunication service requires interconnection devices, such as fiber optic connectors, cable assemblies, and adapters. The strong demands for high performance and cost reduction of these components are thus arising. To ensure connector performance in actual use, several process parameters related to geometric and optical characteristics of the connector must be thoroughly understood during the manufacturing stage. This paper describes an improved polishing technique, which greatly saves production cost and polishing time. A suggested grinding profile for each step is also presented to extend the lifetime cycle on lapping films. The less the number of polishing process involve, the less the geometric imperfection it can produce. By a proper choice of rubber pad hardness and processing conditions, we are able to obtain fiber connectors with 90% overall yield using two-step process. [DOI: 10.1115/1.2927438]