In datacom and telecom applications there is a clear trend to move towards 2D fiber arrays. These allow the integration of several channels per surface unit, in turn increasing the level of miniaturization.
The fabrication of glass ferrules with high precision 2D hole arrays still faces important technological challenges. Laser-based micro-machining represents a very promising solution, which can effectively handle dimensions in the range of few microns to a few millimeters with resolution and accuracy below 1 µm.
Glass ferrules with 2D hole arrays enable dense multi-fiber connectivity for datacom and telecom transceivers, co-packaged optics, high-performance computing interconnects and multi-channel optical modules, where positional accuracy directly determines coupling loss.
What accuracy can be achieved for 2D hole arrays in glass?
Femtosecond-laser fabrication achieves micron-level hole positioning and diameter control, enabling low-insertion-loss alignment of single-mode and multi-mode fiber arrays.
Why glass instead of polymer ferrules?
Glass provides superior dimensional stability over temperature, low CTE and long-term reliability, which is critical for high-channel-count optical connectivity.
Related fiber optic applications: Discover more femtosecond laser glass micromachining solutions for optical connectivity, including Glass Fiber Ferrules and Photonic Connectivity.
Micron to sub-micron control on hole diameter, possibly down to 500nm.
Micron to sub-micron control on hole position, possibly down to 500nm.
Sub-degree control on hole cylindricity, possibly << 0.1°.
Minimum hole diameter = 5um.
Surface roughness inside the hole better than 100nm.
Best tolerances for ferrules with thicknesses up to 10mm.
Materials: fused silica and borofloat 33.
