Patent ID: 6742937
Filing Date: 2004-06-01
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
A ferrule for securing and optically aligning a plurality of optical fibers, each optical fiber having an outer surface, the ferrule comprising:a) a ferrule base having alignment features configured to receive and align the plurality of optical fibers; b) a retaining element that covers at least a portion of the alignment features and secures the plurality of optical fibers against the alignment features, the retaining element having a contact surface that contacts the plurality of optical fibers, where the contact surface is able to conform to the outer surfaces of the plurality of optical fibers; and c) a cover element having alignment features, wherein the ferrule is designed to receive at least a first and a second parallel array of optical fibers, the first array being retained between the ferrule base and the retaining element and the second array being retained between the retaining element and the cover element.