Patent ID: 6905257

Claim:
An optical interface for a 4-channel opto-electronic transmitter-receiver module, said module having a module housing including at least one housing wall, an opening in said housing wall, a transmitter chip comprising a 4-diode laser diode array and a receiver chip comprising a 4-diode photodetector array, said transmitter chip and said receiver chip mounted in said opening; an optical head comprising a head body having a proximal face and a distal face, eight optical fibers extending through said head body, each of said fibers having a fiber end on each said face, the fibers ends on each of said proximal face and said distal face being grouped in two fiber end arrays, each array comprising four fiber ends evenly spaced from each other, said fiber end arrays being spaced apart from each other by a distance greeter than the spacing between adjacent fibers in said arrays, said head body secured to said module housing with said proximal face towards said housing wall and with each of said fiber end arrays in optical alignment with a corresponding one of said 4-diode laser diode array and said 4-diode photodetector array; and a 12-fiber optical transmission ribbon terminated at each of its opposite ends with a 12-fiber optical connector, the spacing between adjacent fibers of said optical transmission ribbon being even with the spacing between adjacent fiber ends in each of said fiber end arrays on said distal face, one said 12-fiber optical connector being optically coupled to said eight fiber ends of the two fiber end arrays on said distal face of the optical head body, such that eight optical fibers of said transmission ribbon are optically aligned with said eight fiber ends on said distal face and four optical fibers of said transmission ribbon remain unused for carrying optical signals to or from said module.