Patent ID: 8727634

Claim:
An optical connecting structure, comprising: an optical connecting member configured to connect an optical element to other optical component, the optical connecting member comprising: a main body part having a first end on the optical element side and a second end on the other optical component side; a plurality of waveguide parts disposed in the main body part and extending so as to connect the first end and the second end; and a first fixing component configured to retain one end of each of the plurality of waveguide parts at the first end, wherein the first fixing component internally fixes the plurality of waveguide parts so that the plurality of waveguide parts are parallel to each other; and the optical element which includes a plurality of optical input/output (I/O) parts respectively having optical axes that are parallel to each other, wherein the optical element is connected to the optical connecting member so that the plurality of waveguide parts of a first end face on the optical element side of the main body part and the plurality of optical I/O parts of the optical element face each other, wherein the optical element is a multi-core fiber in which a plurality of ores are surrounded by a common clad, and the multi-core fiber is retained by an optical ferrule which is fixed by being positioned relative to the optical connecting member by a guide member.