Patent ID: 7474822

Claim:
An optical fiber collimator comprising: a housing comprising a ferrule receiving passageway extending therethrough, and a lens receiving portion which is disposed on the front end portion of the ferrule receiving passageway, and which has a central axis that is coaxial with the central axis of the ferrule receiving passageway; a spherical lens that is fastened to the lens receiving portion by an adhesive such that a center of the spherical lens is positioned outside the housing; and a ferrule inserted into the ferrule receiving passageway from the rear side and incorporated with an optical fiber whose front end surface is perpendicular to the central axis, wherein a transparent block having a refractive index that is substantially the same as the refractive indices of the lens and optical fiber is disposed between the lens and the ferrule so that the block contacts the lens, the ferrule, and the optical fiber, a refractive index matching agent having a refractive index that is substantially the same as the refractive indices of the lens and optical fiber is applied around a contact point between the lens and the block and around a contact surface between the ferrule and the block, a thickness of the block in the direction of beam transmission is set to be the same as the distance to a focal point of the lens from the rear end surface of the lens; and an outer diameter of the lens is greater than an inner diameter of an inner circumferential surface of the lens receiving portion of the housing.