Patent ID: 6859589

Claim:
A method of aligning first and second optical waveguides with opposable ends, each said optical waveguide having a core and cladding, said method comprising: providing a protruding alignment structure on the core of the opposable end of said first optical waveguide, said protruding alignment structure having a progressively decreasing diameter toward a tip thereof and being surrounded by an end face of said first optical waveguide; providing a recess in the core of the opposable end of said second optical waveguide for accommodating said protruding alignment structure, said recess being surrounded by an end face of said second waveguide; gradually bringing said opposable ends of said waveguides together to produce a variable gap between said end faces; monitoring the size of said variable gap to generate a feedback control signal as said opposable ends are brought together; and iteratively moving said opposable ends relative to each other in response to said feedback control signal to minimize the size of said variable gap and thereby bring said optical waveguides into alignment as said protruding alignment structure docks with said recess.