Patent ID: 7435011

Claim:
A substrate for an optical fiber array having an optical fiber-aligning part at least one a top thereof, the substrate being formed by a drawing process, the optical fiber-aligning part being formed with a plurality of parallel grooves for retaining and aligning a plurality of optical fibers, wherein the optical fiber-aligning part is shaped such that, in a cross section perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the plurality of grooves of the optical fiber-aligning part, a top surface of the optical fiber-aligning part is recessed, a center portion of the top surface in a widthwise direction being most deeply recessed, with a depth of the recessed top surface gradually decreasing from the center portion toward both ends of the top surface in the widthwise direction, and wherein depths of grooves at the center portion are shallower than depths of grooves at both ends of the optical fiber-aligning part in the widthwise direction, the grooves being arranged such that the depths of the grooves gradually increase from the center portion toward both ends of the optical fiber-aligning part in the widthwise direction.