Patent ID: 7756382

Claim:
A splitter module comprising: a housing having a first end, a second end, and an opening extending therebetween; a splitter chip disposed within the housing; a plurality of optical fibers having a first end and a second end, the first end of the plurality of optical fibers being attached with respect to a first edge of the splitter chip for transmitting optical signals therebetween, the second end of each of the plurality of optical fibers having an outer coating thereupon with an outer diameter between about five and about twenty times larger than a diameter of each of the plurality of optical fibers at the first end, wherein the plurality of optical fibers are stacked in a plurality of horizontal planes at the second end to facilitate minimizing the overall width of the plurality of the optical fibers; and at least one input optical fiber attached to a second edge, of the splitter chip and being in optical communication with each of the plurality of optical fibers, wherein the splitter chip is configured for splitting a signal from the at least one input optical fiber into a plurality of signals for optical communication with the plurality of optical fibers.