Design and Characterization of a Novel Fiber Optic Coupling Device for Data Communication Applications

Many of the functions necessary for fiber optic coupling in data link applications have been incorporated into one opto-mechanical device called a lens/receptacle. The lens enables assembly of data links with reduced parts count, simplified assembly, lower cost, and streamlined testing with many performance advantages. The packaging consistent with this lens can accommodate data rates up to 600 Mb/s. This paper outlines the design of the lens/receptacle while highlighting the performance benefits of the package as a whole. Performance results presented are on pre-production prototypes operating at 125 Mb/s in the long wavelength region centered around 1330 nm.