PLC connector with PLC-fiber physical contact for multichannel receptacle PLC modules for optical circuit board integration

We describe a novel waveguide-fiber connector, namely, the planar lightwave circuit (PLC) connector, designed to realize a receptacle interface in PLC-based optical modules for economical optical circuit board integration. This connector can provide stable high-density multiple connection between a PLC and single-mode fibers. Moreover, this connector is inexpensive to produce because it utilizes physical contact (PC) connection between a PLC and fibers by employing the elastic force generated by the fibers themselves rather than by a ferrule and spring. We fabricated a duplex PLC connector and a multiple PLC connector for an optical transceiver module and multichannel optical modules, respectively, and successfully obtained low average connection losses of 0.2 and 0.33 dB, and high average return losses of 43 and 43 dB, respectively. In addition, we confirmed that the connectors had sufficient environmental durability. We also realized 2- and 34-channel receptacle interfaces in the transceiver module and a thermooptic switch module by equipping the modules with the duplex connector and three of the multiple connectors.