Physical Contact Connection Between SC Connector and Raw Cleaved SM-Fiber End

We achieve a physical contact (PC) connection by using simple butt jointing between an SC connector and a raw cleaved single-mode (SM) fiber end without index matching material. We show that there are two requirements for a cleaved fiber endface for PC connection. One is that the fiber endface inclination is less than 0.6^°, and the other is that there is no mist on the endface. The cleaving condition is also discussed to allow us to consistently obtain an appropriate endface. A crack depth of less than 5 μm and a bending radius of 100 mm before breaking are the optimum values in the conventional fiber cleaving process. The average insertion and return losses are 0.14 and 51.1 dB, respectively, and these values are similar to those for a conventional SC connector.