Optical connectors and variable losses in coupling multimode fibers

In this paper we discuss optical connectors, and address important optical and mechanical parameters that can impact the performance of optical connectors deployed in military avionics. A brief survey of fiber optic connector designs is given, and a general model for calculating multimode coupling losses is presented. The calculations are compared with experiments of a butt coupled and of an expanded beam optical system for multimode fiber. Good agreement is obtained. Conclusions about optical coupling are made