A new type of demountable plastic-molded single-mode multifiber connector

A demountable optical connector for a single-mode fiber-ribbon has been developed that uses a multi-V-groove molding method. The connector is easily installed for both a single-mode fiber-ribbon and individual monocoated fibers. The connecting loss due to errors in ferrule fabrication has been analyzed in detail. The fabricated five-fiber connector exhibited an average connecting loss of 0.5 dB and loss changes of approximately ±0.1 dB for repeated reconnections.