Multiple multicore fibre connector with physical-contact connection

A new multiple multicore fibre (MCF) connector is presented that employs the compressive deformation of the fibre in a multiple ferrule. This connector enables a physical-contact connection for all the fibre cores including the outer ones with a small compression force even if the connector end has manufacturing errors. The connector has been designed and fabricated for a 7-core single-mode MCF connector taking account of the relationship between the connector end structure and compression force, and it achieves physical contact connection with a connection loss below 0.7 dB and a return loss exceeding 54 dB.