Characteristics of an SC-type optical fiber connector with a newly developed pre-assembled ferrule

A new pre-assembled (PRE-ASSE) ferrule has been developed for use in SC connectors that simplifies and automates SC connector assembly. The PRE-ASSE ferrule consists of a zirconia ferrule, a rear outer shell, a coil spring, and a newly developed plate spring. The features are as follows: 1) The tolerance of the loss increment caused by fiber-cable pulling and bending is almost the same as that of a conventional SC connector. 2) It is possible to orient the fiber-core eccentricity. 3) The SC connector can be easily assembled manually. These features are achieved by the loosely coupling mechanism using the newly developed plate spring. The characteristics of this SC-type optical fiber connector are almost the same as those of a conventional one. >