A novel fiber optic interconnect technology based on injection molded V-grooves that uses the fiber's inherent precision to provide a reliable, robust and consistent optical connection is described. This technology has been expanded and applied to optical transceivers that can now achieve the same port density as that of current copper-based systems. Both the interconnect and the optical transceivers are shown to have performance levels similar to current ferrule-based multimedia technology. Testing was performed in an effort to accurately measure performance and qualify the connector design for field use. Test results for the interconnect met the performance requirements of Electronics Industry Association/Telecommunications Industry Association (EIA/TIA)568, which represent test standards for local area networks. Results of insertion loss and return loss performance of the duplex ferrule-less connector design were measured when 400 unique links were tested using62.5 μm multimode fiber. Mating durability performance tests were performed in which plugs were reconnected to the socket 500 times. A new generation of small form factor transceivers is discussed that were devil-oped using the same V-groove technology. Optomechanical tests are reported that show the performance level of these new transceivers is comparable to existing ST transceiver technology. # 1998 society of Photo- Optical Instrumentation Engineers. S0091-3286(98)00712-0 Subject terms: V-groove; ferrule-less; fiber optic connector; fiber optic transceiver; 3M VF-45 interconnect. Paper FIB-07 received Mar. 18, 1998; revised manuscript received May 22,1998 accepted for publication May 22, 1998.
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