Optical fibers transmit information in the form of light pulses. When optical fibers are coupled to optical switches, photodetectors, other optical fibers, or any other optical devices, some of the transmitted light may be lost if the optical fiber mounts to the optical device in a position and at an angle that fails to capture the maximum illuminance of the transmitted light. One approach to solve this problem attempts to use a silicon chip having etched "V" shaped grooves and predetermined center-to-center spacings to position and mount the fibers to an optical device. Drawbacks to this approach are that the "V" shaped grooves cannot accurately position fibers in a two-dimensional array and may not be able to tolerate close spacings for the fibers. Another approach attempts to position and mount a bundle of fibers that are stacked in a two-dimensional honeycomb configuration. A drawback to this approach is that the position of each fiber is difficult to control.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds