Method of polishing end face of multi-fiber optical connector

Abstract

To provide a method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector capable of eliminating recesses produced in core parts of multi-mode optical fibers. A polishing base is prepared, comprising a soft material having a Shore hardness of less than 30 and a film having a thickness of less than 75 μm, without including any polishing material, on said soft material, and further comprising a polishing material on said film. Next, a multi-fiber optical connector having a plurality of multi-mode optical fibers is arranged so that the tip of the multi-mode optical fibers come into contact with the upper surface of the film with a predetermined pressure. Next, the tip of the multi-mode optical fibers are polished by moving at least one of the polishing base and the multi-fiber optical connector while maintaining the contact between the tip of the multi-mode optical fibers and the upper surface of the film.

1 . A method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector, the method comprising:
 a first step of preparing a polishing base, comprising a soft material having a Shore hardness of less than 30 and a film having a thickness of less than 75 μm, without including any polishing material, on said soft material, and further comprising a polishing material on said film;   a second step of arranging a multi-fiber optical connector having a plurality of multi-mode optical fibers so that the tip ends of the multi-mode optical fibers come into contact with an upper surface of the film with a predetermined pressure; and   a third step of polishing the tip ends of the multi-mode optical fibers by moving at least one of the polishing base and the multi-fiber optical connector while maintaining the contact between the tip ends of the multi-mode optical fibers and the upper surface of the film.   
   
   
       2 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 1 , wherein the soft material is composed of a spongy porous substance. 
   
   
       3 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 2 , wherein at least the upper surface of the film is made coarse by a surface processing. 
   
   
       4 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 3 , wherein the polishing material is applied to said coarsened upper surface of the film. 
   
   
       5 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 4 , wherein the soft material is a sponge pad. 
   
   
       6 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 5 , wherein the soft material has a thickness of approximately 5 mm. 
   
   
       7 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 4 , wherein the film is a polyethylene terephthalate film (PET film). 
   
   
       8 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 7 , wherein the PET film has a thickness of approximately 25 μm. 
   
   
       9 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 4 , wherein the polishing material has an average grain diameter of 0.5 μm or less. 
   
   
       10 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 1 , wherein the first step comprising:
 a step of mounting a soft material having a Shore hardness of less than 30 on a polishing base of a polishing machine;   a step of mounting a film having a thickness of less than 75 μm without including any polishing material on the soft material; and   a step of supplying a polishing material on an upper surface of the film.   
   
   
       11 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 1 , wherein in the third step, the polishing base moves so that the center axis line of the polishing base describes a circular locus while keeping a rotation-preventing attitude. 
   
   
       12 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 1 , wherein in the third step, the multi-fiber optical connector moves so that the center axis line of the multi-fiber optical connector describes a circular locus while keeping a rotation-preventing attitude. 
   
   
       13 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 1 , wherein the end face for connection of the multi-fiber optical connector is polished into a flat surface in advance and the tip ends of the multi-mode optical fibers project by a predetermined length from the end face for connection. 
   
   
       14 . A method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector, the method including:
 a first step of mounting a sponge pad having a Shore hardness of less than 30 on a polishing base of a polishing machine;   a second step of mounting a polyethylene terephthalate film (PET film) having a thickness of less than 75 μm without any polishing material on the sponge pad;   a third step of supplying an polishing material on the upper surface of the PET film;   a fourth step of arranging a multi-fiber optical connector having a plurality of multi-mode optical fibers so that the tip ends of the multi-mode optical fibers come into contact with an upper surface of the film with a predetermined pressure; and   a fifth step of polishing the tip ends of the multi-mode optical fibers by moving at least one of the polishing base and the multi-fiber optical connector while maintaining the contact between the tip ends of the multi-mode optical fibers and the upper surface of the PET film.   
   
   
       15 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 14 , wherein the sponge pad has a thickness of approximately 5 mm. 
   
   
       16 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 14 , wherein the PET film has a thickness of approximately 25 μm. 
   
   
       17 . The method of polishing an end face of a multi-fiber optical connector according to  claim 14 , wherein the polishing material has an average grain diameter of approximately 0.5 μm or less.