Arrayed Fiberoptics Corp. (AFC) has launched a new type of fiber-optic connectors.The “non-contact” (NC) fiber connector is designed to eliminates the physical contact between fiber end faces.

Typical optical fiber connectors use physical contact (PC), in which two optical fiber end faces are pushed together to eliminate the air gap between them and suppress the light reflections at the glass/air interfaces. The new NC connector includes an small, intentional air gap intended to prevent damage to the optical surfaces. Anti-reflection coatings suppress the light reflections at the glass/air interfaces.

Because the connector doesn’t require physical contact between the end faces that could cause wear with repeated use, AFC believes the new NC connector will last much longer, with no performance degradation even after many repeated connections. 

AFC asserts the patent-pending NC optical fiber connector offers the following features:

• Insertion loss of less than 0.1 dB

• Return loss of greater than 65 dB

• Minimal insertion loss variation (less than 0.01 dB, a factor of 10 better than current products, AFC says)

• Exceptional durability (thousands of repeated connections with no increase in insertion loss)

• Low sensitivity to dust and contaminants

• Guaranteed intermateability among connectors

• Cost competitive to existing connectors

• Same form factors as current connectors and same connector adapters.

The company says that every PC or APC connector there could be an NC or ANC connector counterpart. For example, LC/PC connectors could be replaced with LC/NC connectors, and angled connector SC/APC could become SC/ANC connectors.[1]

[1] Lightwave Staff, Lightwave. [Online]. Available: visit the Lightwave. [Accessed: 01-May-2012]