STR/03/027/MT

1
Polishing of Fibre Optic Connectors

L. Yin, H. Huang, W. K. Chen, Z. Xiong, Y. C. Liu and P. L. Teo


Abstract - This study reports the development
of high efficiency polishing protocols of fibre
connectors, by replacing the presents three step
polishing with two step polishing protocols, and
by using various abrasives as polishing medi-
ums, to achieve necessary geometrical and op-
tical qualities for physical contact transmission
using a commercially available connector pol-
isher. The study focuses on surface integrity of
the fibre and ferrule as well as other geometry of
the polished connector end faces covering the
fibre height or undercut, the apex offset, and the
radius of curvature. Optical performances of the
polished connectors were evaluated by return
and insertion losses. Finally, relationship be-
tween geometrical qualities and optical perform-
ances was established. This study shows that
the efficiency for polishing fibre connectors can
be raised by at least 30% by selection of suit-
able abrasives and grit sizes.

Keywords: Fibre optic connectors, Polishing,
Surface roughness, Fibre height/undercut, Apex
offsets, Radius of curvature, Return loss, Inser-
tion loss


1 INTRODUCTION

In the applications of fibre optic technology, the
fibre connectors have been playing a substantial
role to bring together and hold the two cores of
the glass fibre ends for communications. Among
the many types of connectors, the physical con-
tact (PC) type has emerged as the most popular
connector, capturing the vast majority of instru-
mentation applications [1]. The physical contact
connectors are designed to have a spherical
end face with the fibre at the highest point. On
connection, this allows the fibres to come into
intimate optical contact and compress slightly
for the optimum system performance over time,
temperature, and vibration. The quality of the
end face geometry determines the fibre-fibre
interface where a perfect contact without air gap
is expected over a long term or when intermated
with another connector. Therefore, it is critical
for finishing of a connector end face to obtain
not only surface integrity for the fibre and ferrule
and a reasonable radius of curvature of the end
face, but also a minimum fibre height or under-
cut over the ferrule and a small apex offset be-
tween the fibre and ferrule. Ideally, a polished
connector is expected to achieve a maximum
light transmission with a minimum insertion loss.
Practically, it is required to achieve of an inser-
tion loss of < 0.3 dB and a return loss of < -45
dB for the physical contact connectors [1].

Currently, mechanical polishing is used to pro-
duce large volumes of connectors meeting or
exceeding good optical and geometrical quali-
ties as well as keeping high level of consistency
from batch to batch. The polishing process often
involves rough polishing of the cleaved and ep-
oxy removed fibre connectors, intermediate pol-
ishing, and final polishing, taking at least 1.5 ~ 3
minutes for finishing such a process circle [2, 3].
This is expensive in consideration of the vast
needs of connectors in fibre communications.
Therefore, it is essential to develop the high effi-
ciency polishing processes for connectors.
Since fibre connector polishing involved abra-
sive machining of two brittle materials, the glass
fibre and the ceramic ferrule simultaneously, it is
likely to have different material responses to
polishing in respects to surface roughness, ma-
terial removal and form accuracy [4]. Further-
more, the lack of understanding of the relation-
ship between the geometrical and optical quali-
ties for connectors and the internationally stan-
dardized technical requirements for assessment
of these qualities [5-6] has led to confusion in
manufacturing fibre connectors.


2 OBJECTIVE

The primary objective of this study is to develop
high efficiency polishing protocols of fibre con-
nectors to achieve necessary geometrical and
optical qualities for physical contact transmis-
sion, using a commercially available connector
polisher. Considering the abrasive machining-
induced damage in machining brittle materials,
the present study focuses on surface integrity of
the fibre and ferrule as well as other geometry of
the polished connector end faces covering the
fibre height or undercut, the apex offset, and the
radius of curvature. For optical performance, the
polished connectors are investigated in terms of
the return and insertion losses with an optic loss
tester. Finally, we attempt to establish the rela-
tionship between the geometrical quality and the
optical performance.
Polishing of Fibre Optic Connectors

2
3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Physical contact fibre ends

The samples used in this investigation were the
commercially available, unpolished single mode
fibre connectors. The 125 m diameter glass
fibre was centered in the yettria partially stabi-
lized zirconia ferrule and exited at its endface.
The 2.5 mm diameter zirconia ferrule was keyed
in a mechanical assembly to hold the cable rigid
and aligned. The end faces were pre-convex,
spherically curved with the radius of curvature of
about 20 mm. The fibres were cleaved and the
epoxy was removed.

3.2 Apparatus for fibre connector pol-
ishing

The polishing experiments were conducted us-
ing a commercially available polishing machine
(8671X-6100 Series, Molex), as shown in Fig. 1.
The polishing machine had a timer ranging from
0 to 60 s, a constant pressure for polishing, and
a universal connector holder for 12 connectors.
An air cushion metal pad with the 12 circle or-
bits, and a flat metal pad and a flat rubber pad
were applied for polishing. The machine pro-
vided an orbital polishing motion, which was a
circular orbital oscillation. During polishing, each
connector rotated independently along its circu-
lar orbit of a 17.5 mm diameter at a speed of 15
rpm; meanwhile it spun itself at a speed of 285
rpm. Disposable, self-adhesive polishing films of
SiC with grit sizes of 3 m and 5 m, alumina
with grits of 0.05 m and 0.5 m, and diamond
with grits of 0.1 m and 0.5 m were selected.
Typical sizes and distributions of the polishing
films are shown in Fig. 2. The larger sizes of SiC
grits are clearly identified in Fig. 2. The sub-
micro alumina and diamond abrasives are
shown in grit clusters in Fig. 2.




Fig. 1. The polishing machine.

5 m SiC 3 m SiC
0.5 m Alumina 0.5 m Diamond
0.1 m Diamond 0.05 m Alumina

Fig. 2. SEM micrographs of the polishing films.


3.3 Polishing procedures

Usually, polishing of the single mode PC con-
nectors involves three steps including rough
polishing, intermediate polishing and final pol-
ishing for 30 s in each step, or 90 s in total for a
polishing circle [2]. To reduce the polishing cycle
time and to increase the polishing efficiency, in
this investigation a two-step processes were
proposed and conducted for a total circle time of
60 s, maintaining 30 s for each step.

Before each polishing step, a pure grade of iso-
propyl alcohol was applied on the top of the pol-
ishing film as a lubricant. In each process, six
randomly loaded connectors were polished to
evaluate the repeatability of the results. The de-
tailed polishing procedures for the industry-
applied three-step processes and the two-step
processes proposed are listed in Table 1. Be-
fore and after each step, the fibre connector end
faces were carefully cleaned with alcohol and
optical tissues for further polishing or analyses.

3.4 Characterization methods

Before and after each polishing step, the con-
nector end faces were evaluated using a fibre
connector microscope and an optical interfer-
ence profiler (WYKO 3300, Veeco) to investi-
gate the polishing scratches, the surface rough-
ness for the fibre and ferrule, and the relative
fibre height or undercut. The fibre and ferrule
Polishing of Fibre Optic Connectors

3
Table 1. The detailed description of the polishing processes
Process

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3
A

3 m SiC film
Metal air cushion pad
Alcohol
30 second polishing
0.5 m alumina film
Metal flat pad
Alcohol
30 second polishing
0.05 m alumina film
Rubber flat pad
Alcohol
30 second polishing
B

3 m SiC film
Metal air cushion pad
Alcohol
30 second polishing
0.1 m diamond film Metal
flat pad
Alcohol
30 second polishing
0.05 m alumina film Rubber
flat pad
Alcohol
30 second polishing
C

5 m SiC film
Metal air cushion pad
Alcohol
30 second polishing
0.1 m diamond film Metal
flat pad
Alcohol
30 second polishing

D

5 m SiC film
Metal air cushion pad
Alcohol
30 second polishing
0.1 m diamond film Rubber
flat pad
Alcohol
30 second polishing

E
3 m SiC film
Metal air cushion pad
Alcohol
0.5 m diamond film Metal
flat pad
Alcohol

surface roughness in terms of the arithmetic
average roughness (R
a
) was measured using a
vertical scanning interferometry (VSI) in a
measured area of 185 243 m
2
covering the
fibre region of the end face. The relative fibre
height or undercut is evaluated using the vertical
distance of the highest point of a fibre end face
to the epoxy between the fibre and ferrule. The
mean values and the standard deviations of
these measurements were determined from the
six connector end faces studied in each step
polishing.

The Wyko optical interferometer lacks the func-
tions for fibre array and precision alignment and
for multiple parameter measurements acquired
in geometrical quality assessment. Therefore,
the final geometry quality for the polished con-
nector end faces was further and thoroughly
evaluated using an automated non-contact inter-
ferometer system for array-type fibre optic con-
nectors (AC-3005, Norland). The geometrical
parameters included the fibre and ferrule sur-
face roughness, the fibre height or undercut, the
apex offset, and the radius curvature.

The fibre height or undercut is defined as the
distance between the fibre end face and the
best fit of the spherical surface of the average
ferrule end face [7]. When a fibre is recessed
inside a ferrule, it is named a fibre undercut.
When a fibre protrudes above the ferule it is
called a fibre height. The radius of curvature is
defined as the radius of the best fit of the
spherical ferrule end face [7]. The apex offset is
the linear distance from the center of the fibre to
the apex or highest point on the best fit of the
spherical end face [7]. This can also be ex-
pressed as angle between these two points,
namely the angular offset [7]. The former is des-
ignated as the linear apex offset [7].

The optical performance in term of the return
and insertion losses was measured using a loss
test set (LTS-3900, EXFO), which combines a
stable optical source, an optical power meter
and an optical return loss meter. The return loss
designates the total fractional power that is re-
flected from a test unit, which is defined as

Return Loss = -10 log
10
(P
in
/ P
back
),

where P
in
is the input power and P
back
the re-
flected power. The insertion loss is the amount
of optical power lost at the interface of two con-
nectors, which can be written as

Insertion Loss = 10 log
10
(P
i
/P
0
),

where P
i
is the initial power and P
0
the power
after the connector is applied.





























Polishing of Fibre Optic Connectors

4
4 RESULTS

4.1 Effects of polishing processes on
surface integrity of connector end
faces

The effects of polishing on the fibre surface
roughness R
a
are summarized in Fig. 3. After
the first 30 s of polishing, the surface roughness
values for the cleaved fibres of about 125 ~ 350
nm R
a
dropped to about 50 ~ 150 nm R
a
. It is
noticed that Processes A, B and E using 3 m
SiC films generated the better fibre surfaces
than those using 5 m SiC in the first 30 s pol-
ishing. After the second 30 s polishing, the fibre
surface roughness values were reduced to less
than 50 nm R
a
in all the processes. The coarser
fibre surfaces were generated in Process A with
the average value of 50 nm R
a
; the finer were
made in Processes B, C, D, and E with the val-
ues of 15 ~ 30 nm R
a
. For the third 30 second
polishing involved only in Processes A & B, the
roughness did make a significant progress from
50 nm R
a
to about 15 nm R
a
in the former; how-
ever, it improved very slightly obtaining about 15
nm R
a
in the latter. The results indicate that the
two-step polishing in Processes C, D, and E is
capable of achieving as a good fibre surface
finish as that obtained in the three-step polishing
processes A and B. It is therefore possible to
use the two-step polishing to replace the three-
step processes for improvement in the fibre sur-
face roughness, shortening the polishing circle
time from 90 s to 60 s.

The effects of polishing on the ferrule surface
roughness R
a
values are plotted in Fig. 4. The
initial ferule surface roughness obtained in the
cleaving and epoxy removal process can be
very rough with the maximum roughness value
of about 1900 nm R
a
. After the first 30 s polish-
ing, the ferrule surface roughness values were
tremendously diminished to < 75 nm R
a
for all
the processes. After the second 30 s polishing,
the ferrule roughness values dropped to < 20
m R
a
in Processes C, D and E, and to about 30
nm R
a
in Processes A and B. After the third 30 s
polishing in Processes A and B, it is observed
that the ferrule surface roughness slimly im-
proved to < 25 nm R
a
. It is thus concluded that
the two-step polishing of Processes C, D and E
is also more effective than the three-step polish-
ing of Processes A and B for finishing the ferrule
surfaces.

The effects of polishing on the relative fibre
heights or undercuts is shown in Fig. 5. The ini-
tial relative fibre heights after cleaving and ep-
oxy removing could be as high as about 12 m.
After the first 30 s polishing, the relative fibre
heights were reduced below 2 m in all the
processes. In the second step polishing, the
relative fibre heights in Processes C, D and E
dropped rapidly to about 0.05 m; however, in
Processes A and B, they just reduced to 0.2 m
and 0.15 m respectively. Finally, after 90 s pol-
ishing in Processes A and B, the relative fibre
heights diminished to about 0.05 m. The three-
step polishing processes A and B appear to
have disadvantages in reducing the fibre
heights.

Fig. 6 shows the optical views of the fibre end
face taken before and after each polishing step
in Process C. Fig. 6(a) is a typical image for a
cleaved and epoxy-removed fibre connector end
face. Fig. 6(b) is the image taken after 30 s pol-
ishing, in which many polishing marks and
scratches can be observed. Fig. 6(c) is image
taken after the second-step polishing, where no
visible scratches and damage can be seen.

Fig. 7 shows the two-dimensional and three-
dimensional optical interference images corre-
sponding to the optical images in Figs. 6(a), 6(b)
and 6(c), in Process C. Fig. 7(a) shows the es-
timation of the relative fibre height above the
epoxy of 5.8 m for the cleaved and epoxy-
removed connector end face. Fig. 7(b) exhibits
the estimation of the relative fibre height of
about 2 m and the polishing scratches after 30
s polishing. Fig. 7(c) shows the estimation of the
relative fibre height of about 50 nm and the
damage free end face after the second-step pol-
ishing.
Polishing Time (s)
-30 0 30 60 90 120
F
i
b
e
r

R
o
u
g
h
n
e
s
s

i
n

R
a

(
n
m
)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Process A
Process B
Process C
Process D
Process E
Polishing Time (s)
30 60 90 120
F
i
b
e
r

R
o
u
g
h
n
e
s
s

i
n

R
a

(
n
m
)
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
Process A
Process B
Process C
Process D
Process E

Fig. 3. Influence of polishing on fibre surface rough-
ness.
Polishing of Fibre Optic Connectors

5

Polishing Time (s)
-30 0 30 60 90 120
F
e
r
r
u
l
e

R
o
u
g
h
n
e
s
s

i
n

R
a

(
n
m
)
0
250
500
750
1000
1250
1500
1750
2000
Process A
Process B
Process C
Process D
Process E
Polishing Time (s)
30 60 90 120
F
e
r
r
u
l
e

R
o
u
g
h
n
e
s
s

i
n

R
a

(
n
m
)
0
25
50
75
100
Process A

Process B
Process C
Process D
Process E

Fig. 4. Influence of polishing on ferrule surface
roughness.


Polishing Time (s)
-30 0 30 60 90 120
R
e
l
a
t
i
v
e

F
i
b
e
r

H
e
i
g
h
t

(

m
)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Process A
Process B
Process C
Process D
Process E
Polishing Time (s)
60 90 120
R
e
l
a
t
i
v
e

F
i
b
e
r

H
e
i
g
h
t

(

m
)
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
Process A
Process B
Process C
Process D
Process E

Fig. 5. Influence of polishing on the relative fibre
heights.








50 m
50 m
50 m
(a)
(b)
(c)

Fig. 6. Optical images of a connector end face pol-
ished in Process C. (a) Before polishing, (b) After the
first-step polishing, and (c) After the second-step pol-
ishing.








Polishing of Fibre Optic Connectors

6



Fig. 7. Corresponding optical interference images of
the connector end face shown in Fig. 6, demonstrat-
ing the two- and three-dimensional views, and the
relative fibre height assessment. (a) Before polishing.




Fig. 7(b). The first-step polished connector end face.



Fig. 7(c). The second-step polished connector end
face.


4.2 Geometrical quality assessment for
polished fibre connectors

The fibre and ferrule surface roughness R
a
val-
ues of the polished fibre connectors were also
assessed using an automated non-contact inter-
ferometer system for array-type fibre optic con-
nectors. The fibre surface roughness values
were smaller than 20 nm R
a
in Processes A, B,
C, and E and smaller than 30 nm in Process D.
The ferrule surface roughness values are
smaller than 20 nm R
a
in either the two-step or
three-step polishing processes. It indicates that
suitable selection of polishing films and grit
sizes enables the achievement of a good sur-
face finish for both fibres and ferrules and the
reduction of polishing time.

The fibre heights/undercuts for the polished fibre
connectors measured using the automated non-
contact interferometer system are summarized
in Fig. 8. In Processes A, B, and C, the fibres
are protruded above the ferrules with the fibre
heights of smaller than 75 nm. In Processes D
and E, the fibres are either recessed below the
ferrules or protruded above the ferules within a
range of 25 nm for either case. In terms of the
fibre heights or undercuts, it is also comparable
for the two-step polishing in Processes C, D and
Polishing of Fibre Optic Connectors

7
E with the three-step polishing in Processes A
and B.

F
i
b
e
r

H
e
i
g
h
t
/
U
n
d
e
r
c
u
t

(
n
m
)
-100
-50
0
50
100
A B C D E
Process

Fig. 8. Fibre heights/undercuts of the polished con-
nectors measured with an automatic non-contact in-
terferometer system.


The radius of curvature of the polished fibre
connectors measured using the automated non-
contact interferometer system is shown in Fig. 9.
The ranges of the radius of curvature generated
in Processes A, B, and C are about 20 ~ 75 mm.
In Process D, the radius of curvature is about 20
mm with a very small variation. However, in
Process E, the radii of curvature oddly ranged
from about 50 ~ 250 mm, which were about 4
times larger than those obtained in the three-
step polishing in Processes A and B. These in-
dicate that the two-step polishing in Processes
C and D, excepting Process E, are comparable
in regards to the radii of curvature of the pol-
ished connector end faces.

Process
R
a
d
i
u
s

o
f

C
u
r
v
a
t
u
r
e

(
m
m
)

0
50
100
150
200
250
A B C D E

Fig. 9. Radii of curvature of the polished connectors
measured with an automatic non-contact interferome-
ter system


The linear and angular apex offset values for the
polished connectors measured using the auto-
mated non-contact interferometer system are
plotted in Figs. 10(a) and 10(b), respectively.
The linear apex offsets of smaller than 150 m
and the angular apex offsets of smaller 0.2 de-
gree are generated in Processes A, B, and C. In
Process D, the linear and angular offsets are
smallest, 30 m and 0.15 degree, respectively.
In Process E, however, both the linear and an-
gular apex offsets increased significantly to 600
m and 0.45 degree, respectively. These indi-
cate that the different two-step polishing proc-
esses could generate either better or worse
apex offsets than those obtained in the three-
step polishing processes.

Process
L
i
n
e
a
r

A
p
e
x

O
f
f
s
e
t

(

m
) )) )
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
A B C D E
Process
A
n
g
u
l
a
r

A
p
e
x

O
f
f
s
e
t

(
d
e
g
r
e
e
)
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
A B C D E
(a)
(b)

Fig. 10. (a) Linear and (b) angular apex offsets of the
polished connectors assessed with an automatic non-
contact interferometer system.


4.3 Optical quality assessment for pol-
ished connectors

The corresponding return losses for the polished
connectors are given in Fig. 11(a). For the con-
nectors polished in Processes A, B, C and D,
the return loss values are all smaller than the
critical value of 45 dB. In Process E, however,
the return loss values are larger than 45 dB
and even the two are greater than -20 dB, indi-
cating that a high apex offset could cause more
return losses for the polished connectors. The
corresponding insertion losses for the polished
connectors are plotted in Fig. 11(b), suggesting
Polishing of Fibre Optic Connectors

8
that the insertion losses achieved using in all the
polishing processes are smaller than the re-
quired value of 0.3 dB.

Process
I
n
s
e
r
t
i
o
n

L
o
s
s

(
d
B
)
0.0
0.3
0.6
A B C D E
(a)
(b)
Processes
B
a
c
k
r
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

(
d
B
)
-60
-45
-30
-15
0
A B C D E

Fig. 11. Optical performance of the polished connec-
tors. (a) Return loss and (b) Insertion loss.


5 CONCLUSIONS

The following conclusions are drawn from the
present investigation on the polishing processes
and the assessment of geometrical quality and
optical performance of the polished fibre optic
connectors.

The efficiency for polishing the physical con-
tact connectors having the return loss of < -
45 dB and the insertion loss < 0.3 dB can be
raised by at least 30%, involving two-step
polishing and consuming 1 minute circle
time, by selection of suitable abrasives and
grit sizes.

The high linear and angular apex offsets of
the polished connector end faces could sig-
nificantly deteriorate the optical quality, es-
pecially the return loss.

The relationship between the geometrical
quality and optical quality for the polished
connectors has been established. The fibre
and ferrule surface roughness Ra values of
< 30 nm, the fibre height or undercut of 25
~ 75 nm, the radius of curvature of 10 75
mm, the linear apex offset of < 150 m and
angular apex offset of < 0.2 degree appear
to be acceptable for the physical contact fi-
bre connectors.


6 INDUSTRIAL SIGNIFICANCE

The current research has developed a high effi-
ciency polishing processes for single mode
physical contact connectors. The polishing pro-
tocols can be applied in optic fibre industry for
mass production of connectors.


REFERENCES

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Series, Molex, Illinois, (2001).
[3] OFL-12 Series OFL-126001 & PFL0127001
Mass Production Polisher Instruction Man-
ual, Seiko Instruments Inc., Chiba, (1995).
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216-222, (1988).
[7] TIA Standard, Telecommunications Industry
Association, Arlington, VA, USA, (2002).