The contact stress analysis of the ferrule-hub assembly used in the photonic device packaging

Fiber-to-the-premise architectures, by their nature, require numerous fiber connections for distribution of services to multiple home and business locations. The higher performance of angle-polished connection (APCs) in the outside plant (OSP) environment has widely used in FTTP network. The APC ferrule-hub assembly is an essential part in the device components, such as connectors and transceivers in the optical network. The defect modes in such ferrule-hub include epoxy leakage, contact surface crack, ferrule drop out, which result in device failure and optical signal disconnection. In this study, we first investigated on ferrule stress distribution which caused by the hub design and interference tolerance. The commercial available MSC.Marc program was used in this contact stress analysis. We further demonstrate that fixture and hub designs, apply force velocity and ferrule geometric imperfection can greatly alter the contact stress in the ferrule tip. Such optimal parameters were integrated into our automatic machine to show the good agreement between theoretical study and experimental work.