01 June 2021

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. has developed AirEB™, a multi-fiber connector with an expanded beam that has optical performance tolerant to the contamination on the connector mating faces that contributes to cost reduction for massive fiber optic network operators.


Sumitomo Electric’s innovative technologies on fiber optic and precision molding enable AirEB™ to stay good in performance even in a harsh environment or less maintenance circumstance, nevertheless, the productivity and the accessibility of AirEB^™ requires little effort. This is good news also for a massive fiber optic network operator who has to bear an enormous cost for the cleaning of millions of connectors in their facilities.


AirEB™ has a lens structure at the end face of the connector, which expands the optical beam to be tolerant of foreign dust particles and keeps optical performance good with less frequent cleaning, or even without cleaning.


Advantages of the AirEB^™:

1. No need of the frequent cleaning, cleaning with ease.

●　An expanded beam can be tolerant of the contaminations on the end face.

●　A small gap between mated lenses prevent the particles from sticking to the end face.

2. Mass production friendly

●　Polish process required for a conventional MPO is not needed.

●　All optics in a straight path can make the alignment easy.

●　No special equipment is required for production.

3. Easy material management.
 
●　Simplex design, no gender, no conventional guide pins.

●　A few mechanical parts.