Single Mode Pigtailed Ferrules with Connectors

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8° Face Angle GRIN23 Series Lens and SMPF01 Series
Pigtailed Ferrule Coupled with a 51-2800-1800
Mating Sleeve, Shown Below

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0° Face Angle GRIN29 Series Lens and SMPF02 Series
Pigtailed Ferrule Coupled with a 51-2800-1800
Mating Sleeve, Shown Below

Features

• AR Coating for 633, 830, 1064 nm, or 1310/1550 nm
• FC/PC or FC/APC Connector
• Designed for Easy Pairing with GRIN Lenses
• 8° or 0° Face Angle
• Ideal for Telecom Applications

Thorlabs' Single Mode Pigtailed Ferrules with Connectors are designed to be paired with our GRIN lenses to simplify coupling of visible, near infrared, or infrared light between a fiber and a free-space optical system. The borosilicate glass ferrule is pigtailed with Thorlabs' single mode (SM) fiber. Thorlabs also offers SM pigtailed ferrules without connectors in addition to polarization-maintaining (PM) pigtailed ferrules with connectors.

Pairing our selection of GRIN lenses with these pigtailed ferrules to collimate the output light satisfies many experimental needs, including coupling a diode laser into a fiber, focusing laser light onto a detector, or collimating laser light. Pigtailed glass ferrules are commonly used in optical isolators, switches, and circulators. The Ø1.8 mm ferrule is significantly easier to handle than an unterminated fiber end. The 1 m long, single mode fiber embedded in the ferrule is protected by Ø900 µm white Hytrel^®* furcation tubing and terminated with a narrow key FC/PC or FC/APC connector. The FC/PC connectors feature a yellow boot while the FC/APC connectors feature a green boot. 

These ferrules feature an AR coating centered at 633, 830, 1064 nm, or 1310/1550 nm. The coating lowers the reflectivity in the specified wavelength range to below 0.25%, reducing back reflections and insertion losses in the design wavelength range. In addition, all four coatings are available with either 8° or 0° face angles. The 8° versions maximize the return loss by back reflecting the incident light at a non-normal angle and are recommended for building collimators. In contrast, the 0° versions are easier to align but are only recommended for general fiber-to-fiber coupling. Our line of GRIN lenses provides an 8° or 0° face angle that is designed to match the pigtailed ferrules. Please see the Collimator Assembly tab above for all GRIN lenses that are compatible with our pigtailed ferrules.

Thorlabs also offers a complete selection of mating sleeves that ensure proper alignment of the cores of a connectorized fiber end. For pre-assembled GRIN lens and fiber combinations, please see our SM pigtailed aspheric lenses or our SM, PM, and MM jacketed GRIN collimators. If you do not see a pigtailed patch cable that meets your application requirements, please contact Tech Support and we will design a specialty cable to meet your needs.

*Hytrel^® is a registered trademark of DuPont Polymers, Inc.

Using GRIN Lenses to Collimate Pigtailed Ferrules

All pigtailed ferrules can be collimated using our selection of GRIN Lenses along with a 51-2800-1800 mating sleeve, available below. This collimator can be assembled by inserting the lens and ferrule into opposing sides of the mating sleeve as shown in the images to the right. Gently bring them into contact to ensure that the faces are parallel, then bring the lens and ferrule apart until the desired focusing is achieved. For ease of assembly, we recommend using our spring-loaded micro V-clamp or tweezers to handle these small cylindrical components.

The SMPF01 and PMPFX series of pigtailed glass ferrules have an 8° face angle which is compatible with the 8° face angle of the GRIN23 series of lenses. The SMPF02 series of ferrules have a 0° face angle which is compatible with the 0° face angle of the GRIN29 lens series.

Use the table below to select between our PM and SM pigtailed ferrules and the corresponding compatible GRIN lenses. Our PM glass ferrules are offered with FC/PC or FC/APC connectors while our SM ferrules are offered with both of these connector types or without a connector.