Abstract
We describe optical data transmission systems using homogeneous, single-mode, multi-core fibers (MCFs). We first briefly discuss space-division multiplexing (SDM) fibers, observing that no individual SDM fiber offers overwhelming advantages over bundles of single-mode fiber (SMF) across all transmission regimes. We note that for early adoption of SDM fibers, uncoupled or weakly coupled fibers which are compatible with existing SDM infrastructure have a practical advantage. Yet, to be more attractive than parallel SMF, it is also necessary to demonstrate benefits beyond improved spatial spectral efficiency. It is hoped that the lower spread of propagation delays (skew) between spatial channels in some fibers can be exploited for improved performance and greater efficiency from hardware sharing and joint processing. However, whether these benefits can be practically harnessed and outweigh impairments or effort to mitigate cross talk between spatial channels is not yet clear. Hence, focusing on homogeneous MCFs, we first describe measurements and simulations on the impact of inter-core cross talk in such fibers before reporting experimental investigation into the spatial channel skew variation with a series of the experimental results including a comparison with SMF in varying environmental conditions. Finally, we present some system and transmission experiments using parallel recirculating loops that enable demonstration of both multi-dimensional modulation and joint digital processing techniques across three MCF cores. Both techniques lead to increased transmission reach but highlight the need for further experimental analysis to properly characterize the potential benefits of correlated propagation delays in such fibers.
Highlights
Optical transmission systems and networks underpin the digital economy and form a key part of the worldwide communications infrastructure
The spatial channel skew is expected to impact the feasibility of performing joint processing and modulation across spatial super channels (SSCs) that may provide some of the benefits of SDM and is typically lowest for coupled fibers, at least between the mixed spatial sub-channels
We have investigated the fiber and transmission characteristics of homogeneous, single-mode multi-core fibers (MCFs)
Summary
Optical transmission systems and networks underpin the digital economy and form a key part of the worldwide communications infrastructure. Described as space-division-multiplexing (SDM), this research field refers to fibers that allow data transmission in parallel strands of SMF, a combination of multiple cores within a single cladding or multiple modes in a single core.. Combining few-mode cores in multi-core fibers has enabled single optical fibers with over 100 spatial channels and total transmission throughputs. A heterogeneous fiber was demonstrated in combination with an MCF amplifier for transmission of wavelengthdivision multiplexed (WDM) 16-quadrature-amplitude modulation (QAM) signals over 1600 km.. The relative uniformity of the homogeneous cores supports spatial super channels (SSCs) for shared transmitter hardware, digital signal processing (DSP) resources, and simplified switching.. We describe system experiments demonstrating new multi-core modulation formats and joint DSP18 that can exploit low spatial channels skew and provide additional benefits that may not be gained by other forms of SDM
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