Impact of Geometric Input Fibers’ Core Positioning on the Adiabaticity of Photonic Lanterns

Abstract

Photonic lantern is a key device in space division multiplexing (SDM) system. The key challenge of a photonic lantern is mode scalability, which requires the taper length to increase nonlinearly as the mode number scales up. The traditional photonic lantern fabrication method requires stacking the input fibers into the hollow, low-index outer cladding before tapering. It implicitly sets geometric constraints on the input fibers’ core positioning. We propose a photonic lantern design with drilling preform and reduced cladding fibers to lift these constraints and make photonic lanterns more adiabatic. By analyzing the effects of loosening the constraints on the adiabatic requirement of a three-mode photonic lantern, we find further progress could be made to alleviate this adiabatic requirement. The optimal structure for our design is proposed and demonstrated through the beam propagation method (BPM). Our findings could help further improve the mode scalability of photonic lanterns.