Trench-assisted Multi-core Fiber Research Articles

Achievable capacity improvement by using multi-level modulation format in trench-assisted multi-core fiber system

We evaluate the impacts of using multi-level modulation formats on the transmission capacity of the multi-core fiber (MCF) having trench-assisted index profile and hexagonal layout. For this evaluation, we utilize the spectral efficiency per unit area, defined as the spatial spectral efficiency (SSE). The results show that the SSE improvement achievable by using the higher-level modulation format can be reduced due to its lower tolerance to the inter-core crosstalk. We also evaluate the effects of using large effective area on the transmission capacity of the trench-assisted MCF. The results show that the use of large effective area can decrease this capacity due to the increased inter-core crosstalk and lengthened cable cutoff wavelength, although it can help increase the transmission distance. Thus, it is necessary to optimize the effective area of MCF by considering both the SSE and transmission distance. However, the results indicate that the effect of using different effective areas on the SSE-distance product is not significant, and it is not useful to increase the effective area of the trench-assisted MCF to be larger than ~110 μm(2).

下陷层参数对掺氟下陷层多芯光纤特性的影响分析

下陷层参数对掺氟下陷层多芯光纤特性的影响分析

Design and analysis of large-effective-area heterogeneous trench-assisted multi-core fiber

Based on the overlap integral of electromagnetic fields in neighboring cores, a calculating method is proposed for obtaining the coupling coefficient between two adjacent trench-assisted non-identical cores. And a kind of heterogeneous trench-assisted multi-core fiber (Hetero-TA-MCF) with 12 cores is proposed to achieve large effective area (A(eff)) and high density of cores. As bending radius becomes larger than 50 mm, the crosstalk value at 1550-nm wavelength of the Hetero-TA-MCF is about -42 dB after 100-km propagation and the A(eff) of this Hetero-TA-MCF can reach 100 µm(2).

A large effective area multi-core fiber with an optimized cladding thickness

The cladding thickness of trench-assisted multi-core fibers was theoretically and experimentally investigated in terms of excess losses of outer cores. No significant micro-bending loss increase was observed on multi-core fibers with the cladding thickness of about 30 µm. The tolerance for the micro-bending loss of a multi-core fiber is larger than that of the single core fiber. However, the cladding thickness will be limited by the occurrence of the excess loss on outer cores. The reduction of cladding thickness is probably limited around 40 µm in terms of the excess loss. The multi-core fiber with an effective area of 110 µm(2) at 1.55 µm and 181-µm cladding diameter was realized without any excess loss.