Study of fabrication reproducibility of two-mode optical fibers for mode division multiplexing with MIMO processing.

We propose a two-mode optical fiber (TMF) with a low sensitivity of differential modal group delay (DMD) to change of the core radius and the refractive index of the core in the index profile which are major factors for DMD deviation. This was done to achieve high reproducibility of fiber fabrication. The proposed TMF has a graded index (GI) core and a depressed inner cladding, and we optimize structural parameters. We fabricated different kinds of TMFs to confirm the low DMD sensitivity of our proposed fiber. The fabricated TMF showed that the DMD sensitivity to changes in core radius of the TMF was approximately 8 ps/km/µm which is 98% smaller than that of a GI-TMF without a depressed inner cladding.

2-LP mode few-mode fiber amplifier employing ring-core erbium-doped fiber.

A fiber amplifier supporting 2 LP modes that employs a ring-core erbium-doped fiber (RC-EDF) is investigated to reduce differential modal gain (DMG). The inner and outer radii of the ring-core of the RC-EDF are clarified for 2-LP mode operation of the amplifier, and are optimized to reduce the DMG. It is shown that using the overlap integral between the erbium-doped core area and the signal power mode distribution is a good way to optimize the inner and outer radii of the ring-core of the RC-EDF and thus minimize the DMG. A fabricated RC-EDF and a constructed 2-LP mode EDFA are described and a small DMG of around 1 dB is realized for LP01, LP11 and LP21 pumping.

Heterogeneous trench-assisted few-mode multi-core fiber with graded-index profile and square-lattice layout for low differential mode delay.

We propose a kind of heterogeneous trench-assisted graded-index few-mode multi-core fiber with square-lattice layout. For each core in the fiber, effective area (A(eff)) of LP(01) mode and LP(11) mode can achieve about 110 µm(2) and 220 µm(2). Absolute value of differential mode delay (|DMD|) is smaller than 100 ps/km over C + L bands, which can decrease the complexity of digital signal processing at the receiver end. Considering the upper limit of cladding diameter (D(cl)) and cable cutoff wavelength of LP(21) mode in the cores located at the inner layer, we set core pitch (Λ) as 43 µm. In this case, D(cl) is about 220.4 µm, inter-core crosstalk (XT) is lower than -40 dB/500 km and the relative core multiplicity factor (RCMF) reaches 15.93.

Two mode optical fibers with low and flattened differential modal delay suitable for WDM-MIMO combined system.

We propose two mode optical fibers (TMFs) with minimally low differential modal delay (DMD) slope which are suitable for wavelength division multiplexing and multiple input multiple output (MIMO) combined transmission system. We designed and fabricated three different kinds of TMF, nearly zero-DMD (zTMF), positive-DMD (pTMF) and negative-DMD (nTMF) with a graded index core and a depressed inner cladding. We confirmed that the fabricated zTMF has DMD of below 15 ps/km in the C band and the fabricated pTMF and nTMF have the same degree of effective areas. We also confirmed that a DMD compensation line with a length of 100 km composed of pTMF and nTMF can successfully achieve the best properties of low DMD in the C + L band and low mode conversion.

First demonstration of a scalable MDM/CDM optical access system.

A novel hybrid all-optical mode-division multiplexing and code division multiplexing architecture for flexible and scalable access networks is presented. We successfully demonstrate, for the first time, an asynchronous on-off keying modulation, 2 mode x 4 code x 10 Gbps transmission over 42-km link, using a set of single-mode and two-mode fibers, without dispersion compensation. The four phase-shift keyed optical codes are generated at a single wavelength, by a multiport encoder/decoder, and we use an optical mode multiplexer/demultiplexer in the remote node and at the central office. We also experimentally evaluate the mode crosstalk tolerance considering different access span distances for the LP(01) and LP(11) modes.

Method for estimating gain coefficient spectrum of erbium-doped fiber based on net gain-loss measurement employing 4I(13/2) level pumping.

The method for estimating the gain coefficient spectrum of an erbium-doped fiber (EDF) is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. The method employs a net gain-loss measurement that uses the 4I(13/2) level pumping of the EDF and the McCumber relation. A formula used to obtain the quotient of the gain and loss coefficient from the net gain-loss measurement is derived to determine the parameter in the McCumber relation. It is confirmed that the gain coefficient spectrum of an EDF estimated with the method coincides with the value estimated using a conventional net gain-loss measurement that employs the 4I(11/2) level pumping. The method is successfully applied to an erbium/ytterbium-doped fiber, for which it is impossible to perform a conventional net gain-loss measurement with pumping at the 4I(11/2) level of erbium ions because of the absorption transition of ytterbium ions from 2F(7/2) to 2F(5/2) levels.

Heterogeneous trench-assisted few-mode multi-core fiber with low differential mode delay.

We propose a kind of heterogeneous multi-core fiber (Hetero-MCF) with trench-assisted multi-step index few-mode core (TA-MSI-FMC) deployed inside. After analyzing the impact of each parameter on differential mode delay (DMD), we design a couple of TA-MSI-FMCs with A(eff) of 110 µm2 for LP01 mode. DMD of each TA-MSI-FMC is smaller than |170| ps/km over C + L band and the total DMD can approach almost 0 ps/km over C + L band if we adopt DMD managed transmission line technique by using only one kind of Hetero-TA-FM-MCF. For such Hetero-TA-FM-MCF, crosstalk is about -30 dB/100km at wavelength of 1550 nm as bending radius becomes larger than 15 cm, core number can reach 12, a relative core multiplicity factor (RCMF) is 15.7, and the RCMF can even reach 26.1 if we treat LP11 mode as two special modes thanks to the multiple-input-multiple-output technology.

Optimized graded index two-mode optical fiber with low DMD, large A(eff) and low bending loss.

An optimized two-mode optical fiber (TMF) with the graded index (GI) profile is designed and fabricated. We clarify an appropriate region of GI-TMF satisfying DMD = 0 ps/km, the large effective area A(eff), and the low bending loss for LP(11) at 1550 nm. According to our fiber design, GI-TMF is successfully fabricated to have the large effective area A(eff) of 150 µm(2) for LP(01) mode, and low DMD below 36 ps/km including zero in the C-band. We expect that our design GI-TMF is suitable for MDM and can reduce MIMO-DSP complexity.

409-Tb/s + 409-Tb/s crosstalk suppressed bidirectional MCF transmission over 450 km using propagation-direction interleaving.

We demonstrate bidirectional transmission over 450 km of newly-developed dual-ring structured 12-core fiber with large effective area and low crosstalk. Inter-core crosstalk is suppressed by employing propagation-direction interleaving, and 409-Tb/s capacities are achieved for both directions.

Large-effective-area uncoupled few-mode multi-core fiber.

Characteristics of few-mode multi-core fiber (FM-MCF) were numerically analyzed and experimentally confirmed. The cores of FM-MCF were designed to support transmission of LP(01) and LP(11) modes from the point of bending loss of LP(11) and LP(21) modes. Inter-core crosstalk between LP(11) mode was calculated to determine core pitch of fibers. It was confirmed that the fabricated fibers was two-mode transmission over C-band and L-band with the effective area of LP(01) mode of about 110 µm(2) at 1550 nm. The crosstalk of the fibers was estimated to be smaller than -30 dB at 1550 nm after 100-km propagation. The crosstalk dependence on wavelength was also measured and matched well with the simulated results.

12-core fiber with one ring structure for extremely large capacity transmission.

The feature of a multicore fiber with one-ring structure is theoretically analyzed and experimentally demonstrated. The one-ring structure overcomes the issues of the hexagonal close-pack structure. The possibility of 10-core fiber with Aeff of 110 µm(2) and 12-core fiber with Aeff of 80 µm(2) is theoretically presented. The fabricated 12-core fibers based on the simulation results realized Aeff of 80 µm(2) and crosstalk less than -40 dB at 1550 nm after 100-km propagation. The MCF with the number of core larger than seven and the small crosstalk was demonstrated for the first time.

Effectively single-mode all-solid photonic bandgap fiber with large effective area and low bending loss for compact high-power all-fiber lasers.

An effectively single-mode all-solid photonic bandgap fiber with large effective area and low bending loss for compact high-power all-fiber lasers is fully investigated. The pitch dependencies of effective area, bending loss, and effectively single-mode operation are discussed numerically and experimentally. The calculation results indicate that an effectively single-mode all-solid photonic bandgap fiber with an effective area of more than 500 µm(2) and a bending loss of less than 0.1 dB/m at a bending radius of 10 cm can be realized by choosing optimum fiber parameters. In a fabricated effectively single-mode all-solid photonic bandgap fiber with 48.0 µm core, the effective area of 712 µm(2), the effectively single-mode operation, and the bending loss of less than 0.1 dB/m at a bending radius of 10 cm are achieved simultaneously at 1064 nm.

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).

Low bending loss and effectively single-mode all-solid photonic bandgap fiber with an effective area of 650 µm2.

A large-mode-area all-solid photonic bandgap fiber with a seven-cell core and five high-index rod rings is investigated. Numerical simulations show that an effective area of more than 500 µm(2), a bending loss of less than 0.1 dB/m at a bending radius of 10 cm and effectively single-mode operation can be achieved simultaneously. A core diameter of 44.8 µm and an effective area of 650 µm(2) at 1064 nm are achieved in a fabricated fiber. Bending loss at 1064 nm is 0.09 dB/m at a bending radius of 7 cm. Effectively single-mode operation is also realized at a bending radius of 10 cm.

1000-km 7-core fiber transmission of 10 x 96-Gb/s PDM-16QAM using Raman amplification with 6.5 W per fiber.

We demonstrate 7-core fiber transmission of 10 x 96-Gb/s PDM-16QAM signals over 1000-km using distributed Raman amplification (DRA). DRA gain of 9-12 dB and equivalent noise figure of less than 1 dB are achieved in all cores. We also prove the feasibility of high power multi-core fiber transmission with per fiber power of 6.5 W.

Large-effective-area ten-core fiber with cladding diameter of about 200 µm.

A multicore fiber with two-pitch layout is proposed to overcome the trade-off between core number and a cladding diameter of a standard hexagonal layout with a single-core pitch. A fabricated ten-core fiber simultaneously realizes effective area of about 120 µm(2) at 1550 nm, small crosstalk, and cladding diameter of 204 µm. The crosstalk between the center core and outer cores is about 30 dB smaller than that between outer cores. The small crosstalk of the center core would help to keep the transmission quality of the center core at the same level as that of the outer cores.

UV-induced Bragg grating inscription into single-polarization all-solid hybrid microstructured optical fiber.

We demonstrate a single-polarization all-solid hybrid microstructured optical fiber with a UV-induced Bragg grating. A strong (∼20 dB) UV-induced Bragg grating was inscribed within the 30 nm-wide single-polarization window of the fiber, producing polarized Bragg reflection. The sharp band-edge cutoff allows a large polarization-extinction ratio of the Bragg reflection. The hybrid structure of the fiber enabled minimal UV exposure to the high-index regions and the location of the single-polarization window was maintained after the grating was inscribed.

Multi-core fiber design and analysis: coupled-mode theory and coupled-power theory.

Coupled-mode and coupled-power theories are described for multi-core fiber design and analysis. First, in order to satisfy the law of power conservation, mode-coupling coefficients are redefined and then, closed-form power-coupling coefficients are derived based on exponential, Gaussian, and triangular autocorrelation functions. Using the coupled-mode and coupled-power theories, impacts of random phase-offsets and correlation lengths on crosstalk in multi-core fibers are investigated for the first time. The simulation results are in good agreement with the measurement results. Furthermore, from the simulation results obtained by both theories, it is confirmed that the reciprocity is satisfied in multi-core fibers.

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.

Selective mode excitation and discrimination of four-core homogeneous coupled multi-core fiber.

Coupled modes of homogeneous coupled multi-core fiber are selectively excited and discriminated utilizing the difference of equivalent propagation angle. To quantatively evaluate the extinction ratio (selectivity) of adjacent modes, a new mode discrimination technique is developed by measuring the visibility of far-field patterns under small change of wavelength of the launching beam. The peak angles of discriminated far-field patterns show a strong correlation with the incident angle of the launching beam, which means that the coupled modes were selectively excited and discriminated.