Space-division multiplexing (SDM) has been intensively proposed in recent years to overcome the capacity limitations of the current single-mode fiber infrastructure and to increase the efficiency of optical transmission systems. Few-mode fibers offer the potential of transmitting several signals at the same wavelength over different modes of a fiber with one single core. In this paper, we demonstrate the potential of using few-mode fiber-based SDM systems for long-haul transmission. We analyze system limitations such as mode-dependent loss and Kerr-effect-based nonlinear signal distortions for different modulation formats and distances up to 3500 km. We find that mode-dependent loss poses the major limitation in the analyzed transmission system, masking most intermodal nonlinear interactions.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Rademacher et al. (2017) studied this question.