Space-Division Multiplexed High-Speed Superchannel Transmission Over Few-Mode Fiber

Space-division multiplexed (SDM) transmission based on multi-core (MCF) or multi-mode fiber (MMF) emerges as one of the most promising solutions for overcoming the capacity limit of standard single mode fiber (SSMF). This paper places a focus on the MMF transmission for which a data rate of 100-Gb/s and beyond has been recently demonstrated through coherent-optical OFDM (CO-OFDM) and single-carrier (SC) superchannel transmission based on specially-designed few-mode fibers (FMF). However, to unleash the full potential of the high data rate SDM transmission requires brand-new research from device to system level. In this paper, we elucidate the overall system architecture, critical components and sub-system modules for SDM transmission and report the up-to-date demonstration of SDM superchannel transmission. We envisage that the combination of SDM and OFDM modulation could be a potential key route to the future Tb/s and beyond optical transports.