Few-Mode Fiber Technology, Deployments, and Systems

Authors: Pierre Sillard^1, Kaoutar Benyahya², Daiki Soma³, Pu Jian⁴, Guillaume Labroille^4, Koji Igarashi⁵, Roland Ryf², Nicolas K. Fontaine², Georg Rademacher⁶, Kohki Shibahara⁷

¹Prysmian Group, Haisnes, France

²Nokia Bell Labs Paris, Nozay, France

³KDDI Research, Inc, Saitama, Japan

⁴Cailabs (France)

⁵Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

⁶National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Tokyo, Japan

⁷NTT Network Innovation Laboratories, Yokosuka, Japan

Abstract

Mode-division multiplexing (MDM) using few-mode fibers (FMFs) appears as a promising technology to increase fiber capacity by a few orders of magnitude and sustain the traffic demand for the decades to come. The potential of MDM lies in its ability to exploit multiple modes within a single optical fiber strand. Since 2011 and the first promising demonstrations, impressive progress has been made. In this article, we will show how the most recent advances in design and fabrication have improved the performance of FMFs and MDM systems, and allowed to turn research demonstrations into practical deployments.