Fused-fiber-based 3-dB mode insensitive power splitters for few-mode optical fiber networks

Fang Ren; Xiaoshan Huang; Jianping Wang

doi:10.1117/1.OE.56.11.116101

1 November 2017 Fused-fiber-based 3-dB mode insensitive power splitters for few-mode optical fiber networks

Fang Ren, Xiaoshan Huang, Jianping Wang

Author Affiliations +

Funded by: Natural Science Foundation of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communication Systems Networks, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities

Optical Engineering, Vol. 56, Issue 11, 116101 (November 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.11.116101

Abstract

We propose a 3-dB mode insensitive power splitter (MIPS) capable of broadcasting and combining optical signals. It is fabricated with two identical few-mode fibers (FMFs) by a heating and pulling technique. The mode-dependent power transfer characteristic as a function of pulling length is investigated. For exploiting its application, we experimentally demonstrate both FMF-based transmissive and reflective star couplers consisting of multiple 3-dB mode insensitive power splitters, which perform broadcasting and routing signals in few-mode optical fiber networks such as mode-division multiplexing (MDM) local area networks using star topology. For experimental demonstration, optical on-off keying signals at 10 Gb/s carried on three spatial modes are successfully processed with open and clear eye diagrams. Measured bit error ratio results show reasonable power penalties. It is found that a reflective star coupler in MDM networks can reduce half of the total amount of required fibers comparing to that of a transmissive star coupler. This MIPS is more efficient, more reliable, more flexible, and more cost-effective for future expansion and application in few-mode optical fiber networks.

Citation Download Citation

Fang Ren, Xiaoshan Huang, and Jianping Wang "Fused-fiber-based 3-dB mode insensitive power splitters for few-mode optical fiber networks," Optical Engineering 56(11), 116101 (1 November 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.11.116101

Received: 17 May 2017; Accepted: 17 October 2017; Published: 1 November 2017

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