Single-mode fibres with low loss and a large transmission bandwidth are a key enabler for long-haul high-speed optical communication and form the backbone of our information-driven society. However, we are on the verge of reaching the fundamental limit of single-mode fibre transmission capacity. Therefore, a new means to increase the transmission capacity of optical fibre is essential to avoid a capacity crunch. Here, by employing few-mode multicore fibre, compact three-dimensional waveguide multiplexers and energy-efficient frequency-domain multiple-input multiple-output equalization, we demonstrate the viability of spatial multiplexing to reach a data rate of 5.1 Tbit s −1 carrier −1 (net 4 Tbit s −1 carrier −1 ) on a single wavelength over a single fibre. Furthermore, by combining this approach with wavelength division multiplexing with 50 wavelength carriers on a dense 50 GHz grid, a gross transmission throughput of 255 Tbit s −1 (net 200 Tbit s −1 ) over a 1 km fibre link is achieved. W ith the persistent exponential growth in Internet-driven traffic, the backbone of our information-driven society, based on single-mode fibre (SMF) transmission, is rapidly approaching its fundamental capacity limits 1 . In the past, capacity increases in SMF transmission systems have been achieved by exploiting various dimensions, including polarization and wavelength division multiplexing, in tandem with advanced modulation formats and coherent transmission techniques 2 . However, the impending capacity crunch implies that carriers are lighting up dark fibres at an exponentially increasing rate to support societal capacity demands 3 . To alleviate the corresponding costs and increased energy requirements associated with the linear capacity scaling from using additional SMFs, spatial division multiplexing (SDM) within a single fibre can provide a solution 4,5 . By introducing an additional orthogonal multiplexing dimension, the capacity, spectral and energy efficiency, and therefore the cost per bit, can be decreased, which is vital for sustaining the business model of major network stakeholders. To fulfil the SDM promise, a new paradigm is envisaged that allows up to two orders of magnitude capacity increase with respect to SMFs 6 . SDM is achieved through multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission, employing the spatial modes of a multimode fibre (MMF) 7 , or multiple single-mode cores, as channels 8-13 . Recently, a distinct type of MMF, the few-mode fibre (FMF), has been developed to co-propagate three or six linear polarized (LP) modes 14-17 . Driven by rapid enhancements in high-speed electronics, digital signal processing (DSP) MIMO techniques can faithfully recover mixed transmission channels 18 , allowing spectral efficiency increases as spatial channels occupy the same wavelength. State-of-the-art single-carrier FMF transmission experiments have demonstrated capacity increases in a single fibre by exploiting six spatial modes, achieving 32 bit s −1 Hz −1 spectral efficiency 17 . By using multicore transmissi...

No abstract

No abstract

Abstract-The

No abstract

No abstract

Transmission of a 73.7 Tb/s (96x3x256-Gb/s) DP-16QAM mode-division-multiplexed signal over 119km of few-mode fiber transmission line incorporating an inline multi mode EDFA and a phase plate based mode (de-)multiplexer is demonstrated. Data-aided 6x6 MIMO digital signal processing was used to demodulate the signal. The total demonstrated net capacity, taking into account 20% of FEC-overhead and 7.5% additional overhead (Ethernet and training sequences), is 57.6 Tb/s, corresponding to a spectral efficiency of 12 bits/s/Hz. ©2012 Optical Society of America

DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the "Taverne" license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement: