Researchers demonstrate the ability to multiplex and transfer data between twisted beams of light with different amounts of orbital angular momentum — a development that provides new opportunities for increasing the data capacity of free-space optical communications links.

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Terabit free-space data transmission employing orbital angular momentum multiplexing

This Review summarizes the simultaneous transmission of several independent spatial channels of light along optical fibres to expand the data-carrying capacity of optical communications. Recent results achieved in both multicore and multimode optical fibres are documented.

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Space-division multiplexing in optical fibres

Orbital angular momentum (OAM), which describes the “phase twist” (helical phase pattern) of light beams, has recently gained interest due to its potential applications in many diverse areas. Particularly promising is the use of OAM for optical communications since: (i) coaxially propagating OAM beams with different azimuthal OAM states are mutually orthogonal, (ii) inter-beam crosstalk can be minimized, and (iii) the beams can be efficiently multiplexed and demultiplexed. As a result, multiple OAM states could be used as different carriers for multiplexing and transmitting multiple data streams, thereby potentially increasing the system capacity. In this paper, we review recent progress in OAM beam generation/detection, multiplexing/demultiplexing, and its potential applications in different scenarios including free-space optical communications, fiber-optic communications, and RF communications. Technical challenges and perspectives of OAM beams are also discussed.

Optical communications using orbital angular momentum beams

Differential-phase-shift keying (DPSK) has recently been used to reach record distances in long-haul lightwave communication systems. This paper will review theoretical, as well as implementation, aspects of DPSK, and discuss experimental results.

Optical phase-shift-keyed transmission

We report simultaneous transmission of six spatial and polarization modes, each carrying 40 Gb/s quadrature-phase-shift-keyed channels over 96 km of a low-differential group delay few-mode fiber. The channels are successfully recovered by offline DSP based on coherent detection and multiple-input multiple-output processing. A penalty of ;28 dB.

Mode-Division Multiplexing Over 96 km of Few-Mode Fiber Using Coherent 6 $\,\times\,$ 6 MIMO Processing

We design and fabricate a novel multicore fiber (MCF), with seven cores arranged in a hexagonal array. The fiber properties of MCF including low crosstalk, attenuation and splice loss are described. A new tapered MCF connector (TMC), showing ultra-low crosstalk and losses, is also designed and fabricated for coupling the individual signals in-and-out of the MCF. We further propose a novel network configuration using parallel transmissions with the MCF and TMC for passive optical network (PON). To the best of our knowledge, we demonstrate the first bi-directional parallel transmissions of 1310 nm and 1490 nm signals over 11.3-km of seven-core MCF with 64-way splitter for PON.

Seven-core multicore fiber transmissions for passive optical network.

The performance of high-speed digital fiber-optic transmission using subcarrier multiplexing (SCM) is investigated both analytically and numerically. In order to reduce the impact of fiber chromatic dispersion and increase bandwidth efficiency, optical single-sideband (OSSB) modulation was used. Because frequency spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be much narrower than in a conventional DWDM system, nonlinear crosstalk must be considered. Although chromatic dispersion is not a limiting factor in SCM systems because the data rate at each subcarrier is low, polarization mode dispersion (PMD) has a big impact on the system performance if radiofrequency (RE) phase detection is used in the receiver. In order to optimize the system performance, tradeoffs must be made between data rate per subcarrier, levels of modulation, channel spacing between subcarriers, optical power, and modulation indexes. A 10-Gb/s SCM test bed has been set up in which 4 /spl times/ 2.5 Gb/s data streams are combined into one wavelength that occupies a 20-GHz optical bandwidth. OSSB modulation is used in the experiment. The measured results agree well with the analytical prediction.

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Subcarrier multiplexing for high-speed optical transmission

We demonstrate the generation of a novel 1.2-Tb/s NGI-CO-OFDM superchannel comprising of 24 frequency-locked 12.5-GHz spaced PDM-QPSK carriers, and transmit it over 72×100-km of ultra-large-area fiber, achieving 3.7-b/s/Hz channel spectral-efficiency (SE) and a record SE-distance product of 27,000-km·b/s/Hz.

Transmission of a 1.2-Tb/s 24-carrier no-guard-interval coherent OFDM superchannel over 7200-km of ultra-large-area fiber

We describe a new multicore fiber (MCF) having seven single-mode cores arranged in a hexagonal array, exhibiting low crosstalk among the cores and low loss across the C and L bands. We experimentally demonstrate a record transmission capacity of 112 Tb/s over a 76.8-km MCF using space-division multiplexing and dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM). Each core carries 160 107-Gb/s polarization-division multiplexed quadrature phase-shift keying (PDM-QPSK) channels on a 50-GHz grid in the C and L bands, resulting in an aggregate spectral efficiency of 14 b/s/Hz. We further investigate the impact of the inter-core crosstalk on a 107-Gb/s PDM-QPSK signal after transmitting through the center core of the MCF when all the 6 outer cores carry same-wavelength 107-Gb/s signals with equal powers, and discuss the system implications of core-to-core crosstalk on ultra-long-haul transmission.

112-Tb/s space-division multiplexed DWDM transmission with 14-b/s/Hz aggregate spectral efficiency over a 76.8-km seven-core fiber.

We propose a novel coherent optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (CO-OFDM) scheme with reduced guard interval (RGI) for high-speed high-spectral-efficiency long-haul optical transmission. In this scheme, fiber chromatic dispersion is compensated for within the receiver rather than being accommodated by the guard interval (GI) as in conventional CO-OFDM, thereby reducing the needed GI, especially when fiber dispersion is large. We demonstrate the generation of a 448-Gb/s RGI-CO-OFDM signal with 16-QAM subcarrier modulation through orthogonal band multiplexing. This signal occupies an optical bandwidth of 60 GHz, and is transmitted over 2000 km of ultra-large-area fiber (ULAF) with five passes through an 80-GHz-grid wavelength-selective switch. Banded digital coherent detection with two detection bands is used to receive this 448-Gb/s signal. Wavelength-division multiplexed transmission of three 80-GHz spaced 448-Gb/s RGI-CO-OFDM channels is also demonstrated, achieving a net system spectral efficiency of 5.2 b/s/Hz and a transmission distance of 1600 km of ULAF.

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Benyuan Zhu

Papers

Seven-core multicore fiber transmissions for passive optical network.

Subcarrier multiplexing for high-speed optical transmission

Transmission of a 1.2-Tb/s 24-carrier no-guard-interval coherent OFDM superchannel over 7200-km of ultra-large-area fiber

112-Tb/s space-division multiplexed DWDM transmission with 14-b/s/Hz aggregate spectral efficiency over a 76.8-km seven-core fiber.

448-Gb/s Reduced-Guard-Interval CO-OFDM Transmission Over 2000 km of Ultra-Large-Area Fiber and Five 80-GHz-Grid ROADMs