Two mode transmission at 2x100Gb/s, over 40km-long prototype few-mode fiber, using LCOS-based programmable mode multiplexer and demultiplexer

We present a novel optical transmission system to experimentally demonstrate the possibility of mode division multiplexing. Its key components are mode multiplexer and demultiplexer based on a programmable liquid crystal on silicon panel, a prototype few-mode fiber, and a 4x4 multiple input multiple output algorithm processing the information of two polarization diversity coherent receivers. Using this system, we transmit two 100Gb/s PDM-QPSK data streams modulated on two different modes of the prototype few-mode fiber. After 40km, we obtain Q(2)-factors about 1dB above the limit for forward error correction. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America