Design of heterogeneous multicore fibers as sampled true-time delay lines

We present a novel procedure for designing a sampled discrete true-time delay line (TTDL) for Microwave Photonics applications based on a heterogeneous MCF. Both simple step-index (SI) and trench-assisted SI profiles are numerically evaluated in terms of physical dimensions and material dopant concentrations in order to individually tailor the group delay and chromatic dispersion of each core. The proposed TTDL features unique properties beyond the current state of the art in terms of record bandwidth, compactness, flexibility, and versatility. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America