Seven-core multicore fiber transmissions for passive optical network

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 bidirectional parallel transmissions of 1310nm and 1490nm signals over 11.3-km of seven-core MCF with 64-way splitter for PON. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America