Mode division multiplexing with Few Mode Fibers

The increasing requirement of bandwidth has resulted in pushing the capacity of a single mode fiber by utilizing advanced modulation formats like QPSK and QAM in optical communication. The complexity of digital signal processing and the limitations in the achievable SNR are the challenges in these designs. The use of few-mode-fibers is considered to be the next big step towards the increase in bandwidth in long haul and access networks. In this scheme, the data to be transported is modulated in the fundamental and few higher order modes in a suitably designed fiber, resulting in mode-division-multiplexing. The project aims at addressing the challenges involving characterization of such fibers for specific parameters such as dispersion and nonlinearities, establishing the enhancement of bandwidth proportional to the number of modes, development of indigenous digital signal processing techniques for data processing, establishing a long-haul (two-span) link using the mode division multiplexed system, establishing the feasibility of mode division multiplexing in short distance links such as access and data center networks.