Multi-core virtual concatenation scheme considering inter-core crosstalk in spatial division multiplexing enabled elastic optical networks

Spatial division multiplexing enabled elastic optical networks (SDM-EONs) are the potential implementation form of future optical transport networks, because it can curve the physical limitation of achievable transmission capacity in single-mode fiber and single-core fiber. However, spectrum fragmentation issue becomes more serious in SDM-EONs compared with simple elastic optical networks (EONs) with single mode fiber or single core fiber. In this paper, multi-core virtual concatenation (MCVC) scheme is first proposed considering inter-core crosstalk to solve the spectrum fragmentation issue in SDM-EONs. Simulation results show that the proposed MCVC scheme can achieve better performance compared with the baseline scheme, i.e., single-core virtual concatenation (SCVC) scheme, in terms of blocking probability and spectrum utilization.