Fabrication of Y-Branched GI Core Polymer Waveguide and its Application to CWDM MUX Device for Multimode Fiber

This paper describes the characteristics of graded-index (GI) core Y-branched polymer optical waveguides as optical couplers for multimode fibers (MMFs) in coarse wavelength division multiplexing links with a restricted mode launch function. In this paper, we compare two GI-core Y-branched waveguides fabricated using different methods: the Mosquito method and the imprint method. Error free transmission is confirmed when transmitting a 25.6125-Gbps NRZ optical signal (PRBS31) at 850-nm wavelength through a 100-m long OM3 fiber using the waveguide as an optical coupler. We also discuss the function of a restricted mode launch exciter for a 1-km long MMF. From the effective modal bandwidth analysis, realizing higher bandwidth-distance product in long MMFs should be possible by reducing the core size of the waveguide coupler.