Iterative Unreplicated Parallel Interference Canceler for MDL-Tolerant Dense SDM (12-Core × 3-Mode) Transmission Over 3000 km

We propose a novel multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) detection scheme based on iterative unreplicated parallel interference cancelling (UPIC) technique for mode dependent loss (MDL)-impaired few-mode fibre (FMF) transmission. An optical MIMO channel over an FMF exhibits a mode-dependent property where each mode division multiplexed signal is passed through a different lossy channel, known as an MDL phenomena. One challenging issue for realising future deployable space division multiplexing (SDM) systems is establishing reliable and robust signal transmission techniques in the presence of MDL. The main contributions of this paper include first, a proposal of newly developed iterative interference cancellation technique with parallel processing for MDL-impact mitigation, second, a comparative study on performance of MIMO detection schemes, and third, a demonstration of the longest dense SDM transmission over multicore (MC)-FMF. The proposed UPIC with iterative processing is experimentally shown to improve Q-factors by more than 3 dB, and record-long dense SDM transmission reach exceeding 3000 km over 12-core × 3-mode MC-FMF was achieved.