Optical-Fiber Cable Employing 200-μm-Coated Four-Core Multicore Fibers

Combining small-diameter optical-fiber technology and space-division multiplexing employing multicore fiber (MCF) is a promising method for further increasing the transmission capacity of optical networks. In this work, four-core MCFs with a 200-μm coating diameter (200-4CFs), reduced from 250 μm, were fabricated. The 200-4CFs had featured almost the same characteristics as the 4CFs with a 250-m cladding diameter. The 200-4CFs were ribbonized and cabled. This cabling represents the first time approach employing an MCF with a 200-μm coating. The attenuation increase caused by the cabling was compared with that of 4CFs with 250-μm coating diameter and SMFs. The effective bending radius of the 4CFs in a cable employing partially bonded ribbons was investigated and determined to be smaller than the cable-drum radius. Mechanical and environmental tests based on IEC standards were performed on the cable employing 200-4CFs, and the cable exhibited excellent performance. The scalability of high-fiber-count cables employing 200-4CFs was also demonstrated. Finally, the applicability of an automatic splice with core identification via side-view alignment is presented.