Low-Loss Fan-In/Fan-Out Device for 8-Core Fiber

In this paper we report the design, fabrication and measurement of a novel 8-core FiFo device using fused tapering method and trench-assisted bridge fiber. The device is constitutive of 8-core fiber, tapered bridge fiber bundle and single-mode fibers. The minimum and maximum insertion loss of the Fi/Fo device are 0.25 dB and 0.98 dB, respectively.

I. Introduction

With the increasing demand of optical communication capacity, the bandwidth density increases rapidly, which makes SMF system unable to meet the demand. The multicore fiber (MCF) in spatial division multiplexing (SDM) system is one of the most effective methods to solve the capacity limit of SMF. The MCF communication system achieves higher bandwidth, higher wiring density, and lower power consumption throughout the network [1]. In the practical application of MCF, fan-in/fan-out (Fi/Fo) device is the key technology to realize the multi-core optical fiber multiplexing system. With the Fi/Fo, each core of multicore fiber can be connected with the single-mode fiber to realize the input/output of optical signal. In the field of multi-core fiber Fi/Fo fabrication, several methods have been reported including fused taper type [2], [3], fiber bundles [4], [5], 3D waveguides [6] and free space optics [7]. However, the design, fabrication, measurement, and optical properties of the 8-core Fi/Fo device have not been confirmed.