N × N coupler uniformity in a CWDM passive star home network based on multimode fiber: A time-effective calculation method

Optical fiber is the most appropriate medium able to meet future requirements in terms of capacity and heterogeneity in the home network. The advantages of a passive star architecture associated with wavelength multiplexing have already been reported. For lower-cost issues, multimode fiber would be preferred, but some problems were raised related to poor uniformity of the N × N multimode coupler when using the usual coarse wavelength division multiplexing sources. An original time-effective method is proposed, based on both simulation and calculation. Many results are provided, giving a better understanding of the behavior of the N × N coupler when different types of sources are used, also taking into account improvement techniques such as offset launching or mode scrambling.