Few-Mode Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers: A Review

Space-division multiplexing has brought a fresh perspective to the optical fiber community over the last three years and many global players around the world have been involved with both the theoretical and the experimental questions raised by this promising approach. If this technology is to be introduced in the future optical fiber networks, this implies that most of the optical components of the transmission line, including the popular Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers that lie at the heart of fiber communications need to be reexamined. This study reviews the way the new generation of Erbium-doped fibers affects the recent findings on few-mode fibers and how they may further play a central role in the deployment of this technology.