Assessment of multipath interference in bend-insensitive fibers and patch cables for NGANs

Multipath interference in bend-insensitive optical fibres is experimentally evaluated in the 1300 nm wavelength range. The main issues concerning the setups for its measurement are discussed. The characterization of some bend-insensitive fibres is presented; the measured fibres exhibit a negligible MPI for lengths ≥10m, whereas jumpers with length ≤2m can produce multipath interference at detrimental levels above -30dB. The phenomenon is even more evidenced in the cascade of field-installable connectors equipped with short bend-insensitive fibres; preliminary results show a rise of the MPI for patchcords equipped with these connectors.