Survey and Evaluation of Space Division Multiplexing: From Technologies to Optical Networks

Author

Saridis, George M. ; Alexandropoulos, Dimitris ; Zervas, Georgios ; Simeonidou, Dimitra

Author_Institution

High Performance Networks Group, Univ. of Bristol, Bristol, UK

Volume

17

Issue

4

fYear

2015

Firstpage

2136

Lastpage

2156

Abstract

Single-mode fiber´s physical capacity boundaries will soon be reached; hence, alternative solutions are much needed to overcome the multiplying and remarkably large bandwidth requests. Space division multiplexing (SDM) using multicore fibers (MCFs), multielement fibers, multimode fibers, and their combination; few-mode MCFs; or fibers based on orbital angular momentum are considered to be the propitious stepping-stones to overcome the capacity crunch of conventional single-core fibers. We critically review research progress on SDM fibers and network components, and we introduce two figures of merit aiming for quantitative evaluation of technologies such as amplifiers, fan-in/fan-out multiplexers, transmitters, switches, and SDM nodes. Results show that SDM fibers achieve a 1185-fold (18-fold) spectral-spatial efficiency increase compared with the 276-SMF bundle (single-core fiber) currently installed on the ground. In addition, an analysis of crosstalk in MCFs shows how SDM concepts can be further exploited to fit in various optical networks such as core, metro, and especially future intra-data center optical interconnects. Finally, research challenges and future directions are discussed.

Keywords

crosstalk; optical fibre networks; space division multiplexing; SDM fibers; SDM nodes; amplifiers; bandwidth requests; crosstalk; fan-in-fan-out multiplexers; few-mode MCF; intra-data center optical interconnect; multicore fibers; multielement fibers; multimode fibers; optical networks; orbital angular momentum; single-core fiber; single-mode fiber physical capacity boundaries; space division multiplexing; spectral-spatial efficiency; switches; transmitters; Crosstalk; Multiplexing; Optical fiber amplifiers; Optical fiber cables; Optical fiber networks; Optical fiber polarization; Components Performance per Footprint Area and Volume; Crosstalk; Data-Center Networks; Figures of Merit; Multicore Fibers; Space Division Multiplexing; Space division multiplexing; Spectral-Spatial Efficiency; components performance per footprint area and volume; crosstalk; data-center networks; figures of merit; multicore fibers; spectral???spatial efficiency;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Communications Surveys Tutorials, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1553-877X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/COMST.2015.2466458

Filename

7214205