Polymer Optical Waveguide Type 3-D MUX Device for Mode Division Multiplexing Links

Using the Mosquito method, we fabricate waveguides with 3-dimensionally arranged cores to be applied to a MUX device for mode-division multiplexing technology. Applying the developed MUX, the different higher-order modes, LP11a and LP11b in one few-mode fiber core can be individually excited.

I. Introduction

Recently, the rapid growth of cloud computing services has significantly increased the demand for higher data rates in optical fiber links. In order to overcome the existing limits of data rates which can be achieved through a single fiber, there is a growing expectation for new multiplexing technologies in addition to traditional wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). Among these new multiplexing approaches, mode division multiplexing (MDM) technology is drawing significant attention.