Multicore Fiber Splicing with Variable Core Areas
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multicore fibers with large effective core areas experience significant crosstalk, and existing solutions that reduce crosstalk often compromise on increasing the effective core area.
Innovation Solution
A multicore fiber design where two fiber members with different effective core areas are spliced together, with one member having a larger core area for light entry and the other with a smaller core area for light exit, reducing crosstalk while allowing for increased core size in the first part of the propagation path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the effective core area is increased in a multicore fiber, then the light transmission capacity is improved, but the crosstalk between cores increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber is divided into two distinct members: a first multicore fiber member with larger effective core areas and a second multicore fiber member with smaller effective core areas. This segmentation allows each member to serve a specific function in the transmission path, resolving the contradiction by spatially separating the high-capacity transmission section from the low-crosstalk section.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the fiber have different core area characteristics tailored to their specific functions. The first member has larger cores optimized for light entry and high-capacity transmission, while the second member has smaller cores optimized for low-crosstalk transmission. This local differentiation of properties resolves the contradiction by applying the appropriate core size in the appropriate location.
2Productivity
If the effective core area is increased to improve transmission capacity, then the light entry efficiency is improved, but the crosstalk between adjacent cores increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transmission path is segmented into two functional zones: the first multicore fiber member handles high-capacity light entry with larger cores, while the second member handles low-crosstalk propagation with smaller cores. This segmentation allows the system to achieve both high transmission capacity and low crosstalk simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using uniform large cores throughout the fiber (which would maximize capacity but increase crosstalk), the invention inverts the conventional approach by using smaller cores in the propagation path. This inversion prioritizes low crosstalk in the critical propagation section while maintaining high capacity through the initial large-core section.
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform core sizes are used throughout the fiber, then the manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but the crosstalk cannot be reduced below a certain level
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than attempting to manufacture a single type of fiber with compromised performance, the invention segments the fiber into two separately optimized members. Each member can be manufactured with uniform cores of appropriate size for its function, maintaining manufacturing simplicity within each segment while achieving overall performance optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The first multicore fiber member with larger cores acts as an intermediary that receives light with high efficiency and couples it into the second member with smaller cores. This intermediary structure enables the transition from high-capacity entry to low-crosstalk propagation without requiring the entire fiber to compromise between these competing requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A multicore fiber includes a first multicore fiber member and a second multicore fiber member, one end face of the first multicore fiber member being spliced to one end face of the second multicore fiber member, wherein at least two core end faces of multiple cores in the first multicore fiber member are spliced one-to-one to core end faces of multiple cores in the second multicore fiber member, and, among the cores in the first multicore fiber member and the cores in the second multicore fiber member spliced one-to-one at the core end faces, at least one core in the first multicore fiber member and one core in the second multicore fiber member spliced thereto have different effective core areas, and an open end face of the core having the larger effective core area is a face which light enters.