Supervisors: Prof. J. Rebola (Iscte); Prof. A. Cartaxo (Iscte)
Weakly-coupled multi-core fibers (WC-MCFs) are an attractive technology to overcome the capacity limits of single-core single-mode fibers. However, in WC-MCFs, inter-core crosstalk (ICXT) significantly limits the performance of short-reach links. This PhD targets the design and fabrication of a high core-count MCF with standard cladding diameter and fan-in/fan outs (FIFOs) suitable for short-reach MCF links, by resorting to bidirectional transmission to suppress ICXT. The PhD involves the modelling and design of the high core-count MCF and assessment of the bidirectional short-reach link performance in terms of maximum capacity, reach and tolerated ICXT. The fabrication of the designed high-core count MCF and respective FIFOs is targeted and the experimental demonstration of the improvements attained by the designed MCF in bidirectional short-reach links is the main PhD goal.
Planned secondment(s):
- UPVLC: Prof. M. Morant M19-20 (2 months duration) “Demonstration of ICXT mitigation through MCF bidirectional transmission”
- UNILIM: Prof. P. Roy M32-38 (7 months duration) “FIFO development for designed MCF”
- HCT: Dr. K. Schuster M30-31 (2 months duration) “Practical feasibility of designed higher-core count MCF and possible fabrication”