An introduction to SDM and multicore optical fibers, an emerging area of technological advancement in the communications market.
More data, more capacity – a frequent statement heard across today’s fiber optic communications arena. This is certainly the mindset of the optical fiber manufacturers, who are tasked with consistently researching and developing new design approaches to meet increasing global demands for bandwidth and data transmission efficiency. Recently, advancements in hollow-core optical fibers (HCF) have been widely publicized, but another emerging technique is Space Division Multiplexing (SDM), achieved using multicore optical fibers (MCF) and few-mode fibers (FMF). This article briefly introduces SDM, focusing on multicore technology and its known advantages, challenges, applications, and a few examples of MCF brands.
Space Division Multiplexing (SDM) – An Introduction
Space Division Multiplexing (SDM) is a design concept intended to increase the amount of data transmitted within an optical fiber, expanding the capacity within cables. Unlike traditional single-core fibers with multiplexing techniques that manage multiple signals using wavelengths or time, SDM exploits the spatial dimension of the fiber, offering multiple spatial channels within a single fiber. This can be achieved in several ways, including using multicore fibers, which contain multiple cores in a single fiber, and few-mode fibers, which support transmission across several modes in a single core. Since MCF and FMF differ in their respective approaches (ie, multiple cores vs multiple modes in a single core), today we’ll highlight MCF and address FMF in a future article.
Advantages of SDM and Multicore Optical Fibers
Designed with the intent of transmitting larger amounts of data more efficiently, space division multiplexing technology offers several primary benefits:
SDM and Multicore Fiber Technology Challenges
Despite the clear benefits that space division multiplexing and multicore fibers offer, this technology has a few technical and manufacturing challenges that people in this space are working to address effectively:
SDM and Multicore Fiber Communications Applications
Space division multiplexing technology and multicore fibers appear to be a viable solution for any network operators and service providers seeking to expand bandwidth and transmission capabilities more efficiently. A few examples are:
Multicore Optical Fiber Manufacturers and Brands
Several globally recognized entities in the fiber optic communications market are at the forefront of designing, developing, and manufacturing multicore optical fibers.
It should be noted that this is just a partial list of entities manufacturing multicore optical fibers, as there are other entities both large and small developing multicore, few-mode, and other optical fibers within the SDM realm for communications applications.
SDM and MCF - Shaping the Future of Optical Communications
SDM technology and multicore fibers, while still early in their development and deployment lifecycle, represent a promising future in terms of fiber optic communications innovation. Similar to the advancement of any new technology, SDM and multicore fibers (along with few-mode and other fibers in this category) have recognized benefits and technical hurdles that must be overcome if the ultimate goal is mass production and deployment throughout global networks. At this time, it appears to already be gaining acceptance and trending in a positive direction, ultimately positioning the technology to play an essential role in fiber optic networks now and in the near future.