Analysis of Laser & Detector Placement in MIMO Multimode Optical Fiber Systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates optimal placement of lasers and detectors in MIMO multimode optical fiber systems to enhance data rates, using a statistical model to guide design improvements and demonstrate significant capacity gains.

Contribution

It introduces a statistical field propagation model for MMFs to optimize laser and detector array design, aiming to significantly increase data capacity.

Findings

Optimal device designs can have 2-3 times the data capacity of suboptimal ones.

Simulations confirm the effectiveness of the proposed design approach.

The study provides insights into device placement for improved MIMO MMF performance.

Abstract

Multimode fibers (MMFs) offer a cost-effective connection solution for small and medium length networks. However, data rates through multimode fibers are traditionally limited by modal dispersion. Signal processing and Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) have been shown to be effective at combating these limitations, but device design for the specific purpose of MIMO in MMFs is still an open issue. This paper utilizes a statistical field propagation model for MMFs to aid the analysis and designs of MMF laser and detector arrays, and aims to improve data rates of the fiber. Simulations reveal that optimal device designs could possess 2-3 times the data carrying capacity of suboptimal ones.