Characterizing the variation of propagation constants in multicore fibre

TL;DR

This paper introduces a numerical method using Markov Chain Monte Carlo to evaluate core-to-core variations in propagation constants in multicore fibers, verified on simulated and real fibers.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel MCMC-based algorithm for reconstructing propagation constant variations in multicore fibers, enabling precise characterization of core differences.

Findings

Range of propagation constant variation is approximately ±2×10^{-5}

Method successfully reconstructs propagation constants in real multicore fiber

Algorithm verified with simulated data

Abstract

We demonstrate a numerical technique that can evaluate the core-to-core variations in propagation constant in multicore fibre. Using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo process, we replicate the interference patterns of light that has coupled between the cores during propagation. We describe the algorithm and verify its operation by successfully reconstructing target propagation constants in a fictional fibre. Then we carry out a reconstruction of the propagation constants in a real fibre containing 37 single-mode cores. We find that the range of fractional propagation constant variation across the cores is approximately $\pm2 \times 10^{-5}$.