Optimal conditions for multiplexing information into ring-core optical fibers

TL;DR

This paper investigates optimal methods for multiplexing information into ring-core optical fibers, revealing that perfect vortex beams outperform Laguerre-Gaussian beams in coupling efficiency across all supported modes.

Contribution

It identifies the limitations of LG beams and demonstrates that perfect vortex beams enable nearly perfect coupling efficiency in RCFs, improving data transmission potential.

Findings

Coupling efficiency varies with OAM value.

LG beams are suboptimal for RCF multiplexing.

Perfect vortex beams achieve near-perfect coupling.

Abstract

In optical communications, space-division multiplexing is a promising strategy to augment the fiber network capacity. It relies on modern fiber designs that support the propagation of multiple spatial modes. One of these fibers, the ring-core fiber (RCF), is able to propagate modes that carry orbital angular momentum (OAM), and has been shown to enhance not only classical, but also quantum communication systems. Typically, the RCF spatial modes are used as orthogonal transmission channels for data streams that are coupled into the fiber using different Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beams. Here, we study the optimal conditions to multiplex information into ring-core fibers in this scheme. We determine which are the most relevant LG beams to be considered, and how their coupling efficiency can be maximized by properly adjusting the beam width with respect to the fiber parameters. Our results show that the coupling efficiency depends upon the OAM value, and that this can limit the achievable transmission rates. In this regard, we show that LG beams are not the optimal choice to couple information into RCF. Rather, another class of OAM-carrying beam, the perfect vortex beam, allows for nearly perfect coupling efficiencies for all spatial modes supported by these fibers.