Design of few-mode fibers with up to 12 modes and low differential mode delay

In this paper, we investigate the design of few-mode fibers (FMFs) guiding 4 to 12 non-degenerate linearly polarized (LP) modes with low differential mode delay (DMD) over the C-band, suitable for long-haul transmission. The refractive index profile considered is composed by a graded-core with a cladding trench (GCCT). The optimization of the profile parameters aims the lowest possible DMD and macro-bend losses (MBL) lower than the ITU-T standard recommendation. The optimization results show that the optimum DMD and the MBL scale with the number of modes. Additionally, it is shown that the refractive-index relative difference at the core center is one of the most preponderant parameters, allowing to reduce the DMD at the expense of increasing MBL. Finally, the optimum DMD obtained for 12 LP modes is lower than 3 ps/km. © 2014 IEEE.