Analyzing Ultra-Low Inter-Core Crosstalk Fibers in Band and Space Division Multiplexing EONs

Abstract: In the ultra-low inter-core crosstalk working zone of terrestrial multi-band and multi-core fiber (MCF) elastic optical networks (EONs), the ICXT in all channels of all cores remains below the ICXT threshold of the highest modulation format level (64QAM) for long-haul distances (10000 km). This paper analyzes the performance of this type of MCF in multi-band EONs (MB-EONs). We investigate two band and space division multiplexing (BSDM) scenarios: MCF and a bundle of multi-fiber pairs (BuMFP). Furthermore, the UL-ICXT performance of two MCFs, one with the standard cladding diameter (CD = 125 micrometers) with 4 cores and another with a nonstandard larger CD with 7 cores, is evaluated in the US backbone network. Our findings show that, with careful design of the MCFs physical structure, even with a standard CD, it is possible to achieve UL-ICXT in C, L, and S-band long-haul BSDM EONs. Additionally, the simulation results show that network throughput for BSDM EONs with MCFs in the UL-ICXT regime is up to 12 percent higher than the BuMFP scenario, with capacity increasing linearly with the number of cores.