We demonstrate how a combination of polarisation-division multiplexing (PDM) and wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) applied to graded index 50μm multimode fibres (MMF) at 1.55μm can be used to greatly increase the available optical bandwidth. A proof of principle experiment demonstrated error-free data transmission over 3km of MMF, using two 100GHz-spaced wavelengths, each carrying two 2.5Gb/s orthogonal PDM multiplexed channels, resulting in a 10Gb/s data rate. Polarisation and wavelength demultiplexing were simultaneously achieved by use of a grating based monochromator. We also practically implemented this transmission scheme in an all-fibre experiment, replacing the monochromator by a more convenient polarisation-insensitive, 200GHz ITU grid spacing 62.5μm MMF pigtailed WDM demultiplexer. Using two polarisations each on four wavelengths (2P × 4λ), we repeatedly achieved error-free data transmission for both circularly and linearly polarisation-wavelength-division-multiplexed channels over a MMF span of 300m, featuring a 20Gb/s data rate. Overall, we have demonstrated a major increase in the MMF bandwidth-distance product up to 30GHz-km.

© 2004 Optical Society of America

1. �??The 10 Gigabit Ethernet standard, IEEE standard 802.3ae-2002.�??
2. T. Kanada, �??Evolution of modal noise in multimode fibre-optic systems�?? J. Lightwave Technol. 2, 11�??18 (1984). [CrossRef]
3. T.Giles, J.Fox, and A. MacGregor, �??Bandwidth reduction in Gigabit ethernet transmission over multimode fiber and recovery through laser mode coupling,�?? Opt. Eng. 37, 3156�??3160 (1998). [CrossRef]
4. T. E. Darcie, �??Subcarrier multiplexing for multiple-access lightwave networks,�?? J. Lightwave Technol. 5, 1103�?? 1110 (1987). [CrossRef]
5. P. Kourtessis, T. Quinlan, E. Rochat, S. D.Walker, M. Webster, I. White, R. Penty, and M.C.Parker, �??0.6Tb/s-km Multimode Fibre Feasibility-Experiment using 40-Channel DWDM over Quadrature-Subcarrier Transmission,�?? Electron. Lett. 38, 813�??815 (2002). [CrossRef]
6. E. Rochat, P. Kourtessis, M. Webster, T. Quinlan, S. Dudley, S. D. Walker, R. Penty, M. C. Parker, and I. H. White, �??Ultra-high capacity transmission over 3km of legacy 50 μm multimode-fibre using C-band HDWDM and quadrature-subcarrier multiplexing,�?? in Proc. ECOC 2002, p. 8.2.2 (2002).
7. E. Rochat, S. Walker, and M. Parker, �??Ultra-wideband capacity enhancement of 50 μm multimode fibre links up to 3km using orthogonal polarisation transmission in C-ban,�?? in Proc. ECOC 2002, p. 5.1.7 (2002).
8. E. Rochat, S. Walker, and M. Parker, �??C-band polarisation orthogonality preservation in 5Gb/s, 50 μm multimode fibre links up to 3km,�?? Opt. Express 11, 508�??514 (2003). <a href="http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-11-6-507".>http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-11-6-507</a> [CrossRef]
9. M. Born and E. Wolf, Principles of optics, seventh edition ed. (Cambridge University Press, 1999).
10. P. Steeger, T. Asakura, and A. Fercher, �??Polarization preservation in circular multimode optical fibers and its measurement by a speckle method,�?? J. Lightwave Technol. 2, 435�??441 (1984). [CrossRef]
11. R. Wagner, R. Stolen, and W. Pleibel, �??Polarization preservation in multimode fibers,�?? Elect.Lett. 17, 177�??178 (1981). [CrossRef]
12. I. Tsalamanis, E. Rochat, M. C. Parker, and S. D. Walker, �??Polarization orthogonality preservation in DWDM cascaded arrayed-waveguide grating networks,�?? in Proc. OFC 2004, p. MF89 (2004).
13. P. Kourtessis, �??An Investigation of Ultra-High Capacity MMF Links,�?? Ph.D. thesis, University of Essex (2003).
14. M. C.Raddatz, L. and White, I. H. and Cunningham, and D. G. and Nowell, �??An Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Offset Launch Technique for the Enhancement of the Bandwidth of Multimode Fiber Links,�?? J. Lightwave Technol. 16(3), 324�??331 (1998). [CrossRef]
15. Z. Hass and M. A. Santaro, �??A mode-filtering scheme for improvement of the bandwidth-distance product in multimode fiber systems,�?? J. Lightwave Technol. 11, 1125�??1131 (1993). [CrossRef]
16. M. Webster, L. Raddatz, I. H. White, and D. G. Cunningham, �??A statistical analysis of conditioned launch for gigabit Ethernet using multimode fiber,�?? J. Lightwave Technol. 17 17, 1532�??1541 (1999). [CrossRef]

Elect.Lett.

• R. Wagner, R. Stolen, and W. Pleibel, �??Polarization preservation in multimode fibers,�?? Elect.Lett. 17, 177�??178 (1981). [CrossRef]

Electron. Lett.

• P. Kourtessis, T. Quinlan, E. Rochat, S. D.Walker, M. Webster, I. White, R. Penty, and M.C.Parker, �??0.6Tb/s-km Multimode Fibre Feasibility-Experiment using 40-Channel DWDM over Quadrature-Subcarrier Transmission,�?? Electron. Lett. 38, 813�??815 (2002). [CrossRef]

J. Lightwave Technol.

• T. Kanada, �??Evolution of modal noise in multimode fibre-optic systems�?? J. Lightwave Technol. 2, 11�??18 (1984). [CrossRef]
• T. E. Darcie, �??Subcarrier multiplexing for multiple-access lightwave networks,�?? J. Lightwave Technol. 5, 1103�?? 1110 (1987). [CrossRef]
• M. C.Raddatz, L. and White, I. H. and Cunningham, and D. G. and Nowell, �??An Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Offset Launch Technique for the Enhancement of the Bandwidth of Multimode Fiber Links,�?? J. Lightwave Technol. 16(3), 324�??331 (1998). [CrossRef]
• Z. Hass and M. A. Santaro, �??A mode-filtering scheme for improvement of the bandwidth-distance product in multimode fiber systems,�?? J. Lightwave Technol. 11, 1125�??1131 (1993). [CrossRef]
• M. Webster, L. Raddatz, I. H. White, and D. G. Cunningham, �??A statistical analysis of conditioned launch for gigabit Ethernet using multimode fiber,�?? J. Lightwave Technol. 17 17, 1532�??1541 (1999). [CrossRef]
• P. Steeger, T. Asakura, and A. Fercher, �??Polarization preservation in circular multimode optical fibers and its measurement by a speckle method,�?? J. Lightwave Technol. 2, 435�??441 (1984). [CrossRef]

Opt. Eng.

• T.Giles, J.Fox, and A. MacGregor, �??Bandwidth reduction in Gigabit ethernet transmission over multimode fiber and recovery through laser mode coupling,�?? Opt. Eng. 37, 3156�??3160 (1998). [CrossRef]

Opt. Express

• E. Rochat, S. Walker, and M. Parker, �??C-band polarisation orthogonality preservation in 5Gb/s, 50 μm multimode fibre links up to 3km,�?? Opt. Express 11, 508�??514 (2003). <a href="http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-11-6-507".>http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-11-6-507</a> [CrossRef]

Proc. ECOC 2002

• E. Rochat, P. Kourtessis, M. Webster, T. Quinlan, S. Dudley, S. D. Walker, R. Penty, M. C. Parker, and I. H. White, �??Ultra-high capacity transmission over 3km of legacy 50 μm multimode-fibre using C-band HDWDM and quadrature-subcarrier multiplexing,�?? in Proc. ECOC 2002, p. 8.2.2 (2002).
• E. Rochat, S. Walker, and M. Parker, �??Ultra-wideband capacity enhancement of 50 μm multimode fibre links up to 3km using orthogonal polarisation transmission in C-ban,�?? in Proc. ECOC 2002, p. 5.1.7 (2002).

Proc. OFC 2004

• I. Tsalamanis, E. Rochat, M. C. Parker, and S. D. Walker, �??Polarization orthogonality preservation in DWDM cascaded arrayed-waveguide grating networks,�?? in Proc. OFC 2004, p. MF89 (2004).

Other

• P. Kourtessis, �??An Investigation of Ultra-High Capacity MMF Links,�?? Ph.D. thesis, University of Essex (2003).
• M. Born and E. Wolf, Principles of optics, seventh edition ed. (Cambridge University Press, 1999).
• �??The 10 Gigabit Ethernet standard, IEEE standard 802.3ae-2002.�??

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