Numerical investigation of bend insensitive multicore optical fibers

A kind of bending-insensitive multicore fiber (MCF) is proposed. The core adopts a low-mode gradient index structure to form a seven-core few-mode fiber. The finite element method is used to simulate and analyze the bending loss of the central core and the outer core, the crosstalk between the core modes, and the influence of core parameters on the crosstalk performance. Data simulation results show that even for a small bending radius of 5 mm, the bending loss of this MCF is much lower than the attenuation loss of the fiber, and the crosstalk between the adjacent cores is less than - 20 dB. Therefore, independent information transmission between cores can still be realized under a small bending radius. (C) 2021 Society of PhotoOptical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)