Closed-Form Expressions for Nonlinearity Coefficients in Multimode Fibers

Abstract

We derive novel approximate closed-form expressions for the nonlinear coupling coefficients appearing in the Manakov equations for multimode fibers for space-division multiplexing in the two regimes of strong and weak coupling. The expressions depend only on few fiber design parameters. In particular, the Manakov coefficients are shown to be simple rational numbers which depend solely on the number of guided modes. The overall nonlinearity coefficients are found to decrease with increasing core radius and to stay nearly constant with increasing refractive index difference between core and cladding. Validation is performed through a numerical approach. The consequences of the findings onto fiber design are discussed in terms of achievable data rates. The analysis is mainly focused on the trenchless parabolic graded-index profile, but considerations on the use of realistic trenches and non-parabolic indices, and on the step-index profile are given.