Neural-Network-Aided Supermode Basis Tracking for Feedforward Equalization in Strongly Coupled Multicore Fibers

Authors

  • Abdullah ORAN Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4302/plp.v18i3.1392

Abstract

Environmental perturbations make the supermode basis of strongly coupled multicore fibers (SC-MCFs) drift in time, so that a receiver relying on a fixed basis suffers from inter-supermode crosstalk. We propose a feedforward receiver in which a small multilayer perceptron refines short sequences of pilot-based least-squares estimates of the channel unitary, and the refined estimate rotates the received core signals back into the supermode domain once per frame. In simulations of a six-core SC-MCF carrying 16-QAM, the tracker reduces the basis-estimation error by 2.3 dB with respect to pilot-only estimation, gains about 0.5 dB in required signal-to-noise ratio and extends the reach at the hard-decision FEC limit from 1480 to 1635 km. It remains within 0.5 dB of an adaptive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) equalizer while avoiding its symbol-rate update loop.

Full Text: PDF

References

  1. D.J. Richardson, J.M. Fini, L.E. Nelson, "Space-division multiplexing in optical fibres," Nat. Photonics, 7(5), 354 (2013). CrossRef
  2. C. Xia et al., "Supermodes for optical transmission," Opt. Express, 19(17), 16653 (2011). CrossRef
  3. T. Hayashi, Y. Tamura, T. Hasegawa, T. Taru, "Record-low spatial mode dispersion and ultra-low loss coupled multi-core fiber for ultra-long-haul transmission," J. Lightwave Technol., 35(3), 450 (2017). CrossRef
  4. R. Ryf et al., "Mode-division multiplexing over 96 km of few-mode fiber using coherent 6×6 MIMO processing," J. Lightwave Technol., 30(4), 521 (2012). CrossRef
  5. S.Ö. Arık, D. Askarov, J.M. Kahn, "Adaptive frequency-domain equalization in mode-division multiplexing systems," J. Lightwave Technol., 32(10), 1841 (2014). CrossRef
  6. D. Zibar, M. Piels, R. Jones, C. G. Schäffer, "Machine learning techniques in optical communication," J. Lightwave Technol., 34(6), 1442 (2016). CrossRef
  7. B. Karanov et al., "End-to-end deep learning of optical fiber communications," J. Lightwave Technol., 36(20), 4843 (2018). CrossRef
  8. T. Koike-Akino et al., "Neural turbo equalization: Deep learning for fiber-optic nonlinearity compensation," J. Lightwave Technol., 38(11), 3059 (2020). CrossRef
  9. N. J. Higham, "Computing the polar decomposition-with applications," SIAM J. Sci. Stat. Comput., 7(4), 1160 (1986). CrossRef
  10. K.-P. Ho, J.M. Kahn, "Statistics of group delays in multimode fiber with strong mode coupling," J. Lightwave Technol., 29(21), 3119 (2011). CrossRef

Downloads

Published

2026-10-18

How to Cite

[1]
A. ORAN, “Neural-Network-Aided Supermode Basis Tracking for Feedforward Equalization in Strongly Coupled Multicore Fibers”, Photonics Lett. Pol., vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 41–43, Oct. 2026.