Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We present an investigation into the use of reflectometric measurements for characterizing modal dispersion in optical fibers that support space-division multiplexing. A theoretical framework is provided to relate the dispersion characteristics observed in round-trip propagation to those measured in standard forward transmission. The proposed model is experimentally validated using a reflective configuration of an optical vector network analyzer, which enables single-ended access to the fiber. Improved experimental data are obtained with a stabilized laser source, significantly enhancing the signal quality and confirming the theoretical predictions with higher accuracy. In addition, we discuss practical considerations related to system calibration, including the compensation of temporal skew introduced by optical circulators and receiver-side polarization imbalance. The results highlight the potential of reflectometric techniques for accurately characterizing quasi-distributed advanced fiber links.
Source: Journal of Lightwave Technology
Authors: Martina Cappelletti, Besma Kalla, Luca Schenato, Marco Santagiustina, Menno van den Hout, Simon Rommel, Andrea Galtarossa, Chigo Okonkwo, Luca Palmieri
Institutions: University of Padua, Eindhoven University of Technology
Language: English
Topic: Optical Network Technologies
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: European Commission
Award: G2233891588
OpenAlex ID: W7082652636