Optical mode demultiplexing for data communication networks

The mode-division multiplexing is recognized as an effective solution for increasing the capacity of the optical communication systems. In view of short-distance applications, as data communication intra and inter data centres, where cost, complexity and power consumption are fundamental issues, a passive optical technique for mode demultiplexing can allow for realizing mode-division multiplexing systems without MIMO processing or with low-complexity MIMO. In this work, we present an interferometric scheme to perform an optical mode demultiplexing. The capabilities of this passive approach and the experimented performance are discussed in case of propagation of orbital angular momentum modes. The mode selectivity of the proposed demultiplexer can be exploited to enable very high capacity transmission in short-distance data networks.