Nonlinear impairment scaling with the number of mode groups in mode-multiplexed transmission over a 50 µm multimode fiber.

We numerically investigate the impact of nonlinear effects in mode-multiplexed transmission over a 501.im graded-index multimode fiber. Such a fiber supports 36 spatial modes, well suited for a mode-multiplexed transmission. The number of mode groups used for transmission is subsequently increased to identify the nonlinear penalty occurring due to the Kerr-effect-based nonlinear interaction between the spatial modes. It is shown that the nonlinear penalty scales less than proportional with the number of modes and hence, is no obstacle for using such a fiber for a mode-multiplexed transmission. Consequently, we clarify the potential to upgrade the transmission capacity over time with such a fiber. (C) 2018 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement