Multipath interference characterization of bend-insensitive fibers for short-reach optical communications

Multipath interference in bend-insensitive optical fibers is experimentally evaluated in the 1300 nm wavelength range, describing how this phenomenon originates and how it can be measured by a setup based on a tunable laser. The characterization of bend-insensitive fibers from different manufacturers is presented; all the considered fibers exhibit a negligible effect in patchcords longer than 10m, whereas jumpers with length ≤ 2m can produce multipath interference at detrimental levels above -30dB. The phenomenon is even more evident in the cascade of offset-spliced short jumpers made of bend-insensitive fiber; preliminary results showed a large rise of the MPI when two or more jumpers are shortly spaced.