Sumitomo Electric Announces New Multi-Core Optical Fiber

Sumitomo Electric Industries announced a new-type coupled multi-core optical fiber suitable for ultra-long-haul transmission/

The coupled-core MCF (CC-MCF) features 4 pure-silica cores in the standard 125-µm cladding. The developed fiber has achieved the attenuation of 0.158 dB/km at the wavelength of 1550 nm and the spatial mode dispersion (SMD) of 6.1 ps/√km*4 in the wavelength from 1520 to 1580 nm, both of which are the lowest ever reported in the optical fibers for space division multiplexing.

The company says the new fiber has set records for the low attenuation and the low spatial mode dispersion in the optical fibers for space division multiplexing.  Attenuation, or (transmission) loss, is the amount of light degraded by scattering and absorption while traveling in an optical fiber. With a lower attenuation, optical signals can be transmitted for a longer distance.

http://global-sei.com/company/press/2015/03/prs022_s.html