Wavelength and polarization division multiplexing using the LP₁₁ mode in a two-mode fiber for mode division multiplexing

The orthogonality of Mode Division Multiplexing (MDM) with Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and Polarization Division Multiplexing (PDM) is investigated applying WDM and PDM transmission over the LP11 mode in a few-moded fiber. Two wavelengths, each carrying 10Gbit/s signals in two orthogonal polarizations are successfully transmitted with the LP11 mode in a 10km long 2-mode fiber, resulting in a total 40Gbit/s data rate for one LP mode. This experiment demonstrates that MDM is orthogonal with WDM and PDM and can be regarded as a new additional dimension to increase optical networks' capacity.