Reconfigurable all-fiber mode exchange enabled by mechanically induced LPFG for short-reach MDM networks

Data exchange is an attractive network function for enhancing efficiency and flexibility and it has been widely investigated in the wavelength domain. Recently, mode division multiplexing (MDM) based on few-mode fiber (FMF) has been proposed to increase network capacity by transmitting signals over parallel spatial modes. In this paper, we propose a reconfigurable all-fiber mode exchange (ME) scheme based on mechanically induced long period fiber grating (LPFG) for short-reach MDM networks. The reconfigurable functionality is realized by changing the loaded pressure on LPFG. We experimentally demonstrate flexible data exchange between two linear polarization (LP) modes with on-off-keying (OOK) modulation and direct detection. Error-free performance is achieved for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) signals in each LP mode.