title: Mode-dependent characterization of photonic lanterns.
abstract: We propose and experimentally demonstrate a simple method for characterizing the power transfer matrix of photonic lanterns (PLs) used for mode division multiplexing (MDM) transmission. Due to the optical reflection arising at output facet of the few-mode fiber (FMF), we are able to detect the power at the individual single-mode fiber (SMF) input port and exploit a series of equations based on the theory of energy conservation to obtain mode-dependent characteristics of the PL, including the property of mode selectivity, insertion loss (IL), and channel-dependent loss (CDL). The proposed method is experimentally verified for both the mode selective and the nonmode selective photonic lanterns.
authors.forename: Dawei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Songnian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Zizheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Deming
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Giles
authors.forename: Ton
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koonen
authors.forename: Chigo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Okonkwo