ANRITSU CORPORATION will present a live demonstration of a quality evaluation solution for multi-core optical fiber attracting attention as a next-generation optical communications technology at the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC 2025; booth C4335), to be held in Copenhagen from September 29 to October 1, 2025.

Anritsu's multi-channel OTDR solution for weakly coupled multi-core optical fiber delivers comprehensive quality evaluation by visualizing inter-core crosstalk distribution, transmission loss, and optical return loss along the distance axis. The solution identifies specific locations with degraded performance along multi-core optical fiber, enabling optimization of installation conditions during R&D field tests. By evaluating all cores simultaneously without fiber reconnection, the solution significantly improves inspection efficiency for multi-core optical fiber systems while providing detailed analysis of parameter changes at connection points, streamlining both research and operational deployment phases.

With the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and cloud services, demand for higher transmission capacity of optical submarine cables and data center interconnects continues to increase. Conventional single-mode fiber provides only one optical path per fiber, limiting per-fiber transmission capacity. Recent R&D has focused on multi-core optical fibers with multiple independent cores within a single fiber as a solution. Weakly coupled multi-core fiber, which suppresses interference between cores, is expected to enable both stable signal quality and high-capacity transmission. However, to use weakly coupled multi-core fiber in communications infrastructure, it is essential to characterize inter-core crosstalk because it affects transmission quality. Reliable measurement methods are required across design, manufacturing, and operational phases to identify factors that cause crosstalk variation.

Anritsu will continue to support and contribute to deployment of multi-core optical fiber as a next-generation optical communications technology across both R&D and fiber manufacturing. Visit Anritsu at booth C4335 at ECOC 2025.