Backscattering in antiresonant hollow-core fibers: over 40 dB lower than in standard optical fibers

Abstract

The elastic backscattering of light in optical fiber is a fundamental phenomenon that sets the ultimate performance of several fiber systems such as gyroscopes and bidirectional transfer links. Until now, efforts to reduce the backscattering coefficient have yielded limited results, with the lowest value sitting at around -76 dB=m in Ge-free silica-core fiber at 1.55 μm. Here, we present what we believe to be the first measurement of backscattering from a low-loss antiresonant hollow-core fiber and show that it is more than 40 dB below reported values in silica-core fiber and hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber. The record-low level of -118 dB=m measured with our custom-built optical frequency-domain reflectometer is in good agreement with simulations in which we assume the scattering to originate from the intrinsic surface roughness. Our demonstration also shows that a tailored instrument can localize and quantify weak faults within a hollow-core fiber, enabling its detailed characterization.

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