15 $\times$ 200 Gbit/s 16-QAM SDM Transmission Over an Integrated 7-Core Cladding-Pumped Repeatered Multicore Link in a Recirculating Loop

We investigate a realistic integrated multicore system consisting of directly spliced components: homogeneous trench-assisted seven-core fiber with a length of 60 km, cladding-pumped seven-core amplifiers, integrated seven-core isolators, and fiberized fan-in/fan-out couplers. We analyze the performance of an in-line repeatered multicore transmission system in a recirculating loop by transmitting a 200 Gbit/s 16-QAM test channel and 14 $\times$ 100 Gbit/s QPSK neighboring channels between the wavelengths of 1558.58 and 1564.27 nm in a 50-GHz grid. For every position of the test channel within the considered band we demonstrate transmission distances over 720 km.