ALL-OPTICAL SPATIAL DOMAIN MULTIPLEXING DE-MULTIPLEXER

An optical-to-optical inline spatial domain multiplexing (SDM) de-multiplexer for SDM communication comprising a plurality of concentric core layers each having a beveled output end and a cladding layer concentrically surrounding each core layer. The cladding layer has an index that is lower than the index of the core layer it surrounds. Also included is a system for SDM communication comprising at least one optical source to transmit optical energy, an SDM optical carrier fiber to receive optical energy from the source and output a plurality of SDM signals, a SDM de-multiplexer as described above wherein the SDM signals output from the carrier fiber are each incident upon one of the core layers, optical output fibers positioned to couple SDM signals from each cladding layer, and a photodetector communicatively coupled to the outputs of the optical output fibers to couple the SDM signals output from the optical output fibers.