Patent ID: 8923678

Claim:
A multicore optical fiber, comprising: a plurality of core regions disposed within a common cladding region, wherein each of the plurality of core regions is configured, in combination with the common cladding region, to propagate light along a longitudinal axis of the fiber, wherein at least two core regions are configured to inhibit resonant coupling of propagated light therebetween within a selected longitudinal region of operation, wherein at least one segment of the longitudinal region includes a twist that is configured such that when the twisted segment is subjected to a bend having a selected radius, the twist creates a controlled change in the amount of crosstalk between the at least two core regions, compared with the amount of crosstalk between the at least two core regions w hen a bend having the selected radius is introduced into a non-twisted segment of the fiber, wherein the twist has a configuration based on the relationship 〈  U n . m  2 〉 ≈  2 ⁢ π ⁢ ⁢ C nm λ  2 ⁢ ( z 2 - z 1 ) ⁢ S ff ⁡ ( Δβ m . n ) where U represents a matrix of unperturbed mismatch values, C represents resonant coupling, λ is wavelength, z 2 -z 1 represents a fiber interval, and S ff represents power spectral density of an autocorrelation function R ff of a random process f.