Multicore graded-index plastic optical fiber for massively parallel optical interconnects beyond 100 Gb/s per lane

We present a multicore graded-index plastic optical fiber (GI POF) that enables 53.125 Gb/s and 106.25 Gb/s per lane transmission over distances up to 30 m using a multimode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with four-level pulse-amplitude modulation. The multicore GI POF is fabricated via a single-step extrusion process that flexibly configures the core count, layout, and cross-section, eliminating ribbonization and multicore preform assembly required for silica optical fibers. Two prototypes are fabricated: a 61-core circular structure for high-density designs and a 4-core rectangular structure compatible with current multi-fiber connectors. Process uniformity is verified by minimal bit-error-rate variation across cores, and inter-core crosstalk remains below −30 dB at 30 m. The multicore GI POF offers a scalable and cost-effective solution for massively parallel optical interconnects in data center applications.