Multicore optical fiber with large cladding diameter and high mechanical reliability

A multicore optical fiber, comprising:

• a common cladding having a radius RCC that is greater than or equal to 126 μm and less than or equal to 180 μm, the common cladding comprising:
• an inner common cladding region;
• and
• an outer common cladding region surrounding the inner common cladding region, wherein the outer common cladding region comprises a TiO2-doped glass region;
• and
• a plurality of core elements disposed within the common cladding, at least one core element of the plurality of core elements comprising:
• a core region;
• a dedicated inner cladding region surrounding the core region;
• and
• a dedicated outer cladding region surrounding the dedicated inner cladding region;
• wherein a mode field diameter at 1310 nm of the at least one core element is greater than or equal to 8.6 μm;
• wherein the at least one core element is separated from a nearest-neighbor core element by a minimum separation distance DNN that is greater than or equal to 35 μm and less than or equal to 43 μm.