Design and experimental characterization of Er(3+)-doped fiber amplifiers supporting 6 spatial modes in wavelength division multiplexing regime are reported. The study is first focused on Er(3+)-doped circular ring-structured profiles accessible with conventional fiber manufacturing techniques. However, these fiber designs, optimized for gain equalization, prove to be difficult to obtain experimentally. So as to go beyond these limits, an alternative approach based on a "pixelated" Er(3+)-doped core is proposed. Several possible designs are theoretically investigated and a first fabrication of micro-structured fiber is presented.