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OPTICAL FIBERS

Optical Fiber Block Diagram

ELEMENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

OPTICAL FIBER
SOURCE
CONNECTORS
DETECTORS
STANDARD ELECTRONICS
DEVICES

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Advantages of Optical
links compared to waveguides or copper
conductors

Disadvantages
of Optical Fiber
Cables

The light frequency

spectrum can be divided
into 3 general bands:
1. Infared
2. Visible
3. Ultraviolet

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Infrared
Band of light frequencies that is
too high to be seen by the
human eye with wavelengths
ranging between 770nm and
106 nm.
Optical fiber systems generally
operate in the infrared band.

Visible
wavelengths ranging between
390nm and 770nm
This band is visible to the
human eye.

Ultraviolet
Band of light frequencies that
are too low to be seen by the
human eye with wavelengths
ranging between 10nm and
390nm.

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Wavelength
It is the length that one cycle of an
electromagnetic wave occupies in
space

c
f

= wavelength (meters/cycle)
c = velocity of light (300,000,000 meter per second)
f = frequency (hertz)

Optical Fiber Construction

The Nature of light

2 DIVISION OF LIGHT
1. COMPOSITE LIGHT
2. MONOCHROMATIC LIGHT

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Composite light

Energy of a photon, Ep
E p hf ; Joules (J)
=

hc

where:
h = Planck's constant
= 6.625 x 10-34 J-s
f = frequency, Hz
c = velocity of light, 3 x 108 m/s

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Examples
1. Calculate the wavelengths of red
and violet light.
Freq. of red light = 4.4 X 1014 Hz
Freq. of violet light = 7 X 1014 Hz

Answers
0.68 micron or 680 nm
0.43 micron or 430 nm

Example:
Calculate the energy of the
photon of infrared light energy
at 1.55 m.

Snells law
Predicts the refraction that
takes place when light is
transmitted between two
different materials

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Refractive Index
It is simply the ratio of the
velocity of propagation of a light
ray in free space to the velocity
of propagation of a light ray in a
given material

Refractive Index
n=

c
v

n = refractive index (unitless)

c = speed of light in free space
(3x108 meters per second)
v = speed of light in a given material
(meters per second)

n2 = n1

n2

n1

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n2

n1

n2

n1

n2 > n1
n2

n1

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n1 > n2
n2

n1

Optical fiber

angle of
refraction

n1>n2
n2

n1

angle of
incidence

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Snells law

n1sin1 = n2sin2

Example
For a glass (n = 1.55) to ethyl
alcohol (n = 1.36) interface, and
an angle of incidence of 33
degrees, determine the angle of
refraction.

Critical angle
Defined as the minimum angle
of incidence at which a light ray
may strike the interface of two
media and result in an angle of
refraction of 90 degrees

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n1>n2
n2

n1

n1>n2
n2

n1

2=900

1=c

0
(1)
n1sin
1c = n2sin
90
2

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n1 sinc = n2

n
sin c 2
n1

Example
1. Determine the critical angle
beyond which an underwater
light source will not shine into
the air

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Propagation of light
through an optical fiber
Light can be propagated down
an optical fiber cable by either
reflection or refraction

Optical fiber

Acceptance angle or
acceptance cone half
angle
Defines the maximum angle in
which external light rays may
strike the air / fiber interface
and still propagate down the
fiber

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n0
n1
c
inmax

inmax

inmax

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Acceptance cone

Numerical aperture
is a figure of merit that is used to
measure the light gathering or light
collecting ability of an optical

NA n12 n22

Example
1. An optical fiber core and its
cladding have refractive
indexes of 1.52 and 1.48
respectively. Calculate N.A.
and in (max).

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Example
A glass clad fiber is made
with core glass of refractive
index 1.500, and the cladding
is doped to give a fractional
index difference of 0.0005.
Find a. the cladding index b.
the critical internal reflection
angle, c. the external critical
acceptance angle, and d. the
numerical aperture.

Example
Core glass of index 1.6200 is to
be used to make a step index
fiber with an acceptance cone
angle of 100.
A. What will the internal critical
reflection angle be? B. What
should the cladding index be?
C. What fractional index
difference does this give?

Mode of propagation
simply means path

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Two modes of
propagation
1. Single mode
there is only one path for light
to take down the cable

2. Multimode
there is more than one path

Index profile
A graphical representation
of the refractive index of
the core

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Two basic types

1. STEP INDEX
2. GRADED INDEX

Step index fiber

has a central core
with a
uniform refractive index
the core is surrounded by an
outside cladding with a uniform
refractive index less than that
of the central core

Graded index
The refractive index of the
core is non uniform, and
there is no cladding
The refractive index is
highest at the center and
decreases gradually toward
the outer edge

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Optical fiber configuration

3 TYPES
1. SINGLE MODE STEP INDEX
2. MULTIMODE STEP INDEX
3. MULTIMODE GRADED INDEX

Single mode Step

index
Has a central core that is
sufficiently small so that
there is essentially only one
path that light may take as
it propagates down the
cable

Single mode Step

index

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Multimode Step index

Similar to the single mode
configuration except that
the center core is much
larger

Multimode Step index

Multimode Graded index

Characterized by a central
core that has a refractive
index that is nonuniform

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Multimode Graded index

Losses in Optical Fiber

cables
1. ABSORPTION LOSS
2. MATERIAL OR RAYLEIGH
SCATTERING LOSS
3. CHROMATIC OR WAVELENGTH
DISPERSION
4. MODAL DISPERSION
5. RADIATION LOSS
6. COUPLING LOSSES

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Absorption loss
Impurities in the fiber absorb
the light and convert it to heat

Example
1. Calculate the optical power 60 km
from a 0.1 mW source on a single
mode fiber that has 0.20 db/km
loss.
2. A system operating at 1.55 m
exhibits a loss of 0.35 db/km. If 225
W of light power is fed into the
fiber, calculate the received power
through a 20-km section.

Material or Rayleigh
scattering loss
When light rays that are
propagating down a fiber may
strike one of the impurities in
the fiber, they are diffracted
which causes light to disperse
or spread out in many direction
thus, some light may continues
down the fiber but some of it
escapes through the cladding.

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Chromatic or
wavelength dispersion
Each wavelength within the
composite light signal travels at
a different velocity and
therefore do not arrive at the
far end of the fiber at the same
time, causing chromatic
distortion

Modal dispersion or
pulse spreading
Caused by the difference in the
propagation times of light rays
that take different paths down
a fiber
Occur only in multimode fibers

Bandwidth Length Product

(BLP) or Bandwidth
Distance Product (BDP)
- It indicates what signal
frequencies can be propagated
through a given distance of fiber
cable and is expressed
mathematically as the product
of distance and bandwidth
(sometimes called linewidth)
- Expressed in Mhz-km units

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Example
For a 350-m optical fiber cable
with a BLP of 700 Mhz-km,
determine the bandwidth.

For UPRZ transmissions, the maximum

data transmission rate in bits per
second (bps) is expressed as

f b(bps)

1
t x L

For UPNRZ transmissions, the

maximum data transmission rate in
bits per second (bps) is expressed
as

fb(bps)

1
2t x L

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Example
For an optical fiber 20km long
with a pulse spreading
constant of 10ns/km, determine
the maximum digital
transmission rates for
a. Return to zero
b. Nonreturn to zero
transmissions

Example
Calculate the maximum
length of a dispersionlimited system where the
fiber has a 0.0015 s/km
dispersion and a 50 Mbps
bit rate.

Example
2. The length of the fiber optic
cable is 0.367 km. Its maximum
data rate 43 Mbps. What is its
dispersion factor?

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Radiation losses
Caused by small bends in the
fiber

Coupling losses
1. Lateral misalignment
2. Gap misalignment
3. Angular misalignment
4. Imperfect surface finish

Light Sources
2 TYPES
1. LED Light emitting diode
2. ILD injection laser diode

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Comparison between
LED and ILD
ILDs have a more direct
radiation pattern , it is easier to
couple their light into an optical
fiber
The radiant output power from
an ILD is greater than that for
an LED
Typical output:
ILD
5mW
LED
0.5 mW

Comparison between
LED and ILD
ILDs can be used at higher bit
rates than can LEDs
ILDs generate monochromatic
light, which reduces chromatic
or wavelength dispersion
ILDs are typically on the order
of 10 times more expensive
than LEDs

ILDs are more temperature

dependent than LEDs
ILDs
have
typically
much
shorter lifetime than LEDs

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Light detectors
2 TYPES
1. PIN (Positive Intrinsic
Negative)
2. APD (Avalanche
Photodiode)

Comparisons
APDs are more
than PIN diodes

sensitive

APDs require less additional

amplification

OPTICAL FIBER SYSTEM

DESIGN
The system design develops a
power budget, similar in many
respects to the path analysis
or link budget of Line Of Sight
(LOS) microwave and satellite
communication link design.
However, there is a little
variability in a fiber optic link
budget; for example there is no
fading.

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Link Budget
It is calculated between a light
source and a light detector
Consists of a light power
source, light detector, and
various cable and connector
losses.

Losses typical to optical

fiber links:
Cable losses
- depend on cable length,
material, material purity.
- generally given in db/km and
can vary between a few tenths
of a dB to several dB per
kilometer.

Losses typical to optical

fiber links:
Connector losses
- typically vary between a few
tenths of a dB to as much as
2dB for each connector.

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Losses typical to optical

fiber links:
Source to cable interface
loss
- small percentage of optical
power is not coupled into the
cable, representing a power
loss to the system of several
tenths of a dB.

Losses typical to optical

fiber links:
Cable to light detector
interface loss
- represents a loss to the
system usually of afew tenths of
a dB.

Losses typical to optical

fiber links:
Splicing loss
- splices are not perfect, losses
ranging from a coupling tenths
of a dB to a several dB can be
introduced to the signal.

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Losses typical to optical

fiber links:
Cable bends
- When an optical cable is bent
at too large an angle, the
internal characteristics of the
cable can change dramatically.

Example
Determine the optical power received in dBm
and watts for a 20km optical fiber link with
the following parameters:
LED ouput power of 30mW
Four 5-km sections of optical cable each
with a loss of 0.5 dB/km
3 cable-to-cable connectors with a loss of
2dB each
No cable splices
Light source-to-fiber interface loss of 1.9dB
Fiber-to-light detector loss of 2.1 dB
No losses due to cable bends

The fiber margin fm of

several decibels (e.g. 6 db)
must be included into the
analysis to account for extra
splice losses in the event of
future cable breaks or
deterioration in the optical
light source output power over
the lifetime of the link.

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CCITT recommends 3 db for

link budget. Others
recommend 6 db

Make a power budget analysis for

a fiber optic system with the
following characteristics
Losses
LED to fiber connection 5 db
Three connectors 1.5 db each
Six splicers 0.5 db each
10 km of fiber 0.6 db/km
Fiber to detector 6 db
Specifications
LED power output
0.1 mW
Detector sensitivity 0.1 W
Max. Bit rate
5 Mbps
Total fiber dispersion 4 ns /km

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