Optical communications

Chapter 2.3
Pham Quang Thai
Pqthai.hcmut@gmail.com

Content

Geometrical optics
Optical propagation in fiber
Fiber fabrication
Signal degradation in fiber
Types of fiber

Think-pair-share

Signal degradation in fiber

Dispersion

Dispersion
Intermodal

Intramodal (chromatic)

Material

Polarization
mode

Waveguide
5

Intermodal dispersion: different travel

times of modes

Material dispersion: different travel

speed of wavelengths

Waveguide dispersion: different travel

speed inside core and cladding

Polarization mode dispersion: different

travel speed of polarization modes
Polarization mode dispersion (video)

Polarization mode dispersion

Total pulse broadening due to fiber dispersion

DIM (ps/km)
Dm (ps/nm.km)
Dwg (ps/nm.km)
DPDM (ps/km)
L: length (km)
RMS: spectra width (nm)

10

Dispersion
Total dispersion in a fiber

11

Bragg reflection

Sir William Lawrence Bragg

Sir William Henry Bragg

12

Dispersion compensation
Fiber Bragg grating

13

Dispersion compensation
Linearly chirped fiber grating

14

Dispersion compensation
Linearly chirped fiber grating

15

Dispersion compensation
Fabricate fiber Bragg grating (video)

16

Wavelengths are delayed and reflected

at the same time

17

Think-pair-share
Dim light

18

Signal degradation in fiber

Attenuation

19

Attenuation
Absorption

Extrinsic

Intrinsic

Scattering

Mie
scattering

Rayleigh
scattering

Raman
scattering

Bending

Brillouin
scattering

20

Absorption
Extrinsic
Impurity ions: Fe, Cu, Co, Ni, Cr, Mn
OH- ions

Intrinsic
Infrared absorption by silicon-oxygen bonds
Ultraviolet absorption by silica

21

Mie scattering

22

Rayleigh scattering

23

Raman scattering: interaction between light waves and

the vibrational modes of silica molecules

Spontaneous process
Arbitrary direction

Brillouin scattering: light scatter from acoustic

waves

Thermal motions of atoms in a material

create acoustic vibrations, which lead to
density variations.
The incident light is reflected from a threedimensional diffraction grating (Bragg
reflection)

Mie
scattering

Rayleight
scattering

Raman
scattering

Brillouin
scattering

Elastic

Elastic

Inelastic

Inelastic

Irregularities
interface

Density
fluctuation

Molecule
vibration

Propagating
acoustic wave

Forward

Backward

Both
directions

Backward

Total attenuation in fiber

27

Nowadays, most optical devices utilize the C and L bands

28

Bending loss

Video: signal degradation in fiber

29

Content

Geometrical optics
Optical propagation in fiber
Fiber fabrication
Signal degradation in fiber others nonlinear
effects
Types of fiber

30

Self phase modulation (SPM): signal phase changes

with signal intensity (Kerr effect)
Kerr effect: refractive index changes with optical power
intensity

SPM: cause pulse broadening

Cross phase modulation (XPM): power fluctuation in

one channel is converted to phase fluctuation in other
channels
XPM causes pulse broadening and crosstalk

Four wave mixing (FWM): three optical frequencies mix

to produce a fourth intermodulation frequency
Channel spacing and fiber dispersion are small enough

N channels f ijk = f i + f j f k
1 2
N ( N 1) mixing products
2

FWM: causes crosstalk in WDM system

With equal channel spacing and fiber dispersion are small
enough

Mitigate with:
Unequal spacing
Dispersion management