This document discusses considerations for optical sources used in fiber optics. It outlines key factors such as physical dimensions that suit fiber, a narrow radiation pattern, linear output power proportional to driving current, fast response time, adequate output power, narrow spectral width, stability, efficiency, driving circuit issues, and reliability and cost. It then describes semiconductor light sources like LEDs and lasers, how they operate, materials used, and the advantages of heterostructure devices over homojunction devices in reducing diffraction loss.
Original Description:
A basic description about LEDs,homodyne and heterodyne sources in optical communication.
This document discusses considerations for optical sources used in fiber optics. It outlines key factors such as physical dimensions that suit fiber, a narrow radiation pattern, linear output power proportional to driving current, fast response time, adequate output power, narrow spectral width, stability, efficiency, driving circuit issues, and reliability and cost. It then describes semiconductor light sources like LEDs and lasers, how they operate, materials used, and the advantages of heterostructure devices over homojunction devices in reducing diffraction loss.
This document discusses considerations for optical sources used in fiber optics. It outlines key factors such as physical dimensions that suit fiber, a narrow radiation pattern, linear output power proportional to driving current, fast response time, adequate output power, narrow spectral width, stability, efficiency, driving circuit issues, and reliability and cost. It then describes semiconductor light sources like LEDs and lasers, how they operate, materials used, and the advantages of heterostructure devices over homojunction devices in reducing diffraction loss.
Considerations with Optical Sources Considerations with Optical Sources
Physical dimensions to suit the fiber
Ability to be directly modulated by varying Narrow radiation pattern (beam width) driving current
Linearity (output light power proportional to Fast response time (wide band) driving current) Adequate output power into the fiber
Considerations… Semiconductor Light Sources
A PN junction (that consists of direct band gap Narrow spectral width (or line width) semiconductor materials) acts as the active or recombination region. Stability and efficiency When the PN junction is forward biased, electrons and holes recombine either radiatively (emitting Driving circuit issues photons) or non-radiatively (emitting heat). This is Reliability and cost simple LED operation. In a LASER, the photon is further processed in a resonance cavity to achieve a coherent, highly directional optical beam with narrow linewidth. Light Emission The Light Emitting Diode (LED) For fiber-optics, the LED should have a high Basic LED operation: When an electron radiance (light intensity), fast response time and a jumps from a higher energy state (Ec) to a high quantum efficiency lower energy state (Ev) the difference in energy Ec- Ev is released either Double or single hetero-structure devices Surface emitting (diffused radiation) Vs Edge as a photon of energy E = hν (radiative emitting (more directional) LED’s recombination) Emitted wavelength depends on bandgap energy as heat (non-radiative recombination)
Materials for LEDs Homojunction
The p-n junction of the basic GaAs LED/laser described before is called a homojunction because only one type of semiconductor material is used in the junction with different dopants to produce the junction itself. The index of refraction of the material depends upon the impurity used and the doping level. Heterojunction Heterojunction Structure The Heterojunction region is actually lightly Heterojunction is the advanced junction design to doped with p-type material and has the reduce diffraction loss in the optical cavity. highest index of refraction. This is accomplished by modification of the laser The n-type material and the more heavily doped p-type material both have lower indices of material to control the index of refraction of the refraction. cavity and the width of the junction. This produces a light pipe effect that helps to confine the laser light to the active junction region. In the homojunction, however, this index difference is low and much light is lost.