Session 01 Fundamental Law of Optics

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Session 01 References

Main Reference: Chapter 1, 2, 3

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Light Propagation

Light normally goes in straight lines but lenses and mirrors can deflect it. It was proven that (Wheeler) that light can go around corners. Total internal reflections can guide light along a glass rod. An optical fiber guides light in a manner similar to a very thin glass rod. Optical fiber can guide it around corners.

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Light Propagation

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Characteristics of Fiber
Optical Fiber evolved from devices developed to guide light which normally go in straight lines. In some cases or applications, lights must go around corners. Light phenomenon called total internal reflections can confine light inside transparent material and guide along the material. A very thin glass rod is called an optical fiber can guide light. Total reflection occurs when light travelling in one medium tries to enter a medium with lower refractive index.

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Characteristics of Fiber
Coating fiber with certain material resulted in a cladded fiber. Cladding is protecting the core fiber with transparent material of lower refractive index. Clad fibers were the key development in making fiber optic suitable for practical application. Invention of laser stimulated interest in optical communications. Optical fibers have very high bandwidth. Glass fibers are inherently strong allowing their use in outdoor cables.

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Characteristics of Fiber

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Characteristics of Fiber
Fiber optics has revolutionized telecommunications by supplying tremendous bandwidth which previously was in short supply. Fiber optics technology is still developing and continue to dominate the telecommunication industry. The telecommunication network distributes and transmits information. Communication system consists of pipes (transmission system) that transmit signal and switches that directs them to their destination.

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Characteristics of Fiber

Light is one type of electromagnetic radiation. It is a part of the EM spectrum with a distinct range of wavelength, frequencies and photon energies. Optical wavelengths include near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared. Light can be viewed.

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Basic of Optics

Duality Wave Length Wave Phase & Interference Refractive Total internal reflection

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Basic of Optics
Light can be considered as Electromagnetic waves or particles called photons (duality concept). A photon is a quantum of Electromagnetic energy. A light wave consists of electric and magnetic fields. A single photon is a short packet of waves. The light carried in fiber optic communications system can be viewed as either a wave or a particle. Light waves add or subtract amplitude depending on their relative phase. Refraction occurs when light changes speed as it goes between two materials; the path of the light bends.

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Basic of Optics

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Basic of Optics
Refractive index is the speed of light in vacuum divided the speed of light in a material. = (c vacuum /cmaterial) The angle of incidence (I) at the surface and the angle of refraction (R) of the transmitted light determine the bending. Snell low describes the bending: i sin(I) = r sin(R) Total reflection occurs when light in a high index material hits a boundary of a material of lower refractive index at a glancing angle.
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Basic of Optics

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Light Guiding

Cladding Impurities Core cladding Confinement angle

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Light Guiding
Key elements of optical fiber are core and cladding. Core is the inner part of the fiber and cladding surrounds it. Light is guided in the core of an optical fiber by total internal reflection at the boundary. The angle over which a fiber accepts light depends on the refactive indexes of the core and cladding. The acceptance angle is the angle over which light entering the fiber will be guided along the core. NA = (c2 cl2)

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Light Guiding

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Light Guiding

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Light Guiding

Core 9 m

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Light Collection
An optical fiber will pick up some light from any light source. Coupling light efficiently into the fiber requires focusing and aligning onto the core within the acceptance angle of the fiber. Light source size and alignment are critical in collecting light in a fiber core. For communication system it is more efficient to use a light source that is close to the fiber core size such as semiconductor laser or LED (for larger core). Transferring light between fiber requires careful alignment; hence, joining the ends of optical fibers requires careful alignment and tight tolerances. Transfer losses must be considered.
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Light Collection

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Fiber for Transmission

Degradation Attenuation Dispersion Crosstalk General Properties Bandwidth Mechanical Strength Cross section Transmission Capacity

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Fiber Attenuation

Attenuation, dispersion, and cross talk can degrade signals transmitted by fibers. Absorption, scattering, and light leakage are the component of fiber attenuation. Atoms within the fiber scatter light out of the core. Attenuation of a fiber is the product of the length times the characteristic loss in decibels per kilometer.

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Bandwidth and Dispersion

Optical fibers are unique in transmitting high speed signals with low attenuation,whereas the attenuation of copper wires increases with signal frequency. Dispersion limits fiber transmission bandwidth Cross talk is the leakage of signals between nominally independend channels. Nonlinear interactions between optical channels in the same fiber can cause cross talk. Electronics play important roles in fiber optic equipment Transmitter wavelength depends on the applicaton requirements. A receiver converts an optical signal into electronic form.
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Parameters

Major fiber properties Attenuation as a function of wavelength. Collection of light into fiber (coupling). Transmission modes. Transmission capacity and pulse spreading. Operating Wavelength. Tolerances for splicing, connecting, temperature, abuse. Cost.

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