Fiber Optics

Syed Muhammad Munavvar Hussain

B. Sc. Electrical Engineering
Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan.
 Introduction

• Fibers of glass
Usually 120 micrometers
in diameter
Used to carry signals in
the form of light over
distances up to 50 km.
No repeaters needed.
 Parts of Optical Fiber
• Core
thin glass centre of
the fiber where light
travels
• Cladding
1. outer optical
material surrounding
the core
2. reflects light back
into the core
 Parts of Optical Fiber
• Buffer coating
the plastic coating that protects the fiber
from physical damage or moisture
provides mechanical isolation
fiber identification in fiber cables
• Du Pont Kevlar
used to provide strengthening to the
optical cables
How are Optical Fiber's made?

• Three Steps are involved:

-Making a Pre-form Glass Cylinder
-Drawing the Fiber's from the pre-form
-Testing the Fiber
Advantages of Optical Fiber
• Thinner
• Less Expensive
• Higher Carrying Capacity
• Less Signal Degradation & Digital Signals
• Light Signals
• Non-Flammable
• Light Weight
• Lower power
• Wider bandwidth (10 GHz)
• Flexible
• Crosstalk immunity
Advantages of Optical Fiber
(Contd..)
• Immunity to static interference
– Lightening
– Florescent light
• Higher environment immunity
– Weather, temperature, etc.
• Safety: Fiber is non-metallic, no explosion, no
chock
• Longer lasting
• Economical
– Low transmission loss (dB/km)
– Fewer repeaters
– Less cable
Disadvantages of Optical Fiber
• Needs more expensive optical transmitters
and receivers
• More difficult and expensive to splice than
the metallic wires
• More qualified and experienced persons
are required for maintenance and
handling
• Lower tensile strength
 Areas of Application
• Telecommunications
• Local Area Networks
• Cable TV
• CCTV
• Optical Fiber Sensors
Optical Fiber Architecture
TX, RX, and Fiber Link

Transmitter
Input Coder or Light Source-to-Fiber
Signal Converter Source Interface

Fiber-optic Cable

Output
Fiber-to-light Light Amplifier/Shaper Signal
Interface Detector Decoder
Receiver
Optical Fiber Architecture- Components
• Light source:
– Amount of light emitted is proportional to the
drive current
– Two common types:
• LED (Light Emitting Diode)
• ILD (Injection Laser Diode)
• Source–to-fiber-coupler (similar to a lens):
– A mechanical interface to couple the light
emitted by the source into the optical fiber
• Light detector:
– PIN (p-type-intrinsic-n-type)
– APD (avalanche photo diode)
– Both convert light energy into current
 Light Sources (Briefly…)
• Light-Emitting Diodes (LED)
– made from material such as AlGaAs or GaAsP
– light is emitted when electrons and holes
recombine
– either surface emitting or edge emitting
• Injection Laser Diodes (ILD)
– similar in construction as LED except ends are
highly polished to reflect photons back & forth
 ILD versus LED
• Advantages:
– more focused radiation pattern; smaller Fiber
– much higher radiant power; longer span
– faster ON, OFF time; higher bit rates possible
– monochromatic light; reduces dispersion
• Disadvantages:
– much more expensive
– higher temperature; shorter lifespan
 Light Detectors
• PIN Diodes
– photons are absorbed in the intrinsic layer
– sufficient energy is added to generate carriers in
the depletion layer for current to flow through the
device
• Avalanche Photodiodes (APD)
– Photo-generated electrons are accelerated by
relatively large reverse voltage and collide with
other atoms to produce more free electrons
– avalanche multiplication effect makes APD more
sensitive but also more noisy than PIN diodes
 Type of Fibers
Single-mode fibers
• supports only single
path of propagation
• used to transmit one
signal per fiber (used in
telephone and cable TV)
• have small cores(9
microns in diameter) and
transmit infra-red light
from laser
Type of Fibers (Contd..)
Multi-mode fibers
• Supports many
propagation paths
• used to transmit many
signals per fiber (used in
computer networks).
• have larger cores(62.5
microns in diameter) and
transmit infra-red light
from LED
Type of Fibers (Contd..)

Multi-mode fibers are further categorized as:

• Multi-mode step-index fiber
Discussed in previous slide, has constant refractive
index throughout the core.
• Multi-mode graded-index fiber
It is an optical fiber whose core has a refractive
index that decreases with increasing radial
distance from the fiber axis (the imaginary
central axis running down the length of the
fiber).
Type of Fibers (Contd..)
 How Does Optical Fiber
Transmit Light?
• Using principle of Total Internal
Reflection
• Fiber Optics Relay Systems has
-Transmitter
-Optical Fiber
-Optical Regenerator
-Optical Receiver
 Total Internal Reflection
…It is an optical phenomena that occurs when a
ray of light strikes a medium boundary at an angle
larger than the critical angle with respect to the
normal to the surface.
…If the refractive index is lower on the other side
of the boundary no light can pass through, so
effectively all of the light is reflected. The critical
angle is the angle of incidence above which the
total internal reflection occurs.
Total Internal Reflection
Acceptance Cone & Numerical
Aperture

Acceptance n2 cladding
Cone θC n1 core
n2 cladding
-If the angle too large  light will be lost in cladding
- If the angle is small enough  the light reflects into core and propagates

Number of Modes (NM) :

In Step index: V2/2 ; where V=(2pa/l); a=radius of the core
In Graded index: V2/4 ; where V=(2pa/l); a=radius of the core

Graded index provides fewer modes!

Acceptance Cone & Numerical Aperture
(Contd..)

Acceptance n2 cladding
Cone θC n1 core
n2 cladding

Acceptance angle, qc, is the maximum angle in which

external light rays may strike the air/Fiber interface
and still propagate down the Fiber with <10 dB loss.
Note: n1 belongs to core and n2 refers to cladding).

−1 2 2
θ C = sin n1 − n2
Losses in Optical Fiber Cables
• The predominant losses in optic Fibers are:
– absorption losses due to impurities in the Fiber
material
– material or Rayleigh scattering losses due to
microscopic irregularities in the Fiber
– chromatic or wavelength dispersion because of the
use of a non-monochromatic source
– radiation losses caused by bends and kinks in the
Fiber
– pulse spreading or modal dispersion due to rays
taking different paths down the Fiber (ms/km)
– coupling losses caused by misalignment & imperfect
surface finishes
 Scattering
• Scattering is due to irregularity of materials
• When a beam of light interacts with a material, part of it
is transmitted, part it is reflected, and part of it is
scattered
– Scattered light passes through cladding and is lost
• Over 99% of the scattered radiation has the same
frequency as the incident beam:
– This is referred to as Rayleigh scattering
• A small portion of the scattered radiation has frequencies
different from that of the incident beam:
– This is referred to as Raman scattering
Scattering (Contd..)
Absorption Losses In Optic
Fiber
Absorption Losses In Optic
Fiber
Windows of operation:
6 Rayleigh scattering 825-875 nm
& ultraviolet 1270-1380 nm
5 absorption 1475-1525 nm
Loss (dB/km)

4
3 Peaks caused Infrared
by OH- ions
2 absorption
1
0
0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7
Wavelength (mm)
Single-mode Fiber Wavelength Division Multiplexer
(980/1550nm, 1310/1550nm, 1480/1550nm, 1550, 1625nm)
Fiber Alignment Impairments

Axial displacement Gap displacement

Angular displacement Imperfect surface finish

Causes of power loss as the light travels through the fiber!

 Testing of Optical Fiber
• Tensile Strength
• Refractive Index Profile
• Fiber Geometry
• Information Carrying Capacity
• Operating temperature/humidity range
• Ability to conduct light under water
• Attenuation
 Conclusion
• This concludes our study of Fiber Optics.
• We have looked at how they work and
how they are made.
• We have examined the properties of
fibers, and how fibers are joined together.
• Although this presentation does not cover
all the aspects of optical fiber work it will
have equipped you knowledge and skills
essential to the fiber optic industry.