FIBER OPTIC

BASICS
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Revision A
Part # 32704

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 The Nature of Light
Classifying Light .................................................................... 1-3
Power .................................................................................... 1-4
Wavelength .......................................................................... 1-5
Reflection & Refraction ........................................................ 1-6
Rayleigh Scattering ............................................................ 1-11

Chapter 2 Optical Fiber Characteristics

Typical Optical Fiber Parameters ......................................... 2-3
Optical Fiber Types ............................................................... 2-4
Singlemode vs. Multimode Fiber ......................................... 2-5
Fiber Geometry Problems..................................................... 2-6
Index of Refraction (n) ......................................................... 2-7
Attenuation .......................................................................... 2-9
Causes of Attenuation ....................................................... 2-10
Dispersion ........................................................................... 2-11
Splice Loss Due to Core Mismatch ..................................... 2-12
Causes of Connector Loss ................................................... 2-13

Chapter 3 Optical Measurements

Testing Fiber - Why? ............................................................. 3-3
Testing Fiber - When? .......................................................... 3-4
Testing Fiber - What? ........................................................... 3-5
Attenuation Measurement .................................................. 3-6
OTDR Block Diagram ............................................................ 3-7
How an OTDR Works ............................................................ 3-8

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

TOC-1

Reflected Light ..................................................................... 3-9

Returned Light ................................................................... 3-10
OTDR Distance Measurements ........................................... 3-11
OTDR Loss Measurements .................................................. 3-13
OTDR Trace Basics ............................................................... 3-15
Measuring Optical Return Loss .......................................... 3-16
Wavelength - Scattering Loss............................................. 3-17
Wavelength - Bending Loss ............................................... 3-18
Deadzones .......................................................................... 3-19
Event Deadzone ................................................................. 3-21
Attenuation Deadzone ...................................................... 3-22
Fresnel Characteristics ........................................................ 3-23
Fusion Splices ...................................................................... 3-24
Why Losers and Gainers? ................................................... 3-25
Dynamic Range ................................................................... 3-26
Backscatter vs. Dynamic Range .......................................... 3-27
Resolution ........................................................................... 3-28
Data Sampling Resolution ................................................. 3-29
Spatial Resolution - Long Pulse ......................................... 3-30
Spatial Resolution - Short Pulse ......................................... 3-31
Spatial Resolution - Long vs. Short Pulse Widths ............. 3-32

TOC-2

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Chapter 1
The Nature of Light

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 1-1

Classifying Light
Optical Power is measured in dBm.
Color (Wavelength) 380nm (blue) to 750nm
(red) is visible to humans. Fiber optic systems
typically transmit at 850, 1300, 1310 and
1550nm.
Increased demand for bandwidth is driving
Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM)
systems which transmit from 1520 to 1580nm
using 4, 8,16, or 32 wavelength channels or
more over a single fiber.

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 1-3

Power
Like a light bulb:
more wattage = brighter light
FO transmitters:
about 1mw (0 dBm)
Power ranges:
+20 dBm to -70 dBm

Page 1-4

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Wavelength
Measure of Color of light
Units in nanometers (nm) or microns (m)
Different colors (wavelengths) exhibit different
characteristics. ex: red & orange sunsets; yellow
fog lights

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 1-5

Reflection & Refraction

Reflection is a light ray BOUNCING
off of the interface of two materials

Refraction is the BENDING of the light ray

as it changes speed going from one material
to another

Page 1-6

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Refraction & Reflection

A ray of light in glass will bend (refract) away from the

direction of travel as it escapes to the surrounding air.
The amount of this refraction angle is constant for any single
wavelength. Some light is reflected off the glass-air surface
back into the glass.
FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 1-7

Refraction & Reflection

When the angle becomes shallow enough, the reflected ray

does not leave the glass at all, but travels along the air-glass
interface. This angle is called the Critical Angle.

Page 1-8

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Refraction & Reflection

At angles beyond the Critical Angle, all light is Reflected back

into the fiber at the same angle it strikes the air-glass interface.
This condition is known as Total Internal Reflectance

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 1-9

Refraction & Reflection

As long as the light ray stays at the Critical Angle or less

when it hits the air-glass interface, it will remain in the fiber
until it reaches the other end.
In a glass fiber the light remains in the core because light
reflects at core/cladding boundary.

Page 1-10

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Rayleigh Scattering

As light passes through a particle, part of it is scattered in

all directions. The part that returns to the source is called
BACKSCATTER.

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 1-11

Chapter 2
Optical Fiber
Characteristics

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 2-1

Typical Optical Fiber

Parameters
Most Transmission Glass Fiber has the Following Properties:

The denser Core is centered within the Cladding. Light

travels in the core only. The Buffer protects the glass fiber.

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 2-3

Optical Fiber Types

Multimode fiber has a
large core relative to
the cladding diameter.

Singlemode fiber has a

smaller core relative to
the cladding diameter.

Page 2-4

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Multimode vs.
Singlemode Fiber

Multimode allows many paths (modes) for light to travel

Singlemode allows only one single path for light to travel

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 2-5

Fiber Geometry Problems

All fibers are allowed a certain tolerance in the core/cladding

geometry. This can cause light loss at joints between fibers.

Page 2-6

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Index of Refraction (n)

C is a constant. V depends
on the density of the glass.
More dense glass causes light to go
slower (smaller v =>larger n).

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 2-7

Index of Refraction (n)

How IOR Affects Fiber Characteristics

The core of the fiber has an Index of Refraction (n1) which is

different than the Index of Refraction of the cladding (n2).
These two values determine the acceptance angle and critical
angle of the fiber.

Page 2-8

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Attenuation
As light is guided through the core, four properties can cause
attenuation:
1. ABSORPTION occurs when light strikes impurities
in the core glass and is absorbed.
2. SCATTERING occurs when light strikes an area
where the material density changes.
3. MACROBENDING is large-scale bending of the
fiber which exceeds the fiber bend radius and causes
light to leave the core and travel in the cladding
(usually an installation problem).
4. MICROBENDING is microscopic distortion of the
fiber which causes light to leave the core and travel in
the cladding (created during manufacturing).

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 2-9

Causes of Attenuation

Page 2-10

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Dispersion
DISPERSION is the spread of a pulse of light as it is guided
through the fiber.
There are 3 types of dispersion:
1. MODAL dispersion occurs when various modes of
light follows different paths through the fiber and
arrive at the far end at different times. It occurs only
in multimode fibers.
2. MATERIAL (or CHROMATIC) dispersion occurs
because different wavelengths (colors) of light
travel at different velocities through the fiber.
3. WAVEGUIDE dispersion occurs because light travels
in both the core and cladding at slightly different
speeds. It is most significant in singlemode fibers.
4. POLARIZATION MODE DISPERSION occurs
when the X and Y polarization states of a light signal
travel at different speeds through a fiber. This is
similar to MODAL dispersion except that it can be
of significance in singlemode fibers.
FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 2-11

Splice Loss Due to Core

Mismatch

Off-center core in the second fiber does not receive all the
light from the first fiber. The amount of light lost is the
Splice Loss.

Page 2-12

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Causes of Connector Loss

End-Face Separation

Angular Separation
(end-face not cleaved
to perpendicular)

Core Misalignment

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 2-13

Chapter 3
Optical Measurements

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-1

Testing Fiber - Why?

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Verify specs

Check handling

Record best condition

Detect defects

Locate faults

Troubleshoot problems

Page 3-3

Testing Fiber - When?

Page 3-4

At Factory

When Received

After Placed

After/During Splicing

System Acceptance

Periodic (Annual)

Troubleshooting

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Testing Fiber - What?

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Continuity

Average Loss (dB/Km)

Splice Loss & Location

Reflectance / ORL

End-to-End Attenuation

Overall Length

Page 3-5

Attenuation Measurement

The simplest and most accurate method of measuring the

end to end loss of an optical span is with a light source and a
power meter. Shown here is the proper method for storing a
reference and then measuring loss.
Multimode optical measurements require a mandrel wrap at
the source end. Bi-directional testing further improves loss
accuracy.

Page 3-6

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

OTDR Block Diagram

The OTDR sends out a pulse of light and measures the level
of light that is reflected back. An optical coupler allows both
optical source and optical receiver to be connected to the
same fiber.

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-7

How an OTDR Works

The modern OTDR knows how fast light will travel through
the core of the fiber under test because of the index of refraction
(IOR) setting. The OTDR knows how far it needs to measure
because of the fiber length setting. With this information, the
OTDR will repeatedly sample the level of reflected light.
GN Nettests CMA4000 takes up to 16,384 samples of reflected light per pulse of transmitted light. This means that if
the fiber length setting was 128 km, sampling would occur
every 8 meters (128 km/16384).
In REAL TIME mode the CMA4000 sends out between 64 to
256 pulses of light per trace, depending on the current
pulsewidth. In Average mode (FAST, MED, SLOW) the unit
will send out either 2048, 32768, or 261,288 pulses of light.
The sample points collected are in this way averaged to present
screen trace.

Page 3-8

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Reflected Light

Rayleigh Backscatter = 5 log (Po WS)-10x(log e)

Where: Po is the launched optical power in watts
W is the transmitted pulsewidth in seconds
S

is the scattering factor expressed in watts/Joule

is the fiber attenuation coefficient in Nepers/m

x

is the distance along the fiber

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-9

Returned Light
An OTDR relies on returned light for making measurements. There are two forms of returned light: reflected and
scattered.
Reflected light is called FRESNEL REFLECTION. When
light passes from one index of refraction to another some
light is always reflected back.
There is an air gap between fiber ends joined with mechanical connectors. As light passes from the index of the core to
the lower index of air, a high amount of reflection can take
place. Initial and End Fresnel Reflections are good examples
of events resulting from the glass-to-air transition.
The backscattering of light is called RAYLEIGH SCATTERING.
This scattering is the result of variations in the density of the
core glass. Glass density is not uniform. As light passes from
one density to another, there is some scattering of the light, and
a small amount returns to the OTDR.
Page 3-10

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

OTDR Distance
Measurement
Where: d is distance
c

is the speed of light

is the time

n is the Index of Refraction

As shown in the formula above, if n is incorrect, then the
distance measured will also be wrong!

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-11

OTDR Distance
Measurements
Index of Refraction is set for a wavelength to
measure fiber distance
More fiber than cable (approx. 2 to 6%)
Ground location is most important. Need to
compensate for loops & slack in fiber and cable
Use landmarks to correlate OTDR to ground
distances

Page 3-12

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

OTDR Loss
Measurements
OTDR measures BACKSCATTER,
and detects REFLECTIONS

Compares BACKSCATTER levels to

determine loss between points in fiber

Splice losses determined by amount of

shift in backscatter

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-13

OTDR Loss
Measurements

Backscatter is directly related to the signal in the test pulse.

As the signal decreases, so does the backscatter. The difference in strength between two points of backscatter is the
same as the difference in strength between the test pulse at
the same two points.

Page 3-14

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

OTDR Trace Basics

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-15

Measuring ORL
Optical Return Loss

ORL is calculated as the total amount of light returning

from the area between the cursors below the trace line to the
noise level. It includes total Backscatter and all Reflections.

Page 3-16

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Wavelength
Scattering Loss Difference

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-17

Wavelength
Bending Loss Difference

Higher wavelengths are more sensitive to bend losses.

Page 3-18

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Deadzones
Specified as a DISTANCE

Determines how CLOSE to the OTDR

you can detect and measure a splice loss

Determines how CLOSE TOGETHER

two events (splices) can be measured

Directly related to PULSE WIDTH:

larger pulse widths produce larger dead zones

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-19

Deadzones

A dead zone is the portion of a trace where an OTDR cannot

take accurate measurements because it is in a recovery or
transitional state.
Page 3-20

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Event Deadzone

An Event Deadzone is the area between two points 1.5 dB

from the top of an unsaturated reflection.

An Event Deadzone ends 1.5 dB down after pulse recovery,

where another pulse could be distinguished if present.
FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-21

Attenuation Deadzone

An Attenuation Deadzone is measured from the beginning of a

pulse to a point 0.5 dB above the extrapolated backscatter line.

Page 3-22

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Fresnel Characteristics

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-23

Fusion Splices

A fusion splice exhibits a deadzone approximately equal to

the pulsewidth.

Page 3-24

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Why Losers and Gainers?

TBs

equals the total backscatter

W1

equals the field radii of transmitting fiber

W2

equals the field radii of receiving fiber

The loss or gain in backscatter power across a splice due to

different mode field radii is calculated using the above formula.
The loss or gain at the splice can appear much larger than
the actual transmission loss.
Refer to the diagrams on page 3-24.
This happens when the fiber is only measured in one direction. Therefore, for greater accuracy, take loss measurements
in both directions, add the results, then divide by two.

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-25

Dynamic Range
Measured in dB. Typical range is 20-40dB
or more.

Describes how much loss an OTDR can

measure in a fiber, which in turn describes
how long of a fiber can be measured

Directly related to Pulse Width:

larger pulse widths provide larger
dynamic range

Increase by using longer PW and

by decreasing noise through averaging

Page 3-26

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Backscatter vs. Dynamic

Range

Backscatter range is from the bottom of the screen at zero dB to

the highest point of normal trace backscatter. This does not
include initial Fresnel reflection and recovery.
Dynamic Range (SNR=1 method) is measured down from the
highest point of normal backscatter to approximately 70.7% of
the peak noise floor. This is the usable portion of the trace.
FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-27

Resolution
Described as a DISTANCE

Two Types:
Data Sampling
Spatial Resolution (from Dead Zones)

Determines:
Accuracy of event location. If you can
measure two closely spaced splices in
the fiber.

Page 3-28

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Data Sampling
Resolution

The above graph charts resolution at both 8 meters and 16

meters, illustrating the effective accuracy in splice location.
Pulsewidth is the same in both cases, and is not affected by
sampling.
FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-29

Spatial Resolution
Dead Zone Effects From Using
Long Pulse Width

Long Pulse Width produces a longer Dead Zone preventing

the detection and measurement of individual splices. The
Pulse Width strikes the second connection before clearing
the first connection.

It is impossible to tell by looking at the trace which splice is

causing the high loss. The OTDR reports this as a Grouped
Event as it can not determine where one splice ends and the
next begins.
Page 3-30

FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Spatial Resolution
Dead Zone Effects From Using
Short Pulse Width

Short Pulse Width produces a shorter Dead Zone allowing

each splice to be measured individually. The Pulse Width
clears the first connection before striking the second. This
produces Rayleigh Scattering between the splices allowing
individual measurement.

It is now quite easy to determine which splice is causing the

greater loss.
FIBER OPTIC BASICS

Page 3-31

Spatial Resolution
Long vs. Short Pulse Widths

By using a Long Pulse Width takes longer to make the transition from backscatter of the first fiber to backscatter of the
second fiber. Short Pulse Width makes a sharper transition.
Page 3-32

FIBER OPTIC BASICS