Fiber Optic Coupler

Fiber optic couplers either split optical signals into multiple paths or combine multiple signals on one path. A Fiber
Coupler is an Optical Fiber device with one or more input fibers and one or several output fibers. Light from an
input fiber can appear at one or more outputs, with the power distribution potentially depending on the Wavelength
and polarization. Such couplers can be fabricated in different ways, for example by thermally fusing fibers so that
their cores get into intimate contact. If all involved fibers are single-mode (i.e., support only a single mode per
Polarization direction for a given wavelength), there are certain physical restrictions on the performance of the
coupler. In particular, it is not possible to combine two or more inputs of the same optical Frequency into one singlepolarization output without significant excess losses. However, such a restriction does not occur for different input
wavelengths: there are couplers which can combine two inputs at different wavelengths into one output without
exhibiting significant losses. Such couplers are used e.g. in fiber amplifiers to combine the signal input and the pump
wave. Other wavelength-sensitive couplers are used as multiplexers in wavelength division Multiplexing (WDM)
telecom systems to combine several input channels with different wavelengths, or to separate channels.

Optical fiber connector

An optical fiber connector terminates the end of an optical fiber, and enables quicker connection and disconnection
than splicing. The connectors mechanically couple and align the cores of fibers so that light can pass. Most optical
fiber connectors are spring-loaded: The fiber end faces of the two connectors are pressed together, resulting in a
direct glass to glass or plastic to plastic contact, avoiding any glass to air or plastic to air interfaces, which would
result in higher connector losses.
A variety of optical fiber connectors are available. Typical connectors are rated for 500-1000 mating cycles.[1] The
main differences among types of connectors are dimensions and methods of mechanical coupling. Generally,
organizations will standardize on one kind of connector, depending on what equipment they commonly use, or per
type of fiber (one for multimode, one for single mode). In datacom and telecom applications nowadays small form
factor connectors (e.g., LC) and multi-fiber connectors (e.g., MTP) are replacing the traditional connectors (e.g., SC)
mainly to pack more connectors on the overcrowded faceplate, and thus reducing the footprint of the systems.
Optical fiber connectors are used in telephone company central offices, at installations on customer premises, and in
outside plant applications. Their uses include:
Making the connection between equipment and the telephone plant in the central office
Connecting fibers to remote and outside plant electronics such as Optical Network Units (ONUs) and Digital Loop
Carrier (DLC) systems
Optical cross connects in the central office
Patching panels in the outside plant to provide architectural flexibility and to interconnect fibers belonging to
different service providers
Connecting couplers, splitters, and Wavelength Division Multiplexers (WDMs) to optical fibers
Connecting optical test equipment to fibers for testing and maintenance.

Fiber Optic Detectors

Detectors perform the opposite function of light emitters. They convert optical signals back into electrical impulses
that are used by the receiving end of the fiber optic data, video, or audio link. The most common detector is the
semiconductor photodiode, which produces current in response to incident light. Detectors operate based on the
principle of the p-n junction. An incident photon striking the diode gives an electron in the valence band sufficient
energy to move to the conduction band, creating a free electron and a hole. If the creation of these carriers occurs in
a depleted region, the carriers will quickly separate and create a current. As they reach the edge of the depleted area,
the electrical forces diminish and current ceases. While the p-n diodes are insufficient detectors for fiber optic
systems, both PIN photodiodes and avalanche photodiode (APDs) are designed to compensate for the drawbacks of
the p-n diode.

PIN Photodiode
A p-n diode's deficiencies are related to the fact that the depletion area
(active detection area) is small; many electron-hole pairs recombine
before they can create a current in the external circuit. In the PIN
photodiode, the depleted region is made as large as possible. A lightly
doped intrinsic layer separates the more heavily doped p-types and ntypes. The diode's name comes from the layering of these materials
positive, intrinsic, negative PIN. Figure 3 shows the cross-section
and operation of a PIN photodiode.

Avalanche Photodiode (APD)

The avalanche photodiode (APD) operates as the primary carriers, the free electrons and holes created by absorbed
photons, accelerate, gaining several electron Volts of kinetic energy. A collision of these fast carriers with neutral
atoms causes the accelerated carriers to use some of their own energy to help the bound electrons break out of the
valence shell. Free electron-hole pairs, called secondary carriers, appear.
Collision ionization is the name for the process that creates these secondary
carriers. As primary carriers create secondary carriers, the secondary carriers
themselves accelerate and create new carriers. Collectively, this process is
known as photo multiplication. Typical multiplication ranges in the tens and
hundreds. For example, a multiplication factor of eighty means that, on
average, eighty external electrons flow for every photon of light absorbed.
APDs require high-voltage power supplies for their operation. The voltage can
range from 30 or 70 Volts for InGaAs APDs to over 300 Volts for Si APDs.
This adds circuit complexity. Also, APDs are very temperature sensitive,
further complicating circuit requirements. In general, APDs are only useful for
digital systems because they possess very poor linearity. Because of the added
circuit complexity and the high voltages that the parts are subjected to, APDs
are always less reliable than PIN detectors. This, added to the fact that at lower
data rates, PIN detector-based receivers can almost match the performance of
APD-based receivers, makes PIN detectors the first choice for most deployed
low-speed systems. At multi gigabit data rates, however, APDs rule supreme.

Repeaters
A repeater connects two segments of your network cable. It re times and regenerates the signals to proper amplitudes
and sends them to the other segments. When talking about, ethernet topology, you are probably talking about using a
hub as a repeater. Repeaters require a small amount of time to regenerate the signal. This can cause a propagation
delay which can affect network communication when there are several repeaters in a row. Many network
architectures limit the number of repeaters that can be used in a row. Repeaters work only at the physical layer of the
OSI network model.

Fiber Optic Transmitter

Fiber optic transmitter is one of the key components in the fiber optic networks. In fiber optic communications,
information is first converted from its original form such as voice, data or video, into electrical form, and then the
signal is sent to the fiber optic transmitter, which will transform the electrical signal into fiber optic signal.
The hearts of the fiber optic transmitters are the light sources. Function of light source is to convert information from
electrical form to optical fiber light. In todays fiber optic systems, light sources are usually light emitting diodes
(LED) or laser diodes (LD). Both of them are small size semiconductor devices used for signal transformation.
These components require power supply connections and modulation circuitry. All components are usually
manufactured in one integrated package.

Fiber Optic Receiver

Fiber optic receiver is used to transform the signal from light form to electrical form. Usually the fiber optic signal is
transmitted via optical fiber and sent to the fiber optic receiver, the receiver can convert the form of the information
from light to electrical, and then the electrical receiver transforms electrical signal back to its original form such as
data, video or audio. Key component of the fiber optic receiver is the photodetector. In todays fiber optic systems,
photodetector of the fiber receiver is usually a semiconductor photodiode (PD). It is a miniature device and is
usually manufactured together with the electrical circuitry and put together to form an integrated package to provide
power supply connections and signal amplifications.