Optical Fiber and optical

communications
 What is optical fiber
Optical fibers are very fine fibers of glass.
They consist of a glass core, roughly fifty micrometres in
diameter, surrounded by a glass "optical cladding" giving an
outside diameter of about 120 micrometres.
They make use of total internal reflection to confine light
within the core of the fiber.
 Structure of a Fibre
The core has a higher refractive index than the cladding.
Although the cladding does not carry light, it is nevertheless an
essential part of the fibre.
The cladding is not just a mere covering.
It keeps the value of the critical angle constant throughout
the whole length of the fibre.
Optical Fibres are optical waveguides.
This means that wherever the fibre goes the light, which is
confined to the core of the fibre, also goes.
So optical fibres can be used to make light bend round corners
 What is optical fiber (continued)
The basic optical fiber is provided with a buffer coating which
is mainly used for protection during the manufacturing
process.
This fiber is then enclosed in a central PVC loose tube which
allows the fiber to flex and bend, particularly when going
around corners or when being pulled through conduits.
Around the loose tube is a braided Kevlar yarn which absorbs
most of the strain put on the fiber during installation.
Finally, a PVC outer jacket seals the cable and prevents
moisture from entering.
 What is optical fiber (continued)
Basic optical fiber is ideal for most inter-building applications
where extreme ruggedness is not required.
In addition to the "basic" variety, it is also available for just about
any application, including direct buried, armored, rodent
resistant cable with steel outer jacket.
Color-coded, multi-fiber cable is also available.

The Optical Fiber: Other Types of Fibers

Two additional types of fiber very large core diameter silica
fiber and fiber made completely of plastic are normally not
employed for data transmission.
Silica fiber it typically used in applications involving high power
lasers and sensors, such as medical laser-surgery.
All-plastic fiber is useful for very short data links within
equipment because it may be used with relatively inexpensive
LEDs.
Typical example of an application for plastic fiber- An isolation
system for high voltage power supply
 Standard Single-Mode (SM)
Fiber core
Fiber
SiO2+ GeO2
10 m
n 1.443

SiO2 Cladding
125 m
n 1.44

Primary coating (soft)

400 m

Secondary coating (hard)

1 mm
 Optical Fibers in brief
An optical fiber consists of a high-index glass
core in a low-index glass sheath
When light tries to leave the high-index core at a
shallow angle, it experiences total internal
reflection
Light bounces endlessly through the core and
emerges from the end of the fiber
If the glass is pure and perfect enough, the light
may travel for many kilometers through the fiber
 History of Fiber optics
During 1930, other ideas were developed with this fiber optic such
as transmitting images through a fiber.
During the 1960s, Lasers were introduced as efficient light sources
In 1970s All glass fibers experienced excessive optical loss, the loss
of the light signal as it traveled the fiber limiting transmission
distance.
This motivated the scientists to develop glass fibers that include a
separating glass coating. The innermost region was used to
transmit the light, while the glass coating prevented the light from
leaking out of the core by reflecting the light within the boundaries of
the core.
Today, fiber optics is used in variety of applications such as medical
environment to the broadcasting industry.
It is used to transmit voice, television, images and data signals
through small flexible threads of glass or plastic.
 The idea was developed in 1930 then why it
is implemented in 1970-1980
Interest in the use of light as a carrier for information grew
in the 1960's with the advent of the laser as a source of
coherent light.
Initially the transmission distances were very short, but as
manufacturing techniques for very pure glass arrived in
1970, it became feasible to use optical fibres as a practical
transmission medium.
At the same time developments in semi-conductor light
sources and detectors meant that by 1980 world wide
installation of fibre optic communication systems had been
started.
 Reflection & refraction

n2<n1 2 n2<n1 n2<n1

2
1 1 1= c
1 c 1 >c
n1 n1 n1

Snells law Critical angle Total internal

n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2 n reflection
sin c = 2
n1
n1 cos 1 = n2 cos 2
n
cos c = 2
n1
 Total Internal Reflection
As light goes into
material with a lower
index of refraction, it
bends away from the
perpendicular
When the bend exceeds
90 degrees, the light
reflects instead
The reflection is perfect
total internal reflection
Total internal Reflection
 Fiber propagation

n1
n2
 Propagation of light in optical fiber
The angle A in the Figure is called the Acceptance Angle.
Any light entering the fibre at an angle < c will meet the
cladding at an angle greater than c .
If light meets the inner surface of the cladding (the core -
cladding interface) at an angle greater than or equal to
c then TotaI Internal Reflection occurs.
So all the energy in the ray of light is reflected back into
the core and none escapes into the cladding.
The ray then crosses to the other side of the core and because
the fiber is more or less straight ,the ray will meet the
Cladding n the other side at an angle which again causes TIR.
The ray is then reflected back across the core again and the
same thing happens.
In this way the light zig zags its way along the fiber.
This means that the light will be transmitted to the end of the
fiber.
How Does fiber optic transmit light
 Optical fiber is a wave guide
Optical fiber is essentially a wave guide.
It guides electromagnetic wave through it.
The guiding is done by total internal
reflection, i.e. by suitable choice of
refractive indices.
 Source and transmitters

A basic fiber optic communications system

consists of three basic elements:
Fiber media
Light sources
Light detector
 Optical communication
TRANSMITTER FIBRE RECEIVER

+
+
 Types of Optical Fiber
there are three types of fiber optic cable
commonly used:
single mode,
multimode and
plastic optical fiber (POF)
 Types of Optical Fiber
Optical fibers are the actual media that guides the light
There are three types of fiber optic cable commonly
used

Step-index Multimode fiber

Single Mode

Plastic optic fiber

 Fiber types

SM
Single-Mode

MM-SI
Multi-Mode
Step Index

MM-GI
Multi-Mode
Graded
Index

refractive
index
Step Index (Singlemode,multimode)
graded index fiber
Step Index Fiber:
The refractive index of the fiber 'steps" up as we move
from the cladding to the core of the fiber.
Within the cladding the refractive index is constant, and within
the core of the refractive index is constant.

Multimode:
Because of the wave nature of light, only certain ray directions can
actually travel down the fibre.
These are called the "Fibre Mode".
In a multimode fibre many different modes are supported by the fibre.

Single mode:
Because its core is so narrow Single Mode fibre can support only one
mode.
This is called the "Lowest Order Mode".
Single mode fibre has some advantages over multimode fibre which we
will deal with later
 Graded Index Fibre
Graded Index Fibre has a different core structure from
single mode and multimode fibre.
Whereas in a step-index fibre the refractive index of the
core is constant throughout the core, in a graded index
fibre the value of the refractive index changes from the
centre of the core onwards.
In fact it has what we call a Quadratic Profile.
This means that the refractive index of the core is
proportional to the square root of the distance from the
centre of the fibre.
Graded index fibre is actually a multimode fibre.
It can support more than one fibre mode.
But when we refer to "multimode" fibre we normally mean
"step index multimode".
Fiber classification (1)
MM-SI: Multi Mode - Step Index fiber

Core diameter 50 - 400 m

Cladding 125 (500) m
2nd coating 250 - 1000 m
NA 0.16 - 0.5
Attenuation 1 - 4 dB/km
Bandwidth 6 - 25 MHz.km
Application Short distance, low cost
limited bandwidth
 Fiber classification (2)
MM-GI: Multi Mode - Graded Index fiber

Core diameter 50 m standard

Cladding 125 m
2nd coating 200-1000 m
NA 0.2 - 0.3
Attenuation 1 dB/km (1300 nm)
Bandwidth 150 MHz.km - 2 GHz.km
Application Medium distance
communication
LED/Laser sources
 Fiber classification (3)
SM-SI: Single Mode - Step Index fiber
Core diameter 3-10 m
Cladding 50-125 m
2nd coating 200-1000 m
NA ~0.1 (not used)
Attenuation 0.20@1550 - 0.4@1300 dB/km
Bandwidth >> 500 MHz.km
Application Long distance communication
Lasers, standard fiber
 A Light Sources

LED (Light emitting diode) ILD (injection laser diode)

 Optical source
TRANSMITTER

FIBER

Performance
+ Modulation speed
Fiber-coupled power
 Light Emitting Diode (LED)

+
Typical performance data
Power in MM-fiber: 100 W
Power in SM-fiber: 1 W
Direct Modulation Bandwidth: 100 MHz
 Laser

Typical performance

Power (in fiber): 5-10 mW

Max: 100-300 mW
Direct Modulation Bandwidth: 1-10 GHz
 Detectors

Detector is the receiving end of a fiber optic link.


There are two kinds of Detectors
1. PIN (Positive Intrinsic Negative)
2. APD (Avalanche photo diodes)

PIN
APD
 Photodiode detector

+
Typical performance data
Responsivity: ~1 mA / mW
Bandwidth: 1-20 GHz
 Dispersion in Fiber Optics

Dispersion occurs when photons from the same light pulse take
slight different paths along the optical fiber.

Because some paths will be longer or shorter than other paths

the photons will arrive at different times thus smearing the
shape of the pulse.

Over long distances, one pulse may merge with another pulse.
When this happens, the receiving device will not be able to
distinguish between pulses.
 Dispersion Continued
 Normal fiber optic cable is called multimode
because photons can take different paths
along it.

 The more expensive monomode fibre optic

overcomes dispersion by having a core so
thin that the light can only take one path along
it.
 Dispersion (intermodal)
L
n1
Tmin = L
c c
n1
n1 n2
n2 Tmax = L cos c =
c cos c n1

T T = n=1 n 1n 1 n 2 nn1 2 NANA2 2

L Ln
[ns / km ]
2 n 2 cc cn 2 c 2 nc
2n2c
t
L n2c 2n2c
BL = L = =
2 2 nc
[( Mb / s ) km ]
BL = T =1 NA 2
n
2
T
B = bit rate NA
 Idea of Modulation
When sending information by an optical fiber,
the information must be encoded or
transformed somehow into information that
capable of being transmitted through a fiber.

The signal needs to be modulated. There are

two types of modulation Analog and digital.
 The advantages of fiber optic
over wire cable
Thinner
Higher carrying capacity
Less signal degradation
Light signal
Low power
Flexible
Non-flammable
Lightweight
 Disadvantage of fiber optic over
copper wire cable
Optical fiber (< 1m) is more expensive per
meter than copper.

Optical fiber can not be join together as easily

as copper cable.

It requires training and expensive splicing and

measurement equipment.
 Acceptance angle
Acceptance angle:
In fiber optics, half the vertex angle of that cone
within which optical power may be coupled into bound
modes of an optical fiber.
Note 1: The axis of the cone is collinear with the
fiber axis, the vertex of the cone is on the fiber
end-face, and the base of the cone faces the
optical power source.
Note 2: The acceptance angle is measured with
respect to the fiber axis.
Note 3: Rays entering an optical fiber at angles
greater than the acceptance angle are coupled into
unbound modes.
 Numerical Aperture
Multimode fiber
n0 n2
n0 n2 Critical angle: cos c =
n1
0 n1
c Maximum entrance angle:
n1
sin 0 , max = sin c
n0
Numerical aperture:
2 2
NA n0 sin 0,max = n1 sin c = n1 1 cos 2 c = n1 n2
if n1 n2 = n :
2 2
n1 n2 n1 n2 n NA = n12 n2 2 2n1 n n1 2
2
=
2n1 n1 n
where n1 + n 2 2 n1
NA = 0.1 0,max 6
n1 2 n 2 2 n n2 n
1 =
2 n1 2 n1 n1
 V - parameter
V number: determines how many modes a fiber
supports

d 2 2
Planar: V = n1 n 2

Single-mode if V

2a 2 2
Fiber: V= n1 n2

Single-mode if V 2.405
 Number of modes
Number of modes in step-index fiber
2
1 2a 2 V 2
M
2
1
n n2 (
2
=
2
)
Optical power in the cladding
Pcladding 4
for large values of V
P 3 M
 Fiber materials
Silica glass fiber
starting material: pure silica (SiO2) in the form of
fused quartz (amorphous)
modification of refractive index by addition of
impurities
lowering refractive index : B2O3, F
raising refractive index : P2O5, GeO2
Polymer optical fiber (POF)
large core (multimode)
large refractive index difference between core and
cladding
easy handling
relatively high losses
 Attenuation
When light travels along the fibre, there is a loss of optical
power, which is called attenuation. Signal attenuation is
defined as the ratio of optical input power (Pi) to the optical
output power (Po). (Attenuation is represented in decibels (dB), which is ten
times the logarithm of the signal power at a particular input divided by the signal
power at an output of a specified medium.)
Pulse Dispersion: spreading of pulses during propagation
Dispersive effects in a single mode fibre are much smaller
than a multimode fibre. This is because, in multimode fibres,
different axial speeds of different transverse modes cause
intermodal dispersion that limits the performance of the fibre.
Due to dispersion, signals degrade over long distances
In single mode, chromatic dispersion occurs because of the
slight variation in the index of the glass with the wavelength
of the light.
 Causes of Fiber loss

Material absorption

Impurity absorptions

Scattering effects

Interface inhomogeneities

Radiation from bends

 Material absorptions
Due to molecular characteristics of material
of fiber

Changes with material

Example: halide glasses are extremely low

loss fiber in middle IR (2-m to 4-m)
 Impurity absorption
Primary source of material impurities are
metallic ions and OH- ion from water.

It can be reduced to 1dB/km

Concentration in one part per billion

Water OH- absorption takes place at 2.7

um, 950 nm and 725 nm
 Absorption losses over a length L of fibre
can be described by the usual exponential
law:
I = Ioexp(-L)

where
= (10/L)log10(P1/P2)
 Scattering Losses
Basic fundamental wave interacts with particle in
a way that removes energy in the direction of
propagating of the wave, and transfers it to
other directions
1. Linear Scattering
 Rayleigh Scattering
 Mie scattering
2. Non-linear Scattering
 Brillouin scattering
 Raman scattering
 Linear Scattering
Frequency does not change; only power is
transferred.
Rayleigh scattering:
Interaction of light with inhomogeneties in medium
smaller than operating wave length.
Scattering strength proportional to (1/4)
0.2 dB/km attained (silica at 1550 nm)
Mie scattering:
 Inhomogeneities comparable in size to a wave
length
Large angular dependence
 Non linear scattering
High values of Elastic field leads to non-linear scattering
Significant power scattered in all directions
Frequency shift takes place

 Brillouin Scattering
1. Modulation of light by thermal energy
2. Incident photon produces vibrational energy in
material and scatter light (Phonons and Photons)
3. Scattered light is modulated in forward and backward
direction.
4. Maximum is backward and minimum is Forward.
 Brillouin Scattering (Contd)

In a single mode fiber, the power at which this

scattering becomes significant is given by
PB = (17.6x10-3)a22
Where:
PB is power level (watts) i.e threshold level
a is radius of fiber (m)
is wavelength (m)
is fiber loss (in dB/km)
is linewidth of source
 Raman Scattering

Interaction produces high frequency

phonon and scattered photon. This is in
Forward direction

PR = (23.6)x10-2 a2
 Interface Inhomogeneties
Macrobending and Microbending
Cabling loss and spooling loss
Micro bend 1 - 2 dB/km
Bend Losses
Po/Pi = exp(-bz)
b is the attenuation coefficient due to bend
and
b =C1exp(-C2r)
where r is the radius of curvature of bend
C1 and C2 are constants
The losses are negligible till r rcritical (rCT)
rCT {(2n2)/4(NA)3}
 Radiation from Bends
Optical fibre radiates power to the surrounding
medium on bending.

The proportion of the power radiated depends:

1. radius of curvature

2. difference between the refractive indices of

core and cladding.

This effect can be observed with single mode fibres

as well as multimode fibres.
 Applications of Optical Fibre
Light transfers info from source to
destination
Both analog and digital representations
possible
Analog is used to monitor some processes
remotely
Digital is the dominant representation
Noise immunity and error correction
Compression
Sharing a single communication channel is
common
Communication - Telephone transmission method uses fibre-optic cables.
Optical fibres transmit energy in the form of light pulses. The technology is
similar to that of the coaxial cable, except that the optical fibres can handle
tens of thousands of conversations simultaneously.

Medical uses - Optical fibres are well suited for medical use. They can be made
in extremely thin, flexible strands for insertion into the blood vessels, lungs,
and other hollow parts of the body. Optical fibres are used in a number of
instruments that enable doctors to view internal body parts without having to
perform surgery.

Simple uses - The simplest application of optical fibres is the transmission of

light to locations otherwise hard to reach. Also, bundles of several thousand
very thin fibres assembled precisely side by side and optically polished at their
ends, can be used to transmit images.