Optical communication system is one that uses light as the carrier

of information

With optical fibers, electromagnetic light waves propagate through

the media

Optical fiber systems use glass or plastic fiber cables to contain the
light waves and guide them in a manner similar to the way
electromagnetic cables are guided through a metallic transmission
medium

Compared with other networking media, fiber-optic cable is more

expensive.

However, on the plus side, fiber-optic cable has infinite bandwidth

It is not susceptible to electromagnetic interference, and it is

capable of higher data rates than the other types of networking
media.

While fiber-optic cable has many benefits, its cost

makes it hard to justify its extensive use in most
network installations.

Certainly, the cost of running fiber-optic cable to every

desktop would be prohibitive!

Therefore, today in most networks, the use of fiber is

restricted to cabling runs between buildings and as the
backbone between wiring hubs

Advantages of Optical fiber cables

1. Wider bandwidth and greater information capacity than

metallic cables

Based on the optical frequencies, the bandwidth available are large

Optical fibers are available with bandwidths up to several thousand

gigahertz

Optical fiber communication systems are capable of transmitting

several gigabits per second over hundreds of miles, allowing
literally millions of individual voice and data channels to be
combined and propagated over one optical fiber cable

2. Immunity to cross talk:

glass and plastic fibers are nonconductors of electric current

Therefore, fiber cables are not surrounded by a changing magnetic

field, which is the primary cause of cross talk between metallic
conductors located physically close to each other

3. Immunity to static interference:

Since fiber cables are nonconductors of electrical current, they are

immune to static noise due to electromagnetic interference
caused by lightning, electric motors, relays, fluorescent lights and
electrical noises

Fiber cables do not radiate electromagnetic energy

4. Environmental immunity:

Optical fiber are more resistant to environmental extremes than metallic

cables

Optical fibers operate over a wider temperature range

They are less affected by corrosive liquids and gases

5. Safety and convenience:

Safer and easier to install and maintain

Since they are plastic fibers and non conductors, there are no
electrical currents or voltages associated with them

Can be used around volatile liquids and gases without worrying about
their causing explosions or fires
Small in size, light in weight, flexible, easy to work with, require less
space, cheaper to transport, easier to install and maintain

6. Lower transmission loss:

7. Security:

It is impossible to tap into a fiber cable without the users knowledge

Optical cables cannot be detected with metal detectors unless they

are reinforced with steel for strength

Durability and reliability:

Optical fibers have less signal loss than their metallic counterparts
Currently optical fibers are being manufactured with a few tenths of
a decibel loss per kilometer

Have high tolerance to changes in environmental conditions and are

immune to corrosive materials

Economics:

Have less loss and require fewer repeaters, which equates to lower
installation and overall system costs and improved reliability

Disadvantages of optical fiber cables

Interfacing costs:
Optical fiber systems are useless by themselves
To be useful, they must be connected to standard electronic
facilities which require expensive interfaces

Strength:
Strength of the cable is poor compared to metallic cable.
Strength is improved by coating the fiber with standard Kevlar and
a protective jacket of PVC.

Remote electrical power:

Some times it is necessary to provide electric power to remote

interface. This cannot be done by using optical fiber. Hence
metallic cables must be included in the cable assembly

Losses through blending:

Optical fibers are more susceptible to losses introduced by bending

the cable

Bending the cable causes irregularities in the cable dimensions,

resulting in the loss of signal power

Also prone to manufacturer defects

Specialized tools, equipment and training:

Require special tools to splice and repair cables and special test
equipment to make routine measurements

Repairing fiber cables is expensive

It involves skilled technicians

Some times it is difficult to locate the faults in optical cables

because there is no electrical continuity

OPTICAL FIBER COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS BLOCK

DIAGRAM

A block diagram of a point-to-point fiber optical communications

system shown in the figure below. This is the structure typical of
the telephone network.

Modulator and light source:

The light source is modulated by a digital or analog signal.

The voltage to current converter serves as an electrical interface

between the i/p circuitry and the light source.

The light source is either an infrared LED or an injection laser diode.

The amount of light emitted is proportional to the amount of drive

current

Thus voltage to current converter converts input signal voltage to a

current that is used to drive the light source

The light outputted by the light source is directly proportional to the

magnitude of the input voltage

Source to optical fiber or coupler:

This is a mechanical interface

Its function is to couple light emitted by the light source into the
optical fiber cable

The optical fiber cable consists of glass or plastic fiber core surrounded
by a cladding and then encapsulated in a protective jacket

Light detector:

It is generally a PIN diode, an Avalanche photodiode or a

phototransistor

All three convert light energy to electrical current

A current to voltage converter is required to produce an output voltage

proportional to the original source information

Light

Light is an electromagnetic wave.

Other electromagnetic waves:

Radio Waves
Radar
X-Rays
Electronic Digital Pulses

Electromagnetic energy is radiant energy that travels at

300,000km/s or 186,000 miles/s.

Electromagnetic Wave

Consists of a oscillating electric and magnetic fields at right

angles to each other.

Frequency( f ): Number of cycles/second

Wavelength ( ): Distance between the same 2 points.

Frequency and Wavelength

Relationship of frequency and wavelength:

wavelength = velocity/frequency
=/f

In free space or air, velocity is the speed of light.

The higher the frequency the shorter the wavelength.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Waves and Particles

Light exhibits properties of waves and particles.

Photon: A particle of light.

Quantum: A bundle of energy.

Exists in fixed discrete units (whole values).

Energy possessed by a photon is proportional to its frequency.

E = hf

where h is Plank's constant:

6.63x10-34 Joule-Seconds

OPTICAL POWER:

Optical power measures the rate at which electromagnetic energy

transfers light energy

Mathematically,

d ( energy )
t ( time )

dQ

dt

Where
P = optical power (watts)
dQ = instantaneous charge (joules)
Dt = instantaneous change in time (seconds)

Reflection and Refraction

The 'Speed of Light' is simply the velocity of an electromagnetic

wave in a vacuum.

Light travels slower in materials.

As light passes from one material to another, its direction

changes.

Refraction is the deflection of light.

Different wavelengths of light travel at different speeds in the

same material.

Index of Refraction

The Index of Refraction is a unit representing the ratio of

the velocity of light in a vacuum to the velocity of light in
a material.

c
n
v

Index of Refraction

As the index of refraction increases, the slower the wave

will travel and the greater it will 'bend' when entering
from a material with a lower index.

Definitions for Refraction

Normal: Imaginary line

perpendicular to the interface
between 2 materials.

Angle of incident: Angle between

the incident ray and the normal.

Angle of Refraction: Angle between

the normal and the refracted ray.

Reflection

With reflection, the

angle of reflection is
equal to the angle of
incidence.

n1 > n 2

Snell's Law

The relationship between the incident ray and

refracted ray is:
n1sin1 = n2 sin2

For reflection to occur, angle of incidence must

exceed the critical angle (c). The critical angle c
may be found by:

c = arcsin(n2/n1)

1 :

The incident angle (from the surface normal)

2 :

The angle of refracted light (from the surface normal)

n1 :

index of refraction in the incident medium

n2 :

index of refraction in the refracting medium

Light that is not absorbed or refracted will be reflected. The incident ray, the
reflected ray, the refracted ray, and the normal to the surface will all lie in the
same plane.

Acceptance Angle:

The maximum angle within

which light will be accepted by
an element, such as a detector
or waveguide. In the latter, it is
quantified as half the vertex
angle of the cone within which
optical power may be coupled
into bound modes of a fiber.
Also called acceptance cone.

Propagation of light through an optical fiber

cable

The propagation of light through an optical fiber cable depends on

Mode of propagation

Index profile

Modes of Propagation

Mode means path

If there is only one path for light rays to take down a cable, it is
called single mode

Light travels directly down the center of the cable

If there is more than one path for light rays to travel down the
cable then it is called multimode

Light rays propagate down the cable in a zigzag fashion following

several paths

Optical Fiber Configurations:

Modes of propagation

Single mode

Multimode

Number of modes possible for a given cable

d
N

n n

2
1

2
2

N= number of propagating modes

D= core diameter (meters)
= wavelength
n1= refractive index of the core
n2= refractive index of cladding

Index profile

Index profile of an optical fiber is a graphical representation of the

magnitude of the refractive index across the fiber

There are two basic types of index profiles:

Step index fiber:

Has a central core with a uniform refractive index
An outside cladding that also has a uniform refractive index
surrounds the core However, refractive index of cladding is less
than the core

Graded index fiber:

In graded index fiber there is no cladding
Refractive index of the core is nonuniform
It is highest in the center of the core and decreases gradually with
distance toward outer edge

OPTICAL FIBER MODE CLASSIFICATIONS

SINGLE MODE STEP INDEX

MULTIMODE STEP INDEX

MULTIMODE GRADED INDEX

Core index profiles

n1>n2

Single-mode step index

Multimode step index

Multimode graded index

Cladding
Air cladding

Glass cladding
stronger
smaller acceptance angle

Single-mode step index fibers:

It has a central core that is significantly

smaller in diameter than any of
the multimode cables

So only single path for light to propagate down the cable

Outside cladding is air

There occurs a large difference between refractive

indexes in a small critical angle at the glass/air interface

So acceptance angle is, which makes it relatively easy to

couple light into the cable from an external source

This type of fiber is weak and difficult to splice or

terminate

Instead of air we can also use glass cladding

The refractive index of the cladding is slightly less than that of the
central core and is uniform throughout the cladding

This type of cable is physically stronger than the air-clad fiber, but
the critical angle is also much higher

This results is a small acceptance angle and a narrow source-tofiber aperture, making it much more difficult to couple light into the
fiber from a light source

In both the cases, light rays follow the same path down the cable
and take approximately the same amount of time to travel the
length of the cable

Multimode Step-index Optical Fiber

multiple rays follow different paths

Multi-mode step-index optical fiber

The center core is much larger with the multimode configuration

Allows more light to enter the cable

The light rays that strike core/cladding interface at an angle greater

than the critical angle are propagated down the core in a zigzag
fashion , continuously reflecting off the interface boundary

Light rays that strike the core/cladding interface at an angle less than
the critical angle (ray B) enter the cladding and are lost

Light rays follow several paths as it propagates down the fiber

So the amount of time taken to travel the length of the cable also
differs

Multimode Graded-Index Optical Fiber

multiple rays follow different paths

Multimode Graded-Index Optical Fiber

Graded index fibers are characterized by a central core with a

nonuniform refractive index

Thus cable density is max at centre and decreases towards the edges

As light rays propagate diagonally across the core toward the center,
it is continually intersecting a less dense to more dense interface

Light rays are constantly being refracted, which results in a

continuous bending of the light rays
The rays traveling in the outer most area of the fiber travel a greater
distance than the rays traveling near the center.

Refractive index decreases with distance from center and velocity is

inversely proportional to refractive index

Therefore, light rays traveling farthest from the center propagate at a

higher velocity
So time taken for light rays to travel is the same

Optical Fiber Comparison

Single-mode step-index fiber
+ Minimum dispersion (no modal dispersion)
- Small aperture
- Expensive
Multimode step-index fiber
+ Relatively inexpensive
+ Large aperture
- Multimode dispersion
Multimode graded-index fiber
- Expensive
+ Large aperture
+ Small multimode dispersion

Power loss:

Power loss is also called attenuation loss

This results in a reduction in power of light wave as it travels down the

cable

Attenuation causes

Reduction in system performance

Bandwidth
Information transmission rate
Efficiency
Overall system capacity

Decibel units
Pin

System

System Transmission: T = Pout/Pin

TdB = 10 log(Pout/Pin)
dBm: Power in dB relative to 1 mW
PdBm = 10 log(P/1 mW)
TdB = Pout - Pin

(Pin and Pout in dBm)

Pout

Absorption losses

1. Ultra violet absorption:

Caused by valence electrons in silica material from which fibers

are manufactured

Light ionizes the valence electrons into conduction

The ionization is equivalent to a loss in the total light field

This contributes to transmission losses in fiber

2. Infra red absorption:

This results due to photons of light that are absorbed by the atoms
of the glass core molecules

The absorbed photons are converted to random mechanical

vibrations typical of heating

3. Ion resonance absorption:

Caused by OH ions in the material

Source of OH- ions is water molecules that have been trapped in

the glass during the manufacturing process

Iron, copper and chromium molecules also cause ion absorption

Material or Rayleigh scattering losses

During manufacturing, glass is drawn into long fibers of very small

diameter

During this process, the glass is in a plastic state

The tension applied to the glass causes the cooling glass to develop
permanent submicroscopic irregularities

When light rays propagating down a fiber strike one of these impurities,
they are diffracted

Diffraction causes light rays to disperse or spread out in many directions

Some of the diffracted rays continue down the fiber, and some of it
escapes through the cladding

The light rays that escape represent a loss in light power

This is called Rayleigh scattering loss

Rayleigh scattering loss

Absorption Losses in Optical Fiber Cables

Chromatic distortion or wave length

LEDs emit light containing many wavelengths

Each wavelength travels at a different velocity when propagating

through the fiber. Hence they do not reach the end of the fiber at the
same time

This results in an impairment called chromatic distortion

Chromatic distortion can be eliminated by using a mono chromatic

light source such as an injection laser diode (ILD)

Chromatic distortion occurs only in fibers with a single mode of

transmission

Radiation losses

Caused by small bends in the

fiber

There are two types of bends:

Micro bends:
Occurs as a result of differences
in the thermal contraction rates
between the core and cladding
material

Micro bending losses generally

contribute less than 20% of the
total attenuation in a fiber

Constant-radius bends:

Caused by excessive pressure

and tension and generally occur
when fibers are bent during
handling or installation

Modal dispersion

Caused by difference in the propagation times of light rays that take

different paths down a fiber

Can occur only in multimode fibers

Can be reduced by using graded index fibers and almost entirely

eliminated by using single mode step index fibers

For multimode propagation, dispersion is often expressed as a

bandwidth length product (BLP) or bandwidth distance product (BDP)

BLP is expressed in MHz/km

Multimode step-index
fiber

Bandwidth length product, BLP = 20 Mb/s

x km
If the three rays of light were emitted into the fiber at the same time, each ray
would reach the far end at a different time, resulting in a spreading out of the
light energy with respect to time .
This is called modal dispersion and results in a stretched pulse that is also
reduced in amplitude at the output of the fiber

Single-mode step-index fiber

Because the radial dimension of the fiber is sufficiently small, there is only
transmission path that all rays must follow as they propagate down the len
Of the fiber

So each ray of light travels same distance in a given period of time and mo
Dispersion is virtually eliminated

Multimode graded-index fiber

Three rays are shown traveling in three different modes

Though they travel in different paths, they all take approximately the
same amount of time to propagate the length of the fiber
This is because refractive index decreases with distance from the
center, and the
Velocity at which a ray travels is inversely proportional to the refractive
index
Therefore the farther the rays 2 and 3 travel from the center of the
cable, the faster they propagate

Pulse spreading
Original bits

As light travels through

The length of the
Wire, pulse amplitude
Reduces and the pulse
Width increases
This is called pulse
spreading or pulse width
dispersion

Difficult to distinguish
between bits

Coupling losses

Caused by imperfect physical connections

Occur at any of the three types of optical junctions

Light source-to-fiber connections
Fiber-fiber connections
Fiber-photo detector connections

Junction losses are mostly caused due to

lateral misalignment
gap misalignment
angular misalignment
imperfect surface finishes

Lateral displacement

This is the axial displacement between two pieces of adjoining

fiber cables

The amount of loss can be from a couple tenths of a decibel to

several decibels

Loss is negligible if fiber axes are aligned to within 5% of the

smaller fibers diameter

Gap displacement:

Also called end separation

When splices are made in optical fibers, the fibers should actually
touch

The farther apart the fibers are, the greater will be the losses

Angular displacement:

If angular displacement is less than 2 degrees, the loss will

typically be less than 0.5dB

Imperfect surface finish:

The ends of the two adjoining fibers should be highly polished and
fit together squarely

If the fiber ends are less than 3 degrees off from perpendicular,
the losses will typically be less than 0.5 dB

Light Sources

Human eye detect light rays only between 380nm and 780nm

Light consists of many shades of colors directly related to the heat of

the energy being radiated

Blue light occupies shorter wavelengths of visible light, whereas red

light occupies larger wavelengths of visible light

Light sources used for optical fiber systems must be at wavelengths

efficiently propagated by the optical fiber

Light sources must be constructed so that their outputs can be

efficiently coupled into and out of the optical cable

Light Sources
LAMP (Tungsten)
Spectral width > 1000 nm
LED
Spectral width 30 50 nm

ILD
Spectral width 1 3 nm

Light emitting diodes (LEDs)

Made up of semiconductor materials such as

Aluminum-Gallium-arsenide (AlGaAs)

Gallium-arsenide-phosphide (GaAsP)

Characteristics of LEDs

Injection laser diode

Output power for an ILD

Narrow concentrated beam

More direct radiation pattern
Broad beam
Less directed radiation pattern

ILD vs LED
Advantages:
emits Coherent (orderly) light
Higher radiant output power
has Higher bitrates
generates Monochromatic light which reduces
Chromatic or wavelength dispersion
Disadvantages:
10 times more expensive than LEDs
shorter lifetime
more temperature dependent

LIGHT DETECTORS

Optical detectors:

To detect light energy in optical fiber communication receivers, we

use

P-type-intrinsic-n-type (PIN) diodes

Avalanche photo diode (APD)

PIN diodes operate just as the opposite of LED

APDs are more sensitive than PIN diodes and require less additional
amplification

Disadvantage of APDs are

relatively long transmit times
additional internally generated noise due to the avalanche
multiplication factor

Characteristics of Light Detectors

Dark current: The leakage current that flows through
a photodiode with no light input. Thermally generated.
Transit time: The time it takes a light-induced carrier
to travel across the depletion region of a
semiconductor. This parameter determines the
maximum bit rate possible with a particular
photodiode.
Light sensitivity: The minimum optical power a light
detector can receive and still produce a usable
electrical output signal.

Characteristics of Light Detectors

Spectral response: The range of wavelength values that a
given photodiode will respond.

Responsitivity: It is the ratio of the output current of a photodiode

to the Input optical power and has the unit of Amperes/watt
Responsitivity is generally given for a particular wavelength or
frequency

LASERS

L
A
S
E
R

Light
Amplification
Stimulated
Emission
Radiation

by
of

Properties of lasers

Laser light cannot be

Perfectly monochromatic

Perfectly directional

Have perfect coherence

Types of lasers:

Solid

Gas

Liquid

Semiconductor

Solid lasers

Optically active atoms are embedded in a solid, usually at 1% or

less fraction

Atoms are trapped in a place

Solid must be optically transparent

Types
Ruby laser
Glass
Sapphire
Nd: YAG: yttrium aluminum garnet

Ruby laser:
Three level laser.
Absorption frequency is small Absorption band is larger
Nd YAG:
Four level laser, so easier to pump.
Useful for continuous wave operation.
Used for pulse operation because of bandwidth
Sapphire laser:
hot solid is sapphire
Huge gain bandwidth
Can be used as a tunable laser

Gas lasers

Uses a mixture of helium and neon enclosed in a glass tube

Monochromatic light is emitted through the output of the coupler

o/p light is a Continuous wave

Liquid lasers:

Use organic dyes

Dye is dissolved in water or alcohol

Liquid needs to circulate because dyes becomes saturated

A powerful pulse of light excites the organic dye

Semiconductor lasers

These lasers are made from semiconductor pn junctions

Caled as injection laser diodes (ILDs)

Excitation mechanism is direct current power supply that controls

the amount of current to the active medium

O/p light from ILD is easily modulated, making it very useful in

many electronic communication applications

Characteristics of lasers

Use an active material to convert energy into laser light

A pumping source to provide power or energy

Optics to direct the beam through the active material to be amplified

Optics to direct the beam into a narrow powerful cone of divergence

Feedback mechanism to provide continuous operation

Output coupler to transmit power out of the laser